Celebrity nutritionist Nupuur Patil is dedicated to bridging the knowledge gap for people and changing the perception of the word diet. She is a believer in sustainable holistic nutrition which is a homemade balanced meal.
Being an athlete she herself lost 30kgs by following the diet plan she prescribes to her clients. She caters to homemakers, corporate professionals, senior citizens, and people from all walks of life. Her clientele includes politicians, Bollywood celebrities, cricketers, sportspersons, and kids.
Read on as the Nutritionist, Nupuur Patil walks us through her personal weight loss journey & tips to achieve optimum fitness.
Namita Nayyar:
You started off as a trained pilot but as of today, you are a renowned nutritionist. Share the series of events that lead to this major shift in career.
Nupuur Patil:
I started off as a commercial pilot I was flying as a co-pilot in the Philippines but because of the schedule my health had taken a toll I was unhealthy, I had gained weight, I had depression, and I had PCOS. For some personal reason I took a three-month sabbatical when I came back to India and just being at home and eating good and home-made food made me feel so much better in three months I was feeling so much better and I realized that I am doing something right and that’s when I developed an interest in the nutrition field. That’s when I started studying nutrition and then I got my degree and that’s how slowly and steadily I applied it to my family members, my self and then I had a few clients initially, and then when they also saw the changes that my diet brought about for them, the progress that they achieved, they started recommending me to their friends and family and that’s how my journey as a nutritionist began.
Namita Nayyar:
As shared by you “I used to be heavy or obese as an adult. Unfortunately, I added EVEN more weight about the time I became a co-pilot. The sedentary lifestyle of spending lengthy flying hours as a co-pilot and eating fat-laden junk foods all contributed to the weight I never wanted.” What motivated you to lose unwanted weight and that too 30 kg? Also, share the challenges you faced to achieve a desirable body & weight.
Nupuur Patil:
My motivation to lose the 30 kgs that I had gained, was very simple. I wanted to be fit. I wanted to feel good. I wanted to look good, but more than looks I wanted to feel good I wasn’t feeling good at all I was feeling lethargic I had so many health issues like I said earlier like PCOS and depression so I just wanted to get rid of what I was feeling.
My goal was never set out to lose 30 kgs initially, it just happened because of the diet that I made for myself, a sustainable diet that I made for myself. Yeah, of course, there were many challenges along my journey and some of them were yeah insulin resistance which I had used PCOS another challenge that I faced was sugar cravings because of the unhealthy lifestyle I was so addicted to sugar that I used to crave sugar a lot but these challenges are very easy to overcome once I started eating healthy started following the diet that I have now converted into a transformation program so that I can help more people like me I felt much better and the cravings reduced now they’ve completely gone and my insulin resistance has been completely been cured so these were some of the challenges but it was not very difficult to overcome them with lifestyle and diet changes.
Namita Nayyar:
Apart from being a nutritionist, you are also a runner, cyclist, and an open water swimmer. Being certified by the Olympics committee as a sports nutritionist, you are also involved in the training of participants for the world’s toughest competition – the Ironman. Share 5 tips that are a must when one is training for any competition.
Nupuur Patil:
Actually, most people think that because I train for A triathlon is the reason that I lost weight but that is not true I lost so much weight I feel so much energy that I started running I started cycling started open water swimming so it’s it all happened before after I lost weight not before.
5 tips for someone who is training for any competition
1.) focus on recovery that’s how you progress
2.) not every time you have to train hard, slow and aerobic training is more important if you want to keep playing the sport for a longer period of time or maybe for a few years and maybe for the rest of your life
3.) Do not undermine the importance of nutrition when it comes to sports, nutrition is everything. Focus on nutrition, protein intake, and micro and macronutrient intake.
4.) your sleep will decide how quickly you recover so sleep is also very very important when you’re training for competition audio playing any sport in general or even if you’re going to the gym sleep well decide how will you recover and how much of your training will benefit you yeah
5.) water intake if you’re an athlete or if you’re exercising more than an hour every day you should be drinking a lot of water if you do not drink water your gonna be dehydrated you’re gonna feel tired you will see that your body is not gonna respond very well to training.
If you follow the steps I think you will also benefit from the training that you’re doing for the competition.
Namita Nayyar:
How do you like to kick-start your day? What do you like to eat for breakfast?
Nupuur Patil:
I am a very early riser I wake up at 5 AM every day I like to kickstart my day with meditation and some quiet time, journalling or just meditation which gives me time to reflect and gives me the empowerment to go through my day.
I go for a workout it can be running cycling or a swim and then I come back and I’m so hungry I’m starving so I generally have a good huge breakfast so it’s either oats or poha, Dosa Idli, or sometimes 2 eggs with a toast. I like to eat a hot breakfast and it can be anything from Indian to Continental but it has carbs, proteins, and veggies so it’s a very balanced meal.
Namita Nayyar:
PCOD & PCOS are health issues that have become increasingly predominant in teenage girls & women. 5 lifestyle & diet modifications that need to be incorporated to manage hormones in the body?
Nupuur Patil:
It’s so true that PCOD is becoming more relevant and more prevalent in today’s lifestyle for girls /women of all ages I was also battling PCOS and I have completely recovered without medication just from dietary and lifestyle changes.
Five lifestyle and diet modifications that need to be incorporated to manage PCOS
- First would be eating a high-protein meal I’m when I say high Protein I just don’t mean that it just protein because the Indian diet is deficient in protein make sure you’re having protein in every meal.
- The second would be to make sure you do not have processed food because processed food is directly linked to insulin resistance which is a side-effect of PCOS so if you reduce your processed food consumption you will see improvements in your PCOS
- third is practicing yoga is a very good form of exercise for all PCOD patience and I highly recommend it because I practice yoga every day
- fourth is to eat healthy fats so include good fats in your diet reduce the consumption of trans fats include omega 3 fatty acids in your diet some examples can be like flaxseeds fatty fish like salmon mixed seeds nuts avocados and ghee.
- fifth is to move every day in the form of exercise or walking or just anything, 30 minutes of movement per day and maybe 5k to 8000 steps every day is very very important when you start this you will start seeing changes in your PCOD symptoms right away.
- sixth is managing stress. stress also affects how your body is managing your hormones so if you have a stressful life you need to find out ways to combat or reduce the stress I used meditation and yoga when I had PCOS which helped me tremendously and a lot of Pranayam which are breathing exercises.
Namita Nayyar:
There is a lot of media hype on a low-fat, low-carb, high-protein diet, intermittent fasting, etc. On the other hand, You put a lot of stress on home-cooked meals. Throw some light to break the myths due to a lack of knowledge.
Nupuur Patil:
There is definitely a lot of hype on low-fat low carb, high-protein, intermittent fasting all these fad diets. I have one question for people who go on a low-carb intermittent or keto diet can you follow this diet for the rest of your life? if the answer is no you shouldn’t be following such a diet because this will not be counted as a lifestyle change and in my experience of being a nutritionist and losing 30 KG, a lifestyle change is what Defines your progress. Only if you can follow something for the rest of your life only then it is beneficial for you and this is the basis of how I also lost 30 kgs.
Namita Nayyar:
Late-night food craving tips as shared by Nupuur Patil would be… Please share 5 tips.
Nupuur Patil:
Late-night cravings or a result of not eating enough throughout the day so instead of foods I will give you some tips to reduce late-night cravings which will definitely help you and you will start saying change right from the first week onwards first to sleep early if you have a long gap between dinner and sleeping time you are bound to get hungry and that’s when the cravings kick in.
- Eat enough during the day do not skip breakfast do not skip any meals. third is to reduce the consumption of processed food because the more processed food You eat the more you are going to crave it.
- Start your day with healthy fats for example nuts.
- Make sure you drink 2 to 3 L water per day if you follow the steps you will notice that you don’t have midnight cravings.
Namita Nayyar:
How can one achieve optimum mental health with diet? throw some light
Nupuur Patil:
Mental health is a very important part of any healthy body because if you are healthy you should be healthy mentally and physically and food helps a lot because you Are What You Eat. You think good when you eat well. you feel good when you eat well. when I had depression I noticed how my mind and how mentality changed when I started eating healthy, homemade food. being healthy does not mean you have to chomp on salads. By healthy I mean home-cooked balanced meals that you have been eating right since childhood, food that your parents and grandparents have been eating.
This has a huge impact on mental health there is a ton of research to prove that the food you eat decides how you feel mentally physically emotionally.
Namita Nayyar:
What motivational quote do you live by?
Nupuur Patil:
My favorite motivational quote is “one day or day one? you decide” which means there is no right time to start.
This doesn’t just apply to fitness or exercise a diet you can apply this quote to any situation in your life the important thing is to start if you start taking the first step you will automatically know how to take the second step on how to go ahead.
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