At Brilliant Read Media, it is our constant endeavour to identify and share some of the unique and compelling stories from the startup ecosystem. As part of this, we invited Pooja Roy for an interview with Brilliant Read Media. To say further, Pooja is a Clinical and Sports Nutritionist and an Influencer. Let’s learn more about her background, inspiring journey so far and her advice for our growing community!
Excerpts from our exclusive interview with Pooja:
What inspired you to pursue nutrition, and how did your journey evolve into clinical, sports, and holistic health?
My journey into nutrition began with a simple yet powerful realization food impacts far more than just our physical health. It deeply influences our energy, mood, performance, and overall quality of life.
I started my career in medical nutrition, working in hospitals with individuals managing various medical conditions in OPDs and ICUs. That phase gave me a strong foundation in understanding the body from a therapeutic and evidence-based perspective.
Over time, I felt the need to go beyond treating symptoms and focus more on bio-individuality, understanding that every person’s body responds differently. This naturally led me into sports nutrition and holistic health. Working with athletes and active individuals helped me appreciate how nutrition can optimise endurance, stamina, recovery, and performance.
As my experience grew, I realised that health cannot be compartmentalised. We cannot look at nutrition in isolation from lifestyle, stress, sleep, and emotional well-being.
Today, my work integrates clinical expertise, sports nutrition, and holistic health principles to create sustainable and personalised strategies that truly fit into people’s lives. It has been an evolving journey, and that’s what keeps it exciting.
How do you define “true health” beyond just weight loss or physical appearance?
True health goes far beyond weight loss or physical appearance. It is a state of overall well-being where the body, mind, and soul are in harmony.
While aesthetics can sometimes be a by-product of healthy living, they are not the foundation of health.
For me, true health is less about numbers on a scale and more about everyday signals: waking up refreshed, digesting food with ease, maintaining stable energy levels, balanced hormones, emotional steadiness, and the ability to manage stress effectively.
Most importantly, true health is not about short-term transformations or extreme approaches. It is about creating habits that support long-term well-being.
Someone may appear physically fit yet struggle internally, while another individual may not align with conventional body standards but still be metabolically and mentally healthy.
Ultimately, true health is about how you feel, how your body functions, and how naturally healthy practices fit into your everyday life.
What are the most common nutrition mistakes people make when dealing with medical conditions like PCOS, diabetes, or thyroid disorders?
One of the biggest mistakes people make with conditions like PCOS, diabetes, or thyroid disorders is chasing quick fixes, crash diets, prolonged fasting, water diets, or unsupervised keto plans.
These approaches may show short-term changes, but they often disrupt hormonal balance, metabolism, and overall health in the long run.
You cannot heal a hormonal or metabolic condition by starving the body. Extreme diet trends do not address the root cause; in fact, they often add more stress to the system.
Managing hormonal and metabolic conditions is not about eating less, but about eating the right food, in the right quantity, at the right time.
A balanced, personalised approach always works better than restrictive, one-size-fits-all solutions.
How do you customise nutrition plans for different goals: fat loss, muscle gain, and performance enhancement?
Fat loss, muscle gain, and performance enhancement all require different nutritional strategies, but none of them should feel extreme.
I customise nutrition plans by aligning energy intake, macronutrient and micronutrient distribution, meal timing, and recovery needs with an individual’s goals and lifestyle.
For fat loss, the focus is on sustainable calorie balance while preserving energy and metabolism.
For muscle gain, nutrition is centred around adequate protein, strength support, and recovery.
For performance enhancement, especially for athletes or active individuals, nutrition becomes more strategic, optimising endurance, stamina, hydration, and recovery.
The difference is not just in calories; it lies in the strategy.
My philosophy is simple: Reduce, rebuild, and refuel while keeping lifestyle, metabolism, and sustainability at the core.
What role do gut health and hormones play in overall well-being, and why are they often overlooked?
Gut health and hormones form the foundation of overall well-being, yet they are often overlooked because their effects are not always immediately visible.
The gut is far more than a digestive organ; through the gut-brain axis, it influences mood, immunity, energy levels, metabolism, and even mental clarity.
At the same time, hormones regulate nearly every bodily function from metabolism and sleep to stress management and reproductive health.
What many people miss is how interconnected these systems are. Poor gut health can influence hormonal imbalance, while hormonal disruptions can further impact digestion and gut function.
Because these changes are internal and gradual, people often ignore them until symptoms become more serious.
Health is not just about what we see externally it is equally about what is happening internally.
With so many trends like keto, fasting, and detox diets, what actually works, and what is just hype?
Diet trends come and go, but human physiology does not change.
Keto, intermittent fasting, detoxes, or any trending diet may deliver short-term results for some individuals. However, without personalisation and sustainability, most fail in the long term.
Before recommending any nutritional approach, I believe it is essential to assess blood parameters and overall health markers to understand an individual’s internal health status. This helps identify nutrient deficiencies, hormonal concerns, or metabolic imbalances that may need attention.
Equally important is a one-on-one consultation to gain a complete 360-degree understanding of the individual, their medical history, lifestyle, stress levels, food preferences, daily routine, and goals.
Only then can a truly personalised, practical, and sustainable nutrition strategy be created.
There is no magic diet. The best diet is the one that works for your body and your lifestyle.
What is the biggest mindset shift someone needs to make to build a sustainable and healthy lifestyle?
The biggest mindset shift is understanding that health is not a temporary project; it is a lifelong commitment.
Many people treat dieting as a short-term fix, something they “go on” for a few weeks before returning to old habits. But sustainable health begins when you stop viewing diet as punishment and start seeing it as nourishment.
You do not need a stricter plan; you need a smarter mindset.
When you move away from extremes and start valuing consistency, balance, and sustainability, results become a natural by-product.
Because in the end, lasting health is built through consistency, not extremes.
At BrilliantRead, we don’t just share startup stories; we bring you journeys that challenge perspectives, spark ideas, and fuel ambition. Every story we feature is carefully chosen to add real value, inspire action, and ignite possibility within our growing community of entrepreneurs and dreamers.
If you have a powerful story, one that can inspire, educate, or create impact we want to hear from you.
