At 29, Aathira Sethumadhavan has transformed not just her body but her entire life. Once an overweight child and a self-described “huge foodie”, Aathira struggled with her weight and health for years. Working long hours as a chef and indulging in late-night dinners, she developed serious health issues, but being a foodie, it was impossible for her to control her cravings for junk food.

“Growing up, I was always an overweight kid – and like most people, I believed it was because of my genetic predisposition and that’s just the way I was. I pretended to be thick-skinned to escape the taunts, harassment and bullying. But I was also (still am) a huge foodie – I lived to eat, not lived to eat. This alone convinced me that I would never be able to follow a “diet” and lose weight,” she said.

Athira tried exercising intermittently, but she was never regular. She assumed she would remain like this for the rest of her life. However, one day things changed. At the age of 24, while working long hours in a hotel and living alone, her health deteriorated.

She said, “After the onset of COVID, work became even more stressful and I didn’t realise how much stress I was putting on my health. Finally, one day in December 2020, I had a terrible anxiety attack at work at midnight. I was diagnosed with high blood pressure, high cholesterol, severe symptoms of IBS and PCOS (I used to have my period once in 4 months). I started taking medication for all of these and also decided to take a break from work to focus on my health.”

Determined to change, Athira began exercising daily, but she struggled. DietWeight control. “I tried to exercise every day, although I found it very difficult – but I still couldn’t control my diet – because I didn’t know what to do. And after almost a year, my weight remained the same – 100 kilos. I was still taking medication. I still have panic attacks. I still feel very miserable about myself,” she said.

One day when she was in Kerala, a relative abused her. “Someone said to me, ‘You look worse than ever,’ that made me feel very bad,” she says.

Although this derogatory comment broke her down, it acted as a catalyst in her weight loss journey. She started researching about healthy ways to lose weight. “I did my own research, understood that there is actually something called sustainable nutrition I decided to give it a try for weight loss. As a trained chef, I decided I would try to revamp regular recipes to make them healthier without compromising on taste. I understood the importance of eating in a calorie deficit, adding more protein to my diet, cutting down on refined sugars and the importance of walking and strength training. Within a week of trying it, I lost almost 3 kg. This was the first time in my life I lost any weight, which motivated me to keep going,” she said.

With constant effort and determination, she managed to lose 26 kg in 7 months, which not only made her slimmer and better looking, but also cured all her health conditions. She stopped taking all medications and her menstrual cycle became regular.

What were the biggest challenges you faced along the way?

“I’ve never controlled my diet before, so the hardest thing for me was cutting down on my meals and avoiding eating out. I’m a big foodie – and I found that portion control “It was incredibly difficult at the beginning – but after just a few weeks, eating this way became normal, almost natural,” Athira said.

“Similarly, working out while lifting 100 kgs of weight was also very challenging – I could barely climb stairs or run 50 metres without falling. It was always a bit scary because I would see a lot of people looking at me and judging me, even laughing at me. But with time, it got better. What used to be my workout in the beginning is now a part of my warm-up set,” she added.

“It was really hard to stay motivated throughout the whole journey. I had days when I literally wanted to tear my hair out and give up. But I kept reminding myself why I’m doing this – why I started it, and what my goal is,” she said.

Athira further explained how consistency is more than motivation. Being consistent will help you build habits – and eating right and exercising/being active became a part of her lifestyle.

“The result of being consistent is that eating right and exercising became an integral part of my life – if I get off track for a few days due to lack of motivation, I feel groggy and lethargic because I didn’t exercise properly and eat right – it gets into me. This is why consistency works when motivation doesn’t,” she further explained.

“I would work out 5-6 days a week, for 1-1.5 hours a day. It was a mix of strength training and heavy cardio, and I also made sure I walked at least 10,000 steps a day,” she explains.

She further added, “I followed a normal balanced diet and made sure it included everything I like to eat – the diet was high in protein and low in refined carbohydrates and saturated fats. I ate around 1500 kcal on most days – to maintain a calorie deficit as per my body’s needs. I also did intermittent fasting of 16:8 3-4 times a week.”

Aathira said, “I love eating out and walking a lot, so trying to find the right balance was difficult for me initially. Then I realised that the only way to stay on track is to portion control my food, be mindful of what I eat and also make sure I walk a lot, no matter where I am. Even if there is no gym where I am travelling, I still try to walk at least 10-15 thousand steps a day.”

Athira says the most important thing to know is that weight loss is 80 per cent dependent on your diet and 20 per cent on your activities. And this 80 per cent should be a sustainable, delicious diet that you can follow for a lifetime.

According to him, the most important thing to note is this:

1. To lose weight you need to be in a calorie deficit – this means you need to eat fewer calories than you burn in a day. You can track your calories online for a few weeks and then once you get used to it, stick to it with proper portion control.

2. If your uric acid levels are under control, try adding more protein to your diet. This is the best way to stay full throughout the day, prevent sudden hunger and loss of energy, and maintain muscle mass.

3. Reduce refined carbs and saturated fats to the extent you can. Fill your plate with more protein and fiber instead of refined carbs. Buy an air fryer to reduce the need for frying. And use natural sweeteners like dates, bananas and dark chocolate for desserts.

4. Walking is the most underrated exercise. Try to walk at least 10,000 steps a day – it really contributes a lot to increasing your metabolism and burning calories.

5. Do strength training 3-4 times a week. It has so many benefits – from burning more calories while resting to making you stronger and completely independent.

6. One bad day of eating doesn’t ruin progress, just like one good day of eating won’t help you lose weight. The trick is to maintain consistency, and this can be achieved by eating healthy yet delicious portion-controlled meals.

“It might seem hard at first, but trust me, it gets better with time – every time you feel like giving up, just remind yourself why you started in the first place. Also, make sure to set realistic goals for yourself – crash dieting isn’t worth it, and won’t be sustainable in the long run,” she said.

“I have become much healthier and happier. The fact that I no longer have to depend on medication is a huge plus point for me. I am also very happy that I am very energetic and strong and I don’t have to depend on anyone for anything. Also, what started as a personal health journey became my career. I became a certified nutritionist because I fell in love with the concept of healthy delicious food and more importantly, I wanted to help other people like me because I truly understood the struggle,” she said.

Athira now runs her own health and fitness company and has coached over 2000 clients worldwide in the past two years – through sustainable and custom-made diet plans. She cooks and posts recipes on Instagram almost every day – which is her favorite thing to do – creating healthier versions of all foods, especially the ones we all typically think of as “bad” or “unhealthy”.

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