Triggered by overweight verdict during EOY 2008 medical check up, I started running for 30 minutes daily (on weekdays) at a gym close to Ericsson Indonesia office. At that time running wasn’t such a hype as it is Today in Jakarta. Furthermore, running outside the gym considered arguably unhealthy with certain air condition. Though Jakarta air condition Today might have improved well with frequent Car Free Day program.

[caption id=“attachment_877” align=“alignleft” width=“186”] Me in 2009, 25 YR - 89 KG[/caption]

Every morning I was one of few gym members crushing between 07.00 to 09.00 AM, no crowd at all, very much enjoyable. Few times I went there in the evening due to morning meetings, it was very crowded. As usual for me: choose the “less traveled way”, morning time ;)

Now just to be clear, my gym goal was not to make myself bulky muscular like those body builders, so I didn’t take any additional fitness nutrition like protein shake, creatine powder, etc. I just wanted to be slim-lean-fit-healthy with just enough definition, thus 30 minutes running and 30 minutes weightlifting (abs, back, chest, a little bit of arms) on weekdays was just perfect. I didn’t train my legs, I did explain on previous blog post that I walk daily for school for almost 9 years, just enough leg training for life :D

Consistently doing those exercises for one year gave me a lot of improvement. Really, the only way to “upgrade” your status from overweight to ideal weight is: running. And of course you have to eat healthy food: low carb, more proteins, no oily food, more fruit and veggies.

[caption id=“attachment_878” align=“alignleft” width=“584”] Me in 2010, 26 YR - 65 KG with Aimee (2 YR)[/caption]

I still run up until Today, sometimes just at my office gym treadmill before office hours (usually 2.5 KM/day on weekdays). Sometimes outdoor close to the neighborhood before driving to the office or during lunch time (5 KM track). Just recently I tried to join the hype of sharing running record with social media :P

I also enjoy mountain biking and rock climbing with my friends Ericsson Indonesia alumni here in DFW area.

Conclusion: if you start to think that it is not OK to be overweight, start run! You can see my result within a year of hard work: 89 KG to 65 KG. Nothing is impossible, impossible is nothing.

Remember that guy that gave up? Neither does  anyone else…

Written by Sigit Priyanggoro, Sr Global Partner Solutions Architect at Amazon Web Services in Dallas. LinkedIn.