From Fat To Fit

From being body shamed as a kid to turning a nutritionist to battle her weight woes, Neha Sahaya has come a long way. Her amazing transformation, in her own words…

Mental and physical wellbeing are a crucial part of our being. It is what gives us the peace we all want to attain, but achieving a balance between the two can be quiet a battle. Today, I can happily say that I found that balance. Did I struggle? Yes. But what’s more important here, is not the struggle but the fact that I emerged victorious. I believe so will you.

I did not just get up one day and take to the next fad diet everyone was doing and achieving results with, I found a permanent solution. I chose a healthy lifestyle. So here is my story about the boxing match against my weight I finally won.

BODY SHAMED FOR BEING TOO FAT

Maintaining a healthy number on the weighing scale had always been a tussle; my love for food and struggle with excess weight went hand-in-hand. In school, I was the most overweight girl in the room and I had trouble accepting my body for what it was. There was enough body shaming from family and friends. The turning point came when my teacher in school asked me to stand up in class as an example for being the fattest child and asked me what I ate the whole day.

I was 13 then but became obsessed with the idea of losing weight. Unfortunately, the concept of gyms and working out was very uncommon and information on the internet was sparsely available. So I did what some of you have probably done at some point - ate nothing and walked a lot. From 80 kgs, I went to 59 kgs, in a matter of three months! But that was the worst way to shed the extra kilos. I was thin, yes, but was I fit? As a nutrition consultant today, I know that was the biggest mistake I made.