Before reviewing this wonderful read, Fitness Fun, Nutrition and Lifestyle in Pakistan, by Pakistani author Sarah Kamal Muggo (@fitfoodlifestyle1), I would like to share how impactful this book has been for Pakistani women of all ages.

Fitness Fun, Nutrition and Lifestyle in Pakistan has become a Bible of sorts for many women in conservative Pakistani society where women still do not have the same level of liberty and freedom as their male counterparts. The book is a rallying cry for women to fight back against body-shaming and moral policing. Recently, I had the pleasure of reading this beautiful book after it was recommended to me by several of my friends.

Muggo studied fitness and nutrition in college, and after which she decided to tackle Pakistan’s fitness and health landscape for women. Having to confront the issue of being overweight in a society like Pakistan is extremely difficult and the author should be commended for doing so.

As a writer, it was a huge risk for her to do something like this. Muggo’s primary motive has been to bring a “wellness revolution” and her book provides the ammunition for it. She is the first of her kind in Pakistan and one of the most impactful fitness writers throughout South Asia.

Throughout the book’s nine chapters, Muggo seeks to inspire people through her own personal experiences.

The book includes several insightful interviews with trainers and nutritionists alongside fitness contract sheets, pictures, and numerous bits and pieces of information on clean eating, maintaining an active lifestyle as well as a focus on relaxation. Muggo has a belief that squeezing in an hour of workout daily is a necessity in its own right because it keeps a person mentally and physically active while leading towards detoxification of the human body. Like many of her international counterparts, Muggo also believes that one has to be careful about what they eat as that constitutes an important role in the building of a successful fitness regime. The book has an attractive layout and contains a number of photographs alongside the aforementioned interviews.

The book chronicles how overweight women living in a culture like Pakistan are under a lot of pressure to conform to a societal standard that places a lot of emphasis on marriage and relationships.

I wholeheartedly recommend Fitness Fun, Nutrition, and Lifestyle in Pakistan to all readers and also hope that the book continues to wield its influence and impact for years to come. Outside of Pakistan, readers in the West will also find many of the themes in the book useful.