My top three goals upon starting the 8-month program were - Improve my digestion, lose weight, stress management, and mood management.

Payal took time to understand my medical history, browsed through previous medical records and tied all the pieces together. She then tackled the most critical areas first. She also shared the understanding of my history of diagnoses and the possible reasons behind them. She also shared tips, reading material that was helpful.

The biggest tangible change I have noticed since beginning the program has been : Improvement in my digestion, I am in better control and better equipped to deal with my digestion issues.

The most significant overall change I have noticed has been –

1. I have a better understanding of my symptoms, why I had them all these years in the first place and some knowledge on tackling them.
2. I also feel much better with all the supplements I am taking.

I would describe my coach as : Payal is patient and takes time to answer questions.

When I started talking to her, I felt quite relieved to know that 1) I am not alone and mysymptoms are not that uncommon 2) That there was someone who understood what I was going through and could even explain why I was feeling what I was feeling.

I would recommend Payal - to anyone out there who is unable to get a proper diagnosis of their ailments/symptoms for a long time.

This is the best investment I have made on myself so far!!

- Ishani Bose, Senior HR Professional, Singapore

Over the last few years, I have been suffering from digestion and other ailments. More than the ailment, it was the lack of clarity on the causes behind it was making it all the more difficult to find a way forward to improve my health. I had tried Allopathy, Homeopathy and Ayurveda too but without much improvement.

When I spoke to Payal, she studied my medical reports for the last 3 years. She also reviewed the overall issues faced by me since I was a kid. By doing so, she was able to pinpoint the real causes which has accumulated over the years and presenting itself in the form of physiological issues now. She also gave detailed insight on the food including supplements and other lifestyle changes that will help me in improving my overall health. I am really grateful to Payal for her guidance and would recommend her to anyone looking for overall health improvement.

- Prashant Bhandari, Media Finance Professional

My (Payal’s) note :
Prashant had a history of retinal tear and a cholecystectomy (gallbladder removal) which may have been a ramification of his health struggles (since childhood)being unaddressed. I explained to him why/how it had reached that stage, the hits and misses, the implication of that on his diet and lifestyle there on. Giving a protocol for his reflux issues, protein and fat mal-digestion while ensuring he had adequate amount of protein since he had almost turned into a vegetarian, fearing pain and constant IBS symptoms. We discussed including weight bearing exercises for improving strength and muscles since he had minimised his workouts to doing surya namaskars. Decoding his mental struggles so that it didn’t seem as an aberration and how it tied in with his gut health. Supplementation involved around improving his liver and pancreatic health, better digestion, improving eating/sleep hygiene and supporting bile salts.

1. My top three goals upon starting the 6-month program were:
   To get fitter and be able to exercise without feeling fatigued, have better digestion and know what suits my body, and get leaner in the process of reducing swelling and inflammation in the body.
2. My coach was able to help me work toward these goals by :
   Helping me understand that how differnet types of food react differently in our bodies, how it is essential to have a protien rich diet rather than a carb heavy diet and then to digest the proteins better how it is essential to have lemon ACV water, how to feel fuller by eating more proteins. I was also amazed to see how adapting to a gluten free diet reduced my knee pain and periods pain to a large extent.
3. The biggest tangible change I have noticed since beginning the program has been:
   I am looking forward to exercising and don’t detest it as exercise with the right diet makes me feel very powerful and not tired or fatigued. My mood has improved and my skin and hair feels healthier.
4. The most significant overall change I have noticed has been:
   The attitude towards food and body. Learning to listen to the cues of my body and supplement it with a nutrition rich diet rather than a comfort driven diet.
5. I would describe my coach as:
   Very supportive, insightful and well informed. Can connect the dots very well between the different things going on in the body, the cultural upbringing and the resultant habits. It was a pleasure to discover so many new things over the course of 10 months.
6. I would recommend my coach to:
   My friends who are looking to get on the healthier side of living.
7. Other comments and feedback:
   Sometimes the recommended things are not feasible like for instance to cut out dairy when we have grown up on a dairy heavy diet especially when it is not causing much distress like gluten. Some of the habits that I built up in those 10 months I am going to continue them forever viz. lemon ACV water , cleaning the tongue, taking karela juice once a week, soaking feet in epsum salt warm water, eating atleast 2 eggs everyday etc. So thank you very much for that.
8. Can I state your first name (and/or your picture) and use your testimonial on my website and other marketing materials?
   Yes please feel free to use my first name and the testimonial but I would prefer if you don’t tag me anywhere on social media or link it back directly to me as I feel at this point of time I am not ready to talk about food and body etc on my social media as a director of my company.
   
   Thank you very much for your inputs and support, I will always try to live on the healthier side.

- Rutvika

The best part of the program has been that now I know my body well. Why reactions happen, the triggers, the interconnections between different organs and its functions is quite clear to me. Hair fall can happen coz' of thyroid imbalance, bad liver and low ferritin. Need to work on all 3 to have good hair. This was quite a learning!

My moods are better after 10 months, sleep is better, fatigue is less, breathing is easier, hunger is in control, sensitivity in my lips and fingertips is almost gone.

Thyroid readings have improved. Last year was extremely difficult and painful. But this year, I feel more in control of things. My dehydration is gone. I am not eating junkfood at all. Weight has come down from 59 to 55. Which I am very happy about.

My body is definitely in a good state as my cravings for sugar and wheat have disappeared almost. I recovered from Covid with very few symptoms fortunately.

All thanks to Payal!!

My protein intake has increased, my skin is better. Just my hair fall is something that gives me stress. I am sure if I fallow Payal’s plan for another year, everything will be gradually sorted out as my digestion is improving by the day.

1. My top three goals upon starting the 10-month program were
   • Stop hair fall
   • Deal with my insomnia
   • Healthy gut
2. My coach was able to help me work toward these goals by
   • Making me understand my body better
   • Being a good listener & motivating me
   • Making an easy plan in terms of diet (easy -> doable)
3. The biggest tangible change I have noticed since beginning the program has been
   • I am able to sleep without a pill
   • I don't eat or crave breads anymore
   • my sugar cravings have come down
4. The most significant overall change I have noticed has been
   • Better sleep (without pills)
   • Hardly any sugar / wheat cravings anymore
5. I would describe my coach as
   Knowledgeable / empathetic / great listener / always there for me / very very sweet / very good at her job.
6. I would recommend my coach to
   Anyone and everyone who has gut issues.
7. Other comments and feedback:
   One big learning - Everything starts from the gut. Healthy gut -> Healthy me.
8. Can I state your first name (and/or your picture) and use your testimonial on my website and other marketing materials?
   Yes, absolutely!

- Shella Gupta, Interior Designer, Mumbai

1. My top three goals upon starting the 6-month program were:
   Due to the pandemic & initial strict lockdown situation, it mentally affected me a lot and my day-to-day activities were impacted. I started experiencing brain fog and fear. I would be nervous and over think a lot which started affecting my work performance too. Sedentary life led to indiscipline and weight gain, which made my physical as well as mental health worse. I desperately and eagerly wanted to get back to a regime that would restore my optimum health.
2. My holistic functional medicine coach was able to help me work toward these goals by:
   She began with making me understand that some of my symptoms were manifestations of stressful circumstances - like the pandemic, and slowly tried to investigate the underlying root causes of rest of my chronic health issues through our sessions, ongoing post session communication and support. She also created a comprehensive health history & symptom questionnaire to pin down every minute detail. She worked through each issue and earmarked the progress. She didn't begin the program with any drastic or immediate lifestyle changes that would rattle me but rather slowly made me understand how each change that I made, would help in resolving each underlying issue. We gradually moved towards making those changes sustainable and worked towards each core issue. We kept working diligently and found a fix for all my symptoms and concerns while being in complete lockdown where there was limited movement outside and with solutions/remedies which were possible within the limitation of my own house.
3. The biggest tangible change I have noticed since beginning the program has been:
   I gained my confidence back! I was able to perform very well at work. I could inspire people in my team too, to perform even better, which instantly was visible and recognized at work, where I was able to bring in large amount of success to my business segment. During my initial health history session with Payal, I revealed about my chronic Psoriasis which has been afflicting me for over 15 years now. I identify psoriasis, as one of my most painful health experiences. I have been struggling with it for years but especially during winters it would aggravate to cellulites which would lead me to get into a vicious cycle of antibiotics prescribed by multiple specialists that I would seek solutions from. This was one of the biggest reliefs my coach helped me with. I have moved towards full recovery of my Psoriasis and this winter I was on path of complete recovery instead of heading towards infection which I normally have during winters. And while we didn’t get to strict diet control, she helped me concentrate on the finer aspects of my lifestyle and food habits which I corrected and it led me to having a significant control on my weight gain. Not only did I lose weight, I lost abdominal fat with visible 4 inches from my waist which came down to 34" from 38".
4. The most significant overall change I have noticed has been:
   Gaining my confidence and being able to outperform the expectation of business, helping my team perform too. It has not only helped me but also helped my family and business team members’ growth as well. Some of my habits have changed and created a new set of disciplines which has led me to maintain diet & lifestyle habits which are sustainably under check& at the same time to not lose the freedom of doing things which I love the most.
5. I would describe my coach as:
   She is a very sensitive person with an aspect of researching into deeper issues - from physiological & psychological aspects of an individual. She has vast knowledge of human health and behaviour. She helps you tackle each aspect on a timely basis. Moreover, she acts as a pillar of support helping you overcome any hurdles which you may come across during the whole program & moreover makes it look most easy and hence achievable, without any abrupt or knee jerk change.
6. I would recommend my coach to:
   People who are dealing with a lot of chronic health issues where modern medicine has not helped e.g. Chronic ailments(psoriasis) like I suffered, to look at trying this approach too, which would help overcome all the symptoms with root cause resolutions, with simple lifestyle changes dealing with core issues than the symptoms. Also, her deep understanding of human behaviour and the reason the way we do, why we do. So, this helps for people who are in leadership roles, who have high pressure for performance. She helps with each aspect in an in-depth manner and find easy methods to overcome hurdles and outperform from angles we never thought of.
7. Other comments and feedback:
   My life has changed commendably from the simple aspects of approaching an issue and helping me to look at things with a fresh perspective & not be prisoner of my imagination or legacy. I also understand the deeper physiological interconnectedness, not fall for medicine which struggles to help with only symptoms and not underlying problems.
8. Can I state your first name and use your testimonial on my website and other marketing materials?
   Yes you may.

- Suresh Kini, IT Professional, Bangalore

1. My top three goals upon starting the 6-month program were
   At the onset of the program, my top three goals were as follows:
   • Weight loss (started the program at 92kgs)
   • Being able to make informed food choices
   • Improved digestion
2. My coach was able to help me work toward these goals by
   
   • Identifying gluten/ dairy sensitivity
   • Recommending gradual changes to my diet that weren't extreme and didn't seem too hard to implement in my day to day life
   • Working to create a diet that included supplements for continuous improvement in health
   • Reviewing my food intake on a biweekly basis and recommending changes based on our discussions
3. The biggest tangible change I have noticed since beginning the program has been
   I used to weigh 92kgs at the start of the program (in early February). At the end of the program, my weight has stabilized at 75kgs and I have been able to see a big increase in muscle mass.
4. The most significant overall change I have noticed has been
   My digestive system is in place ever since I eliminated gluten/ dairy based products from my diet. After working to improve my health over a period of six months, I have been able to gradually phase these foods in. Before the program started, I was facing digestive problems every time I consumed gluten/ dairy based products but now my reactions are very mild.
5. I would describe my coach as
   
   • Empathetic
   • Receptive
   • Meticulous
   • Compassionate
6. I would recommend my coach to
   Anyone who wishes to take control of their health and strive towards a better lifestyle. I was very nervous at the onset of the program when we identified gluten/ dairy sensitivity especially as a vegetarian living away from home but Payal worked with me to set up a diet that met my dietary requirements as well as my basic cooking skills. At no point did I feel that her suggestions were unrealistic or over the top - in fact, she even sent over reading materials, videos and recipes to reinforce my learnings throughout the program. Thank you for all your help - this journey has been extremely fulfilling and rewarding!

- Abhinav Wadhwa, Corporate Professional, USA

Bringing some old-school before and after collages to my feed (pun kinda intended). Swipe to see 2 sets of pictures, featuring my August 2019 versus August 2020 avatars. A lot of alarm bells rang for me, last year when I saw myself in these pictures. I was stress eating, exercising very little and travelling a lot. I had gained 12 kilos in the last 2 years. The weight crept up insidiously and with ample help from my lack of discipline, making me balloon into 70 kilos on a 5'3" frame.

As an above knee amputee, keeping my weight within an optimal range is super important. I reached out to my brilliant friend and health coach @payal14 for help. With her guidance, I went off certain food groups and learnt to build a robust meal plan with appropriate substitutes. I still eat a lot, but now I eat right and often cook my own food - a real game-changer. Almost 11 months into this journey, and I've lost 10 kilos along the way. Plus more importantly, I have no trouble keeping them off. Thank you @payal.ctrlaltzen!

- Suranjana Ghosh, Marketing Professional, Mumbai

Ctrl Alt Zen - Be Better Everyday is your perfect place.. Payal can identify the exact cause and heal the body inside out with brilliant changes while keeping in mind the mindset of an older Indian parent and what they're used to and comfortable with.. Do plz holler at her at least initially to get a feel and the fact that she is an Indian woman with international experience makes her even more of a go getter.. I've yet to work with a colleague in the same space who is as empathetic and understanding..

- Santoshi Jain

Thanks Payal for your time you given us to conduct this session for Leadership team. It was wonderful, Insightfu session. All of us found your session really helpful and enlightening. Tips and knowledge shared for our wellbeing is commendable.


It was a really enlightening session and thanks for sharing amazing tips on wellbeing that shall definitely help us to lead a good balanced life.

- Team, MothersonSumi Infotech & Designs Limited

Payal Mahapatra, Health and Wellness Expert, gave a simple but vibrant session on how we have to spend ourselves in this lock down. She gave tips for resetting our mind and wanted us to concentrate on good nutrition, proper sleep and to do simple exercises.

She advised what to eat and what not to in this pandemic and she also gave few ideas on how to manage the stress. Thanks to Payal for a healthy session, it was really wonderful!

- V.Sendil Kumar, Vice President IT at Shriram Value Services, CIO Klub Chennai - Head

Great job with the webinar on Securing Wellness!
Please accept my sincere appreciation.
It was really informative, inspiring and extremely timely.
Your crisp presentation covered everything one needs to do for a good mind, fit body and right actions during the lockdown and beyond.
The simple tips shared on staying hydrated and sleep well are so important.
I have shared these with my colleagues and friends for their benefit.
Looking forward to your upcoming webinars.

Very timely and inspiring webinar... Nice mix of tech , health and wellness..thanks

- Bhupendra Pant, CIO and GM - IT, Oman Trading Establishment Group

Payal, thanks it was really good and not a repeat of the last session you conducted for EliteCISO's @ Maurya.. thanls a lot and thanks to Baljot Bhatia, Jagdish Mahapatra & Vikas Arora for setting this up!

- Vivek Ahuja, Director IT - MEA & India at IDEMIA

Thank you Payal for taking time out and helping us understand the importance of food, minerals & vitamins and what to have during these tough times which will help us build immunity. We never knew that stress can mean during these times. Thanks for explaining all these so well.

- Baljot Bhatia, Regional Sales Manager, CrowdStrike

I suffered from acidity as far as I remember. Since my college days. Things got worse as I started drinking (in the college canteen during recess), what stared from gin, quickly moved to rum and then whiskey. After I started working... bad bosses, late nights, women and stress (sometimes work stress also) added fuel to the fire. It didn’t help my condition though. All the tests were done. Barium meal, endoscopy and what not. Tried Ayurveda, Homeopathy and whatever pathy that could help me. But with no results. I started popping antacids whenever I would have acid attack, which became frequent as time passed. In 2013, after the last bastion of my life fell... after I lost my father, all of a sudden I developed severe health issues. They just popped out of nowhere. Maybe just waiting for me to be mentally vulnerable before they could attack me. Acid reflux was one of them. I was given another heavy antacid by a well known gastroenterologist. Since then everyday I was surviving on that capsule. I was aware it is silently killing me as most Allopathic medicines do, by trying to fix one ailment and creating many more. But I had no choice. I had accepted that as far as I am alive I will have to pop them.

I knew Payal since 2008, when she was with a big international media house, and I had met her for a design project. The project didn’t take off, but our friendship did. And with time, it grew. We tried to establish Art House, a place to promote art, sometime in 2012/13, but after a traumatic experience in Pune (where can it be?) Payal left the country only. But we kept in touch via Facebook and What’s App.

Few months ago, sometime in July this year, I was chatting with her about my acidity issue and she (a health coach by now) suggested me a few dietary changes, few in my case cause I am anyways very particular about what I put in my mouth... not so particular about what comes out of it though... She also put me onto a few supplements to help my gut recover from the onslaught of antacids that I had put it through.

Let me tell you guys... something I never thought would happen, happened. Since September 1st, I stopped popping antacids, a drug I was almost addicted to. I went cold turkey. And in last 6 weeks, I can say I am almost living off those tablets. Now this is all thanks to Payal. (And of course What’s App). She is not just a friend now... she is a saviour to me. Accept my gratitude Payal.

- Sameer Desai

Payal Mahapatra your talk was mesmerising. I noted down every word you spoke and trying to follow it. Though difficult initially but started seeing the results. trust me. Lot of things I could correlate with whatever little I know of Ayurveda and Spirituality. You are doing an exceptional work, though world is short of one Astronaut or Astro physicist. We all were destined to be benefitted with you knowledge. Blessings

- Ashok Kumar, Director, Elite CISOs

To create wealth we need health. It was a wonderful event, well organized and articulated. You explained things in a simple way yet practically possible. We look forward for such programs in future too. I recommend these programs for all Corporate & HR leaders.

- Manikant R Singh, CTO, Elite CISOs

The session was good and gave more insights on being healthy and well-being. We enjoyed the session overall. Thank you!

- Proficio Team

On behalf of everyone at Proficio Singapore, I want to show our appreciation and say thanks to Payal for an extremely informative and insightful session to introduce Health and Wellness to Proficio.

Our industry is a hectic and stressful one. As such, the ability to pay attention to our health and mental well‐being becomes even more important. Payal has done a great job imparting her knowledge and sharing her experience on the matter despite such a short introductory session. I am proud to say that our team now has a much better understanding and are taking steps to improve their wellness.

Thank you Payal and your team at Ctrl Alt Zen and we look forward to conducting more of such sessions in the future.

- Alex Tok, Managing Director

We want to extend our gratitude for conducting the session on Health and Wellness on 18th April' 19. At APCL we are in constant high pressure environment and health at lot of times takes the lower priority. Your guidance on how to take small steps which helps us in ensuring we are not compromising on the health. Your tricks and tips of ensuring the energy and attitude is always high has already seen high adoption in ACPL. Looking at the interest of the employees to know and learn more on this, we have circulated your visiting cards to let them get in touch with you as per their convenience and concerns.

Your session has really contributed a lot and we look forward to more such sessions.

Hope to see you again!

- Aarti Bindra, Managing Director

On behalf of employees at Trend Micro Singapore, I’d like to extend our heartfelt appreciation for Payal’s insightful lunch session on the topic of rebuilding a balanced life.

As an avid mountaineer and hiker myself, I have always believed in living a healthy, active lifestyle. While we’re constantly bogged down by the daily demands of work, taking care of our bodies and minds, getting sufficient rest, and doing regular mindfulness exercises are equally important as attaining success in the workplace. I have personally experienced how a balanced life can beget positive change in both our personal and professional lives.

During the session, Payal delivered a fun mixture of insights supported by scientific research and relatable stories of her personal journey to a balanced life. It was a good reminder of the important things in life that we usually ignore or put on the sidelines. I believe such sessions should be initiated and practised by more corporate organisations across the country.

At Trend Micro, while we have always encouraged our employees to strive for work life balance - and most of our staff do lead a relatively active lifestyle, in and out of the office, it is still helpful to have a professional come in and share more practicable tips to leading a better, healthier, and happier life.

All the best for Payal and Ctrl Alt Zen, and we look forward to conducting more of such health and wellness talks in the future.

- Dhanya Thakkar, Vice President

Thank you Payal for your time in engaging with the staff from Trend Micro (Singapore) Pte Ltd during our regular Health & Wellness Talk.

Our team has gained a full insight with your sharing on wellness talk. It gives us a new approach about staying healthy and maintaining a good work life balance. After the session, it gives us a better understanding that wellness does not only rely on food diet but also our mind that allows us to do "Things within our Power".

On behalf of the management and staff, thank you very much for your time and a good interaction session.

- Joanna Ng, Office Manager

We'd like to express our sincere gratitude for your inspiring and insightful session on health and wellness conducted at our head office in Mumbai on 15th Jan'19. We've received positive feedback from the participants of the session on the topics covered and more importantly the awareness created in them about what are some of the most basic and simple changes people can make to their daily lives that can lead to a much more fulfilling and healthy lifestyle.

The session could not have come at a better time for us, with the Mumbai Marathon just around the corner. Few myths that you unveiled with your years of research and depth of understanding on the subject helped the participants to a great extent.

We wish you and www.crtlaltzen.com the very best as you continue your journey of making a difference in people's lives, thereby, not allowing the gut to leak!

- Naimish Majumdar, GM

On behalf of all staff members at South Asian Technologies, I would like to express my sincere gratitude and appreciation to you for your excellent delivery of the Health & Wellness Program held at our office in Colombo, Sri Lanka on 05th of February 2019.

Your efficiency and effectiveness in the delivery of the content was well received by the audience and the feedback from them has been very positive. We are certain that our staff will seriously consider following your advice on the General Practices of Good Health and Wellness.

We look forward to working with you to have another presentation in the near future as you have been highly appreciated by your audience. Your knowledge and experience in the relevant areas was very clear and evident.

We wish you all success in this endeavors and we have no hesitation in referring your services to any other organization.

- Sanjaya Padmaperuma, CEO

Energy has 3 basic components. The food you eat, the lifestyle you live and the emotions you feel. Food has lost a lot of its meaning in today’s times, as it’s just a method of filling your stomach, instead of a source of energy. Junk food and unhealthy meals worked well in my busy life when I was younger but as time went on, it began to have a negative impact on my body. My energy depleted and this impacted my fitness as well. With Payal by my side, she was able to help me with food that was energy rich, fitness regimens that were meant for me and a good balance for my work life. Not only did this help me then it continues to help me now as well; my energy levels are much better, my physiology is much improved and so are my relationships. Your health and energy helps shape your thoughts and actions which in turn help you define your destiny.

- Jagdish Mahapatra

Payal has helped me overcome the stress and fatigue I used to experience since years. My blood composition level had gone way down and with the help and consultation from Payal on my diet routines, my blood composition levels (especially iron and haemoglobin) were back to normal within six months. The process also helped with unbelievable reduction in my stress levels.

- Srabanti Ghosh