Manasa Rajan

Wellness Coach at Food Design, EatFit

“As a young mother, my entire focus had changed to be able to get my health back in order. I started reading up on nutritional choices for a healthier lifestyle and so we shifted our entire focus to more whole foods a more plant-based diet. This impacted our lives within a week!

Family and friends who followed my advice as a holistic health coach had experienced a positive impact in their lives by merely choosing a more plant-based option to food, I believe that once something works well for us and brings about a positive change, we try to incorporate more aspects of our lives to make an even bigger impact. I am now a Health and Wellness Coach at Food Design, EatFit (a vertical of CureFit) as my goal resonated with theirs.

The problem with food choices arises when we step outside the comforts of our home - where generally the food is healthier, instead, we choose to evade starvation and consume food which can satisfy all our senses. This is not always healthier or the right choice even. To be able to have a choice is an elephantine task as we are consumers who are influenced by decades of marketing which we have submitted to, blindly. As consumers, we are at a disadvantage to not recognise the difference between scientific knowledge as opposed to a marketing message. We believe the authenticity of a digestive biscuit or a packet of instant noodles when in reality, it is a product that we are trained to believe has any nutritional value because of the 1% natural ingredient in addition to chemicals in such processed foods.

The reason plant-based movement in larger countries was conceivable due to more people questioning the credibility of consumerism and this needs to be recognised on a much larger scale for the governments of countries like ours, to reinforce the switch to make available healthier, cost-effective alternatives to unhealthy foods. Chemicals, preservatives, emulsifiers are commonly used because they are cheap and easily available. Another notion we are constantly fighting against is that healthy food isn’t tasty. Companies like EatFit have the ability to change this narrative. With multiple kitchens, ingredients and adjoining services, the availability of healthy alternatives doesn’t seem like an unachievable dream.

Working against the tide can always be challenging but working with EatFit has given me the ability to focus on the daily changes people are making to bring in a little discipline into their lives. It’s a small but a positive change toward a future wherein an individual does not need to compromise on their food choices to live a healthier life.”

Interviewed and transcribed by Maryam Syed