Becoming a parent comes with unique challenges, and new parents often struggle to balance caring for a newborn with caring for themselves. for Shrini Vishwanathco-founder of wealth management platform upstocksbecoming a father motivated him to embark on a lifelong, sustainable fitness journey. This personal transformation was not only about transitioning to a healthier lifestyle, but also about building stamina and strength to support my newborn daughter through various milestones.
In a conversation with TOI Lifestyle, Shrini Viswanath opened up about her fitness journey of making conscious choices and prioritizing towards health. mental health.
Edited excerpt:
Your fitness journey and dramatic changes are truly inspiring. How did you accomplish this feat while balancing the demanding demands of running a startup?
I was slowly starting to embrace parenthood, and one of the things I wanted to do was stay healthy and fit so I could spend quality time with my daughter. Of course, as an entrepreneur, I don’t have a lot of time. Therefore, I wanted to make sure that the time I spent with her was of high quality. Some of the things that people my age often hear about are checking your back for pain and how having to keep carrying your child here and there can cause back pain. . Or maybe you have to play for hours.
It sounds like becoming a father was a big motivator for you to start your fitness journey.
That was one of my big motivations. I think that also conflicts with the fact that we don’t really work on our mental, emotional and physical health. Everyone is busy and looking to advance their career. We talk about mental health, but how do we put it into practice? So we thought, let’s do something challenging, big, and in a sustainable way. Because my daughter now has another startup company. This will take a considerable amount of time. You can’t do anything that’s unsustainable, right? That was the rule I set. In order to run a business and spend time with your family, you first need to be in top physical condition. We also wanted to do something sustainable, rather than a quick fix or something proactive and unsustainable.
Can you tell us more about your health and wellness journey and routines that have helped you?
One of my top priorities was nutrition, which I’m no expert on, so I consulted a nutritionist. I wanted some advice on effective ways to eat right and eat healthy. My physique got better, but I didn’t go to the gym endlessly, and I was going to the gym for about two and a half to three hours a week.
The big thing that has changed for me is what I put into my body. I started eating home-cooked meals and whole foods – a little more vegetables and whole grains. I deleted the food delivery app from my phone. Most of the food available on food delivery apps is not very good from a nutritional point of view.
I made sure I was drinking enough water. I made sure to take an appropriate number of steps each day. I didn’t even have to leave the house to do it. So it’s also sustainable.
How many steps do you take a day and how do you walk?
I was filming about 8000 steps One day. It was like a good day. Honestly, it wasn’t that difficult and I didn’t have to go out to accomplish it. I just tried not to sit in a chair for too long. I stood or at least took a walk while I worked.
When you have a newborn, it can be especially difficult to prioritize your health. Even fathers are more involved, so how did they do that with their young daughter? child rearing recently.
Honestly, prioritize your time. What I would encourage people to do is to absolutely get enough sleep. That’s one thing I’d like to change on my journey – a little more structured sleep. That being said, I think an important part of managing a newborn is finding appropriate ways to relieve stress.
When you feel stressed because caring for a newborn is a lot of work, it’s the first change in your life and you’re just figuring it out. I stopped relying on junk food because it’s like a stress reliever. If you can resist temptation, your energy levels and everything will be much better in the long run. By doing so, you will be able to be more alert and stay focused. You don’t need that much coffee or tea to get to that place. That was one of my biggest learnings.
People these days work sitting glued to a screen. What is your advice to them?
I would like to talk about two things. One, of course, is to invest in something like a standing desk. You can also make a conscious effort to stand for most of the day. And second, stay hydrated by drinking plenty of water. I always try to have a full glass of water next to me and I find myself reaching out and grabbing it subconsciously and it helps a lot.
These days, success often comes at the expense of health. Even young people just stepping into the workspace often struggle to find personal time and self-care for themselves. So how do we achieve this balance?
One thing I’ve learned is that self-care is also a choice. Sometimes we expect self-care to happen from the outside, but just like how we work to get somewhere in our careers, we also put some effort into self-care by conscious choice. I think you need to. So I think about it pretty consciously, just like when I choose a job or career. But when it comes to self-care, we don’t actively talk about it. Realize that we need to work on it.
What steps can startups take to prioritize the health of their employees so they can run longer in the race?
First of all, I think, of course, we have maternity leave, paternity leave, and all that. But until you experience it personally, you realize how much effort people put into being parents at home and co-workers at the office. So I think the first thing you need to realize is that these people are going beyond that. I think that’s step one.
In step two, everyone can change things up in terms of external triggers to work on their mental and physical health. So when it comes to office food, for example, we might be able to drive some meaningful change. By making small changes here and there, slowly but surely over the long term, people may start eating more and more healthy foods. And I think we need to talk more about mental and physical health. I don’t think the solution is to give everyone a gym membership. You have to be internally motivated to do so. External motivation doesn’t always work, but you can at least have a conversation and figure it out instead of giving a solution.
Toxic work culture is in the spotlight. What do you think about this and how can companies promote a healthier workplace?
You live in the information age. Probably because of that COVIDThe line between work and home has become blurred. What is work and what is home has become blurred, and everyone has a cell phone or a laptop. I don’t think there is one solution that will work for everyone. Every company culture is different. People want different things, and I think those things are best resolved by actually talking about them openly. How can we achieve work-life balance while fostering high performance? I think companies, everyone, have to be more conscious. In terms of understanding that sometimes something happens and you can’t get a job. Your child needs to go to the doctor, this and that.
So please encourage open conversation and be considerate. Isn’t culture evolving at the same time? We live in an era where family and work become blurred. So if that’s the case for some companies, be open about what that is. Set some ground rules and go from there.
So, going back to your parenting journey, what has been your biggest lesson or takeaway from this journey so far? How would you sum up your new understanding on this journey in one word?
I think being a parent is a full-time job, so I have a lot of respect for people who manage to balance work at home and work, especially working mothers. At least in the case of men, I think they return to work after maternity leave and advance their careers. But I think for working mothers, they feel like somehow the work never really stops. Even after maternity leave ends, life doesn’t go back to normal. So, because I’m directly involved in that, I realize that and I appreciate it that much more.
