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An interview with Mayuri Punjabi, Founder of MyEurekaLife
Image courtesy of MyEurekaLife
The Questions
1) What is MyEurakaLife?
MyEurekaLife is a no-nonsense approach to getting you out of your own way and back on a path to wellness. I began coaching close friends and family on their journey towards wellness over five years ago after I had experienced my own transformative ‘eureka moment’. I launched MyEurekaLife officially as a business two years ago.
My approach is an amalgamation of a lot of different methodologies, trial and error, and experience that has been gained by catering to each client’s needs individually. I curate things according to not just how much weight they have to lose, but also according to their personality, lifestyle and underlying health conditions. Throughout the 12 and 24 week programs, I follow the principles of Bio-individuality and create a blueprint for each of my clients. It does not dwell on calories, macros and portion control, nor does it involve complex meal plans. I truly believe that one person’s food is another person’s poison, and therefore I work with every one of my clients to create specialised, sustainable plans that encourage positive and healthy lifestyles, across mind and body.
Image courtesy of MyEurekaLife
2) Can you tell us about your background and how you got into your wellness career path?
Growing up, I never gave my health any thought or considered my lifestyle choices; I just lived life, ate and drank what I wanted, whenever I wanted it. I never categorised myself skinny or fat, but fast forward to 11 years ago, I found myself 32 kilograms overweight, pre-diabetic, with Hashimotos and suffering from PCOS.
I had my very own Eureka moment as I stood in my toilet, pinching the fat on my belly before I was about to inject myself with pre-diabetic medication. I said to myself, “THIS IS NOT HOW I WANT TO LIVE THE REST OF MY LIFE!” I have two children and realised at that very moment that I wanted to be around to see them live their lives. My epiphany was that I am here to thrive, and not to merely survive my life. It was a pure eureka moment, and it is something that I relate to in each of my clients; the moment when you are ready to make a change.
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Armed with a new mindset, my journey towards discovering the miracle that my body really begins. I leveraged my undergraduate degree, a BSc in Genetics and Biochemistry, to delve deeper into the impact food had on my body and state of mind, which led me down several other paths, such as spirituality, physical activity, relationships, and an understanding that mastering our mindset is everything.
Moreover, I was certified by the Institute of Integrated Nutrition, headquartered in New York, as a health coach, which furthered my understanding in the field. Once I began to put all my research and knowledge into practice, I began to lose weight; my PCOS and pre-diabetes disappeared, and my Hashimotos is now under control. From my own experience, I was able to support my friends and family in their own eureka moments, which in turn caused a ripple effect to those around me, and is how “MyEurekaLife” was born.
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3) What’s something that everyone will experience when doing MyEurekaLife?
Every MyEurekaLife journey is bio-individual, purely because it doesn’t take a one-size-fits-all approach. The bespoke nature of the programme is what everyone will experience. I take a considerable amount of time enquiring about existing lifestyle habits at the very beginning to clearly understand what is feasible and what is not, taking into consideration factors such as underlying health conditions, personality, and how much weight they would like to lose.
The foundation of this journey is based on guided experiences with different lifestyle tweaks. In these experiences, my clients are able to discover new ways to satiate, and experience ‘eureka moments’ that allow them to move closer to their goals. Most of the time, individuals choose to embed these changes into their lifestyle for the long-term because they experience a tremendous difference in how they look and feel. The most important thing about any lifestyle change is consistency, and with consistency requires discipline.
I have some clients that share they do not exercise and others that run every day, and because I understand that this is something that is a constant for them, I build a tailored programme with that understanding in mind. It’s my responsibility as a health coach to build a blueprint of each of my clients to truly understand how to create happier, healthier lifestyles that are sustainable during the course of my programmes.
Image courtesy of MyEurekaLife
4) What is the importance of bespoke nutrition?
There is no one-size-fits-all approach to health and wellness. One of the key pillars of my coaching is bio-individuality, which is the belief that each person is unique with internal and external circumstances that need to be catered to in all aspects of their life, from food to movement to mindset. There are so many fad trends out there in regards to nutrition that come and go, and they are never sustainable because they do not on board the simple principle of “one man’s food could be another man’s poison”, moreover, these suggestions are a quick and general fix to something that potentially requires deeper attention. One needs to take a holistic approach that considers aspects of their lifestyle as well as potential underlying conditions.
When working with clients, I do not give them complex meal plans, nor do I implement portion control or calorie counting, but rather I educate them on their bodies using a holistic framework that encapsulates mind and body. I believe weight loss and nutrition are not only about what you consume, but also about how you consume it, what you consume it with and when you consume it. It’s about understanding that there are other alternatives that provide the same satisfaction, and nourish you.
Image courtesy of MyEurekaLife
5) When did you experience your first transformational journey?
I experienced my own ‘Eureka moment’ 11 years ago which gave me the power to go on a transformational journey. Ever since, I have worked with dozens of clients that have experienced their own pivotal moments whereby they decided that they want to make a lifestyle change to better their mind and body. I believe that to participate in a transformative journey, such as MyEurekaLife, the individual needs to come to the realisation that there is another way to live and to want to make this change for the betterment of their life. This desire has to come from within the person who is embarking on the journey. The individual has to be open to experience the eureka moments that will come along the way, as the 12 and 24 week programmes require commitment and dedication; there will be times where it will be tough, and your own conviction will need to drive you.
6) What are your favourite nutritional restaurants in Hong Kong?
My favourite restaurants are the ones that are accommodating and able to cater their dishes to my bio-individual needs, as well as serve fresh ingredients. I often eat at Zahrabel, La Vache, Nadaman and Zuma.
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7) Where are your happy places?
I often find that my happy place is associated with who I spend time with more than the actual place itself. With that being said, I also cherish time with myself and consider those moments as one of my favourite places, as I’m able to recalibrate and rebalance.
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8) What is some advice which you’d recommend for someone who is trying to transition into living a better lifestyle?
Disclaimer: this advice is not a one-size-fits-all, therefore some of these may work for the general population, but others may not, depending on the bio-individual needs of the person.
Stop snacking. You don’t need to eat eight times a day, and should allow your digestive system a rest in between meals.
Do not drink liquids during your meals as it causes the digestive enzymes and hydrochloric acid in your stomach to dilute, which makes it weaker and slows down the digestion process. This can lead to bloating and general discomfort. Therefore, drink liquids 30 minutes before and after a meal, not during.
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Never compromise on your sleep. Those that say, “sleep is for the weak”, are seriously mistaken. Seven to nine hours of sleep is required unless you’d like to wreak havoc on your health.
Learn to read labels and pay close attention to the ingredients list. The ingredient that is listed first is the most present, in terms of quantity. However, it is important to look out for ways in which sugar can sneak its way into ingredients lists, especially when masked under scientific terminology.
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, as it may not be right for you.
At MyEurekaLife, Mayuri offers a free initial consultation, and has two packages available: ‘Commit’ package for 12 weeks (USD 2,000) and a ’Transform’ package for 24 weeks (USD 3,800). Each programme is bespoke and tailor made to the bio-individuality of the person, and during the 12 and 24 weeks Mayuri is available almost 24/7 to her clients via WhatsApp/Call, in addition to their scheduled sessions. Her approach does not dwell on calories, macros and portion control, nor does it involve complex meal plans. On her Instagram there are dozens of transformation images of clients from around the world.
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