Over The Block
I started this blog in 2010, when I had
reached a dead end in my career as a journalist. I had seriously lost interest
in writing. Ideas just stopped flowing. Hence, the name of my blog. It
reflected my state of mind, professionally.
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| Pic: Shilpa Shivalkar |
Where Am I Going?
On the personal front too, I didn’t know
where I was going. Soon, I went on a weeklong holiday to Goa. So my personal
life was sorted, at least for the time being.
Then, I decided to venture into more
serious writing. I took over as Mumbai Editor of an advertising and marketing
portal. The money was good, so was the exposure. But somehow, the content
didn’t appeal to me. There was no creativity involved. I knew I was doing it
only to make a living, and more important, to keep myself occupied.
But somewhere I knew I wouldn’t last too
long here. I wanted to get out of that meaningful existence and follow my
heart. So, what next? And soon, the opportunity presented itself to me. I upped
and out. No more of this nonsensical, bullshitting, I told myself.
Fitness Freak
Being a fitness freak, I had always
enjoyed writing articles on fitness. I had started the Fitness Page in HT Café
in 2006. But soon I had realized that writing fitness articles as a journalist
wasn’t satisfying. Reason – the article used to be at the mercy of the
illiterate editor (illiterate in terms of fitness). The article was expected to
have more visual appeal than hardcore information.
So, more often than not, my articles
were chopped and pruned with most of the technical stuff getting edited out. I stopped
writing on fitness. I decided that I would write fitness articles only as a ‘fitness
professional’. No one would mess around with my articles. I would write on my
terms.
My First Step
My first step in that direction was to
quit journalism and enroll myself in a good fitness training institute. The
first few months were a little scary. I wasn’t sure if I would be able to make
a career out of this. I also didn’t know if I was prepared for the struggle.
After all, I was starting out in a completely new industry. The only thing I
had to my credit was the fact that I looked fit, thanks to my regular workouts
and careful eating. Even when I was a journalist, people used to ask me if I
were a fitness trainer.
But I was enjoying myself a lot. I was
learning new things about workouts and diet. It was like a whole new world
opening up in front of me. I had always thought that I knew it all. Besides,
I was also enjoying being a student all over again. That kept me going.
Exams..Exams
There were some tough exams that I would
have to clear before being certified as a fitness trainer and nutritionist. But
I accepted the challenge. It was a small price to pay for all the fun that I
was having. I studied really hard for my theory and practical exams. By the
grace of God, I topped almost all the exams. That felt good.
Soon, I started training a couple of
people. It gave me the confidence that I could be a good trainer. The best part
was, training people with specific problems and ailments like bad posture, knee
pain and back pain.
Starting Out
Next, I took up a job as a nutritionist.
I was happy that my clients responded well to my diet and I could give them the
desired results. Then there was no looking back for me. I read up a lot of
books on food and diets. I learnt a lot from my clients' experiences. I
had developed the habit of talking to them. I still do. That's a great learning
experience. I also read a lot and keep upgrading my knowledge.
I have also developed another area of my
interest - cooking. I surf the net for healthy recipes and try them out. I
enjoy these amazingly new dishes and even pass on these recipes to my clients
and patients.
My Achievements
Touchwood! Four and a half years almost,
and I feel I am only growing as a fitness professional.
Links to my talks on You Tube:
And yes, I would like to proudly share
the links to my fitness related articles on thehealthsite.com:
Then
there are some articles where I have given inputs as a nutritionist:
My Secret
And a secret which I would like to share
with my readers is – I have just edited a book for someone. But more on that
later, when the book gets published. All I will reveal now is that it’s fiction
against a political backdrop. Don’t be surprised! Even I was surprised while I
was editing it. But I had taken it up as a challenge and there was no backing
out now.
But had I had not taken up that offer, I
would have regretted it all my life. So here’s hoping to write more and more
articles. Writing feels like a homecoming of sorts. After all, once a
journalist, always a journalist! But this blog will have nothing on health or
fitness. For that you have to go to my other blog: TGIF Thank-God-I'm-Fit
http://thank-god-im-fit.blogspot.in
Let's Have Fun
I want to have fun with this blog. As much
a fitness person that I am, I am also a foodie. But I maintain a balance
between indulging in my favourite food and being obsessed about my body. And
yes, I’ve also loved writing about food and doing food reviews. So this blog
will be devoted to everything about food, cheap and interesting eating places and
maybe a lot more. So I had named by first post ‘Food Fantasy’ but had never
gotten around to doing anything about it.
To begin with, I will start with regular
updates over the nine-day Navratri period on some interesting dishes that I have
tried out. I’m sure more ideas will flow by then. So have fun and experiment with
food. See you tomorrow.
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