10 Leadership Lessons I Learned After Losing Over 125 Pounds (or 57 kgs)
- Paayal Mahajan
- Aug 5, 2025
- 3 min read
In 2014, I began yet another weight loss journey. In 3 years, I lost 125 pounds.
Losing a person off my body didn’t silence the judgment. It changed its tone.
It made me reflect on what it really means to take up space, lead powerfully, and own my story in the era of personal branding, authenticity, and being constantly seen. Especially as a woman. Especially as someone in leadership.
Here’s what I learned about leadership, body image, and self-worth through a lens most people don’t talk about.
1. You define your identity.
Society will always try to define you by your appearance. You have to build a version of self-worth that doesn’t rely on how you look.
"Real leadership begins when you stop outsourcing your value to the mirror."
2. You must pay attention to who gets ignored.
I was left out of conversations and spaces, even when I belonged there. That experience sharpened my awareness.
Real leaders notice who’s not in the room, and ask why.
3. Overachieving hides deeper wounds.
I worked twice as hard to prove I was exceptional. But I was still the “fat girl.”
Many high-achieving women carry this story. Leadership asks you to confront why you’re striving and who you’re trying to impress.
"Recognition isn't always validation. Sometimes it's survival."
4. Visibility brings pressure, not freedom.
After I lost weight, people commented on my body more, not less. They asked invasive questions. Shared unsolicited opinions.
The attention didn’t feel empowering. It felt like scrutiny.
You have to choose what you share and what you protect.
5. Leadership always invites judgment.
No matter your size or success, people will have something to say. You don’t need to manage their comfort. You need to stay anchored in your own decisions.
"When you lead, you become a mirror. And not everyone likes their reflection."
6. Strong leaders set boundaries.
You don’t owe anyone your story, your habits, or your healing. That’s not secrecy. That’s sovereignty.
7. Your body is not public property.
The world may treat it like it is. You don’t have to accept that.
Leaders who stay grounded in their bodies carry a different kind of embodied presence that is wildly different from performative presence.
8. Self-regulation builds trust.
You can’t control what people say. You can control how you respond.
The most powerful leaders don’t just project calm, they practice it daily, neurologically and somatically.
"Composure is not a skill. It is a nervous system pattern."
9. You don’t just claim your self-worth. You must embody it.
Saying “I’m enough” is one thing. Feeling safe in your skin is another.
True leadership lives in the body. Not just in affirmations. Not in branding. Not in optics.
10. Ownership beats approval.
Approval fades. Ownership stays.
Lead from who you are, not who the world wants you to be. People will feel the difference.
If You’ve Ever Been Judged, Ignored, or Picked Apart, This is for You.
If you’ve ever been dismissed because of your appearance...
If you've been overlooked even while overdelivering...
You are not the problem. You don’t need to become someone else to lead.
You just need to come home to yourself, and lead from there.
If you're a public figure, executive, or someone who leads from the front—your body carries more than pressure. It carries perception.
My calendar fills quickly and I only take on a select number of private clients each season. If you're ready for a 1:1 Deep Dive that meets you at your level and reflects the stakes you operate at, begin here.
