From Being A Sulky Kid To Positive And Fit: Raashi's Fitness Journey

For most of us, we keep putting off the gym to tomorrow, and that tomorrow never comes. It is hard to find motivation sometimes, but in this day and age, there are so many motivational stories out there. One of the stories that caught our eye is the story of Raashi Malhotra. Based in Mumbai, Raashi started her fitness journey more than a decade ago.

I can't remember the exact moment that triggered it, but I remember looking in the mirror at 16 and thinking 'From tomorrow, no cakes, no sodas, no fried food. 5km walks everyday.'

Weighing 90 kilograms at the age of 16, she decided to take matters into her own hands. She tells us, “I was fed up of being bullied, not finding clothes that fit me in even the adult section (let alone the kids) and mostly fed up of my attitude. I can't remember the exact moment that triggered it, but I remember looking in the mirror at 16 and thinking 'From tomorrow, no cakes, no sodas, no fried food. 5km walks everyday.'"

"For 3 years I trained by myself, either by studying online and crafting my own workouts, I knew I needed to shake things up to see better progress" // Pic credits: Ihsaar Instagram

“From overweight and overeating, I went on to overtraining and being undernourished. There was a point where I trained for 3 hrs a day and didn't give my body the required nutrition."

Her determination was like none other. Raashi says that she has been blessed with strong will power and people found that commendable about her. However, for her, sometimes she would get too strict with herself which would cause harm to her body. She would train too hard and not eat enough. “From overweight and overeating, I went on to overtraining and being undernourished. There was a point where I trained for 3 hrs a day and didn't give my body the required nutrition. I then found yoga and I started eating a bit more but maintained a mental block against carbs and fat.”

It took Raashi some time to reach a stage where she was eating a proper diet, “After a lot of self-education and by opening up to taking right advise from qualified people, I reached a stage where I started reintroducing beans, cereal and some good fat in my diet.”

"I train hard, love exploring new forms of training and eat well now. I still don't touch fried food, dessert or refined sugar; but I eat real food. Most importantly, I am the happiest I have ever been."

Raashi's version of lazing on a sunny day // Pic credits: Ihsaar Instagram

When we asked Raashi what she is most proud of in her fitness journey, she said, “What I am most proud of is that I want to keep learning. That I am a completely changed person from that sulky child i used to be." She added, "I train hard, love exploring new forms of training and eat well now. I still don't touch fried food, dessert or refined sugar; but I eat real food. Most importantly, I am the happiest I have ever been."

Raashi logs her fitness journey as well as her healthy eating on Instagram. She now works with an established fitness brand, something she says just happened to her. She is grateful for her journey, “Fitness has given me so much - it has made me so positive in ways unimaginable"

Raashi's own breakfast recipe for clean eating - Chocolate- banana chia oats, with a dash of cinnamon and vanilla, topped with seeds, ragi flakes, shredded coconut, popped amaranth and natural peanut butter. // Pic credits: Ihsaar Instagram

Her advice to people who are starting their fitness journey? “Being fit has a lot to do with how you "feel" rather than how you "look". The latter is just a bonus. You have to learn to love yourself; its a journey and doesn't happen overnight, but when it does, its beautiful.”

Also read: At 48 Degrees, Here Are 10 Foods To Keep You Cool
Read more stories by Nikhita Sanotra