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Testimonial Series: The Power of a Professional

Our Dietitians at Nutritional Solutions find great joy in changing the lives of others, for the better. Clients have often shown a keen interest in sharing their  journey in health so as to encourage and support those who may feel alone in their personal journey. We will be publishing a series of testimonials in the hopes of inspiring our readers. Enjoy!

My health in general has been okay at best. I have been on chronic blood pressure medication for over 20 years, and my body weight has been on the high side, peaking at 102 kg in April 2014. In 2015, I had not been feeling too well, and after visiting a General Practitioner. I was told that I was Pre-diabetic, and had high cholesterol levels. I was advised by the doctor to visit a dietitian with the aim of reducing my weight and bringing my glucose and cholesterol levels back to normal.

In my short-sightedness, I decided not to visit a dietician, but to try and address my health issues by myself. I cut down on some of my regular junk food and managed to lose around 4 kg over a 6 month period. However, I was not always disciplined and regained my weight quickly.

At the beginning of 2016, I went to see the doctor again. This time my blood results revealed that I was still pre-diabetic and that m now my glucose level were worse than before. My cholesterol level also had not improved. I realised at this point that I cannot do this by myself, and that I need professional help from a dietitian

 

The need of a professional teacher

When it comes to learning about a particular science, we can learn from textbooks, courses and from our fellow colleagues, but this is not sufficient if we want to excel at the science. We also require a teacher who has vast experience in that science, and one who is able to impart that knowledge to its “pupils”.

This philosophy is especially true in the field of dietetics, and I learnt from my shortcomings and failures the essential need for such a professional.

My sister had learnt of a dietician at Nutritional Solutions who she felt I should go visit to help me address my health issues. 

The journey begins

My journey began on 4 April 2016 when I plucked up enough courage to visit the Dietician. I was a bit nervous at first as I had never been to a Dietician in my life, probably more nervous than visiting my dentist. Meeting my dietician, Mayuri for the first time was a pleasure and she immediately put me at ease. That day I weighed in at 98.7 kg and realised then and there that I have quite a way to go to address my issues. A week later, I received a scientific food plan individually tailored to me.

A certain mind-set needed

After receiving my food plan, I started asking myself many questions on what I had to do in order to succeed. After narrowing and eliminating all the questions in my mind, I formulated 3 main cardinal points that I felt were essential for me to be able to succeed, and these were

  • Buy-in to my Dietitian (Mayuri)
  • The need for a structured plan that can be followed
  • No major expectancy whilst walking this journey
  1. Buy-in to Dietitian

One has to be “comfortable” with the health professional, and have the belief that what you being told will work for you. I was fortunate in that from the offset I felt at ease with Mayuri, and after a few sessions was completely convinced that I was in “good hands”.

  1. The need for a structured plan that can be followed

I am a very structure person by nature, so if one gives me a structured plan to follow, it is like a duck gliding on water. Mayuri fulfilled that need by providing me with a detailed structured plan that I could follow religiously.

  1. No major expectancy whilst walking this journey

I realised very early on that I have a major challenge on my hands, but that it is important that I do not go into this unchartered journey with any major expectancy. I felt that with expectancy one can get disappointments. From the offset I said to myself to be patient, not to get disappointed, and that favourable results will follow even if it takes time.

I have been told many times by my work colleagues, friends and acquaintances that I am a very determined and disciplined person. Whilst I agree that subconsciously these elements may have played a part in my story, it is still the 3 cardinal points I have mentioned above are the reasons for my successful journey.

 Results and progress

The journey that began on the 4th April 2016 reached a milestone 30 weeks (approximately 7 months) later on 28th October 2016. During this period I shed off 26.3 unwanted kilograms.

My latest blood results are also looking very favourable. I no longer take Blood Pressure nor Glucose medication as these have become unnecessary or obsolete.

Mayuri has moved me into maintenance mode now with a new plan which will help me maintain my weight and keep my cholesterol, glucose and blood pressure levels in check. After 5 months into maintenance mode, my weight has stabilised to around 70 kg.

I would just like to importantly point out that I achieved my goals by only following Mayuri’s plan for me – there was no need for any weight loss operations or medications.

 I would also like to thank my Dietitian (Mayuri Bhawan) whose guidance ensured that I walked on the correct path at all times.I would like to thanks my beloved mom for being on this journey with me and helping me out with the preparation of foods for the special diet I was following. Without her I would have failed.

 

~~ Mukesh Kasanjee