I was stripped of my ability to play football when COVID hit. I no longer felt like an artist with a palette at his fingertips. Unable to play the sport I love due to the various lockdowns in India, I gained 20 kg over a period of 18 months. When the world came back on its course, I found myself overburdened by my weight and  frustrated by my now unsatisfactory  performance in football. 

Determined to lose weight, I began to study diet and nutrition and completed  a course on sports nutrition at the National Academy of Sports Medicine. Through this arduous yet rewarding journey,  I was able to not only lose the 18 kilos but also advance my ability to play football at the state level.

Nutrition is a vital but commonly neglected part of many athletes’ training programs, especially in India. I decided, through my program called 'NutriAssist', to help build meal plans for these athletes, keeping in mind their protein requirements and their monthly budgets, considering they came from humble backgrounds. 3 of these para-athletes, whom I  worked with for over 13 months, went on to represent India in the Para-Asian Games, which has motivated me to continue to scale my initiative 'NutriAssist' to many more athletes in the coming months.

While making meal plans with the Para-athletes it got my attention that fulfilling the protein requirement in accordance with their respective body weight and intensity of training was a daunting task. Most of these athletes were  vegan and had limited monthly budgets, making commercially available supplements inaccessible to them. This prompted me to look for protein-rich and pocket-friendly sources to include in their diets.  This challenging hurdle through my journey with these Para-athletes allowed me to embark on a journey using the superfood known as ‘Sattu’.