While some high school students struggle to lead healthy lives, often playing video games for hours on end and snacking on junk food, Diamond Bar High School junior Aadi Rajani has managed to live a healthy lifestyle while keeping up with his academics, shedding roughly 70 pounds since his freshman year.

“I was tired of people picking on me, and I wanted to improve my health. Before, the doctor told me I had high cholesterol and diabetes. I just wanted to do it for myself,” Rajani said.

A contrast to his current adventurous and active personality, Rajani said he felt insecure about himself and put himself down before his weight loss.

“I would always wear a sweatshirt to conceal myself. I didn’t really like going into the water because that meant I had to take my shirt off. I felt like I was fat and that I should be accepted, but I was just doing it to myself. If anyone is going to think poorly of me, it should be me,” Rajani said.

With newfound motivation and dedication, Rajani started going to the gym five times a week and began eating healthier meals with more fruit, vegetables and chicken. For a snack, Rajani opts for protein bars and yogurt to satisfy his appetite.  

At first, Rajani was disappointed in the lack of change on the numbers on his scale, initially weighing about  220 pounds. However, as time passed, he began to notice gradual reductions to his weight, losing two pounds every month.

The most obvious progress wasn’t until the summer of his junior year in which he had lost about 20 pounds, receiving numerous compliments and shocked reactions from classmates.

“I used what people said to put me down to fuel my motivation to keep going. You have to keep at it,” Rajani said. “The only thing that kept me going was their future reactions if I would have gotten into shape, especially during those times. When I saw the reactions from then, it encouraged me even more to continue on and staying healthy.”

Despite his success on losing weight and gaining more muscle mass, Rajani initially struggled with balancing working out and academics.

During his freshman year, Rajani often felt too tired after returning from the gym and couldn’t adequately focus on school work.

“I had to choose between gym and the test,” Rajani said. “Sometimes, I felt like going to the gym and then studying for the test later. I would get back home pretty late, and I couldn’t retain the information. Over time, I learned to be more consistent and to manage my time better.”

Recently, Rajani took a temporary break from his healthier lifestyle two months ago.

“I didn’t want to do it anymore. I had a lot of work piling up, and I wanted to put education first. But, I could see the effects of it right away. I’m not gifted with fast metabolism, so it was kind of a dry spell for my healthy lifestyle,” Rajani said.

Although Rajani found his healthier lifestyle a bit strenuous at times, he feels that his life has drastically changed, from his negative mindset to his increased confidence.

“My life has definitely changed a lot since then,” Rajani said.  “It’s improved my self confidence a lot, and I’ve found myself being more adventurous and doing things I haven’t really done before.”