From the viral ’75 Hard Challenge’ to ‘Wall Pilates Challenge,’ fitness and exercise are increasingly seen as “universal expectations” But do our cultural backgrounds and societal ideals of beauty subtly influence how we approach exercise and view our own bodies?

Chinza Abeche’s fitness journey was initially driven by a singular goal: striving to attain the “slim, straight-lined rectangle” body ideal often glorified in Western media. Growing up in Lagos, Nigeria, Chinza vividly remembers flipping through glossy Western magazines that idolised slim physiques. The pervasive messaging in these publications heavily influenced her self-image, shaping her perception of beauty and fitness.

“One of those “secrets” stuck with me like a gospel: “Always dress for your body type.” The magazines laid it all out like a hierarchy, a cheerleading pyramid of desirability. At the very top? The slim, straight-lined rectangle—the body type everyone wanted to have. Easy to dress, easy to flaunt, easy to love. Below that were the curvy, the pear, and the round, ranked with increasing degrees of difficulty. If your body wasn’t straight up and down, the message was clear: you had to work harder.” Chinza shares.

For Chinza, with a curvy figure, these rules felt foreign. “Those body types from magazines felt like they belonged to another world,” she explains. “In West Africa, curves weren’t a burden; they were celebrated. Curvy women were icons of beauty.”

Chinza never questioned her shape until she moved to the UK. “I never gave much thought to my curvy body, But when I moved to the UK, everything changed. —my curves—suddenly felt glaringly out of place,” she says. In a culture obsessed with thinness, she began scrutinizing her body. “For the first time, I wondered if I was beautiful.”

Her fitness journey started by chasing that slim ideal. “I bought into the idea that being skinny was the ultimate goal,” she admits. “I wasn’t celebrating myself; I was trying to erase what made me different.”

For those with transcultural roots like Chinza, navigating beauty standards can feel like a tightrope walk. But her story doesn’t end with conformity. It’s a tale of transformation—embracing her body on her own terms, redefining fitness as a source of empowerment rather than erasure.

 For Aditi Gautham, Founder and CEO of The Boss Body Revolution, embarking on her fitness journey wasn’t just about breaking a sweat—it was about breaking stereotypes. As a South Asian woman, Aditi first had to challenge long-standing beliefs about fitness that didn’t align with her cultural reality.

Growing up in India, she recalls, the notion of women aspiring to be physically fit was almost inconceivable. In a society where femininity is traditionally linked to nurturing and caregiving the pursuit of strength or athleticism as a woman seemed a distant, almost absurd, ambition.

“Starting my fitness journey meant a total mindset shift for me,” Aditi says.” Back home, Fitness wasn’t something women talked about. Instead, most of the women were expected to prioritise the needs of others—whether it was family, household responsibilities, or other things—often at the expense of their own well-being.”

As a result, many South Asian women today inherit this mindset, feeling a sense of guilt or selfishness when they try to focus on their own fitness goals. This ingrained expectation can make it challenging for them to break away and recognize that prioritizing their health is just as important.

Aditi also highlighted the lack of representation in the fitness and diet industry, which has perpetuated myths and often discourages South Asian women from embracing fitness. When she moved away from India to start a new chapter in her life, she was determined to get fit. However, she quickly realised that much of the fitness advice available didn’t resonate with her cultural background or dietary habits.

Aditi says: “For me, mainstream fitness advice felt…off. It seemed to revolve around a very specific diet: one dominated by chicken breasts and potatoes. And honestly, I wasn’t willing to give up my Desi plate—roti, dal, aloo, and all. These were the foods I grew up with, the ones I knew how to cook and loved. The idea of completely cutting them out felt not just restrictive, but wrong. Although, there was a lot of unlearning and relearning. I created a diet plan that worked for me. I stuck to my traditional foods but found smarter ways to enjoy them. 

There’s a huge misconception that you can’t eat desi food and be healthy. With a few simple tweaks, it can fit perfectly into a healthy lifestyle. 

This is why I launched my fitness brand, The Boss Body Revolution. My mission is to show Desi women, and all South Asian women, that our traditional foods can absolutely be part of a balanced, healthy diet.”

Chinza also discussed the complexities of balancing cultural cuisine with generalised, mainstream dietary advice. 

She recalls. “In my Nigerian culture, our food is rich, flavourful, and, yes, carb-heavy. We enjoy dishes like jollof rice, pounded yam, fried plantains, and soups made with palm oil. But I couldn’t figure out how to align those foods with my new fixation on being slim. So, I stopped eating them altogether.”

 “My meals became painfully bland—Carrots, zucchini, green beans, chicken, day after day. While the restrictive diet helped me shed pounds, it came at a cost. Eventually, I gave in to my cravings and went back to my traditional foods.”

Nutritionist and fitness coach Vivian Ajayi highlights the danger of believing that one’s cultural food is incompatible with a healthy diet. This mindset often makes it difficult for people to maintain their diet sustainably during their fitness journey.

Vivian finds that many of her clients – particularly those with African, Caribbean, and Indian roots – struggle to find ways to incorporate their traditional meals into a healthy lifestyle.

 “Let’s be honest,” she says, “Carb-heavy dishes and the use of oils like sunflower or palm oil can throw a wrench in your fitness goals.” But instead of deprivation, Vivian emphasises a balanced approach. “I’m all about enjoying your favourite foods,” she explains, “but we focus on mindful eating – portion control and being aware of how often you indulge. This way, you can still savour those cultural flavours while making sustainable progress towards your fitness goals.”

The bottom line? Work out according to your body type 

With the rise of social media fitness influencers flooding our feeds with trendy workouts, and endless advice, it’s easy to get swept up in the hype. However—what works for your favourite Instagram influencer might not be what your body actually needs. 

Fitness coach Vivian said that “understanding your unique body composition is the cornerstone of a successful fitness journey.”

She explains it with a simple analogy 

“Think of your fitness journey like building a house. If you don’t know the structure you’re working with—whether it’s the foundation or the materials—you’re likely to build something that won’t last. Your body composition is that foundation.”

Instead of jumping into the latest HIIT challenge or signing up for yet another workout subscription, Vivian advises starting with the basics. Learn about your body’s muscle-to-fat ratio, metabolism, and natural movement patterns. This, she says, is the secret sauce to crafting a workout plan that not only gets results but also keeps you feeling good while you’re at it.

Speaking of body types, Aditi Gautham, founder of The Boss Body Revolution, offers a unique perspective for South Asian women. “If you’re of South Asian origin, you might have heard the term ‘Desi Belly,’ referring to the tendency for fat to accumulate around the abdomen,” she explains. Many South Asian women, she notes, are often labelled as ‘skinny fat’—appearing slim but carrying a higher percentage of body fat, especially around the belly, hips, and waist.

“This predisposition includes higher levels of visceral fat—the kind that surrounds internal organs—even at lower Body Mass Index (BMI) levels,” Aditi says. To address this, she advises a strategic fitness approach: full-body strength training to build muscle and tone evenly, steady-state cardio combined with intervals for effective fat loss and maintaining consistent activity levels to manage fat storage long-term.

Coach Vivian stresses an important truth: fitness is no longer a one-size-fits-all journey. “Even if every single one of us followed the exact same workout routine and diet plan,” Viv explains, “we’d still end up looking different. Our bodies are incredibly diverse—ranging from naturally lean to muscular to soft and rounded. It’s not just about being ‘skinny’ or ‘curvy.’”

Viv encourages us to move beyond narrow beauty ideals and embrace the rich variety of body types we see in the world. “We also need to recognize how cultural influences shape our perceptions of fitness and body image,” Viv adds. “Appreciating that diversity is a powerful step toward self-acceptance.”

Ultimately, the goal of fitness shouldn’t be to fit into someone else’s mold. It’s about keeping your body healthy and celebrating what makes it uniquely yours. After all, your body tells your story—and there’s nothing more worth embracing than that.

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