Destination Dileesh: 2012

Spot the difference :)

I finished my last IIM exams and headed out to for a stress breaker vacation during December 2011 . But before I headed out, I wanted to do some apparel purchases. At the shop I was trying to fit into 36" Jeans and could not. 2 1/2 years of MBA had upgraded me to 38" waist size. Shocker for me!!! I checked my weight and it was 95+. That is when I decided 2012 would be a year to regain my Health again. I was cycling for a while but I decided I need to up it.

Jaan Hai Jahaan hai...((If) there's life, then there's the world!!!!)

Around the IIM convocation time, we started to cycle over the weekends.(I remember Deepak calling me up while I was sitting in the convocation dress rehearsal). At first it was just me and Deepak going out on Sunday. 20-30km in and around Whitefield. We used to get exhausted by the end of the trip and rest for the rest of day. And as you could imagine, our families were not so happy about it. Once we started developing stamina, we went up to 40km per week.

I also ensured that my weekday cycling routine continued (Home-Office-Home). I started to see some decline in the weigh scale by June & July. That is when HP's annual health checkup happened. I checked my weight it was 92 (good Job!!!). But when the results came I had a LDL count of 155 which is Boderline High. I had some other readings those were on the higher side as well. That did not sound good to me. I sent the reports to couple of (Doctor) friends of mine and their suggestion was to just reduce the weight further. I was overweight according to BMI and the target they suggested was to get it down to Optimal weight which is about 79kg. I honestly did not know what to do.

That is when my wife gave me tip of the calorie count per day and its relationship to weight.

Avg male needs 30 times his weight as the average calories per day. Anything that we eat/drink would be saved up as Fat in the body. Am I overeating? I analyzed.. I guess I did and that is probably the reason for this slow decline in weight.

Exercise alone will not reduce your weight

So let's take an average Calorie count :
1 Tea in the morning (with milk) - 100
4 Dosa with bowl of Sambar - (400+200) = 600

Coffee at 11 - 100

Lunch - Rice + Chapathi (2/3) + Dal + Curry + Curd etc = 800

Evening Tea (with milk) - 100

Evening Snacks (buiscuits, vada paav etc) - 300

Dinner - 4 Chapathi + Dal - 600

A sweet may be - 200

A total of 2800 Cal ...

400 Cal Extra - Yikes!!!!!! which will be stored as Fat - Cholesterol in Blood and so on..

(If I don't exercise for 400 Cal).

Weight Change = Calorie intake - 2400 - Calories expended via exercise

To reduce 1 Kg one needs to have a shortfall of 7000 Cal.

Cycling for 1/2 hour one would expend around 250 Calories. Now compare that with a scoop of ice cream.

It is almost the same..

Working out for 1/2 hour does not give you the luxury of eating ice cream a day!!!

that if you want to reduce your weight.

This was a great insight because I was working out approximately 45 mts every day but I was not taking care of my input. As an old Electornics professor of mine would say "Input is here.. Processing is here... Where is the output? " All the three matter for weight reduction.

So I started to make some changes in food habits with a Motto.

Eat everything with Moderation

First thing that I did was to cut snacking, be it evening snacks or chocolates or whatever that I used to have. Even at office when someone offers sweets, I take a small piece but don't go overboard. I also reduced my food intake by 1/4th. That is if I was eating 4 Chapathi's, I cut it to 3; for rice if it was 1 bowl, I would eat only 3/4th. From Tea with milk to Tea without milk. Consider this

to about 15 calories for Tea without milk or black coffee during the evening chit chat with colleagues. This had a big impact. I started to go down from 90kg...

We made Lucky Cycling Group at Whitefield more active. Weekend cycling was a Must and we increased the participants to keep the energy levels high. We went up from 30-40 km to 50-60 km per weekend with lot more off-roading. That helped expend some calories but the major objective was flexibility of the body and increase in stamina/endurance.

The reduction was very progressive, almost 1 kg per week.Attributed to
Eat 2000 Cal (which means 400 Cal shortfall X 7 ~ 2000 Cal)
Calories expended by daily cycling - 400 Cal (which means 400 X 5 ~ 2000 Cal)
Weekend Cycling - around 2000 Cal

Now the obvious question, does that mean you will have to starve or in other words don't you get the craving for food?
Honestly there will be some for the first week but then your body will realize that you can survive on this. Today when I eat more than that, I feel as though I have overeaten!!!

You adjust mentally.. your body will physically adjust as well.. but Never Starve!!!!

Folks will say, let me starve for couple of days and I should get back to my shape (say while in College). Never do that.. Starving will cause issues like acidity, ulcer etc. A man can meet his nutritional requirements in 1400 to 1500 calories a day; however, there is no need to limit your calories to that level. Just have a bit of uptick say around 1800 or 2000 because the need for the body differs from person to person.

I have still 4 kgs to go before I reach my optimal BMI weight of 78 kg but I could not stop writing this blog to help folks who might be going through such a phase in life. Honestly I have tried and have been trying over the past to reduce it, I did gym, I did yoga, I did jogging, I did badminton all with intention of reducing weight, but it clicked when I realized the relationship with food intake and calorie burn. There is Suana belt, there is Abs pro and so on.. Ads for which will make you feel young and vying. But they are supporting things.. What you eat is as much important as working out.

Eating more of Good things won't reduce your weight...

People say eat Badam or drink honey and so on to reduce weight but the crux of it all is the calories per day requirement. Eating more of Badam or honey will only make you fat and not reduce your weight..

It is difficult to check your cholesterol every day, so its better to use a proxy - use Weight reduction as a proxy. I went down from 155 to 117 over this period, which has reduced my risk levels and that o me is the first victory...

Other Tips

You need a good indicator or a motivator that tells you that you are on the right path of weight reduction - invest in a weigh scale (cost you 500 at the max for digital). Accuracy is not important but what you need is an indicator that shows you are going down.
Avoid snacking - if you are hungry in between meals eat Salads (they are low calories but will fill your tummy)
Have a Physical exercise Hobby pick the one that you like so that you will have passion for continuing it.
Make Physical exercise a part of your life say like if you want to go to the shop, walk. Climb stairs instead of lift.
Eat early sleep early ; Eat early and sleep early. Try to have your dinner or the last meal around 7pm (if you are going to sleep by 10 pm).
Eat food with high nutritional value ; Its OK to eat with high calorie count but also look for high nutritional value. For example a chat has same calorie count as Biriyani. But Biriyani has more nutritional value. So eat a Biriyani.
Keep your motivational levels high

What if you go to your best friends marriage and freak out.. Well never mind one day is fine.... just make sure you exercise and/or eat less the following day. Somewhere I had read that the Body takes 3 days to store energy as Fat. So if you eat on the first day, never mind...Just exercise a bit more on the next day and eat less as well..

Feel free to email me or call me in case you need help.... Have a Healthy Life..:-).

YFA may be a less known acronym for outside world. But for IIMK EPGP students it means a lot. It means showcasing existence. For the sake of others YFA stands for "Yes for Attendance". This needs to be typed in by the students on the chat room once they arrive at the class room. One needs to do this as well as tick off the check box on the top to get attendance (Grades associated with this as well). But for EPGP students it means a lot. It means hey I have arrived. It also could mean Proxy at times :).

I had been thinking about MBA for long. Thoughts such as should I do a full time or a part time MBA. What would that mean for financial stability of the family? Can I afford to take a couple of years off. If I do, what sort of institute should I choose. What should be my selection criteria.
So I selected criteria
a) Part Time or Full time - Part time
b) Reputation of the institution - high
c) Affordability - should be, but can work through with a bank loan and some support from my company.
d) Should be it be a certificate course or PGP equivalent - PGP equivalent
so the shortlists included IIMB, IIMK, XLRI.
IIMB campus was based out of Bangalore, Takes around 2 1/2 years to complete. But need to take Friday afternoon off and attend classes. One gets to attend the classes with PGP student. Has an entrance exam and interview.
XLRI has a campus in Bangalore, the course takes around 2 years and classes happen on the weekends.
IIMK had a mix of in campus and off campus modules. The classes are delivered through HUGHES platform. Takes around 2 1/2 years to complete. Has an entrance exam & interview as selection criteria.

I choose EPGP from IIMK for a few reasons

* IIM Brand
* Same curriculum as PGP student
* Mix of in campus and live sessions
* Flexibility to attend classes outside office hours. i.e. no need to take a day off work

So the entrance exam was held in July and I remember going to the center like a humble student, writing the exams for 2 hours. I got selected and was asked to attend an interview. The closest center was Whitefield. The online platform was used for interview and it was my first experience with Hughes platform. My interview was scheduled at 2pm. Just as usual I started chatting with Prashantha who was the center coordinator and within a few moments we got along. He just told me about the interview process , just a few questions that I could anticipate. He also told me about a few folks who had attended the interview from the center before me. He was laughing about a guy who came in and asked if he needs to wear a tie a coat etc. "Sir people are too finicky". I got along pretty well. I had Prof. Rameshan and Prof. Sanal as the interviewer. Professor Rameshan asked me about HP's company strategy about Compaq merger and so on. Finally Professor Sanal asked me a question about the neighboring districts of Pilani. Why??? Because my Masters degree is from BITS Pilani and he had taught there....

By end of August I got a confirmation about my enrollment. Signed by Professor SSS Kumar... Who Kumar?? Well I was sure to find out.. 140 odd students got selected. Few were destined to do only EMEP (1 year course). Few (I have to say this) had the Guts to take it beyond a year....

First Campus visit

Our first campus session was planned between 21st and 26th of September. We were not given campus accommodation :(.. Oooh what an experience it would have been..

It took us some time to get settled. I still remember us rushing to take out the notes which the professors used to upload in the system inside the class room. The funniest event seemed to happen when Kanad stepped forward towards the podium to take the class pictures. Professor Abhilash chased him out. I met Gagan during the first class. From then on till 2 1/2 years we were pretty much together, be it the selection of specialization or the assignments and projects.

I have to admit IIMK is one of the institutes that focus on Environmental development. As one enters the campus, on the right side there is a big water reservoir created. That stands testimony of the focus of the institute. Plus Environmental Management is thought as a subject in the first year.

On our way back we were given a Big bundle of books that I found difficult to carry back home even in an auto. Are we supposed to read all of them in 3/6 months? Oh my God. The day I arrived back I realized this one is not going to be a cup of cake. Each class needed an assignment to be submitted, few hours before the class starts. Class participation was valued etc. But first to the WhiteField Team. There were 4 of us. Shiva, Sunny, Arun and Me. Each one of us with different skillsets.

Sunny - Analytical wizard
Siva - Very perseverant, Mr. Multitasker; Helped us with the logistics @ SAP :)
Arun - Networking
So we were the Whitefield boys..

The first project was for Marketing (Prof. Joffi). Personally I liked his perseverance in teaching. Bring in diverse perspectives of the students and then leading them through thought provoking questions. Given that most of us came from diverse perspectives and were trying to pull in the discussions in different directions, I thought he did a commendable job.Prof. Srinivasan also taught us that when it rains in Spain, it rains mainly in the plains :)

Aspiring to take up Strategy in the second year (Marketing being the other specialization), I had the first glimpse of the subject by Prof. Bhatt. I donno if it was the teaching style or the modus of teaching, it fizzled my enthusiasm for the subject.

Baptism to Finance (Accounting) was with fire. I remember Sid, Ajith and Arun Raj were going to tuitions on Accounting. Whitefield boys did pretty badly. But the rude awakening gave us the impetus to do well moving forward. Siva said "whatever it comes someone has to own a subject, at 6pm he has to be at the center and teach the rest of us for 45 minutes, give context." Plans are always plans and that is why they stay in Plans :). But at least the intent arrived and we moved along to Q2.

Finance started off well. I guess my past in Engineering helped with the analytical approach. I started to love the subject. Professor Abhilash was also a catalyst plus the experience with Accounting made sure we did all the assignments in time, prepared well. Sunny played a key role here. Q2 was definitely better... And Finally My son Pranav had arrived :).

The much awaited second in campus session came and this time all of us were given accommodation inside the campus. Oh what an atmosphere. Seemed like everybody's became 22 years of age. Getting up early morning going for a jog, playing cricket. grabbing a cup of coffee at the canteen, rushing to the classes, reading assignments, sharing experiences. Staying up all night studying. On the last day Prof. Anand threw a spanner at the last night celebration. He asked us to finish the MR assignment and submit by Saturday morning. Oh what a tragedy. Sometimes I think this was done on purpose to make sure we don't overdo the freedom :) . In the end folks felt 1 week was pretty small. We had barely been there and the experience was just syncing in :).

Third Quarter also gave us one of the best Teachers in the campus. Our beloved Business Law lecturer (TM). Prof. Tharakan. For a subject that could have been otherwise "Dry", he generated interest in the class by using innovative techniques of teaching like prizes (like pens pencils etc.). All the study modules were covered with cases and all of them are etched in my mind because one of us were characters in cases. The case of Bhavani Biriyani and Sandhya's marriage is very famous. About Violent Vinay Lomate. I was a character in an Intellectual property case. Truly Mr. Amazing Business Law Lecturer.

Supply Chain management was another amazing subject. Purely because of Siva's presence. His in-depth knowledge of SAP process and Supply chain meant the subject sank in pretty fast. MCS also provided the first glimpse of an Ex. CEO as our teacher. Prof. Rajendran. Humble but yet his subject knowledge was to the point. Was a real pleasant experience for all "Boys and Girls".

IB gave me the chance to interact with Prof. Rameshan who had interviewed me (currently the Director of IIM Rohtak). His teaching styles were hitherto strict.

Then there was the question of my subject selection for specialization. Marketing was a default choice (just out of pure interest), the race was between Finance and Strategy. But I finally went for Finance, purely based on my experience with the professors and the quality of interactions.

We got a mini break in the middle so that the results could settle in and the final list of candidates for the specialization could be charted. In the meantime mails were floating around about the degree of the taxing nature of the Specialization .Not being part of a Finance background was surely daunting. But then Prof. Abhilash's words were reassuring. If you had gone through the rigor of the first year, the second year would not be a problem. Just keep the same tempo.

During December 2011, Ashraf (Current Marketing Manager for IIMK courses) called me up to check my availability for attending a discussion with AMBA (Association of MBA) folks on the accreditation. I moved a few meetings and was good for the venture. I was looking forward to spending time with Gagan. BTW: Gagan, Me, Sandhya, Neil and Bhavani were representatives from EPGP-02. The junior batch was also represented. This was a 2 day function. The first day was a casual get together with the AMBA representatives. The second day was the meeting with them and sharing our experiences. PGP was a sure bet to get. But EPGP was not guaranteed, mainly because of the being on a Technology platform. So that meant a daunting task of highlighting the right value proposition to the AMBA representatives. Finally it went well and IIMK courses were given AMBA accreditation.

Having chosen Finance and Marketing meant that I continued to have the luxury to attend classes on 3 days, while folks who had chosen other specialization meant they had to come in on 4 days (the hours remained the same for all of us). It also meant that I was the only one in the center with this combination. I overlapped with Arun for Marketing and Sunny for Finance. Rajesh and Awadhesh joined in later and we had a larger pool of folks for Finance. Siva got relocated to Chennai and also dropped off from the 2nd year enrollment. We had lost a good aide.

I also took a job shift in 2011 (In retrospect maybe I could have delayed it). I moved to another division in HP. That meant I had to ramp up on the new domain (which I had very less time) and needed my focus during the beginning.

SDM was a really cool subject to start off. Prof. Sridhar's arguments towards the case will have both the plus side and the minus side. And what I agree with him is on this "You are managers, you have better context on the topic. You need to have arguments for the plus side as well as the minus side. Make sure you take care of all judgments and make the right judgment when the situation comes".

Q6 gave us Prof. S.S.S. Kumar and Financial Derivatives. The prescribed book was also written by him. The good thing he did was he taught based on the level of knowledge of the participants. I mean he could have ramped up the tempo and let us go hanging, but he didn’t. He understood the level of Finance knowledge of the class and ramped down the tempo.

Have you heard of twitter exam? Service marketing taught us that. There are 5 questions (Open book exam). You have to answer the question in 10 to 15 letters. I am a fan of it. It is Boolean (i.e. you will get marks or you will not). But at least it will not make you write long and long and long.

Prof Ambilee introduced plagiarism checkers in the last quarter and most of us had to resubmit the assignments later to correct it.

A day during the course

* Get up at 7:30am. Drop Rachana and Akki.
* Finish up my morning meetings with US counterparts.
* Head to office
* By 6pm finish office and rush to the center
* In class from 6:45pm to 10pm. Sometimes even more because of late night quizes.
* In the middle attend night calls
* Come back home and finish the rest of the office work plus assignments (some of them which needed to be submitted by 11:59pm).
* Read class notes text books, finish assignments,Sleep by around 2:30am

Experience in the class
Wearing headphone, listening to class. Having tea coffee at the nearest bakery during the break. Chit chat with Arun, Sunny, Rajesh, Awadhesh. Pulling each other’s leg. Chatting with other center mates through the platform.

Experience during the Exams
Thanks to Siva, we started booking hotels near the exam center. That just meant we saved the ordeal of about 2 hours travel time and tiresomeness.. Plus getting chance to discuss with the group. Generally the exams would be followed by a party on Sunday evening. But then we had to start the next class on Monday or the following day. So hardly a chance to celebrate.

Dialogues like Pearl in Deep sea
* "You have hit the Nail on the Head !!!!!"
* "Mr. Panchayath President is called for the inauguration"
* "Hey where is the guy who took the photo the other day in class" - Kanad this is for you :)
* "When it rains in spain, it rains mainly in the plains"
* "Sir can you do it best of three quizes"
* "Can I call you Boys and Girls?"
* "I thoroughly enjoyed teaching you. The exam will be an Enjoyable one for you"
* "Sir A/V lost"

Characters in class
* Sutanu "daa" ; Even for a class at 9 am on Sunday he will be in his Tie.
* Ramesh - Give him the mike and you will never get it back..
* Bhavani - "Sandhya mere liye ek Gas connection manga dena"

What I liked about the experience

* Getting to network with folks even outside IT domain
* The flexibility shown by professors. If you showed intent, they will help you in thick and thin.. I still remember Professor Rupesh Pathi explaining me Quantitative techniques at 11:30pm in the IIM campus, while he continued to get calls from his home. Just shows testimony to their commitment.
*Close knit group of Friends; I haven't seen proof of anyone down anyone else. Most of the folks are past the age of fighting for marks. We were fighting for survival, each one of us.

What I disliked or missed during this experience
* There were pockets of personal rivalry that I heard/know went out of bounds within class mates.
* Time spent with family especially Akki and Pranav.
* Placement efforts did not bear fruit primarily because of cold shoulder by authorities.
* Accommodation outside campus during campus visits.
* No weekends.
* Not being able to attend marriages of relatives.

All of these incidents seem like yesterday . Today I look back and see a vacuum in life. A vacuum of YFA, which I am pretty sure will be difficult to fill in.