Wedding organizer Niki Chawla, who was never fond of sports and physical activity, lost more than 60 kg in three years. That’s what helped her lose weight.
How many people expect the “biggest man in the class” to ever run marathons? Well, the story of Niki Chawla, a wedding planner from New Zealand with roots in Punjab, will blow your mind. She grew up staying away from sports and anything that screamed “physical activity.” But in 2021, she decided to give up bad habits and work on correction. Niki Chawla’s weight loss transformation isn’t all about eating right and working out. Her weight loss journey also includes tears and pain. In 2021, she weighed 123 kg, and now only 58 kg. Read on to find out how a 27-year-old woman who once hated walking shed the extra pounds.
Niki Chawla: “I’ve Been Overweight All My Life”
To understand Niki Chawla’s dramatic weight loss transformation, you need to know where it all started. “Until 2021, I was overweight all my life. I don’t think there’s a specific reason why I was overweight growing up,” says Niki Chawla. She loved food but never knew how much to eat or what a balanced meal looked like. “Portion control and protein have never been part of my vocabulary, and I have no one to blame for that. I didn’t know what was better and grew up in a family of immigrants, my parents worked very hard to build the life they built for themselves and my family today,” says the wedding planner. So the reason she continued to gain weight overtime was because of her eating habits and lack of time.
Niki Chawla: “Exercise has never been fun”
As a child, she probably wouldn’t have thought about losing that much weight as she was never into sports or being physically active as a child. “It was never fun, mostly because it wasn’t easy for me,” she says. She didn’t have the energy that most people do. “I got tired easily, and really, being the biggest person in your class, you never participated in most team sports. I would miss cross country or our annual sports day, she says. She went to school late when their first lesson was PE. “I even tried going to the gym myself when I was 16, but I never liked it,” she recalls.
Niki Chawla begins her weight loss journey
In 2021, she decided to change her life and start her weight loss journey, which over time turned into a healthy lifestyle. “I was inspired by meeting my uncle and aunt (aged 60) in Queenstown, New Zealand, who were doing some hiking and walking. Seeing them so active and fit at that age made me doubt myself. I was 23 at the time, and an easy 4-kilometer walk got the best of me,” she recalls. She may be talking about her weight loss journey now, but at the time she had leg cramps that lasted for days.
When Niki Chawla fell in love with training
Regular exercise is one of the main factors that played a role in Nikki’s weight loss transformation. When she decided to start her weight loss journey, she started working out with a personal trainer at her home gym. “My trainer helped me become confident in my workouts and I started to enjoy working out and love moving my body,” says Niki Chawla, who has been doing rope exercises, running on the treadmill, doing squats and box jumps during her journey for weight loss.
Woking became a friend of Niki Chawla
When she started her weight-loss journey, she started walking around in a heap. “Before that, I hated walking. When I started walking, I remember crying. Even walking for 1 km led to pain in my legs,” recalls Chawla. Over time, she increased her pace and distance. “Eventually I started walking 10-12 km every other day. Over time, walking became less difficult, so I started running. In 2022, at the Auckland Marathon, I participated in my first distance of 11 km,” she says. As a challenge to herself, she decided to start training for half marathons in 2023. “In 2024, I started running at a distance (up to 32 km), and I worked a lot on my pace. Having beaten my half marathon time in 2024 by 20 minutes compared to previous years, I have decided to take part in full marathons in 2025,” says Chawla.
Niki Chawla: “Nutrition plays a big role in weight loss”
In addition to finding ways to move her body, she began to focus on her diet during her weight loss journey. “I realized that nutrition plays a big role in weight loss, and just a healthy lifestyle in general. I did a hard reset on my eating habits, looked at what I was eating and learned about my daily intake of calories, nutrients, protein, carbs and fat,” she says. Eating right became part of her weight loss journey.
You might also like it
She even took a break from her mother’s home cooking and started cooking herself. “I still cook for myself. I religiously cook on the weekends, which helps me continue to live a healthy lifestyle. My working days are usually long due to the nature of my work, so this is a great way to make sure that when I get home I don’t snack on everything in sight, I just eat my lunch,” says Niki Chawla.
Niki Chawla’s Weight Loss Transformation: 5 Things That Helped Her
1. Switch to a balanced diet
She changed her diet to maintain her healthy weight. This means that she is not always eating foods high in unhealthy fats. “Now I eat a balanced meal with controlled portions. I don’t eat until I’m full, I eat until I’m 80 percent full. Your diet is 80 percent of your progress,” says Niki Chawla. According to the World Health Organization, you should eat at least 400 grams of fruits and vegetables a day. Legumes, nuts and whole grains should also be part of your diet. While trying these tips for sustainable weight loss, remember to eat healthy.
2. To move the body
She finds different ways to move her body whenever she can. “I do cardio and weight training. I think it’s really important to move your body the way you like it,” says Niki Chawla. In a 2012 study published in the Journal Of Applied Physiology, people who participated in a cardio and strength training group saw significant reductions in total body weight and body fat.
3. Make quality sleep a priority
“I prefer sleep, so I sleep 6 to 8 hours daily,” says Niki Chawla. A 2005 study published in the journal Sleep found significantly higher rates of obesity in adults who slept less than seven hours a night. So, make sure your quantity and quality of sleep is good.
4. Stay hydrated
Her weight transformation journey involves a very simple but important thing – staying hydrated. “I drink 3 to 4 liters of water every day,” says Niki Chawla. Drinking water can help you on your weight loss journey. In a 2019 analysis published in Nutrición Hospitalaria, researchers found a link between increased water intake and weight loss.
5. Stick to a routine
Everyone has their own routine, and if your goal is to maintain a healthy weight, stick to it. Rounding up her tips for sustainable weight loss, Niki Chawla says, “Stick to a routine. It can be boring, but a consistent routine is the only way to achieve consistent results.”
These tips for sustainable weight loss helped her transform herself. “The reason I didn’t gain all my weight back is because my approach to travel was sustainable, not temporary weight loss,” says Niki Chawla. She wanted to develop healthy habits that would benefit her throughout her life. “These last 3-4 years have taught me a lot. I educated myself and over time found more ways to push myself, challenge myself and help me continue to build and maintain sustainable healthy habits,” concludes Niki Chawla.
