Vinu Bhakat

Sports Nutritionist

Pablo the Mini Dachshund

Background

 

Vinu grew up in an environment where nutritional value of food was not emphasised; rather, consumption was driven by emotions, traditions, and taste. Consequently, she developed a detrimental relationship with food, engaging in emotional and binge eating patterns. Despite recognising that food controlled her life, she lacked the knowledge and guidance to address the issue. Frustration with conflicting nutritional information and witnessing a close one struggle with long-term health issues motivated her to educate herself. Initially, she attempted to improve her health through conventional methods like gym workouts, but she soon realised that years of emotional eating couldn't be reversed through exercise alone. Recognising the substantial impact of nutrition on physical and mental well-being, she dedicated time during the COVID-19 pandemic to study nutrition, discovering a passion for the subject. Now, she aspires to leverage her knowledge to help others.

 

Experience & Education

 

Vinu is a newly qualified nutritionist, who is very passionate about educating and guiding her clients to improve their health outcomes through good nutrition. She places a strong emphasis on evidence-based nutrition and having a healthy balance with food. In her words, “there is more to achieving a dream body and health than eating rice, broccoli and green juices!” She has recently opened her books to nutrition consultations and coaching.

 

When she is not working with her clients, Vinu spends her time doing prep things for her first bodybuilding competition. She is also currently studying sports and performance nutrition.

 

Why?

 

Vinu’s immense passion in nutrition stems from the frustration of misleading, often trendy, and incorrect information on the internet and social media. The TikTok “fitluencer” culture has taken over people’s nutritional decisions fostering tendencies towards emotional eating, which is a huge concern. Vinu is committed to educating and giving her time to her clients to improve their dietary habits and choices and establish a healthy relationship with food.

Nutrition with Vinu

  • Personalised guidance: I assess your individual needs by taking into consideration your lifestyle, dietary factors, food preferences, goals etc and create a tailored nutrition plan for you.
  • Create a healthy balance: I help you figure out the perfect balance of carbs, protein, and fats to fuel your body and give you the energy to perform at the highest level.
  • Weight management: If your goal is weight loss / weight management, I help you developed a sustainable and healthy eating plan. I will guide you on portion control, food choices, healthy swaps, navigating social life and holidays to help you achieve your weight goal.
  • Recovery nutrition: To optimise performance in the gym or any sport, the foods you consume after the training session is crucial. I create a nutritional plan for you to optimise your training and recovery needs.
  • Keep things fresh: I provide you with new recipe ideas that will satisfy your taste buds and take the burden out of meal prep.
  • Accountability and encouragement: I help you stay on track of your nutrition goals, and pick you up when you’re down. I will be your biggest supporter.
  • Demystify the bullshit: I can help you navigate through fad diets and trends, and also show you how to decipher food labels and make informed choices.

F2F Nutrition Consultations

Initial consultations are conducted on site at AIM Sports Recovery. 

The service includes in-depth consultation and discussion about your dieting history, food habits, goals, challenges and hurdles, intolerances. Based on that, a customised nutrition plan with macro's intake is suggested.

Ongoing/follow-up consultations can be organised if required.