AN OBESE KID

I was a very unhealthy child. I grew up in a typical Gujrati family. Thepala, bhakri, ghee, sugar & rice were part of my daily meal.

I weighed 70 Kgs in college, & thought I was a nutrition student, it never occurred to me that I should be fit myself.

YOUNGEST CHIEF

After my post-graduation, I started working with a gym & met Vishal Rupani there, who’s now my husband.

I was 23 when I got married, post which I got a job as the Chief Dietician at Lilavati Hospital, Mumbai. I was the youngest chief in the history of the hospital. Also, the chef there became of very good friend of mine, & would prepare a cheese toast for me daily, which further added to my weight.

However, at the age of 26, Then we decided to have a baby & went for a medical check-up, I got to know that I had PCOS (Polycystic Ovary Syndrome). I did not know exactly what is was, but I was advised to go for an IVF, as I supposedly couldn’t conceive naturally ever. This news hit me like a rock as in my mind I was all ready to be a Mother.

Nevertheless, I did not lose hope & started reading up my own. And after reading a lot, I understood one thing – that being fit and losing weight was the only way to start the treatment. I did not take any medication, & started losing weight. I would eat healthy & in the right proportions.

I was down to 62 Kgs, & conceived naturally, without any treatment ort medication, which was very rare for a PCOS Patient.

"I quit my job, & continued reading on nutrition & PCOS during those nine months."

NUTRITION AT YOUR SERVICE!

That was also the time I came across many pregnant ladies’ groups on Facebook, where the ladies would discuss their issues & experiences. And whenever there was a nutrition – related question, I would answer it for them.

Very soon, every person in the group of 50,000 pregnant ladies from across the world knew that there was a lady named Khyati who was a nutritionist. By then, I was 98 Kgs with my baby (Trisha) inside me. I had gained 8 kgs during my pregnancy.

"Though I took a lot of care, I gain weight. After Trisha was born, I was still 91 kgs. My relatives would joke saying, ‘Is there one more baby inside you? Why are you still fat?"

WEIGHT LOSS SAGA PART II

After 25 days, when I got up from my bed, I realised that even picking up my baby was very tiring. I knew I cannot be a fat mother who needed constant help to pick her own baby! A fat mother can never be a proactive mother.

That’s When I started losing all that extra weight again. Also, I had to lose weight to start working. How can a nutritionist herself be obese?

"Post Pregnancy, the initial weight loss was not that hard for me as I followed my original diets. In four months, I reached 75-80 Kgs & started my practice yet again."

GOING PROFESSIONAL

After I started practicing, many of the Facebook mothers started asking me for diet charts & I would send it to them on email. Once, an Indian from Singapore contacted me, asking me to send her a diet chart as the local dieticians did not understand the food they ate. She Followed my diet & saw great result within 10 Days. Interestingly, she was an employee with the bank of Singapore, where 35%of the employees were Indians. When they got to know about me, my references increased.

"Slowly, many corporates started contacting me. IIFL (India Infoline) became my biggest client, asking for diet chart for their employees, that’s how the concept of mailing diets started…"

CHEATING THE RIGHT WAY

"The diets provided by most dieticians is not possible to be followed on a regular basis. A person can leave the cravings for a month or two but not for life. It is important to eat everything, but in the correct proportions, For example, in an Italian restaurant, you cannot have a double cheese thick crust pizza with a white sauce pasta. Instead, order a thin crust pizza, with a wheat pasta in orange sauce. You will be equally happy & won’t eat the unhealthiest option available. Correct options create a big difference."

Balance Nutrition

As soon as I had 50 clients of my own, I asked my husband Vishal to start a website for me, with a gateway of payment. Soon, I got an assistant to help me, then I got a place to handle my own work…

"Today, after three years, I have 48 people working with me & handling all my clients."

At Balance Nutrition, we have:

1. All full-fledged restaurant diets. All thanks to my clients, who are all around the world asked me doubts like: I am in Paris today or I am in Vietnam today op rim flying today, what should I eat?

2. An alcoholic drinks’ menu, to help you know which drink has less calories, & which food should be ordered with which drink.

3. From movie theatre to an in-flight menu or street food in any country, I have everything on my website to help the clients.

4. Customised diet plans. Be it festival or party, help is just an email away

FUTURE PLAN

"I want to make my website more user-friendly. We plan to launch an app very soon, where every enquiry will be replied in five minutes, with genuine & not automated replies. I want to make diet a lifestyle & not a stress factor!"