by I was never into exercise growing up, which confuses people into assuming that a love of movement must come naturally to a personal trainer. In fact, I only did physical education at school and, as soon as I got my period, I would ask my mother to sign me out of most lessons.
I had no education about how important exercise was to a healthy life. Part of that is due to being in South Asia. No one who looked like me was promoting the benefits, despite our ethnicity being six times more likely to develop Type 2 diabetes and twice as likely to develop cardiovascular disease compared to the average white person in the SAY.
I was very unhealthy but I managed it because I was naturally thin. Then in my late 20s, after marriage, I gained a lot of weight. My waistline increased further after I gave birth, as I continued to eat for two and my metabolism slowed down. I don’t use scales so I don’t know how much I weigh but I was easily twice my current size, as was my husband.
As well as a poor diet, my sedentary lifestyle was also to blame. I had a very demanding job as a global project manager for BP, which I loved, but it involved being tied to my desk around the clock and international travel which made it difficult to eat healthy and push the exercises. In terms of exercise, I would add a few steps to my commute but that’s about it.
I quit my career in my early 30s, wanting to focus on raising my young family.
It was around then that I started to feel that I wasn’t very good at my post-pregnancy weight. Many of my clothes no longer fitted and it was affecting my self-esteem. I was wearing maternity clothes for quite some time after I gave birth and I opted for baggy, loose fitting clothes. I felt sluggish and had low energy. I also became more aware of my overall health, as I watched loved ones diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes and dementia. This set off alarm bells and was my breaking point.
At 34, when all three of my sons were in nursery or school, I started going to group exercise classes at my local gym to increase my activity levels and shed a few pounds. However, I found that I wasn’t really being consistent or making much progress.
So, I decided to get myself a personal trainer. They introduced me to strength training and I quickly saw a physical and mental transformation. There were times when I lacked motivation and it was hard to stick to my new diet but it helped me to allow myself to exercise away from home if I wasn’t in the mood for the gym and I ate plenty of protein to keep me fuller for longer.
I would love to see myself progress from carrying nothing my entire life (except bags and suits) to being able to do push-ups and barbell squats quite easily and, eventually, pull up and deadlift one and a half hours my body. weight. I have also become much stronger and more resilient in dealing with life’s challenges, dealing with home life, living as a joint family, aging parents and grieving the sudden death of my father-in-law
Meanwhile, my diet was also improving and managing my portions better, swapping my sugary breakfast of toast and jam, croissants or cereal for protein-rich eggs and vegetables or Greek yogurt and fruit. Protein keeps me fuller for much longer and ensures that my blood sugar levels are much more balanced, which is great for my mood, productivity and energy, while also reducing my risk of Type 2 diabetes .
A healthy diet is about balance and taking some inspiration from the Mediterranean diet, which is rich in olive oil, vegetables, lean protein and whole grains, compared to the typical modern South Asian diet, which is high in carbohydrates, sugar and deep. fried foods.
Food is such an important part of my culture and I still enjoy traditional Gujarati curries, which have spices like turmeric which are good for us, but I replace the white rice and Indian bread with complex carbohydrates like quinoa, sweet potatoes, vegetables, salad . beans and lentils. I make my plates as colorful and varied as possible (focusing on eating the rainbow) and choose home-cooked foods, rather than ultra-processed store-bought foods.
For snacks, I swapped Bombay mix (which is terrible for weight and cholesterol management) for homemade protein balls, nuts, seeds and edamame. I’ve also stopped my late night snacking habit of feasting on cheese and crackers before bed, which gives my tummy time to rest. I follow intermittent fasting, leaving a gap of 12 hours to sometimes 16 hours between my last meal of the day and my first meal the next day.
My approach to my diet has always been to nourish my body, rather than deprive myself of anything. I still enjoy pizza and pasta if I go out to a nice Italian restaurant but I do this less often than I used to. I love my food and I’m still a big foodie.
I’ve also pretty much avoided alcohol in the past seven years since the onset of perimenopause, instead drinking kombucha (a fermented tea drink) from a champagne flute, rather than having a glass of wine – although there will still be the odd one I have. a glass of fizz celebrating. Not drinking is better for my health but it also means I binge less, because I’m not eating food at 2:00 after a night out with friends, which helps my sleep a lot.
I have no idea how much weight I lost. I would guess it was about 10kg (22lbs), based on photos and my old clothes. I dropped three dress sizes from a 12 to 14 to my current six to eight. The most important thing is the change in my body composition. My body fat has decreased and my muscle mass has increased, giving me more muscular definition.
During the first few years of restoring my health, I was very interested in how the weight was coming off and all the benefits of building muscle. It has been helping with my weight loss as well as mental health and overall health.
At 40, I decided to take courses to qualify as a fitness instructor and then as a personal trainer. I only told my immediate family that I was studying and doing these exams, because I was really just doing it for my own knowledge and I didn’t intend it to be a career.
But I developed a passion to spread my knowledge and awareness to as many people as possible, so that they too could improve their health. I also realized the effectiveness of short bouts of exercise, even just a few minutes sprinkled regularly throughout the day, what I call exercise snacks.
I started training others and built a following on my Instagram page and YouTube channel @feelgoodwithlavina, where I offer free fitness classes. Earlier this year my first book, The Feel Good Fix: Increase Energy, Improve Sleep and Move More Through Menopause and Beyond, published by Penguin. It’s about lifestyle, mind and fitness snacks and has become a best seller.
I hope I’m breaking down the barriers to exercise – cost, time and motivation – and offering a flexible approach that can help people. It’s about feeling good physically and mentally and knowing that we can reduce so many risks of chronic illnesses.
When I move now, it’s not about how I look (sometimes I have a six-pack and other times I have a squidgy belly). I am thinking about my long-term health and my goal of staying as independent as possible.
Along with my fitness journey, my husband, Menal, 52, has transformed his body through diet and exercise. That camaraderie has been brilliant and means that my children see movement as a normal part of life, which I never did growing up.
Even my mother-in-law, Nisha, 76, participated. She is my fitness buddy in my online fitness classes. It is so important to keep moving as we age, because it increases muscle mass; protects against osteoporosis, osteoarthritis, high blood pressure, dementia and Type 2 diabetes; and benefits the brain, bones, heart and mental health. It’s amazing to see the ripple effect of the people around me benefiting from exercise.
I started exercising late in life and I’m proof that it’s never too late to start. Reframe the way you view exercise and your lifestyle to reflect how you feel, rather than what you look like. Focus on the weight you are lifting, rather than the number on the scales, and exercise for “sanity, not vanity”.
