Being thin for the most part of my life, weight management was the last thing that featured in my mind. We celebrate food- culinary experience and experimentation was something we periodically look forward to in our social circle. I enjoyed sports and played intermittently but never trained regularly - running on treadmill was just mind numbingly boring. Although i was not technically obese, I was completely out of shape. While things were ok, reality struck when the very activities I loved, started to get stressful. Biking uphill was no longer fun, long hikes were getting less frequent. My work-life balance, sleep hours and irregular eating schedules only made things worse. I did not need a systematic weight loss plan, but a long lasting formula to rejuvenate my body and focus on core strength.

Many times i gave in to the latest trends in healthy eating - e.g. substitute quinoa for rice, low cholesterol cooking etc, but they clearly missed the mark. I was wary of the other "low carb"/"low fat" schemes as I didn’t think I could persist with them.

I found hope when I met and discussed with Rahul at our college reunion in December. I took his suggestion to work together for 3 months. Rahul set me up with a custom plan but most importantly shared valuable details that helped me look at nutritional value rather than a blind abstinence to "carbs" or "fat". I was already sold at that point :). The thoughtful details opened a world of possibilities for me centered around balanced nutrition. Although I spent a first few weeks getting used to, I can easily vouch for the payoffs. I observed a few of my close acquaintances follow similar nutrition plans elsewhere, but Rahul’s approach was clearly unique - it sets you up for independent decision making by making you part of the learning process rather than being prescriptive, lets you change your lifestyle at your own pace, and is a complete package.

Rahul makes you feel empowered to eat healthy rather than ticking a set of 'to do' boxes. While adding protein and carbs in the right proportion is a challenge for vegetarians, Rahul provided several alternatives that are practical based on the geographies. In addition, he also consulted on the right nutrition to improve my sleep patterns, suggestions to improve my core strength and also left me with different plans to guide my choices in the future.

6 months into the plan: I can now make intuitive choices about my food, plan my day as it progresses and yet not have to carry a calorie counter. I was easily able to make my choices around sugar and include them where I needed the most. I do not feel starved and I continue to eat out while maintaining my overall body weight. My sleep has improved well. And yes in this process I have gotten 12 Kgs lighter !!. I feel confident about this first step towards my goal and many thanks to Rahul for showing the way.