Nabela Noor's Health Transformation Was Never About Getting Smaller—It Was About Getting Stronger

6 min readFor years, I had hoped my own health journey would take a different path than so many of my family members’ had. That’s because diabetes runs in my family, and for a long time, it felt like a hopeless situation to me. I was diagnosed with both insulin resistance and polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome (PMOS, formerly known as PCOS) in early adulthood. The insulin resistance eventually progressed to pre-diabetes, and at that point, my doctor prescribed an oral diabetes medication. Nonetheless, I ended up developing type 2 diabetes in my early 30s.I continued with oral medication through my two pregnancies. After the birth of my second daughter, Aveena, in 2023, my doctor and I crafted a new treatment plan to escalate from oral diabetes medication to a GLP-1, in order to better control my insulin resistance and hopefully help with PMOS symptoms.I knew starting a GLP-1 wouldn’t be a “quick fix.” That was something my doctor made very clear: "You will need to have a full lifestyle transformation,” I remember him telling me. “That will require you to overhaul not just your eating but also your exercise. You need to focus on strength training and flexibility." So I signed up for Pilates and weight training sessions the same week I started the GLP-1.My goal with this lifestyle transformation was never to be skinny—it was to be strong and healthy. Yes, I’ve lost more than 60 pounds, but even more importantly, I’ve undergone a true mind-body transformation that’s left me feeling stronger than ever before.Finding my flowAfter dealing with extreme pregnancy sciatica in my third trimester—to the point where I was using a cane to walk—I had to slowly ease into a Pilates practice. I signed up for private sessions with instructor Lana Cash, who has since become one of my closest friends. She was so welcoming and made me feel like Pilates is for everybody (despite some stuff online wrongly insinuating that Pilates isn't for plus-size people). I’m so grateful I’ve never had that feeling.That’s not to say Pilates wasn’t daunting in the beginning, due to my limited flexibility from a tough pregnancy. But I kept at it, working with Lana weekly to improve. Fast-forward three years to today, and I can move my body in ways that I never imagined.My favorite Pilates exercises are the lower-body focused ones—I’m a leg girlie. I love doing flying lunges and standing squats. And after a week of tension, Eve’s lunge is the most amazing stretch to open myself up.Neharika NoorNabela loves Pilates so much that she transformed a space in her home into a small studio, with two reformers.Pilates has made me realize how capable I really am, and it has made me trust myself more. Lana really makes me tap into myself, know myself, know what my limits are, and know what I can potentially give another go at. It’s a dance, and I really enjoy it. The gratification that I feel once I can perform a move that I otherwise couldn't have is really, really rewarding.Pilates has also changed the conversation that I have with my body. I don't ask myself, how much smaller can I get? I ask myself how much stronger can I become? I wish everyone tried Pilates just to experience that shift—from focusing on making your body smaller to discovering how incredible it feels to make your body stronger.Strong and steadySpeaking of strength, weight training has been another key component of my transformation. I work with my trainer one or two times a week in my home gym. I opt for slow weighted workouts as someone with PMOS because it helps target insulin resistance and hormonal imbalances. It can get a little repetitive, but that’s also how you get stronger.Legs are, again, a big focus—we do a lot of weighted squats. We also do a lot of core work to focus on rebuilding strength after two C-sections.Aside from the strength training, I've also been trying to prioritize my steps. Getting in 10,000 steps a day is a goal of mine. Whenever I can't get strength training in, I aim to at least get my steps in. It has become a shared journey with my audience, with fellow moms joining along for morning movement after school drop-offs. I am grateful to have a community that shares a desire to grow together.Mindful fuelingAs I’ve been revamping the way I eat, it’s been with the mindset of keeping food joyful. I have an addition over subtraction approach, so I'm adding more things that I love and being mindful of portions rather than restricting myself from anything. Right now, I’m on a really big protein and fiber kick. I try to incorporate protein in all my meals, and it’s something that my kids are now into too. They love steak, chicken, and shrimp. For fiber, I’ve been doing a lot of lentils. I'm very grateful that I can emphasize to my kids the things that can be helpful for our bodies in a way that is positive and healthy and age-appropriate.For me, a typical breakfast is eggs of some kind. My husband, Seth, is the most supportive husband—he’s supported my journey and has loved me at all sizes—and one of the things he does that is so sweet is make me eggs in such creative ways. He'll do egg-in-a-hole or he'll do an egg sandwich or he'll do scrambled eggs. Sometimes he'll just hard boil eggs, and then I'll make a light deviled egg moment. However I can creatively get my eggs in the morning is big for me. For extra protein, I may pair my eggs with steak from dinner the night before.Lunch is often lighter. Lately, I’ve been really enjoying this microwave curry from Deep Indian Kitchen. It has 20 grams of protein. I also love a protein shake (Ballerina Farm protein powder frothed up with whole milk) or I grab a FitCrunch protein bar (my favorite is the mint chocolate chip.)Dinner might be chicken with roasted potatoes and corn. I still love and enjoy my hearty South Asian / Bangladeshi food. Except now I will probably reduce (not remove!) some of the rice and make sure that the plate is balanced with a vegetable medley.I want to honor my body and fuel my body with things that will really give me energy and make me feel like I have a lot of vitality and strength. That’s what propels me forward.A true transformationI have always been an advocate for loving your body at any size and not reserving your happiness for a later date or a later weight. That has been the anthem of my life. I am grateful to myself at all phases for what I've done for my body in those seasons. Yet, I can be grateful for the body that I had as well as proud of the body that I'm building—those two things can coexist. Loving my body doesn't mean that I'm never allowed to want something different for my health.Neharika NoorI’m really happy that I was able to ignore a lot of the noise and stigma around GLP-1s and take this leap. Medication has been one tool in my treatment plan, but it didn't lift the weights for me, and it didn't do the Pilates for me. It didn't choose my meals, and it didn't prioritize my protein. Those are all habits that I had to build. This is a holistic life change—from A to Z.As I look forward, I'm focused on continuing to build muscle and getting stronger, while prioritizing my metabolic health. That was the reason I started this entire journey. I also want to continue to inspire other people in their own journeys—to eat for nourishment and longevity and to prioritize protein and fiber and movement, no matter their size. That is something that I really am passionate about. My goals are not dictated by a number but rather a feeling. I want to feel healthy, I want to feel strong, I want to feel energized and capable, and I'm going to be in pursuit of that feeling forever. It's an indefinite journey for me.