Meet Khyati Rupani who is an accomplished dietitian, menu designer, blogger, recipe developer and founder of Balance Nutrition. She loves to experiment with food, and is helping people across the globe with their diet related issues using foods available there locally.
Tell us something about yourself?
I came from a very humble middle class gujju family. Most of my cousins were not academically inclined and joined the family business. I was in fact the 1st child to go to an English medium convent. So education was important… I always enjoyed languages and science. Mom played a major role in shaping my thoughts and character. She would read to me, to make sure that I take my studies seriously.
Why did you decide to pursue a career in nutrition and dietetics? Tell us when your interest in the field began and how your career unfolded both personally and professionally?
I was studying to pursue medicine and even appeared for the entrance. I did not succeed in securing admissions in Mumbai and therefore told myself let’s for now enroll in BSc Nutrition and will then re-appear. I loved the course and enjoyed it. Stayed on and went on to finish my PG in clinical nutrition.
I happened to meet Vishal at my graduation internship who is now my husband. He is an MBA and for a bit was the state head with Talwalkars. Being in similar fields helped me a lot as well.
How did you get started into creating your passion into a business?
I was the chief dietitian at Lilavati hospital when i started putting on a lot of weight and developed PCOS. It meant I was not going to have an easy conception and pregnancy. This made me practice nutrition on my own self. I lost weight and conceived naturally. But I did not want to go back to work full time. So, I started consulting corporates and that is where the idea of emailing diets emerged.
This soon gave way to email of assessment, trackers, weight check and replying to queries. Options for earing out gave way to our global restaurant guide, alcohol guide and all else … 1 day an Indian from Singapore asked me if I could help… Today balancenutrition.in is helping 7500 Indians all over the world 🙂
What’s your actual typical day look like? What do you do to stay fit?
My days I always wished were 28 hours! Work takes more than 9, Trissha my daughter.. mornings and evenings and that is something non-negotiable. Swimming and playing badminton with her twice a week is all the workout I do. But I am a very smart eater and ensure I don’t skip meals or over eat.
What makes balance nutrition stand out different from others that offer to help reduce weight?
We are the only ones in India with –
- Global Restaurant Guide
- Alcohol Guide
- Holiday, in flight, airport guides
- A website that tracks all parameters and also we have technology that allows us to reply to client queries online
- We were the 1st website India with online weight loss programs having a payment gateway option both Indian and international.
- Our plans are based on client lifestyle, climate at location & their comfort… So we have clients working in shifts, frequently travelling, not cooking at all and still…losing weight!!
What is your advice to mothers who are trying to lose weight post pregnancy?
Please do not let breast feeding come in the way of you getting back in shape. Start taking care of your diet as early as you can. A good diet plan will ensure it contains galactogogues (milk enhancers). It is not the time to eat tonnes of ghee, nuts, fried foods and junk!!