Dumbbells and Drama

3 years ago I was *rudely* pushed out of my comfort zone. Today I am not complaining. Being featured on Shethepeople, a platform that brings together women entrepreneurs, thought leaders, innovators and changemakers, has been nothing but overwhelming. What started off as a personal battle has now become an integral part of my life, and I am extremely pleased to know I have the power of motivating people to change their lives for the better.

The interview was featured here

If you were to imagine a food blogger, a fit “6 pack abs” body would hardly be the image in your head. But blogging about food didn’t translate into a lack of fitness for Protima Tiwary. Her unabashed love for food is topped only by her love for fitness. A food blogger in the city of Pune, she fell in love with content marketing in 2013 and the bug hasn’t quit her system yet! Her bustling life is captured on dumbbellsanddrama.com.
The blogger in me.
“It was Aug 2013 when I decided to publish my first article. It was a simple food review, but writing about it on Zomato got things going for me. I have been living in Pune since 2000, and over the years have explored quite a lot that this city has to offer. People started noticing what I wrote about the local food , and I guess they realised I had been around and knew what I was talking about. To be honest I never thought I’d get here, I was too shy to publish my work, I had no clue I could even write! Blogging changed so many things for me!”
Being inspired to stay fit

“I am primarily a food blogger, and fitness only happened by chance. I have always been an active child and it was my father who got me to be an outdoorsy person. He used to take me for a 5km run when I was 11, and my folks got me trained for competitive swimming. People would ask me – you eat so much, how are you so thin ? After a certain point I think I just got annoyed of people thinking it’s easy, I thought of sharing my routines with them. Social media profiles of course have turned out to be quite motivational for people, and I’m not complaining.  It feels good to know that you can inspire people to take fitness seriously.”

Are we taking our fitness seriously?

“No we are not. There is so much work and stress that we have forgotten to take out time for ourseleves. Wake up – work- get back -sleep is what is happening to most of the youth today. Weekends are meant for drinking and sleeping. It’s a sorry state of affairs. What good are you doing by abusing your body so much ? At a young age you don’t realise it, but once you cross 35 it hits you bad. I don’t know what can be done to motivate people. Fitness genuinely doesn’t interest them. It’s sad. They don’t have the time for a 1km jog everyday. What more can you do? You can only hope to inspire. Fear(of disease) used to be a motivator , but that too is being taken too casually now.”

Can I be a blogger too? Tell me how!

“Blog because you are passionate about writing, not because it’s glamorous. Because at the end of the day it is the content that stands out. Hard work is needed, you need to dedicate 6-7 hours on each blog post. Nothing comes easily. make sure you are dedicated enough to go ahead with this. Mental preparation is an important first step”

The gender bias in the work space.

Gender bias – yes. Its easier to get noticed being a girl, but its a bitch to get people to take you seriously.

The “never-give-up” work mantra

Work mantra – concentrate on your content, your ideas, your world. There will be a million other distractions to put you off track and you need mental strength to sustain. Mixing money with passion is a tricky thing, you need a lot of will power to stay true to yourself. I focus on work, new content and ideas excite me, and that’s how I’d like to keep it. Stay true to yourself, make time for yourself, and never ever let work take away the best from you. Make time for personal life, be organised, work life balance is important.

When you aren’t blogging you are….

“Being a social media influencer, I travel a lot for brand collaborations. I am also a freelance content writer. I can work from anywhere in the world as long as I have internet!

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