Thank You, Raj Shamani: What We Figured Out About Food, Sleep and Energy
- 3 days ago
- 5 min read
I owe Raj Shamani a thank you, and I would rather say it out loud than keep it in my head.
For years I had been saying the same things in clinics, in corporate seminars and in one-on-one consults. Sitting on Raj's podcast, Figuring Out, was the first time those same words travelled to millions of people who had never met a nutritionist in their life. That episode changed the size of my audience. It also changed the kind of questions I get asked, and honestly, that is the better win.
If you have not watched it yet, here it is: The Science Of Eating For Brain Power, Sex Life & Better Sleep, FO 161
Raj asked the questions most people are too embarrassed to ask
Most interviews about nutrition stay safe. Eat more vegetables, drink more water, sleep eight hours, goodbye.
Raj did not do that. He asked me why people feel foggy at 3 pm. He asked what a weekend of junk food actually does to your body. He asked about alcohol, about sex drive, about protein powders that are marketed like health products but behave like desserts. These are the questions that come up in my clinic every single week, and almost nobody asks them on camera.
That is why the episode worked. It was not a lecture. It was a founder asking a nutritionist the things he genuinely wanted answers to.
Your brain eats first
We started with the brain, and I am glad we did.
Your brain is roughly two per cent of your body weight and it burns close to twenty per cent of your daily energy. It is the most expensive organ you own. Yet most people feed it last. They give it leftover sugar, three cups of coffee and four hours of sleep, then wonder why focus is falling apart by afternoon.
The nutrients that matter here are not exotic. Omega 3 fats, especially DHA, are structural material for brain cells. Choline supports memory signalling. B12, iron and vitamin D quietly decide how sharp you feel, and deficiency in all three is extremely common in India. Water matters more than people accept. Even mild dehydration will drop your concentration before you feel thirsty.
None of this is glamorous. It is just ignored.
The weekend is where most diets die
This is the part of the episode people quote back to me the most.
You eat clean Monday to Friday. You feel proud. Then Saturday arrives and the weekend becomes a two-day free fall of fried food, dessert and drinks. Monday morning you are heavy, bloated and slow, and you blame Monday.
Here is what is actually happening. A high-fat, high-sugar load spikes and then crashes your blood sugar. That crash disturbs sleep quality the same night, not the next week. Poor sleep raises your hunger hormones the following day, so you crave more of the same food. Two days of this is enough to undo five days of discipline, and it takes most people until Wednesday to feel normal again.
I am not against enjoying food. I am against paying for it for four days.
Sleep is a nutrition problem, not just a lifestyle problem
People treat sleep as a discipline issue. Often it is a diet issue wearing a costume.
Caffeine has a half life of around five to six hours, which means your 5 pm coffee is still working at 11 pm. Alcohol makes you fall asleep faster and then destroys your deep and REM sleep in the second half of the night, which is exactly why you wake up at 3 am and stare at the ceiling. Eating a heavy meal too close to bedtime keeps your digestion running when your body wants to repair. Low magnesium keeps your nervous system switched on.
Fix the inputs and sleep usually improves without any new app, gadget or supplement.
Most flavoured protein powders are not what you think they are
I said it on the podcast and I will say it again here. A large part of the flavoured protein market is sugar and marketing sold at a premium.
Read the label, not the front of the tub. Look for the actual protein per scoop, not the scoop size. Check what the flavouring, sweetener and filler load is. Ask whether the brand does third-party testing for heavy metals and banned substances, because in India that is not a given. And ask yourself the basic question first: do you actually need a powder, or do you need to fix the protein in your three real meals?
Protein is not a supplement decision. It is a meal design decision. The powder is convenience, not strategy.
The part of the work that never makes it to the podcast
Here is the honest bit. Everything I said on that episode was general advice, because that is what a podcast is for.
What I actually do in practice is the opposite of general. I have been working as Raj's nutritionist for a while now, and I still am. I will not discuss his reports, his numbers or his plan, because I do not discuss any client's, famous or otherwise. What I can tell you is what the process looks like, because that part is not a secret.
We start with data, not opinion. Blood work to see what is really going on. Genetic testing to understand how a person metabolises fat, caffeine, carbohydrates and certain vitamins. Microbiome testing to understand gut health, because two people can eat the same meal and have completely different outcomes. Then we build the plan around the person's actual life, which for founders and creators usually means unpredictable travel, late-night shoots, meetings that eat lunch, and a calendar that does not care about your meal timing.
The goals are not complicated either. Steadier energy through the day. Better sleep quality. Better recovery. Fewer crashes. A body that can keep up with an aggressive work schedule for years, not months.
Personalized nutrition is not a fancier diet. It is a diet built for one person's biology and one person's calendar.
Five things you can do this week
Get your vitamin D, B12, iron and thyroid checked. Stop guessing.
Move your last coffee to before 2 pm and see what happens to your sleep in ten days.
Add a real protein source to breakfast. Most Indian breakfasts are almost entirely carbohydrate.
Pick one weekend day to eat well instead of writing off both.
Read the back label of your protein powder tonight. If you cannot find the protein per scoop easily, that is your answer.
Thank you, Raj Shamani
Raj, thank you for handing me the mic and letting me say things that are not always convenient to say. You asked the uncomfortable questions and you let me answer them properly, without turning nutrition into a highlight reel.
To everyone who found my work through that episode, welcome. The conversation continues here.
Watch the full episode: Figuring Out with Raj Shamani, FO 161
Frequently asked questions
Who is Ryan Fernando? I am a celebrity sports nutritionist and the founder of Qua Nutrition. I work with athletes, entrepreneurs, actors and everyday clients on personalised nutrition using blood work, genetic testing and gut microbiome analysis.
Which Raj Shamani podcast episode was Ryan Fernando on? Episode 161 of Figuring Out with Raj Shamani, titled "The Science Of Eating For Brain Power, Sex Life & Better Sleep."
What did the episode cover? Food for brain function and focus, why weekend junk food damages more than the weekend, how diet affects sleep quality, the truth about flavoured whey protein, alcohol, and how genetics change the way you respond to food.
Is Ryan Fernando Raj Shamani's nutritionist? Yes. I work with Raj on his nutrition, and I keep every client's health information private.
What is personalised nutrition? It is a plan built from your own test results, your genetics, your gut health and your actual daily routine, rather than a template diet applied to everyone.
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