Fast forward to my move to Japan in 1998. We had to walk everywhere. Our house was 20 minutes from the nearest station, so once we settled in, we bought a second-hand bicycle. I found a community gym in the middle of nowhere and got myself there on that bicycle, 30 minutes each way, 300 yen a session, back when that felt like a lot.
Maybe a year later we came back to India to visit our parents and siblings, and lo and behold, I had lost 10 kilos. Without knowing the science or nutrition. I'd like to point to what actually helped me lose that much weight in one year — I was eating way fewer carbs, simply because dinner was the only meal I was cooking at home and we ate quite late, 11pm or midnight, whenever my husband got back from work. Eating after sunset doesn't cause weight gain by itself if the total calories you're eating are much less. I was also eating high fibre — a lot of fruit and salads through the day. It was the era of Walkmans, so I was moving a lot, intentionally and unintentionally — we used trains to commute and only owned bicycles. Everyone was walking, it was very safe to walk at any time of day. Strength training three days a week too. And I was young enough that sleeping late and waking at 7am didn't affect me the way it would now.
Nobody told me rice was the problem. It never was.
Many women I've spoken with chose not to enrol with me at all, once we got past the first conversation. Because that conversation was never about a quick fix — it was about getting comfortable with being uncomfortable, learning the new skills that actually build lasting behaviour change. Many of them 50-plus, coming from the era of diet culture, wanting to cut out sweets and rice and all their cultural foods overnight instead. Hearing that real change is slower and less dramatic than that was enough to make them walk away, telling themselves they'd come back to me once they had more time to do this properly.
I still don't believe in the fast version, even when it costs me a client. You cannot cook a separate meal for yourself while your husband, your kids, and your in-laws eat rice, dosa, and biryani at the same table, every single day, for months on end. Something has to give, and it's usually the diet, not the family — and definitely not overnight.
I'm a health and fitness coach specialising in behaviour change, helping women build the skills to make a sustainable lifestyle change so they're leaner, fitter, sassier, and independent as they age. Does that mean you have to give up your favourite foods, stay hungry all day, and call it a cheat day when you finally decide to indulge yourself ?? Cheat day is a word that does not exist in my vocabulary. I believe in living my life on my own terms.
Progress is not made or broken in one day. It's what you do most days consistently that helps you stay strong and steady as you age. One biryani at a wedding doesn't undo a month of steady habits — what undoes it is deciding that one biryani means you've failed, and giving up on the rest of the week too.
None of this means the plate needs no thought at all. What I work on with clients is what surrounds the rice — protein first, vegetables filling half the plate, a portion that fits your hand rather than your mood, and not eating your biggest meal right before bed.
One of my clients was planning her meals, hired a helper to get her mornings organised, added a quick 20-minute walk, and was still able to cook for her family and herself and pack everything, all before stepping out the door. Nothing fancy — starting the day with a nutritious two-egg omelette and Greek yogurt with pomegranate. This was a woman who used to be grazing her whole morning a year ago. She'd planned her dinner, and her family's, the same way — dosa, curd, veggies, most days. When you want energy and good nutrition to handle your whole day, the best thing to do is have similar meals for the busiest days and the most exhausted days, so you don't have decision fatigue and don't end up ordering on Swiggy every single day. When life gets busier, you don't need more willpower. You need fewer decisions.
As we age, especially through perimenopause, our bodies respond differently to the same plate we ate at 25. Muscle mass declines unless we actively train to keep it, and that muscle is what protects our metabolic rate. Insulin sensitivity shifts too. That's not a reason to fear rice — it's a reason to be more intentional about protein, portion, movement, and sleep, which matter far more than which grain sits on your plate.
I lost 6-7 kilos as an adult eating dosa, payasam, and rajma rice — not by avoiding them, but by rebuilding the habits around them. Rice was never the villain in my story, and I don't believe it has to be the villain in yours.
Over 100 women across 7 countries have gone through this exact shift in the Transform Tribe program — no banned foods, no separate meals, no giving up the dishes tied to their families and festivals.
If you've spent years being told the only way forward is to give up the food you love, let's have a real conversation about the other way.
A real conversation, not a sales pitch — let's see if Transform Tribe is the right fit for you.
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