She is a marathoner, fitness influencer and a hotelier. Vera Puri (34) dons too many hats. To accomplish all her tasks, she starts her day as early as 5 am and gets cracking.
At least four times a week, her first task of the day is a long run. If there is a marathon approaching, she won’t skip the run whether it is foggy or it is raining. Straight from the run, she heads to her gym where she does not just exercise on her own, but also trains people.
“The actual grind begins at 10 am. There are meetings with clients at my hotel and restaurant. Throughout the day, I and my husband Siddhartha Singh also run online fitness sessions for people from India and abroad who have enrolled with us. We prepare their individual diet plans and physical exercise routine and do daily sessions with them. There are so many people who cannot come to our gym, but need counselling. So, we are using online platforms for them,” she elaborated.
Vera has also been travelling a lot. She recently completed a full marathon in Delhi. Before that, she had done it in Ladakh. “I cannot count the number of half marathons that I have completed. But running and physical activity have been in my blood. My father Suman Puri was a national-level golf player. I too have been into golf. But I have played every game. Be it athletics, basketball, volleyball, badminton or tennis, I was in every team as a school-goer,” she says.
Vera studied in local St Joseph’s Convent School after which she had moved to England for her higher studies in finance. “Back from there, I joined my father’s hospitality business. I got married to Siddhartha around five years ago. We both had same interests in gyming and fitness. We both eat, sleep and breathe fitness. Together, we are running the gym and helping people maintain their fitness,” she said.
Vera and Siddhartha have another task to follow daily. They make videos and share them on their Instagram accounts, which are followed widely by people. The videos are themed on dietary practices, exercise routine and weight loss modules. Often involving a lot of fun element, the couple draws a lot of traction on social media.
Though Vera owns a hotel and a restaurant, she says that she is mostly cooking her own food. “I follow the normal dal-roti-salad diet. We focus on more protein intake by adding Greek yoghurt, paneer, eggs and chicken. We insist that pizza, burger and sandwich is also not a bad option if we put in the right filling and topping on it to give it a healthier version,” she says.
Vera is also an animal lover. She has three dogs of her own and is raising nearly a dozen stray dogs. “Our restaurant is pet-friendly as we are sensitive to the needs of pet keepers. We, however, ask them to put their dogs on leash near the entry point after which they come in and enjoy their meals,” she explained.
