Since the early 2020, as the pandemic progressed and the extra susceptibility of pot bellied men and women to covid19 started to emerge, demand for genuine weight loss experts has sky rocketed. Quest for both online weight loss as well as off-line weight loss has been phenomenal.
Most Indians are used to lavishly employ maids and caretakers in their houses. Some more affluent ones have gardeners, drivers and errand boys helping them in their day to day rigmaroles at their posh bungalows.
Maybe, the sudden lockdowns, departure of migrants workers to their native towns or the simple fear of getting exposed to the paraphernelia of servants trotting around the house, many households temporarily did away with their troupe of servants. While promising full salaries for the periods of forced absentia, the families literally isolated themselves in their houses. Those in apartments governed by societies, had to bow to the wills of the RWA’s who regulated entry and exits of their societies under the watchful eyes of the elderly uncles.
Whatsoever be the reason, these families started taking short-cuts when it came to eating. With barely any work, and timely meals getting merged, it was party time all through the day and for some, even the night. Mom will volunteer to make Pakodas in the house, while Grandma will try teaching making some exotic sweet dishes. Then how could Dad be left behind. He would take the advantage of online ordering, thanks to the govt for keeping it open, and order pizzas and fast food for everyone in the family.
The restrictions on long walks and limited body movements and exercises, acted as the much needed ‘Icing on the Cake’.
So as the munching and nibbling increased in both frequency and duration, so did the waist circumferences explode exponentially.
Below is a verbatim extract from the Review of Mr Rajesh who after the first wave of Covid-19 decided to go in for weight loss, full throttle. It was this decision that he says, enabled him to cope up with the second wave without much worries. Post his weight loss after first wave of pandemic, he had this to say:
I am Rajesh Aditya aged 52 years. In 2011 I met with an accident and bed ridden for 9 months. During this period I started putting up weight which never come down and keep on increasing. I was 100 at the time of accident and went upto 145 kgs till 2020. I tried many ways to shred my weight like slimming centre's, ayurveda, even food supplements of so called international Companies. Every body started laughing behind and some people openly passed comments on me. I had lost my ray of hope and much worried that I can't loose my weight under any circumstances....
At first instance as a fooddy I was scared by the diet but after one month I was wondered by seeing the result that I lost 8 kgs in a single month which never happened in my life and even never heard of such wonderful results.
After that I regularly started loosing my weight and I could not believe my results that I had lost almost 50 kgs of my weight within 6 months.The above review can be read on google via link https://goo.gl/maps/MbRou5G7zofMgmif6
Similarly when Anjali stepped onto the scale, She found herself to be crossing the 90 kg mark, all of 30 Kgs gained in a matter of few months since she weighed last before the lockdown and was happy to be in the sixtees (kg) then.
“Was embarassed to step out into the colony, leave alone going to office and work,” recalls Ms Anjali Garg, a 38 years old mother of two, working with Ennova International, New Delhi. “My first and foremost priority was thus to get in shape,” she had said.
Determined to lose, Anjali logged on to the net. Searched for the most effective and efficient online weight loss provider that offered Indian Diet Plan and Menus. Thanks to google, the search brought Indianutrition.com to the top. Clicking on the automated “Am I Overweight?” link she was reminded that she was in the “Overweight Category” and was recommended the Gold Program. Without giving a second thought, Anjali made the online payment and proceeded with her program that comprised of customized weight loss diet plan based on a thorough Health Analysis of the inputs / data provided by her. Diet counselling sessions, WA chats, (almost 24×7) and motivational youtube videos followed. The program was monitored and executed under the strict supervision of nutritionists and lifestyle experts.
Now, as the restrictions slowly ease after the second wave in India, people venture out of their homes and back into public life, many are looking forward to lose their, commonly called, pandemic kilos or pandemic pounds.
This desire to lose this weight is infact the weight loss industry’s gain. In recent weeks and months, the online chatter for weight loss programs has increased manifold.
The privately held Noom, that is into health plans offerings via its app, has seen their app downloads nearly 4 million times in the United States in the past year, making it the most downloaded fitness app online. Similarly, WW International, formerly known as Weight Watchers, reported last week that it had 4.2 million digital subscribers, a whopping 16% jump from a year earlier.
Well known weight loss brand Health Sanctuary has seen a surge in demand in Delhi and NCR.
And many companies across the world, dealing in weight loss products and services, have particularly reported a doubling of their revenues and profits from the previous year 2019, ending March 2020. Demand is so high that many customers are reporting delays to their subscribed online programs and orders. Many have mentioned about shortages of popular diets and foods. Also seen that bidding wars have popped up across eBay and amazon for out-of-stock foods and snacks.
Added to this the pandemic hitting every industry including the diet industry last year, could barely make a dent in the $61 billion machine that attracts millions of citizens each year, according to the report from Research and Markets.
“With studies associating Overweights to be more prone to infections, there is a huge rush amongst Indians to ‘Shape Up’ and live a healthier lifestyle, thus enhancing their longevity and life spans,” say many weight loss experts from the wellness industry.
It is a known fact that people put on excess weight during a pandemic. A study of individuals found that they gained on an average, 750 gms to a Kg per month. If they continued to live as though they were under a lockdown, then simple mathematics shows that they would put on 9 to 12 kilograms in a year, as per the study.
Still, critics of weight-loss programs say that even if they lose weight, it’s going to eventually come back. But then there is no plausable remedy to such type of prophecied negative sentiments.
“Many of my clients come to me with targeted weight loss requirements. Some say they have a medical board to face. Some say they have been give a deadline to reduce or face the music. Some even have to go in for weight loss for their marriage sake as the boy’s or girl’s family are coming to see and finalize and so on. In most such cases quick weight loss becomes essential and we have to provide it through a combination of meal replacement programs and even machines, if the location is within pliable distance,” said Shubi Husain, a renowned nutritionist and lifestyle celebrity from Delhi, India. Her advices via her youtube channel have been particularly a hit ever since the cycle of lockdowns started. “People have become extremely conscious about their health and are going crazy to boost their immunity levels. Since the only safe route to enhance one’s immunity levels is through the diet regimen, so, yes, i am seeing a huge rush of clients, seeking appointments with me,” says Shubi.
Despite the criticism, many people after the lockdown are preparing to re-enter the world and are turning to the weight loss industry for shaping up and boosting immunity.
After having spent most of the past year holed up in her apartment in Greater Kailash, Delhi, preparing for her Indian Civil Services Exam, Shefali Taneja, 26, realized that the fast food and snacks that she had been eating all this while had taken a toll and she had gained an additional 10 kgs without her realizing it much. In mid March, she signed up at the Health Sanctuary Weight Loss Clinic and lost about 8 kgs within few weeks.
“I had heard a lot about intermittent fasting, but it seems that isn’t my forte. Infact i ended up eating more to compensate for the time i remained hungry and dreaming about food.” Ms. Elizabeth said. “I even tried the keto, but to no avail. Now I am keeping a target of 2 months to shed 12 kgs by any means, even if i have to shift to a Nutritionist’s house 🙂 ”
Likewise, Mrs Tandon, a 43 year old bureaucrat from Lucknow, UP, said she tried to lose on her own several times but failed.
“I am going to join a weight loss program on a serious note, and this time I am gonna see to it that i lose weight,” she said. “I have started brisk walks and have stared losing some weight, but way to go.”
Ms Tandon became concerned about her own health after she and her husband of 60 yrs were down with Covid-19 in Mar 2021. As she came out of the mandatory 14 days isolation, she was surprised to see her weight climb steeply. Ms. Tandon decided to try and joined a weight loss clinic in her vicinity. She has since lost 20 kilos and is quite positive and hopes to lose another 18 kilos in the next couple of months.
“It’s not that i am going to slip into a bikini or some ramp walking outfit” she said. “I’m more worried about contracting some disease and this is a preventive measure that i am taking”.
“Many of the health foods that we used to order every month, it’s taking them several weeks to deliver your order. The problem is that some people are anticipating a delay and thus are ordering extra food that they don’t even require and are hoarding it.”
So as the struggle of the bulge goes on, the pandemic has accelerated the urge in many to stop delaying and go for the ever awaited weight loss. No wonder a slim and trim person automatically gains on immunity levels and thus can fight and cope comparatively well against the onslaught of any disease that affects humans.
Also Read:
I am desperate to lose approximately 30 kilos. Have crossed 100 in the last 4 months. Plsss help. Where exactly is Shubi Husain’s Clinic located in New Delhi.