It all began with a breakfast routine: 40 days of pancakes, 16 kg weight loss and muscle gain

To most people, a pancake breakfast every morning would seem to herald an indulgent marathon. However, for 39-year-old Vijeta Doneria, a banker from Delhi, it turned out to be an unlikely start to a fitness transformation that changed her relationship not just with food and exercise, but also with herself.

“For 40 days in a row, pancakes were what I would eat for breakfast,” she says. “To most people, that is probably a cheat-meal streak, but for me it has been full of different things from around the world that I used to eat to make it healthy,” she said. “And this was the start of my fitness journey,” she said.

These weren’t the usual butter-drenched pancakes of weekend indulgence. Instead, she made high-protein pancakes with better-for-you ingredients like oat flour or whole-grain alternatives. She would blend in chocolate whey protein, cook them at home with little oil, and top them with fresh fruits and a drizzle of maple syrup.

“Like it’s indulgent on the plate,” she says. “But it was really a strategic form of nutrition designed to power my workouts and recovery.”

That breakfast routine was her daily manifestation of a deeper mindset shift. Instead of extreme dieting, she started emphasising structured nutrition — deciphering what her body needed to perform at its best.

“Nutrition is not about restriction,” she says. “It’s about structure and awareness.”

Her home-cooked meals comprise most of her diet. A measured amount of oil is poured rather than drizzled, and her diet centres on macros — the balance of protein, carbohydrates and fat that help the body train, recover and build strength.

“Once I finally learned how nutrition actually works, food was no longer the enemy,” she says. “It became fuel.”

Her life changed drastically when she shifted to Mumbai. Long hours on the job, skipped meals, stress, and little time to exercise gradually took a toll on her health.

“By the time I had been living here for a year, I had gained 11 kg,” she said.

Set on shedding the weight fast, she went to extremes.

“I went on a 500–600 calorie crash diet,” she says.

The results came quickly. Within four months, Vijeta Doneria lost 11 kg.

Soon, however, the physical cost became apparent.

“I was thinner, but I also felt exhausted all the time,” she says. “I felt weak in my body, workouts drained me, and I felt exhausted in my mind.”

The sudden weight loss had been at the cost of her overall health.

“That’s when I realised that something had to change,” she says.

“I stopped starving myself and eating balanced meals,” she says. “I just made sure I was eating enough protein, good carbohydrates and healthy fats.”

Protein became a major part of her diet because it plays an important role in muscle repair and growth — particularly, she learned, when coupled with resistance training.

Simultaneously, she started adding structured strength training to her routine.

“That’s when everything started to shift,” she says.

Strength training changed how she views fitness. “It’s not only about burning calories,” she says. “It’s about muscle building and improving metabolism and having more physical strength.” It took longer than losing weight through crash dieting, but it was far easier to maintain.)

“Crash diets have quick results — but no strength,” she said.

But the most significant change wasn’t just whatever was on the scale. “The physical change wasn’t the most important part,” she says. “It was the strength I had built.”

Her stamina increased, her workouts became more powerful than ever before — she found herself picking up heavier weights and testing boundaries in ways she'd never done.

“I felt healthier, stronger and more confident,” she says.

Food began to take on a new role in her life. “My relationship with food was no longer one of fear,” she explains. “It literally became a must-have tool for performance and recovery.” Those high-protein pancakes, initially just an exercise in breakfast testing, evolved into a new paradigm.

“They taught me that healthy eating didn’t have to be boring or restrictive,” she says. “Fitness can be a sustainable habit and fun.”

Extreme dieting can certainly lead to quick drops on the scale, but we aren’t in it for short-term gains; sustainable health takes time, consistency and balance.

“Crash diets can promise quick results, but rarely does that lead to maintaining good health over time,” she says.

Today, her focus has shifted entirely.

“I know you do not chase the lowest number on the scale anymore,” she says. “I try to lift heavy and eat right.” And it all began with an ordinary breakfast routine.

“All it might take is one small habit,” she says, “to transform everything.”

(The author, Nivedita, is a freelance writer. She writes on health and travel.)