UAE-based mum: ‘How I lost 20 kilos and changed my kid’s relationship with food’

UAE-based mum: ‘How I lost 20 kilos and changed my kid’s relationship with food’

When Nini Thomas and Lijo Ittoop, Indian expats based in Dubai, decided to get fit, they didn’t realise how it would change the whole family’s – their son, Leon Varghese, included – relationship with food. “Today,” laughs Ittoop in an interview with Gulf News, “My son can tell you all about macros.” had him on a protein-heavy diet. As the fat melted off his frame, she decided to join him on his path to fitness. The 45-year-old five-foot Indian did some things differently. “I knew I wouldn’t be able to eat the non-vegetarian meals Lijo was eating, so I decided to do portion control instead,” she says. “I wanted to make this change as sustainable as possible.” Thomas kept idlis (rice cakes), lentils and wheat as part of her programme. And she began to learn – from Ittoop – some easy-to-do weight exercises. By staying the course, Thomas went from 82 kilos in 2017 to 62 this year. As young people, Thomas and Ittoop were active. However marriage and a country move made them a tad lethargic. Over the years, they admit, they put on a lot of weight. They knew they didn’t want to nourish an unhealthy relationship with