Truth, they say, is stranger than fiction. When Chetna Rustagi, a mother of two daughters, joined a gymnasium in 2019, her only goal was to lose weight – which she desperately wished to.<\/p>\n
Chetna, who hails from Rewari and is currently settled in Bengaluru, had not imagined where her training would take her.<\/p>\n
In due course, it so happened that the inspiring journey which Chetna embarked upon just to lose weight not only transformed her, but also helped the once-obese woman emerge as a marathon winner and powerlifting champion! Chetna\u2019s story is marked by grit and determination, and also reminds us that life can offer miracles if we are prepared to push our limits.<\/p>\n
\u201cI come from a traditional baniya family, in which there was no concept of physical workout. Plus, my body had the tendency to put on weight. Hence, I kept on getting bulkier during my adolescence. So much so, that I weighed more than 95 kilograms when I got married in 2006 while I was just around 20 years old,\u201d Chetna said while talking to The Tribune.<\/p>\n
Chetna continued to gain weight after her marriage. She gave birth to a daughter in 2013 and another in 2017.<\/p>\n
\u201cBy 2018-19, I weighed 124 kg. I mostly stayed home and wore nighties all day as the dresses of my size – 5XL – were hard to find. I felt useless and was ashamed of myself. I tried cutting down my diet, skipping dinner and going for walks, but nothing worked. Eventually, I joined a gym in 2019,\u201d she revealed.<\/p>\n
Regular physical workout under the supervision of a physical trainer, coupled with a strict diet discipline, completely transformed Chetna, who came down to 62 kg within a year or so.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a metamorphosis for me. I utilised the Covid-induced lockdown to carry out my fitness regime, and the results were miraculous. My dress size dropped from 5XL to S and even XS. People who saw me after several months failed to recognise me. Some of our neighbours asked me: \u2018Aap Chetna ki sister ho?\u2019 and I can\u2019t explain the looks on their faces on being told that I was Chetna,\u201d recalls the transformed woman.<\/p>\n
And wait, the story is not over yet. In fact, the best part is yet to come. After having worked so hard and achieving – rather overachieving – her goal, Chetna set a new goal for herself.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy workout sessions combined cardiovascular exercises and strength training, which also included lifting weights. My coach found me good at powerlifting and encouraged me to participate in competitions. Hence, I participated in a regional competition and won a bronze medal therein,\u201d states Chetna.<\/p>\n
There has been no looking back for Chetna, who has participated in a number of powerlifting competitions, marathon races and other fitness contests since then, and won more than 42 medals in various national and international events.<\/p>\n
Most recently, she won two gold medals in the South Zone Powerlifting Competition held under the banner of the World Raw Powerlifting Federation (WRPF) held at Banashankari in Bengaluru.<\/p>\n
As they say, success comes at a price. Chetna has also sacrificed a lot to achieve her goals.<\/p>\n
\u201cI do not eat anything outside my home. If I go out with my family or friends, I do not have anything at restaurants. I also attend marriage ceremonies, but never pick up a plate while I am there,\u201d she asserts.<\/p>\n
Chetna gives full credit for her transformation and achievements to her mother-in-law Ranjana, husband Manav Rustagi and fitness trainer Mohammad Azmat, who is also a co-partner of the WRPF.<\/p>\n
\u201cApart from the constant support of my family and coach, my will-power has brought me to this level. I believe that I can push my limits and achieve anything anyhow, once I decide,\u201d maintains Chetna, who now wants to reset her target and venture into some other sport associated with fitness.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Truth, they say, is stranger than fiction. When Chetna Rustagi, a mother of two daughters, joined a gymnasium…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":580169,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[589,163,85,46],"class_list":["post-580168","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fitness","tag-fitness","tag-health","tag-il","tag-israel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/580168","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=580168"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/580168\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/580169"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=580168"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=580168"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=580168"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}