Here, Sugandha, 39 from Austin, Texas shares her experience.
Growing up in India and for the majority of my married life, I was blessed with a beautiful body.
I gained 23 kg when I first got pregnant in 2007. In 2014, I further gained 30 kg with my second pregnancy.
I weighed 95 kg in July 2014, when my son was born.
Breastfeeding my babies did not make me lose weight; in fact, the weight just seemed to be permanently glued to me, even after my younger baby was a year-and-a-half.
I lost most of my pregnancy weight, largely in April and May 2016 because of my inspired enthusiasm over the summer plan of visiting my parents in India.
I listened to hypnosis tapes by authors Roy Martina and Paul McKenna, that trained my subconscious mind to eat what I really liked, to be satisfied with small portion sizes and to listen to my body.
Mentally, I believed that weight loss would be the easiest thing in the world for me.
Every night, before I slept, I visualised in my mind's eye a 2013 picture of myself when I weighed about 59 kg.
I saw, felt and sensed myself elongating and becoming very very thin as I passed through the needle's eye.
When I was heavy, there were days when I could not stand to get my picture taken, even in a group.
I felt torn to shreds by the words in my head. I was mean and vicious to myself.
I thought my husband and children were embarrassed to be seen with me. The sharp tongue of my inner voice insidiously bit through the fabric of my self-image.
I followed weight loss coach Jessica Ortner's suggestions for tapping to lose weight.
I stared at the feelings of shame, guilt, fear and inadequacy straight in their eyes.
I was forced to come face-to-face with the emotions inside of me that I was long trying to suppress.
I slowly realised that unless I loved myself when I was "fat and ugly", I would never understand the true meaning of unconditional self-acceptance.
Physically, I started to spend more and more time outdoors with my children.
I ran when the slightest opportunity presented itself to me. I'd jog while chasing my toddler, supervising him at the play-scape or when singing him to sleep.
Inspired by my will-power, my neighbours joined me in my evening workouts. My husband never complained when I left to jog, leaving my children with him.
Even though he lives thousands of miles away, my father is my role-model.
I recount my childhood days hiking with him to the mountains.
He taught me to treat my body like a temple. I worshipped the respect and love he showered on his strong body.
My father's picture reminded me of his unconditional love for me. Whenever I felt scared as a mouse, I always thought, "What would my father think and do, if he were in my position?"
As I trained my mind to let go off its fear, the excess pounds simply melted off my body.
As I understood more deeply the roots of my weaknesses, I began to live a life of courage and love.
In front of my eyes, I saw the subtlest changes in my thought-forms radically transform the shape of my body.
I weigh 63 kg now.
Learning to embrace my imperfections, even, when I was out of shape helped me with weight loss.
I learned an important life lesson through the entire experience -- love yourself the way you are.
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