“Like most people, I wanted to avoid medicines and manage my health in a natural way. But at the time of diagnosis, it seemed almost impossible to achieve. My fasting sugar was 348 in that first test and it felt like the end of the world. But it wasn't. I thought my life would change completely because I had diabetes and yes, it did but it has changed for the better.”

Mr. Prabhash Jha, an optimist and positive thinker, is a 57-year-old businessman living in Noida with his wife and three children. A true believer of ‘actions speak louder than words’, he has been following a very healthy lifestyle since a long time.

A typical day in his life includes waking up at 5:30 am and going for a brisk walk for 1 hour and then doing free-hand gym exercises for 30 minutes. He then takes his morning tea, dates, soaked almonds and breakfast after which he leaves for work. His work involves a lot of moving around as he shows various marbles, tiles and granite materials to the clients so he remains active throughout the day.

But this was not how Mr. Jha was living his life before. His lifestyle completely changed (for the better) 15 years ago when he was diagnosed with diabetes.

Time for a change

At the age of 42, Mr. Jha weighed 80 kg and was feeling heavy and dizzy. He was advised to get his blood sugar levels assessed and they came out to be higher than normal when tested. His Fasting sugar levels were 348 in that first test and he was diagnosed with diabetes.

“I originally belong to Jharkhand and in my culture, we are very fond of eating. We love to eat a lot of curd and choora. I also used to eat a lot of non-vegetarian food at parties. Honestly, the first thought that I had after diagnosis was that I will never be able to eat as much as I did. But this soon became a blessing in disguise. With this disease, I learned the art of self-control and became much healthier in general.”

His first line of defense against high sugar levels was physical activity.

“I decided to control my sugars with walking. In those times I used to work involved in a marketing job which involved a lot of travel and fieldwork. This was definitely a benefit to me as I could easily spend a lot of time walking around while working.”

Mr. Prabhash Jha has been following a brisk walk routine for 15 years from the very next day of his diagnosis. Not a single day has gone by when he skipped his walk or exercise. Even while travelling to different places like Nepal, Patna, Jharkhand he knew where to go for a morning walk in each city. That’s the kind of dedication he had!

“I started with medications also soon after this. I wanted to control my sugar levels without medications but I realised their importance too in my overall health. But just because I started medicines didn’t mean I stopped my lifestyle modifications. I was still going for walks every day and eating a healthy diet.”

A self-learning experience

“As time went by, I learned several things about diabetes and my health. A lot of people were constantly giving advice and hacks about managing sugar levels. I’m sure a lot of diabetics know what I am talking about. I followed up on each and every advice to see what works for me. Through my personal experience, I learnt what was right and what wasn’t over the period of time. But I knew I could improve even further. That’s where Zyla helped me.”

Following a number of advices and monitoring his health, Mr. Jha became an expert with his own tips and tricks that worked best for his health. But during the peak COVID19 lockdown, Mr. Jha had to discontinue the morning walks he was so fond of due to the restrictions of going out.

“I was not going to wait for the virus to affect me so I started building my immunity from the beginning. I was regularly drinking a home-made kadha. But for some reason I got a lot of breakouts on my skin when I started this. I decided to consult a doctor for the same. That’s when I met Dr. Nishant who introduced me to Zyla as well. Due to lack of brisk walking, my sugar levels rose to around 211 at that time.”

The increase in sugar levels was a wake up call to Mr. Jha and he could no longer let diabetes win. And this time he had his doctor and Zyla with him.

“Dr. Nishant managed my sugar levels with his medications and proper guidance. His expert advice helped me control my sugar levels despite all the restrictions in the lockdown. He also sent Zyla into my life to help me further with my lifestyle management. Zyla prompted me to share my vitals and daily routine with them which made me even more self-aware about my own self. I was walking a path for my health but Dr. Nishant and Zyla gave a direction to my journey. They helped me set targets for my sugar levels, weight and every important vital.”

My health partner

He credits the success he has achieved in his health journey to his wife.

“My life partner, my wife is very cooperative. She cares a lot for me and she gave me strength. She said this is nothing to worry about and all you have to do is take a balanced diet and look after yourself. She takes care of my diet. She’s my number one nutritionist.”

His message to fellow diabetics

“I am a big supporter of walking and exercise. In my own experience, the days I don’t walk and eat a lot, my sugar levels are high; when I eat less but don’t walk, still high sugars; but the days I walk a lot and eat in moderation, my sugars are in strict control. So I would recommend every diabetic to walk a lot. Walk and exercise everyday. Take a balanced diet and eat in moderation. Listen to your care team and doctors and follow their advice strictly and you will win the fight.”