"You have to see what works for you. Not do it just because Sunil Chhetri is doing it."

So says Sunil Chetri, the 35-year-old captain of the Indian football team. He turned to a strictly plant-based diet on 10 December, a date he remembers clearly, after trying and failing to stick to the regime on previous attempts. This time, the star footballer, who had eaten meat for most of his life, had to make the switch for health reasons.

He realized that he was tiring more easily on the pitch, which is detrimental to a career that is as reliant on speed and fitness as on skill. The new diet not only made him lighter—he lost a few kilograms—but faster, without losing muscle mass.

While Chhetri refuses to be pushy aboutWhen you eat heavier food, GI (gastrointestinal) system, bowel movements, etc., get affected. More nutrition and fibrous food has made my GI work well."

This year, when he was on Everest—he had summited once before in 2016—the other seven members of his team had GI issues, like diarrhoea, or chest infection at least twice during the climb. Joishier didn’t.

Sathishwaran gave up eating meat, his favourite grilled chicken in particular, because he used to suffer from frequent colds and coughs. Around 2013, influenced also by ethical reasons, he first became a vegetarian and later gave up dairy too. He became calmer, he says, and less aggressive—Chhetri echoes the sentiment.

“It helped me mentally, I could be more stable. I can see these changes because my body and muscles respond better," says