I knew that the first thing I had to do was to free myself from my three packs a day smoking addiction. The fact that after 25 years I was finally able to break out of this prison gave me a lot of strength for taking further tough decisions. Next on the cards was to get out of my habit of consuming a quarter bottle of alcohol every day. Single malt helped me to get out of this one. The very first time I tasted a Laphroiag (still my favorite) I knew it was the end of my indian made 'foreign' liquor days. Once you have heard high end audio, you can't go back to m pee 3! As I could barely afford one bottle of duty free Laphroaig per month my alcohol intake went down. I also realized that for achieving an enjoyable high, the quality of alcohol being consumed is more important than the quantity!
And finally, (after winding up my catering business and retiring forever from the obligation of making clients happy) I stopped eating out and started developing interesting recipes which could be cooked at home. A chat with a dietician convinced me that
it is not necessary to diet (or even exercise much) in order to lose weight. All that is required is to cut out a few ingredients which are a staple part of the indian diet. Sugar, refined oil, maida, dals and rice. And remember that casual, thoughtless snacking will prpbably make you obscenely obese! My current diet is soya milk and nutty cereals for breakfast. Two chapatis, vegetables and curd for lunch. A light bowl of soup with vegetables/meats and toasted whole wheat bread for dinner. Almost 1kg of fruits (no bananas) every day. Two large shots of Laphroiag every Saturday. I look and feel far more healthy now, than I used to 10 years ago