HLZ by Deepti Palija

How I hit 140g of protein as an Indian vegetarian who eats eggs
Most women I see are eating 30 to 40g of protein a day. Current research suggests we need closer to 1.6g per kg of body weight. For most of us, that works out to 80 to 140g.
I personally aim for 140g. One clean protein blend in the morning, and the rest from real food.
Inside this carousel:
– Eggs at breakfast, with a red poha option for those who don’t eat eggs
– Rotating tofu, tempeh, and paneer rather than relying on a single source
– Why dal-chawal is incomplete without a protein partner
– The seed and sprout layer that quietly adds 15 to 20g a day
– Vegetables and fruits that contribute more protein than most people realise
– A real day, pulled straight from my plan
Protein powders have their place. This carousel simply shows what the numbers look like when you build the foundation through food first.
Save this one. Share it with your sister, your mother, or a friend who lives on dal-chawal and wonders why she’s hungry by 11am.
Which slide surprised you most?
DM me PROTEIN for my full daily plan, with portion sizes, egg-free breakfast options, and 5 protein-led lunches and dinners

How I hit 140g of protein as an Indian vegetarian who eats eggs.
Most women I work with are eating 30-40g a day. The research says we need closer to 1.6g per kg of body weight. For most of us, that’s 80-140g.
I aim for 140g. One clean protein blend in the morning. The rest from food.
Inside this carousel:
– Eggs at breakfast (and a red poha option for women who don’t eat eggs)
– Rotating tofu, tempeh, and paneer instead of relying on one
– Why your dal-chawal is incomplete without a protein partner
– The seed and sprout layer that quietly adds 15-20g a day
– Vegetables and fruits that contribute more protein than anyone admits
– A real day, pulled straight from my plan
Not dissing protein powders. Just showing what the math actually looks like when you build it through food first.
Save this one. Send it to your sister, your mum, your friend who lives on dal-chawal and wonders why she’s hungry by 11am.
Which slide surprised you most?
DM me PROTEIN for my full daily plan with portion sizes, egg-free breakfast options, and 5 protein-led lunches and dinners

Same girl. Almost a year apart. The glow-up was never the weight it was my nervous system.

I locked in once and this happened. Now I’m locking in a second time let’s see what this round brings. 👀

For the longest time I ate to be smaller. Then I had a year so heavy I did everything “right” and my body still wouldn’t budge.

Here’s what I didn’t understand then: when you’re under chronic stress, your body isn’t being stubborn it’s being protective. Sustained cortisol pushes the body to hold onto visceral fat, dampens thyroid output, and throws your hunger hormones (leptin + ghrelin) off balance. You can’t out discipline a nervous system that thinks it’s in danger. 🧠

So I stopped fighting my body and started making it feel safe:

🍵 I romanticized the process — building beautiful bowls, making my matcha at home, slow mornings instead of rushed ones
😴 I protected my sleep (where most of your recovery + appetite regulation actually happens)
🚶🏽‍♀️ daily walks over punishing workouts — gentle movement lowers cortisol instead of spiking it
🥗 real, colourful food as fuel, not as a sentence to serve
🍦 and yes, the occasional gelato — because guilt is its own kind of stress

My body changed quietly. As a side effect of being kind to it.

This is the work I do now, and the work I wish someone had done with me sooner: health that holds you on the hard days, not just the disciplined ones. 🤍

Locking in for round two. Save this if you needed the reminder and tell me, what’s one thing you do to romanticize taking care of yourself? 👇

For the longest time I ate to be smaller. Then I had a year so heavy I did everything “right” and my body still wouldn’t budge.

Here’s what I didn’t understand then: when you’re under chronic stress, your body isn’t being stubborn — it’s being protective. Sustained cortisol pushes the body to hold onto visceral fat, dampens thyroid output, and throws your hunger hormones (leptin + ghrelin) off balance. You can’t out-discipline a nervous system that thinks it’s in danger. 🧠

So I stopped fighting my body and started making it feel safe:

🍵 I romanticized the process — building beautiful bowls, making my matcha at home, slow mornings instead of rushed ones
😴 I protected my sleep (where most of your recovery + appetite regulation actually happens)
🚶🏽‍♀️ daily walks over punishing workouts — gentle movement lowers cortisol instead of spiking it
🥗 real, colourful food as fuel, not as a sentence to serve
🍦 and yes, the occasional gelato — because guilt is its own kind of stress

My body changed quietly. As a side effect of being kind to it.

This is the work I do now, and the work I wish someone had done with me sooner: health that holds you on the hard days, not just the disciplined ones. 🤍

Save this if you needed the reminder. And tell me — what’s one thing you do to romanticize taking care of yourself? 👇

✨️

Your daily green smoothie might be giving you kidney stones.

I’ve been having this conversation more often than I’d like in the last few months. Women who pride themselves on green smoothies, daily almonds, beetroot juice every morning. Doing everything “right” using diet culture as an excuse to only eat salads.Ending up with stones.

Here’s the part most nutrition advice skips: there’s a compound called oxalate found in many of the foods we call “superfoods.” About 75% of all kidney stones are calcium oxalate.

For most people, oxalates are harmless. But there are specific everyday behaviours quietly multiplying your risk:

→ Daily green smoothies (raw spinach delivers nearly 100% of its oxalate load)
→ High-dose vitamin C supplements (your liver converts the excess into oxalate)
→ The spinach + chai combination half of South Asian and Middle Eastern households eat every week (double oxalate, zero calcium protection)
→ Low calcium intake
→ Chronic dehydration

The good news: you don’t have to stop eating spinach.

You just have to eat it the way your grandmother did. Cooked. With paneer or yogurt. Tea kept separate from the meal. Water through the day. That’s centuries of intuitive oxalate management finally explained.

Comment OXALATES and I’ll DM you:
→ The full high and low-oxalate food list
→ The daily target for someone at risk
→ The symptoms worth flagging to your doctor
→ The simple 24-hour urine test that tells you if oxalates are actually your problem

Sources cited on every slide. Chai & Liebman (Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 2005). Thomas et al (JAMA Internal Medicine, 2013). National Kidney Foundation 2025. Published case reports in NIH PubMed Central.

Your doctor checks your iron. They never check this.

For decades, lab “normal” for ferritin was 15 ng/mL.

In September 2025, the American Society of Hematology updated its draft guideline. The new threshold for menstruating women is 30 ng/mL. Double the old number.

Millions of women told they were “fine” were iron deficient the whole time.

My ferritin was 18. Under the old guideline I was “normal.” Under the new one I was deficient.

Hair was falling. Always cold. Brain fog. Could not lose weight. Three doctors told me my iron was fine. They were checking the wrong number.

8 months later. No supplements. No injections. Just food, timing, and absorption rules.

Ferritin now 50.

This carousel is everything I learned. Save it. Send it to the woman in your life who is always exhausted. Then go ask your doctor for a ferritin test specifically. Ask for the actual number, not just “normal.”

📚 Source: ASH Draft Recommendations for Diagnosis of Iron Deficiency, September 2025

If you want to work on your ferritin properly, send me a DM with the word FERRITIN. I’ll share my full vegetarian iron protocol with you.

Skin clarity starts in the gut and daily sipping makes a real difference 🌿

These 4 drinks target the gut skin axis supporting digestion, regulating heat, improving hydration, and calming inflammation that shows on the skin.

✨ Consistency is key. Better hydration and plumpness show in 3–5 days, with visible glow and clarity in 2–3 weeks as skin renews and nutrients build up.

Suggested daily rhythm:
🌅 Morning (empty stomach): Amla + Ginger shot + sip Hima water
🏃 Afternoon / post-workout: Sabja Coconut Water
🍽 With lunch: Kokum Sherbet

Simple, seasonal, and supportive from the inside out 🌿

Nobody told you the real reason you’re bloated after every meal.
It’s not the dal. Not the rajma. Not gluten.

After 30, your digestion changes. Stomach acid drops. Stress hormones rise. Gut bacteria shift.
Your body is not broken. It needs different support.

Five causes. All fixable.
Swipe through. → Save this — your gut will thank you 😊

DM me if this is you. This is exactly what we fix inside the HLZ Fat Loss Rese

Nobody told you the real reason you’re bloated after every meal.
It’s not the dal. Not the rajma. Not gluten.

After 30, your digestion changes. Stomach acid drops. Stress hormones rise. Gut bacteria shift.
Your body is not broken. It needs different support.
Five causes. All fixable.

DM me if this is you. This is exactly what we fix inside the HLZ Fat Loss Rese

The wellness industry will flood your feed today with tips and checklists.

This is not that post.

Because right now, a lot of people who care deeply about their health are quietly falling apart not from lack of knowledge, but from carrying a world in pain.
And nobody is talking about what that does to the body.
Your nervous system does not distinguish between witnessed suffering and lived suffering. Cortisol rises. Hunger dysregulates. Motivation disappears.
That is not a discipline problem. That is a human response.
Real health has to hold you on the hard days too.
Today that might just look like eating something. Moving gently. Not abandoning yourself.
You do not need a reset. You need a structure built for hard times.

My DMs are open if that is where you are.
Happy World Health Day.