Rising From The Ashes – The Story Of Brinda Will Motivate You To Find Your Pace In Life!

From being 110 to 68 kgs, losing a whooping 42 kgs in just 2 years was not a cakewalk, but this lady has won over battles beyond weight loss. Emerging victorious from her mental battles, she is proving that weight loss and winning over mental issues is absolutely possible. This woman who works constantly on maintaining a healthy lifestyle and inspires thousands of people towards adopting clean eating and a regular fitness regime, is someone who has trodden the path of incertitude and bounced back to life like a fighter. Yes, we are talking about Brinda, a diet consultant who has pursued and worshipped healthy lifestyle since the time she started her own journey towards a better health. According to her, nutrition is far more technical and in-depth study than most of us know, and we wanted to understand all about it. So, here’s our exclusive one on one with the barbarous lady who’s slayed all her problems and emerged as a true champion.

Gympik: What’s your mantra to stay fit?

Brinda: The massive way in which my life has changed since my weightloss, motivates me to stay fit. I went from being the ‘biggest’ girl at the gym to the fittest one. I feel like I’m finally living my best life. I have learnt to prioritize myself over everything and everyone else, and over time, that has actually changed me as a person. I finally feel like I am doing some justice to the life that I’ve so generously been endued with, and I am in total control. There is no helplessness and self pity – These are my motivations.

Gympik: What diet did you follow for this amazing transformation?

Brinda: Alongside battling anxiety, I put myself on a strict and rigorous diet regime and stuck to it. It is true that a poor diet can impact you physically and mentally. So I bid adieu to sugar, dairy items, processed foods, eating out, and store-bought foods and incorporated more green veggies, fruits, lean meats, and complex carbs in my diet.

I cannot imagine going back to my old ways. I know just how instrumental my clean diet is to my mental and physical strength. Now I exercise control with alcohol as well. I stick to a glass or two of red wine, and save being indulgent for special occasions.

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Gympik: What diet plan and workout regimen do you follow now?

Brinda: After getting trained by an ACE certified trainer who also competes in bodybuilding competitions, I gained lot of knowledge about diet and workout dynamics. All this, coupled with great deal of research and self experimenting have given me lot of insights on how to design diet plans and make any workout suit for me as well as people who consult me. I change my diet plan and workout often because I don’t want my body to get used to any one specific routine and as a result not respond to my efforts.

When it comes to diet, I start my day with drinking a litre of water. Then I eat a good breakfast – typically eggs, oats, nuts, and fruits. Then every 2.5 hours I eat a meal which consists of grilled lean meat, veggies, and quinoa or millets. I do not consume dairy and sugar on principle. I workout minimum 4 times a week that goes up to 6 times. I do cardio and weight training, and try to hit every muscle group at least twice a week.

Bros if I could write poetry, this would be my muse. My epic low carb dinner – save this shit and eat it daily. Grilled chicken and veggies ftw ????? #diet #dietfood #dietplan #healthyfood #healthyeating #cleaneating #eatclean #fitfood #fitnessfood #fitnessfoodporn #fitfoodporn #dinnerideas #healthydinner #dinnertime

A post shared by Bri (@dailybri) on Oct 7, 2017 at 11:13am PDT

Gympik: What is your favourite form of workout?

Brinda: Weight training (strength training) is my favorite form of workout. It’s the best way to burn fat, drop weight, tone up and improve your metabolism all in one. There’s nothing like breaking a sweat and a healthy rush of endorphins everyday to sort you out.

I started going to the gym quite early on in my journey, and what was once a nightmare-ish experience is now my addiction! With my intense cardio and weight training routines, I leave the gym everyday feeling so empowered. Over time, I’ve learnt the importance of cardiovascular exercise and weight lifting and I recommend it to everyone.

Making it count. You don’t even understand the euphoria I feel living with asthma but being able to HIIT a 4K and finish off with a strength session at the gym. Training my fragile lungs has been the biggest physical challenge. . . . I realise I’m probably breathing down ppl’s necks with my #finish2017strong business but it’s actually really an accountability thing for ME more than anything else… but if you do decide to join me, you can thank me later for Mom’ing ya ?

A post shared by Bri (@dailybri) on Dec 20, 2017 at 3:20am PST

Gympik: What other benefits did workout have on you; apart from physical fitness?

Brinda: Mental peace and optimism. Structure and routine. Pure energy, focus and drive in all other aspects of life.

Gympik: How has fitness benefitted your mental wellbeing?

Brinda: Bettering my mind was the first thing I wanted to work on. Living with clinical anxiety and panic attacks made me a wreck. I put up a fierce fight to stem my anxious thoughts and manage my panic attacks. Now, by giving my life a stability, having a healthy routine, learning more about fitness, nutrition and lifestyle every day, and channelizing my spirituality, I believe I am on the right path.

Gympik: What are the biggest roadblocks for people to take up fitness?

Brinda: I can think of two things.

False sense of health – People are roped into a false sense of health and a general assumption that thin = healthy. While “weight” is a general guideline for where you stand physically, it is NOT the representative of health. You can exist in a perfectly “normal” size and have high cholesterol and body fat percentage. Everyone, all ages and sizes can benefit from diet and exercise, and should do it.

Motivation – There are those who want to get fit but can’t find the motivation. I always say that to start anything in fitness, one needs discipline more than anything else. If you’re going to wait around for motivation – you’ll never start. Motivation comes and goes and cannot be trusted. Which normal person is going to feel “motivated” to say no to a movie plan or a night out or night in and put on their fitness gear and go to the gym? But you discipline yourself to do it because the rewards are far more lasting and enriching to your life than a movie or party. All the cheesy bumper stickers have it right – everything worth having doesn’t come easy. Hard-work and consistency are the key to success.

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Gympik: While making Fitness a lifestyle choice what challenges did you face and how did you overcome them?

Brinda: As of now what comes to my mind are these two most important things:

1. Motivation & consistency: I often experienced dips in motivation, so being consistent in my diet and workout everyday over this 2 year period was the biggest challenge. It was, and sometimes still is, hard to enjoy the process. But I overcame that by holding on to my reasons for doing it even in the hardest of times. Consistency is the easiest thing said and hardest thing done. But it is the ultimate secret! Follow your diet and workout every damn day; no excuses. And consistency happens with discipline. Sheer pushing yourself to stick to a routine, that’s really it.
2. Plateaus: Hitting weight plateaus are a challenge but expected in a weightloss journey. I have lost, gained and stagnated more times than I can count. But I overcame that by trying something different. I switched to different kinds of HIIT, weight training, functional training, and cardio workouts to keep monotony at bay.

Gympik: Who’re your fitness idols? And why?

Brinda: @Sweatyswetha on Instagram is my idol and you won’t be surprised if you follow her. She’s a doctor by profession and a nutrition/fitness beast by lifestyle. Apart from sharing her diet and fitness pursuits, she sometimes drops pearls of philosophy and wisdom that I tend to abide by. I like to aspire to a face-off with her at a Devil’s Circuit at some point in the future. *Brinda grins widely!*

Gympik: What does fitness mean for you?

Brinda: Fitness is a commitment to giving yourself the best chance at a great life. If you have your health, if you truly love yourself, respect your body, and treat it right, everything else will follow.

Gympik: What are your future plans?

Brinda: I aspire to run a half-marathon someday because running is one thing I can’t do well at all right now. And maybe something cool like MMA (Mixed Martial Arts)? *she giggles!*

Gympik: What advice would you give our readers to keep themselves fitness motivated?

Brinda: The best way for people to stay motivated towards fitness is to have a solid answer to the question – why you’re doing so in the first place. Opting for a crash diet to fit into an outfit doesn’t make any sense as an approach. Know why you want to get fit and how being fit will add value to your life. Truly believe in it and work hard till you make fitness a lifestyle. For me, I knew that I wanted to overcome my anxiety, put a distance between me and potential health problems, and set a good example for my family. Learn to enjoy the process of having structure in your life, saying no to bad food and breaking a sweat at the gym. Derive your motivations from very real reasons, not just the ones driven by vanity. And then, go all in.

A quote from Brinda:

“Self-love is incredible. Self-love is ACTION. Accepting yourself and your body IS POSSIBLE without resigning yourself to staying the same. Before embarking on a new lifestyle, realise that you are worthy enough AND self-love will help you make the best choices for yourself.”

Brinda consults for nutrition and exercise and is reachable on Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn. Do connect with her if you’d be interested to make better lifestyle and fitness choices.

Brinda is now working on perfecting her fitness, nutrition and lifestyle, and documenting her journey on Instagram. We hope you gain inspiration from this warrior and kick start your fitness journey too! Don’t just wait for it – go do it.