Ashima Sharma Interview
Amisha is an award-winning dietician dedicated to helping people achieve sustainable health and wellness through practical, home-based nutrition. With a strong focus on "ghar ka khana," she creates personalized approaches to weight management while supporting individuals dealing with PCOD/PCOS, thyroid concerns, diabetes, and hormonal imbalances. With over 8,000 transformations to her credit, Amisha combines nutrition expertise with realistic, sustainable lifestyle changes to make healthy living simpler and more achievable.
Q. To begin, could you tell us about your journey into nutrition and what inspired you to become a dietitian and weight-loss expert?
My journey into nutrition started with a very simple belief: food should make your life better, not make your life complicated.
Over time, I realised that a lot of people struggle with weight not because they don’t know what is healthy, but because most diets are too restrictive and difficult to sustain. People are told to give up their favourite foods, eat separate “diet food,” or follow complicated meal plans.
That made me want to approach nutrition differently. I wanted to help people understand that you can lose weight while eating the food you grew up eating, your dal, roti, sabzi, rice, curd and all the familiar foods that are part of an Indian household.
That philosophy eventually became the foundation of my work, and through my practice I’ve had the opportunity to work with thousands of people on their weight-loss and health journeys.
Q. You advocate losing weight with “Ghar ka Khana.” What makes a traditional home-cooked diet effective for sustainable weight management?
For me, “ghar ka khana” is not just a diet philosophy; it’s a sustainability philosophy.
When someone is eating food that is already being cooked at home, they don’t have to prepare a completely separate meal, buy expensive ingredients or follow recipes they can’t realistically maintain.
Indian home food also gives us so much variety, dal, sabzi, roti, rice, idli, dosa, poha, upma, curd, paneer, eggs and so much more.
The key is not to label these foods as good or bad. It’s about portion, balance, protein, fibre, cooking methods and the individual’s overall calorie intake.
When your diet fits into your lifestyle, you’re much more likely to continue it even after you’ve lost the weight. And that’s what sustainable weight loss should be about.
Q. What are some common misconceptions about weight loss that you wish people would stop believing?
There are so many!
One of the biggest is “carbs make you fat.” Carbohydrates themselves aren’t the problem. The quantity, overall diet and individual requirements matter.
Another is that you need to completely stop eating rice or roti to lose weight. You don’t.
People also think that skipping meals means faster weight loss. Extreme restriction can make it harder for many people to maintain consistency and can lead to overeating later.
And probably my biggest one is: “If you want to lose weight, you have to eat boring food.”
You don’t. You need to learn how to make your regular food work for your goals.
Q. With 8,000+ transformations, what patterns have you noticed among people who successfully maintain their weight loss long-term?
The biggest pattern I’ve noticed is that the people who maintain their results aren’t necessarily the ones who followed the most restrictive diet.
They’re the ones who learned how to eat normally.
They understand portions, include enough protein and fibre, stay physically active and, most importantly, don’t have an “all or nothing” mindset.
They don’t think, “I ate pizza, so my diet is ruined.” They understand that one meal doesn’t determine your progress.
They’ve built habits that can continue even after their formal diet plan ends. That is the difference between losing weight and changing your lifestyle.
Q. How should someone distinguish between healthy weight loss and extreme dieting?
Healthy weight loss should make you feel better, stronger and more energetic, not constantly exhausted and obsessed with food.
If someone is surviving on very little food, constantly hungry, eliminating entire food groups without a medical reason, feeling weak or dizzy, or becoming afraid of normal foods, that’s a red flag.
Weight loss should also be viewed over time rather than judged by daily fluctuations on the weighing scale.
A healthy approach focuses on adequate nutrition, sustainable calorie control, protein, fibre, movement, sleep and overall wellbeing, not simply making the number on the scale fall as quickly as possible.
Q. PCOD/PCOS, thyroid issues, diabetes and hormonal imbalances can make weight management challenging. How does nutrition need to be personalised for these conditions?
This is where I strongly believe there is no one-size-fits-all diet.
Two people can have PCOS and still have completely different symptoms, eating patterns, activity levels, body composition and metabolic health.
For someone with PCOS, for example, we may focus on protein, fibre, blood-sugar-friendly meals, appropriate calorie intake, physical activity and improving overall dietary quality.
For someone with diabetes, carbohydrate quality and quantity, meal timing and blood-glucose response become particularly important.
With thyroid conditions, we need to look at the overall diet, nutritional adequacy and the person’s medical treatment rather than simply giving them a generic “thyroid diet.”
So I don’t believe in treating a diagnosis with a template. I believe in understanding the person behind the diagnosis and then building the nutrition plan around them.
Q. Many people struggle with consistency rather than knowledge. What practical strategies help people stay committed to healthier eating?
I always tell my clients: don’t try to be perfect; try to be repeatable.
Start by making small changes that you can maintain. For example, add protein to your breakfast, keep a healthy snack available, include vegetables in your main meals and establish a regular movement routine.
Another important strategy is to have options. If your diet says you must eat one breakfast every morning, you’re eventually going to get bored.
Instead, have 4–5 realistic breakfast options, lunch options and dinner options that fit your lifestyle.
And finally, don’t let one unhealthy meal turn into an unhealthy week. Consistency doesn’t mean being perfect every day. It means getting back on track at the next meal.
Q. In your experience, which everyday Indian foods are often unfairly labelled as “bad” for weight loss?
Honestly, the list is huge!
Rice, potatoes, bananas, mangoes, roti and even things like poha and dosa are often treated as “bad” foods.
But food doesn’t become fattening simply because it contains carbohydrates.
For example, rice can absolutely be part of a weight-loss diet. Potatoes can be part of a balanced meal. Even mango can be enjoyed in the right portion.
What matters is the overall meal, portion size, preparation, frequency and your individual nutritional requirements.
Instead of asking, “Is this food good or bad for weight loss?” I encourage people to ask, “How can I include this food in a balanced diet?”
Q. If you had to choose one “ghar ka khana” meal to eat every day without getting bored, what would it be?
That’s actually a very difficult question because I love variety!
But if I had to choose one, I’d probably go for dal, rice, a seasonal sabzi, some salad and curd.
It’s simple, comforting and incredibly easy to customise. You can change the dal, change the sabzi, add different spices and rotate the sides, so the same basic meal can taste completely different.
And that’s what I love about Indian home food. You don’t need fancy superfoods to eat well. Sometimes the simplest ghar ka khana is all you need.
BIO
Amisha is an award-winning dietician dedicated to helping people achieve sustainable health and wellness through practical, home-based nutrition. With a strong focus on “ghar ka khana,” she creates personalized approaches to weight management while supporting individuals dealing with PCOD/PCOS, thyroid concerns, diabetes, and hormonal imbalances. With over 8,000 transformations to her credit, Amisha combines nutrition expertise with realistic, sustainable lifestyle changes to make healthy living simpler and more achievable.
Interviewed By Vanshika Gupta
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