Mumbai, Jan 18 : Actress Shreya Chaudhry, who gained recognition with her work in 'Bandish Bandits', has talked about her fitness journey in the past with her having a slip disc at an early age of 19 to her putting on over 30 kilos of weight.

Talking to social media, Shreya wrote: 'When I opened up about my struggle with fitness and health on social media, I did not know that I would be flooded with so much love from everyone. I made the post because I felt empowered and safe to share my feelings, and it struck a chord with people.'

She added: 'The positive reaction and encouragement is pushing me to reveal something I have never spoken out loud, so that everyone going through similar things in life feels that they can overcome anything by believing in themselves and their mental strength.'

The actress recalled that when she was 19, she was going through a lot.

'I was not in the best headspace. During this time, I put on a lot of weight, which took a toll on my fitness and health. I stopped doing any physical activity, and that made things worse. What struck the final nail was me getting a slip disc at that young age! I was always ambitious.'

She added: 'I always wanted to be a career-focused girl. And now, I had something that posed as a major obstacle to chasing my dreams. I think this was a huge wake-up call for me. I couldn't believe I had taken myself for granted."

Recalling an incident, she said: 'I remember one day, while lying on my bed, I told myself that I had to take care of myself. I had to be happy and healthy for myself, my family, and for my ambitions and aspirations. I wanted to touch the moon, and I knew I had it in me to turn things around.'

'It took me many, many months, but I focused on my fitness and well-being, and by the time I was 21, my body and mind were in a brand-new mode. I slowly became fitter, lost 30 kilos, and there was no relapse of the slip disc, which meant I could be carefree and focus on becoming even fitter.'

'Life will always throw a lot of things at us; we just need to move on and stay focused, I guess.'

Shreya further says, 'Touchwood. I'm at my fittest best now. From being a girl who had a slip disc, I can now box like a beast! I can dance, stand on my two legs for hours during shoots, and push my body to the extreme on sets whenever required. Taking care of myself allowed me to become an actor and realize my dream.'

'We often look at impediments negatively, but for me, I see them extremely positively. If I hadn't bounced back, I don't know what my life would be like. We have a gift called life, and we should try to live it fully.'

/IANS