Shonali Sabherwal is India’s only Macrobiotic Nutritionist and the first Solomon Yogalates teacher in the country, who is credited with guiding celebrities like Katrina Kaif and Jacqueline Fernandez to achieve their dream bodies. According to her official website, Shonali is rated among the top 10 Nutritionists and Wellness experts in the country. In 2006, she founded her own macrobiotic nutrition website “Soulfood” in Mumbai, and she is the Director of the Shonaalii Sabherwal Healthier Lifestyle Options Pvt. Ltd. The celebrity chef/instructor and gut expert is also a writer and bestselling author. She has published three books and writes for various media publications. Shonali’s main focus is to work on ailments like cancer, irritable bowel disorder, gut health, autoimmune disease, and more. She believes:
Macrobiotics is not a fashionable concept but it is more of a life approach.”
Table of Contents
Wiki/Biography
Shonali Sabherwal was born in 1969 (age 52 years; as of 2021) in London, United Kingdom, and brought up in Mumbai, India. Shonali did her M.A. in Mass Communication from the Marquette University in Wisconsin, US, and she then returned to India to pursue M.A. in Economics from 1989 – 1991 at the University of Mumbai. Shonali also simultaneously did a Diploma in Journalism from the same institute. Soon after completing her master’s in 1991, Sabherwal went back to Marquette University to do an M.A. in Marketing Research. After a gap of few years in 2006, Sabherwal got enrolled at The Kushi Institute in Becket, Massachusetts, USA and graduated as Macrobiotic Counsellor/Chef/Instructor. After this, she went on to pursue a course in ‘Solomon Yogalates’ from Louise Solomon in Byron Bay, Australia. Shonali is also trained in the Art of Oriental Organ Facial Diagnosis.
Physical Appearance
Height (approx.): 5′ 4″
Hair Colour: Black
Eye Colour: Dark Brown
Family
Parents & Siblings
Her father was a pilot who passed away in 2001, while not much is known about Shonali’s mother.
Shonali Sabherwal with her mother
She has a brother Vishal Sabherwal.
Shonali Sabherwal with her brother Vishal Sabherwal
Shonali also has a younger sister Shabana Sabherwal.
Shonali Sabherwal with her sister Shabana
Husband & Children
She is divorced and has no children.
Career
Before Macrobiotics
Shonali has worked as a marketing research professional for 12 years with MRAS Dun and Bradstreet, Pathfinders, Lintas, and AC Nielsen before she decided to pursue macrobiotics as a full-time profession.
Tryst With Macrobiotics
Shonali stumbled upon macrobiotic nutrition when she was desperately looking to help her father recover from his prostate and bone cancer. Her research on the subject led Shonali to get acquainted with the Dehradun-based macrobiotic nutritionist, Late Mona Schwartz, in 1998. Sabherwal, along with her mother, trained under Mona for 10 days, and it was there that Shonali realised that she was interested in macrobiotics. She said in an interview,
It was while sitting in Mona’s library and poring over her books that I realised macrobiotics was my true calling.”
She tried her macrobiotic approach to recover her father but in vain, as her father succumbed to cancer in 2001; however, Shonali did not give up macrobiotics and decided to pursue graduation in the subject.
In 2005, Shonali was determined to make a career shift and practice macrobiotics in India but she was diagnosed with a slipped disk, which motivated her to earn a certification in Yoga Pilates from Australia. In around 2006- 2007, the Macrobiotics Nutritionist founded her business, “Soulfood” in Mumbai, which provides retail ready-to-eat snacks and fermented foods under the name Shonaalii Sabherwal Healthier Lifestyle Options Pvt. Ltd. Talking about her early career in an interview, Shonali said,
I started catering macrobiotic meals, especially lunches, to people at work. My first five clients were friends and acquaintances.”
Around the same time, Shonali also started her own catering service “Enhance” which delivered macrobiotic health meals in Mumbai. Initially, Sabherwal started by preparing just five lunches a day, which gradually increased to around 30-35 lunches and six custom-made dinners. Shonali then also started conducting cookery classes, workshops on diet and lifestyle and giving out macrobiotic consultations. Shonali has also started a ‘Healthy Macro Kids’ program for schools in Mumbai, wherein she guides parents about the health of their children. She has also introduced a ‘Wellness Food’ menu as part of her repertoire of services for Wellness Health Spas and Restaurants.
Celebrity Clientele
Shonali landed up working with celebrity clients in 2008 when the Bollywood actress Katrina Kaif saw Shonali’s Soulfood brochure and got in touch with her. Her association with Katrina made Shonali the leading Macrobiotic Nutritionist, and she was credited with transforming the actress’ body. Soon, her clientele grew in the Bollywood industry and in the corporate sector of India. Shonali now works with some famous personalities like Jacqueline Fernandez, Sidharth Malhotra, Zoya Akhtar, Javed Akhtar, Raima Sen, Neha Dhupia, Hema Malini, Esha Deol, Ahana Deol, Tabu, Kabir Bedi, Dalip Tahil, Shekhar Kapur, Nivin Pauly, and more.
Writer
The celebrity macrobiotic counsellor is also an active writer, who has been writing for different media publications since 2008. She has written for The Hindu, Hindustan Times, Indian Express Indulge, The Vogue, Deccan Herald, Business World, NDTV, India Today, Free Press Journal, Femina, DNA, and more. Apart from these, Shonali has been featured in various other publications as well. Sabherwal also has three bestselling books to her name, which are published by the Penguin Random House. She published her debut book “The Beauty Diet: Eat Your Way to a Fab New You” in 2012, and two years later she came back with another book “The Love Diet.” Shonali announced at the launch of her second book that she would donate all the profits she would earn in the first year from the sale of the book to two NGOs – Eve Foundation and Ra Foundation.
Shonali Sabherwal with Zoya Akhtar at the launch of her book
In 2017, the nutritionist released her third book “The Detox Diet.”
Awards, Honours, Achievements
In 2016, Shonali was among the top six finalists in the category of ‘India’s Most Promising Face in Diet and Nutrition’ at Pharma Leaders Power Brand Awards, held by the Annual Pharmaceutical Leadership Summit and Pharmaleaders Business Leadership Awards.
Shonali won the ‘Woman Entrepreneur in Health Food’ award by The Times SheUnlimited in 2019.
Shonali Sabherwal won award in 2019
In 2020, she was named The Vogue ‘Best Nutritionist.’
Facts/Trivia
Shonali enjoys consuming alcoholic drinks, and she is also a vegan.
The nutritionist revealed in an article that her growing years got her hooked to diet and nutrition, which helped her carve a career in the niche. She added,
I was very good at academics, as well as sports and was an athlete. Growing up, I ate a lot — meat was on the menu at least four days a week. My mother was the one who fed us, while my father was more health conscious. Being a pilot, he travelled a lot. He was also a voracious reader. In fact, I used to read a lot of books on foods and diets and somewhere along the line, I was hooked.”
She is a Mumbai-based nutritionist and manages her work online in over 35 countries.
Shonali offers five packages, with the basic one starting from around Rs. 40,000, to the recovery plan going as high as Rs. 3 lakhs.
Sabherwal also sits as a Nutritionist on the board of Ecole Mondiale World School and Green Acres Academy in Mumbai.