My Story
EVERYONE HAS A STORY. THIS IS MINE
I was four years old when my grandfather took me for my first tennis lesson. It was love at first sight: the game of tennis captivated me. Soon, I found myself playing for district, state and national level qualifiers. When I look back now, I realize that back then showing up for practice every day 5 am was probably the easiest thing. That’s because bigger battles inside and outside my home awaited me. I was born in a business family where any sport was just a mere hobby. Turning this hobby into a serious profession was not an option.
I distinctly remember the time I was playing nationals in Delhi and it was my semi-final round. I was one set up and I had taken a good lead in my second set. It was a big milestone for me at the age of 14. As the game progressed, everyone knew I was going to win. Suddenly, I heard my mother shouting my name to get off the court and leave with her. I thought I was just imagining this. But to my unpleasant surprise, my mother was actually there screaming my name. She had come down to Dehli to take me for my US visa appointment. My mother’s interjection forced me to withdraw from the tournament that day. I was heart-broken. Even though this incident wounded me, I kept playing. Many victories later, I was one of the top 10 players in under 18 categories in India.
Post that, I went to Rhode Island (USA) for my undergraduate degree and became a part of the division 2 tennis team at Bryant University.
As luck would have it…..
A sudden independent life made me aware of how little I knew about nutrition or a healthy balanced life. I was eating cereal filled with sugar first thing in the morning, countless coffees, Cesar salads and pizza for dinner. Needless to say I had put on a lot of weight, which eventually affected my game. To make things worse, I was diagnosed with PCOD and put on birth control.
Kicking PCOD’s A**
In college, I took courses in nutrition and fitness. I became serious about being fit and improving my health overall. I was determined to reverse the imbalance in my hormones. I implemented what I learned in my courses and within six months, I had lost all that extra weight and was fitter than ever despite having PCOD.
A major change I had incorporated in my lifestyle was clean eating and one-hour work-out every day. My skin was glowing, my energy levels were off the charts and I was mentally in a great space. Once I came back, I got in touch with a holistic doctor, left the pills within the year and switched to Indian herbs. Like I said, I finally kicked PCOD’s A** .
Finding my life’s mission life’s mission
My journey made me think of other people who must be going through the same thing. Things like what to eat, what not to eat, how much water to drink, how to work out, which workout etc are questions we all have. Here came my passion switching on the lightbulb in my head!
After my graduation, I spent another three years educating myself in the fitness space. I became a certified health coach (New York), got a nutrition diploma (London), and became REPS LEVEL 3 certified (London). While I’ve been in the fitness industry for over five years professionally, I have dealt with fitness and body challenges for the last 10 years. I have gone through the gamut of body shaming, self-hate, emotional eating, binge eating to name a few. I have been there, I know how it feels and what it takes.
So here I am, combining my story, experiences, training and knowledge to help you be the best version of yourself. My squad isn’t about being skinny or making the number on the weighing scale reduce, it's about improving your health inside out and making health a lifestyle! So, let’s reach higher and never stop trying!