‘Stress eating became my escape, gained 45 kilos’: IAS officer opens up about physical, mental challenges while preparing for UPSC exams, reveals key lesson that changed her life

“The real victory is when you ‘don’t quit’,” Bishnoi wrote. “If you’re in a dark place right now – You’re not stuck. You’re not broken. You can change your life. It’s completely in your own hands.”

The viral video shows Bishnoi’s journey through on-screen text, covering her path from disappointment to success. After failing to crack the exams in 2017, she returned home to Rajasthan, where she went through a difficult phase of isolation that affected both her mental and physical health.

“I isolated myself. Shut out the world. Stress eating became my escape,” she wrote. “I gained 45 kilos. I felt heavy, not just physically, but emotionally too. I didn’t recognise myself anymore.”

However, everything changed when she received her interview call. “I decided to fight not just for a rank but for myself,” Bishnoi said, as the video shows her training, eating healthy, and rebuilding her confidence.

Talking about her fitness journey, she said, “Losing that weight wasn’t just about numbers, it was about shedding fear, doubt, and everything that made me feel I wasn’t enough.”

Watch here:

In 2019, Bishnoi’s perseverance paid off when she cleared the UPSC exams with an all-India rank of 30, as reported by The Indian Express.

Bishnoi is married to Bhavya Bishnoi, a BJP leader and the grandson of former Haryana chief minister Bhajan Lal. The couple welcomed their daughter, Veda, in February 2025.

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