How many people expect the \u201cbiggest person in the class\u201d to run marathons someday? Well, the story of Niki Chawla, a New Zealand-based wedding planner with roots in Punjab, will surprise you. She grew up staying away from sports and all things that screamed \u201cphysical activity.\u201d But in 2021, she made up her mind to give up unhealthy habits and work on getting fit. Niki Chawla\u2019s weight loss transformation is not just about eating right and working out. Her weight-loss journey also involves tears and pain. She weighed 123 kg in 2021 and is now just 58 kg. Read on if you want to know how the 27-year-old woman, who once hated walking, shed all the extra kilos.<\/p>\n
Niki Chawla: \u2018I\u2019ve been overweight my whole life\u2019<\/h2>\n
To understand the drastic weight loss transformation of Niki Chawla, you should know how it all started. \u201cPrior to 2021, I\u2019ve been overweight my whole life. I don\u2019t think there is a specific reason as to why I was overweight growing up,\u201d says Niki Chawla. She loved food, but she never knew how much to eat, or what a balanced meal<\/a> looked like. \u201cPortion control, and protein were never part of my vocabulary, and there is no one to blame for this. I didn\u2019t know better, and growing up in an immigrant household, my parents were working extremely hard to build the life they have built for themselves and my family today,\u201d says the wedding planner. So, the reason she kept gaining weight overtime was because of her eating habits and a lack of moment.<\/p>\n As a child, she probably wouldn\u2019t have thought about losing so much weight as she never enjoyed any sports, or physical activities while growing up. \u201cIt was never fun, mostly because it wasn\u2019t easy for me,\u201d she says. She didn\u2019t have the energy like most people. \u201cI would get tired easily and in reality, being the biggest person in your class, you never really got included in most team sports. I would skip cross country, or our annual sports day,\u201d she says. She would go to school late when their first period was physical education. \u201cI even tried going to the gym by myself when I was 16, but again I never really enjoyed it,\u201d she recalls.<\/p>\n In 2021, she decided to turn her life around and begin her weight loss transformation journey, which over time became a journey of living a healthy lifestyle. \u201cMy inspiration was seeing my uncle and aunty (aged 60) in Queenstown, New Zealand, doing multiple hikes and walks. Seeing them being that active and fit at that age made me question myself. I was 23 at the time, and going on an easy 4 km walk got the best of me,\u201d she recalls. She may be sharing her weight loss journey now but at the time, she was left with leg cramps that lasted for days.<\/p>\n Working out regularly is one of the major factors that played a role in Niki\u2019s weight loss transformation. When she decided to start her weight-loss journey, she started exercising with a personal trainer in her home gym. \u201cMy trainer helped me become confident with working out, and I started enjoying working out and fell in love with moving my body,\u201d says Niki Chawla, who did battle rope exercise<\/a>, ran on the treadmill, did squats, and box jumps during her weight-loss journey.<\/p>\n When she started her weight loss transformation journey, she started walking heaps. \u201cPrior to this, I hated walking. When I started walking, I remember crying. Even a 1-km walk would lead to pain in my legs,\u201d recalls Chawla. With time, she increased her pace, and distance. \u201cI eventually started walking 10-12 kms every second day. Over time, walking became less challenging so I got into running. I did my first 11 km event at the Auckland Marathon in 2022,\u201d she says. As a challenge to herself, she decided to start training for half marathons in 2023. \u201cIn 2024, I started running distances (up to 32 kms), and worked a lot on my pace. After beating my half marathon time in 2024 from previous years by 20 minutes, I decided to participate in full marathons in 2025,\u201d says Chawla.<\/p>\n Apart from finding ways to move her body, she started focusing on her diet while on her weight loss transformation journey. \u201cI realised that nutrition plays a big role in weight loss, and just a general healthy lifestyle. I hit a hard reset on my eating habits, looked into what I eat and educated myself on my daily calorie intake, nutrients, protein, carbs and fats,\u201d she says. Eating right became a part of her weight loss journey.<\/p>\n You may also like<\/p>\n She even took a break from eating homemade food prepared by her mother, and started cooking her meals herself. \u201cI still cook my own food. I religiously prep my meals over the weekend, which helps me continue on maintaining my healthy lifestyle. My weekdays are typically long due to the nature of my work, so it\u2019s a great way to make sure when I come home I\u2019m not snacking on whatever is in sight, and just eat my dinner,\u201d says Niki Chawla.<\/p>\n She changed the way she eats to maintain her healthy weight. That means she does not always eat foods high in unhealthy fats. \u201cI now eat balanced meals that are portion controlled<\/a>. I don\u2019t eat till I\u2019m full, I only eat till I am 80 percent full. Your diet is 80 percent of your progress,\u201d says Niki Chawla. According to the World Health Organization<\/a>, you should have at least 400 grams of fruits and vegetables per day. Legumes, nuts and whole grains should also be part of your meals. As you try these sustainable weight loss tips, remember to eat healthy.<\/p>\n She finds different ways to move her body whenever she can. \u201cI do cardio and weight training. I think it\u2019s really important to move your body in ways you enjoy,\u201d says Niki Chawla. During a 2012 study published in the Journal Of Applied Physiology<\/a>, people who were in the cardio and weight training group saw a significant amount of reduction in total body mass and fat mass.<\/p>\n \u201cI prioritise my sleep, so I sleep for 6 to 8 hours daily,\u201d says Niki Chawla. A 2005 study published in the Sleep<\/a> journal, showed significantly high rates of obesity in adults who slept less than seven hours per night. So, make sure your sleep quantity and quality are good.<\/p>\n Her weight loss transformation journey includes a very simple yet crucial thing\u2014stay hydrated<\/a>. \u201cI drink 3 to 4 litres of water everyday,\u201d says Niki Chawla. Drinking water can help in your weight-loss journey. During a 2019 analysis published in Nutricio\u0301n Hospitalaria<\/a>, researchers found a link between more water consumption and weight loss.<\/p>\n Everyone has a daily routine, and if maintaining healthy weight is your aim then follow it. While wrapping up sustainable weight loss tips, Niki Chawla says, \u201cStick to a routine. It might be boring but a constant routine is the only way you will see constant results.\u201d<\/p>\n These sustainable weight loss tips have helped her transform herself. \u201cThe reason why I haven\u2019t gained all my weight back is because my approach to my journey was for it to be sustainable and not for a temporary weight loss,\u201d says Niki Chawla. She wanted to develop healthy habits that would benefit her through all her life. \u201cThese last 3-4 years have taught me so much. I\u2019ve educated myself and over time found more ways to push myself, challenge myself and help me continue to build and maintain sustainable healthy habits,\u201d concludes Niki Chawla.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Wedding planner Niki Chawla, who never enjoyed any sports or physical activity, dropped more than 60 kg in three years. Here’s what helped in her weight-loss journey. How many people expect the \u201cbiggest person in the class\u201d to run marathons someday? Well, the story of Niki Chawla, a New Zealand-based wedding planner with roots in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":14628,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_gspb_post_css":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"offerexpiration":[],"class_list":["post-14627","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blogs"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/easywaysolutions.shop\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14627"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/easywaysolutions.shop\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/easywaysolutions.shop\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/easywaysolutions.shop\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/easywaysolutions.shop\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=14627"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/easywaysolutions.shop\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14627\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/easywaysolutions.shop\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/14628"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/easywaysolutions.shop\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=14627"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/easywaysolutions.shop\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=14627"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/easywaysolutions.shop\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=14627"},{"taxonomy":"offerexpiration","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/easywaysolutions.shop\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fofferexpiration&post=14627"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Niki Chawla: \u2018Physical activities were never fun\u2019<\/h2>\n
![\"Niki](\"https:\/\/images.healthshots.com\/healthshots\/en\/uploads\/2025\/01\/15184523\/Niki-Chawla1.jpg\")
Niki Chawla on starting her weight-loss journey<\/h2>\n
When Niki Chawla fell in love with working out<\/h2>\n
Walking became Niki Chawla\u2019s friend<\/h2>\n
Niki Chawla: \u2018Nutrition plays a big role in weight loss\u2019<\/h2>\n
![\"Zumba](\"https:\/\/images.healthshots.com\/healthshots\/en\/uploads\/2021\/09\/04100630\/Zumba-EP-5-300x169.jpg\" "\\"Zumba")
<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n![\"Shilpa](\"https:\/\/images.healthshots.com\/healthshots\/en\/uploads\/2025\/01\/13170808\/shilpa-300x169.jpg\" "\\"Shilpa")
<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nNiki Chawla\u2019s weight loss transformation: 5 things that helped her<\/h2>\n
1. Go for a balanced diet<\/h3>\n
2. Move your body<\/h3>\n
![\"Niki](\"https:\/\/images.healthshots.com\/healthshots\/en\/uploads\/2025\/01\/15184651\/Niki-Chawla2.jpg\")
3. Give importance to good quality sleep<\/h3>\n
4. Stay hydrated<\/h3>\n
5. Stick to the routine<\/h3>\n