How This Doctor Broke Through His Weight Loss Plateau and Got Shredded
Dhaval Bhanusali was a busy man. The 34-year-old dermatologist from New York City had a new office opening in the city, and he’d helped launch a skincare line for Amazon. Traveling for work meant a constantly shifting schedule; juggling the chaos around him meant he couldn’t take time for himself. Healthy eating and gym time had to be wedged in around all the other responsibilities in his life. His weight swelled; he was tired and listless. “I was definitely more lethargic and didn’t have the energy I wanted to keep up with my hectic life,” he says.
He decided he needed a reset—a conscious choice to protect his own well-being. “By prioritizing myself,” he says, “in a way, I was creating the necessary changes to help focus my work.” As a dermatologist, he knew how important self-confidence can be to overall mood. Getting back in shape—he was nearing 200 pounds—would help him put his attention where it belonged: his work.
Just by working out more and running three or four times a week, Bhanusali dropped 15 or 20 pounds. That took a year or two, and he found he’d plateaued. He decided to sign up with RNT fitness, which provides online personal trainers and fitness programs—with his tech background, he loved the concept.
His trainer quickly sized him up. Diet was a problem; Bhanusali was vegetarian, and he wasn’t getting enough protein. “I thought I was eating healthy but even as a physician,” he says, “I didn’t really have the complete understanding of nutrition at the time.” He started getting more protein while still eating balanced meals. And while traveling still threatened to disrupt his plans, he found that a deeper understanding of nutrition made it that much easier for him to adapt. (Trader Joe’s cauliflower stir fry or cauliflower gnocchi, combined with tofu or protein, became one of his staples.)
Morning workouts were mostly weight training, 30-45 minutes’ worth, with a light jog to warm up. He’d do supersets, mostly three to four sets for any exercise, to optimize his time commitment. On weekends he’d hit the pool or go for an outdoor run. “All in all, it wasn’t a huge time commitment,” he says, “and was a nice way to get the days off on the right foot.”
Within four or five months he’d gotten down to 148 pounds. Now he’s looking to build muscle, getting back to between 160 and 165 pounds. “Overall, my energy went up a ton and I definitely felt more efficient when making decisions,” he says. His friends and family were impressed, not just with how much his body had changed, but at the way he’d regained his energy and focus.
Taking the time to get his body right has really helped in other aspects of his life, Bhanusali says, including his still-growing business. For anyone waiting for the right moment to start improving themselves, he says, “Just jump. Not just in this but everything.”
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