After going through her own “eureka moment” and journey to health, Mayuri Punjabi decided she needed to spread the good word through MyEurekaLife. After seeing her transformation, she began helping family and friends and is now keen to create a ripple effect of knowledge and curiosity about individual health needs.

A Little Background

Mayuri never really thought much about her health or lifestyle. But, in 2009, she found herself 32kgs overweight, pre-diabetic, and dealing with Hashimoto’s Disease and PCOS. Her “eureka moment” came one day as she was preparing to inject herself with pre-diabetic medicine. Deciding she needed to change her lifestyle, she took on an empowered mindset and began her journey to discover the miracle of her body, delving into the impact of food, physical activity, spirituality, and relationships on her body and health.

Now, as a certified Health Coach with a BSc in Genetics and Biochemistry, and an Ashtanga yoga teacher, she coaches others on their journey to wellness, putting all her knowledge and research into practice.

5 Things You Should Know About Getting Healthy

Getting healthy can be drastic, but it can also be a gradual change

When it comes to getting healthy, you can start with small, incremental steps or make a drastic, overnight change. But, I often find that this is a grey area because each person has their own journey. The approach you choose is completely individual and should take your default mindset into consideration.

If someone decides to take an all-or-nothing approach but has no guidance or support, it won’t work or be sustainable. There are extremists that do this, and they often shift between two extremes, trying for a punishing mentality, which inhibits the journey.

For someone embarking on this journey without a holistic health coach, I would recommend small, incremental changes to allow for a more sustainable lifestyle transformation. The clients I work with are able to discover new ways to feed themselves and experience ‘eureka moments’ that allow them to move closer to their goals. They incorporate these changes into their lifestyle for the long-term.

There really is no universal approach to getting healthy

Health and wellness are completely individual. This belief that each person is unique is a key pillar of my coaching. Everyone has specific circumstances that need to be catered to in food, movement, and mindset. All these fad diets you hear about aren’t sustainable because they do not take this into account.

Many people approach me to help them with weight loss, but I don’t believe that it simply boils own to what or when to eat. For weight loss to be sustainable, the approach needs to consider other aspects of one’s lifestyle and any underlying health conditions.

The most important thing about any lifestyle change is consistency, and this requires discipline. I have some clients that don’t exercise at all, and others that run everyday. Because I understand this is a constant for them, I tailor a program with this in mind, so that they don’t suddenly have to change their attitudes and habits. It’s my responsibility as a health coach to pick up on nuances, personalities, and feasibilities to build a bio-individual blueprint for each of my clients to create a happier, healthier lifestyle that is sustainable.

Don’t believe everything you hear about health

We’ve created this unrealistic diet culture that draws on elimination and deprivation. Things like complex meal plans, portion control, or calorie counting. This is not healthy. By depriving yourself, you’re deciding to approach this lifestyle change from a place of punishment. That’s not sustainable. When your mindset comes from a place of abundance and awareness, you have infinite choices.

I often find that carbohydrates have a negative connotation, often being seen as unhealthy or the main contributor to weight gain. I don’t believe that carbs are to blame, but rather, the lack of understanding of which carbs are good for you and how to eat them. It’s important to understand that it’s not always about elimination, that there are other alternatives that provide the same satisfaction and nourish you properly.

Now’s the perfect time to start working on your health

The pandemic has definitely allowed us an opportunity to look inwards and forced us to take the time to care for ourselves. In that respect, the pandemic has created the best time to focus on improving your health, understanding your body, and addressing any health issues.

With that being said, though, health is a long-term journey and there is no better time to start than now, pandemic or not. However, it does require the individual to realize for themselves that they want to get healthy and choose right now to make this change to better their life.

There are a few easy ways to get started

If I had just five tips to give to someone just starting their health journey, these would be it:

1. Stop snacking. You don’t need to eat eight times a day. Give your digestive system some time for a break.
2. Don’t drink liquids during your meal. It causes the digestive enzymes and hydrochloric acid in your stomach to dilute, which slows your digestion and can lead to bloating.
3. Never compromise on sleep. Get at least seven to nine hours or you’ll be wreaking havoc on your health.
4. Learn to read labels and pay attention to ingredients. Also, remember that sugar can sneak its way into your food in many different forms, so you should know the different ways this can happen and try to avoid it.
5. Trust your body to communicate and tell you what works and what doesn’t. Don’t just jump on the bandwagon of the next fad.

Looking towards the future?

My hope for the future is to continue guiding individuals on their journey towards optimal health and wellness. I want to spread the word that by understanding your individual needs, you can be healthy. I have personally seen the effect of this when I started my journey almost 11 years ago. My epiphany was that I am here to thrive and not merely survive. My mission now is to create a ripple effect and bring awareness of the human body.