“The beginning of the year 2020 was gloomy for me as for the whole world. I was obese, my sugar levels were above 200 and HbA1C was above 9 in November 2020, an alarming situation. Towards the end of January 2020, my health had declined. I told myself, enough is enough. I gathered the mental fortitude to combat diabetes and become healthy again.”

Mr Rajesh Deshpande, a former IT professional, is a 49-year-old loving son and a caring husband. He currently resides in Mumbai and has recently started his new profession as an investor and trader in the financial sector. His journey from an IT professional to a finance investor has been an interesting one, fuelled by his dedication towards a healthier lifestyle.

We received his comprehensive and extremely detailed story through a review and could not lose any time to connect with him over the phone. As inspiring as his written words were, his conversation opened a whole new horizon for us of what a dedicated man can do.

Another enemy to fight

Everything started in 2016 when Mr Deshpande was diagnosed with diabetes. He had been suffering from high blood pressure and high cholesterol since 2011 but did not expect to be hit by another chronic condition. He has very elaborate thoughts on how this diagnosis came to be.

“At that time, I was preparing for a professional exam which is very difficult to clear in the IT field. It required a lot of hard work and concentration. Apart from my full-time job, I was putting in extra hours of studying for months. Just 2 weeks prior to the exam, I was studying around 8-10 hours a day and had lost track of everything else. I used to consume junk food, my lifestyle was completely sedentary and I had the added stress of that exam on top of that.”

Although he passed his test with flying colours, his health took a toll. He was experiencing extreme fatigue, tiredness and frequent night-time urination. When he consulted his cardiologist for his symptoms he was advised to get his sugar levels tested. And thus, Diabetes was found.

A continuous struggle

To battle with this new disease, he started working on his health as much as he could in those times but it did not seem to be enough.

“I did not exercise due to my work schedule and there were many parties held in my office during which I could not avoid sweets, cake and such food items. I used to consume food from my office cafeteria like samosa, sandwiches etc. On top of that, my work stress caused me to have a lot of cravings.”

However, by 2018, Mr Deshpande managed to bring his sugar levels on track with a very few yet substantial changes.

“I stopped consuming food from the cafeteria. I used to take my own lunchbox of home-cooked food and only ate that. I also learnt to say no to sugar and sugar products even at the parties. I also reduced my junk food intake and finally my HbA1C came below 7 and my sugar levels were around 150. But still, my exercise was 0.”

He followed these restrictions throughout 2018 but in 2019, he relapsed again. His sugar levels came up to 180-200 again despite medicines and everything went haywire.

His turning point

Having worked in the IT sector for 25 years, he had huge work pressure on him which was the cause of most of his ailments and he was sure that this stress would not reduce even with time. Due to so many reasons, he decided to quit his well-paid corporate job.

“I was on my feet from 8 am to 4 pm every day during the week. I was working in cybersecurity and had to attend to very serious matters throughout the day. There was not a moment of peace and I sometimes even forgot to have my meals. This was taking a huge toll on my body. I knew that if I don’t act on it soon, I would pay a bigger price later on.”

As difficult as this decision may seem, it was his moment of clarity. After a particular event at the start of 2020, he took the major step that changed his entire life.

“Towards the end of January 2020, I started having pain in my stomach soon after eating - this was diagnosed as a liver ailment in February 2020. My gastroenterologist advised me to bring my sugar levels in the normal range and suggested a major lifestyle change. I told myself, enough is enough. I was already contemplating quitting my job for quite some time and now it was time for action.”

Finally, he made the big leap and started his new venture in June 2020 as an investor in the financial sector. This new employment allowed him time to focus on his health and lead a stress-free life. Even with the lockdown limitations, he decided not to back down.

“I gathered the mental fortitude to combat diabetes and become healthy again. But God had other plans, nothing much could be done during the lockdown while the pandemic was at its peak. I decided not to make this an excuse and started putting efforts by cutting down on meal portions, albeit that was alone not enough.”

Onwards and Upwards

Mr Deshpande is quite keen on reading and to gather more information regarding his own body and what diabetes actually meant, he turned to books.

“I read a couple of books on diabetes and referred to some valuable information on the internet to understand the disease better, it's causes, complications and ways to reverse it. The knowledge helped me define my goals. My first goal was to consult a Diabetologist, the second goal was to lose weight, third and most important goal was to bring down my A1C level to less than 5.5.”

With clear and defined goals, his path also became visible. He did not lose any more time and went ahead to conquer the first goal. He consulted Dr. Vinod Methil, a diabetologist. And through him, he found Zyla.

“Dr. Vinod Methil prescribed new medicines, advised me to exercise regularly and introduced me to Zyla App for managing my health and nutrition. Based upon doctors diagnosis, prescription and my food preferences, Zyla's team prepared a health plan for me which includes the diet I should follow, monitoring my vitals and daily routine.”

He finally began working towards the goals he set for himself. His efforts finally bore fruit.

“I adopted a Vegan diet, started exercising which includes brisk walking and some simple anti-gravity exercises. All this made a big difference in little over a month. I lost about 4 kg since November 2020 and a total of 11 kg since March 2020. My blood sugar levels have come in the normal range, my blood pressure and lipids too are in the normal range. The outcome is, Dr. Vinod has stopped one tablet and has reduced the dosage of another tablet to half.”

His advice to fellow diabetics

One of the hardest parts of his journey was having a control on his cravings. He noticed that as soon as his stress was eliminated, he could control his cravings. Now he is positive that he will be able to achieve his health goals in no time.

“With sheer determination, Dr. Vinod's efforts and professional support from Zyla's team, I am on track in achieving my goals. There was a time when I could never get my HbA1C below 7-7.5, but now I am confident of dropping my weight by another 7-8 kgs and my A1C levels by at least 3 points by the end of February 2021. I have realised that diabetes can be effectively managed by adopting a healthy lifestyle.”

Having gone through this difficult journey himself, he shares his advice for others in the same position.

“Changing one’s habits, their daily routine especially with the pressures of life is certainly not easy. But having come out on the other side, I can assure you that controlling diabetes is definitely possible. It does take some effort. But it does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop. In my case, I believe the root cause was stress. I would suggest people reduce unwanted stress in life as much as possible. It will certainly help you approach everything in life, including your health, with a lot more clarity.”

To sum up his success, he says -

“Family support can be a game-changer. My wife, my primary caregiver, has played a phenomenal role in this journey. Right from looking after my meals and their timings to unconditional moral support, she has certainly done it all. She is my rock and I wouldn't be able to do this myself.”

Story Credits - We would like to extend our gratitude to Mr Deshpande who was the writer of his own story. Thank you for letting us tell your story to more people. You are truly inspirational!