TRIM TO THE BRIM

With obesity on the rise and the increasing desire to look fit and good, the weight loss industry in India is booming

- Pooja Biraia Jaiswal

When she was in college, Kalpana Ganesh never considered herself overweight. Though she was not lean—at 5’4”, she weighed around 70kg—weight was never an issue as she believed in body positivity. She began piling on kilos gradually and unmindfully, thanks to a thriving hostel life, outside food, and late-night binge sessions with friends. At 25, she left her hometown of Jabalpur to start her career as a communications professional in Mumbai. Her daily schedule went for a toss, and thereafter, the kilos never came down, necessitating “a zillion paid interventions”.

Now, in her 40s, Ganesh has already spent ₹3 lakh to ₹5 lakh to lose weight. This includes a two-year gym membership, costing around ₹50,000, and an additional ₹18,000 for another six months at a different time. She also spent around a lakh on 10 injections to reduce abdominal fat and ₹30,000 in a quarterly diet programme. And yet, she weighs 115kg. Not that she didn’t shed any kilos. Six months ago, she weighed 124kg, which brought with it full-blown type 2 diabetes. “Losing weight is an expensive proposition now,” quips Ganesh.

Soni Ramani would agree. She is emotionally invested in Narayan Dham in Pune, a nature retreat, which she visits at least once a year for at least 20 days. It costs ₹8,000 per day. Ramani, who teaches differently-abled children in a south Mumbai school, swears by the transformation she has felt in the last three years. Once, she was at the retreat for an entire month, during the summer vacation. She now weighs 78kg, down from 90kg. She subscribes to the retreat's extensive programme that involves “trekking, colonic irrigation or enemas, yoga and more”.