Laughing stock to model; a Kochi woman's weight loss saga

Most women forget to take care of themselves especially after getting married and becoming mothers. They juggle their family and professional lives, but hardly find any time to groom themselves better. They get alerted only when severe health problems and obesity begin to bother them. Nimmy Abraham, who works in the media, too has such a tale to tell. However, in Nimmy’s case, she promised herself to win back her health and confidence by shedding a few pounds. Within just six months, Nimmy lost considerable body weight and got back into shape, by altering her diet and lifestyle as well. Impressed by her incredible transformation, noted makeup artist and stylist Jaseena Kadavil invited Nimmy to be the model for her makeover photo series. Nimmy, who is thrilled to have posed for the photo shoot, reveals her fitness secrets to Onmanorama.

Ignored health

“I live at Kochi and work at Kottayam. As I commute from home, my life became a busy shuttle between Kochi and Kottayam. I hardly get any time to take care of my diet or do any workout. I ate whatever I could find. Besides, I have a habit of eating the surplus food at home as I don’t have the heart to throw it away. So, after my marriage my body weight reached a whopping 93.5 kilos. I have been diagnosed with thyroid problems as well. I decided to control my weight as I began worrying about my health,” says Nimmy.

Failed attempts

Nimmy knew that her busy schedule wouldn’t allow her to allot too much time for work out. She tried avoiding non vegetarian food from her diet and gave up sweets too. She even tried her hands at yoga. However, all these didn’t help her lose weight. “It is wrong to say that people put on weight only because of overeating. It may not be true in everyone’s case. Whenever I went for functions my friends and family would come to me and say how fat I have become. I have gone through such instances of body shaming quite a lot,” reveals Nimmy.

Magic of keto diet

After trying different diets and exercise regimes, Nimmy decided to give ketogenic diet a try. She followed a unique regime of keto diet that well suited her lifestyle and eating habits. One of her friends helped her by giving her regular advices and instructions. In an impressive feat, Nimmy succeeded in shedding 10 kilos in just 45 days; and 15 kilos in 60 days. She admits that this sudden weight loss had given her a boost of confidence to work harder.

Diet regimen

Nimmy begins her day by drinking a refreshing and healthy cup of butter coffee. She would have another cup of this delicious coffee in the evenings as well. She followed a unique diet in which she completely avoided sugar and carbohydrates from her daily diet. For lunch, she had an omelette or boiled whites of 3 -4 eggs. Nimmy makes sure that she drinks at least a litre of salted lemon water in a day. She munches on some cashews or almonds when Nimmy has the hunger pangs especially in the evenings. Her dinner would mostly comprise of grilled or tawa fried chicken. Sometimes, she would pair it with some healthy green salad as well. Nimmy gave up rice and chapathi and ate only the curries, like a delicious thoran (stir fry). She drinks lots of water to keep her body well hydrated and refreshed. Greek yogurt, which is easily available in the super markets, too has a place in her regular diet.

Dance routine

Nimmy’s body weight got reduced to 80 kilos after she began following the keto diet. However, her weight wasn’t going down below that and continued the routine for four more months. “I slowly began eating rice twice a day, but I didn’t put on any extra weight. So, I decided to start doing some exercises or work out. I began walking regularly, but soon found out that it wasn’t helping at all. That is when I enrolled myself in a dance class. It was only after that my skin that got loosened after I lost weight, began tightening up. My body became trim and got back into shape. The skin was loose on the back of my neck and on my arms. It disappeared after I began dancing. My clothes were no longer fit on me and people began noticing my change,” notes Nimmy.

Turning into a model

Nimmy confesses it was quite unexpected that she received a call from Jaseena Kadavil, a make-up artist and stylist. She admits she was stunned when Jaseena asked her to become a model for the latter’s ‘Let’s do makeover and love yourself’ photo series. Nimmy, who was clearly thrilled, didn’t have to think twice to say ‘yes’. For the photo shoot, Nimmy donned a stunning Kerala sari as it was the season of Onam. Besides, she shined in some casual clothes as well in the photo series.

Photo shoot with Amma

“After the first session of the shoot, Jaseena suggested to include my mother too in the next photo session. It truly was an amazing offer. My mother was overwhelmed as she often complained that she couldn’t deck herself up and click a decent picture even on my wedding day. Both of us wore traditional Kerala saris adorned with beautiful mural paintings, for the photo shoot. Those moments are really unforgettable. We clicked lots of amazing pictures. Everyone complimented us when they saw the photos,” says an excited Nimmy.

Jaseena on the photo shoot

“I already knew Nimmy as a media professional. I was curious when I recently saw few of her pictures in which she looked trimmed. I was looking for someone like this for my makeover photo series. I thought that Nimmy’s experiences would inspire lots of women. Many of them forget to take care of their body and health after marriage and giving birth. Nimmy’s transformation would definitely motivate such women,” says Jaseena.

Jaseena says that age is not a factor when it comes to taking care of one’s own body. She believes that every woman has their own unique beauty. “It was through Nimmy that I met her mother. I decided to include her mother too for the photo shoot. She was really happy about it. I was a bit doubtful whether women of her age could be used as model for a shoot. However, all such doubts were gone after I saw the pictures. Those pictures oozed such extraordinary energy and grace,” says Jaseena with a smile.

Photographer – Anoop Pappchi

Stylist – Jaseena Kadavil

Costume – Vineetha Raphael, Ila Handprints