• Duaine Peiris on 10 years of Calorie Counter and Lankan fitness culture

When Calorie Counter first opened its doors on 1 January 2015, few in Colombo would have guessed that a small health food restaurant run by a former advertising executive would still be standing a decade later, let alone have expanded across Sri Lanka and overseas. 

Ten years on, Calorie Counter has become a national name in clean eating, healthy living, and now, fitness culture with the advent of Live Strong Sri Lanka: Festival of Health & Fitness 2025, one of Sri Lanka’s few health and fitness festivals. 

The Sunday Morning Brunch sat down with Calorie Counter Founder Duaine Peiris to reflect not just on 10 years of Calorie Counter, but also on how the country’s attitude to food, health, and wellness has changed over the last decade.

A story born from struggle

Duaine’s journey to Calorie Counter began through his need to make a personal shift. 

A former school sportsman, his active years gave way to a sedentary corporate lifestyle filled with long hours, business entertaining, and excess. He reached a weight of 137 kg with a 46-inch waist and an 18-inch collar. The turning point came when he watched his wife’s parents struggle with Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs). 

“Seeing what they went through made me realise I was heading in the same direction,” he said. “NCDs don’t just affect the person who is ill; they affect the whole family,” he said.

Determined to change course, Duaine began exercising, but progress was slow. The real transformation came when he began to study food and nutrition. Within a year he lost 45 kg, eventually shedding 55 kg in total. 

The experience opened his eyes to how few healthy food options were available in Sri Lanka. “Every so-called healthy sandwich was full of mayonnaise,” he said. “If you wanted to eat clean, you had to cook at home.”

It was out of that frustration that Calorie Counter was born — a restaurant built around balance, transparency, and flavour.

From the outset, Duaine’s goal was simple: make healthy food accessible and enjoyable. “I’m a foodie,” he said. “I didn’t want boiled vegetables or tasteless salads. I wanted food that was colourful, satisfying, and made with real ingredients. You can grill a piece of chicken and make it healthy, or you can deep fry it and make it unhealthy.”

It was around this principle that Duaine built Calorie Counter. Each dish was portioned to provide a clear balance of carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. Every meal lists its calorie and macronutrient breakdown (Calorie Counter was the first establishment in Sri Lanka to do so), helping customers understand what they are eating. 

“If you don’t know your company’s P&L, you can’t run the business,” Duaine explained. “It’s the same with your body. If you don’t know what you’re putting in, you won’t know what’s going wrong.”

When Calorie Counter opened, the concept was alien to many Sri Lankans. “People thought healthy food meant hospital food,” Duaine recalled. “Changing that mindset took years.” Yet the brand endured, expanding to Negombo, Galle, and overseas to Kuwait and the Maldives.

Today, Calorie Counter is recognised not only as a restaurant but as a movement — one that champions everyday wellness over short-term diets.

From brand to national movement

For its 10th anniversary, Calorie Counter has chosen to celebrate with purpose rather than parties. 

Live Strong Sri Lanka: Festival of Health & Fitness 2025 held on 25 October at Arcade Independence Square was the culmination of a month-long Every Step Counts Challenge that invited Sri Lankans to walk, run, cycle, swim, and move for a cause. Every calorie burned contributed to a national total that was converted into a donation to the Directorate of NCD.

“The idea was simple,” Duaine said. “We’ve spent 10 years helping people eat better. Now we wanted to get people moving. It doesn’t matter whether you walk, dance, or lift weights; movement is life.”

The festival was a full-day celebration of activity and community: a five-kilometre fun run, a community duathlon, strength competitions, High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT), yoga, stretch sessions, a kids’ activity zone, health screenings, and an expo of gyms and wellness brands. Entry was free. 

“We wanted it to be inclusive,” Duaine said. “Fitness isn’t about six packs or competition. It’s about families spending time together, kids seeing their parents active, and people realising that health can be joyful.”

Duaine’s festival arrives at a pivotal time for Sri Lanka’s fitness scene. A decade ago, gyms were rare, and few saw exercise as a lifestyle. Today, the industry is thriving. CrossFit boxes, HIIT studios, spin clubs, and Pilates classes have multiplied. Local brands are emerging in activewear, nutrition, and recovery. International events like Ironman 70.3 and homegrown festivals such as Live Strong Sri Lanka are giving people new ways to engage.

The uphill battle against NCDs

Sri Lanka’s growing interest in wellness hides a darker trend. NCDs, including heart disease, diabetes, and cancer, account for around 83% of deaths in the country. Childhood obesity and early-onset diabetes are rising fast, with cases appearing among children as young as 10.

“Every fizzy drink or sugary tea we give a child is an investment in illness,” Duaine said. “Parents don’t realise that the habits they set now determine their children’s future health.”

His message is not one of blame but of awareness. “We can’t fix this overnight, but we can start by moving more and eating better,” he said. “If we make prevention part of our culture, we can change the country.”

To that end, Duaine is now pursuing a doctorate in NCD prevention, focusing on how indigenous Sri Lankan foods can reduce disease risk. He’s also working with the Ministry of Health, World Food Programme, and Sun Business Network to promote nutrition and childhood obesity prevention.

“Sri Lanka is blessed with incredible ingredients — moringa, polos, thambili,” he said. “I truly believe Sri Lankan ingredients play a major role in health and fitness, but we have lost our roots and the wisdom from other eras on what and what not to eat. We need to relearn that wisdom.”

Duaine’s research is already shaping Calorie Counter’s future. Under its main brand sit several new concepts:

• NutriBar, an affordable Sri Lankan-style menu with kola kanda, five-grain meals, and balanced rice packs that focus on portion control and clean preparation.
• Recharge Hub, serving quick, high-protein meals in gyms and sports venues.
• Fuel Hub, set to provide healthy meals in offices and schools.

“Our rice and curry isn’t unhealthy,” Duaine explained. “The problem is how we eat it — too much rice, too much oil, too little variety. At NutriBar, we give a portion that’s balanced: 100 g of low-Glycaemic Index (GI) rice, three types of local vegetables, grilled chicken, sambol, and nuts. It’s still our food, but re-engineered.”

The rise of the fitness festival

The Live Strong Sri Lanka festival is part of a wider global trend that is beginning to take root locally — the fitness festival as a social experience. All over the world, fitness gatherings combine exercise, music, food, and wellness under one roof. They are not competitions; they are community movements.

Duaine believes such events could play a vital role in shifting mindsets. “When you make health fun, people want to be part of it,” he said. “It’s not about showing off. It’s about creating memories that link movement with happiness.”

The 2025 edition saw participants from across the country, including families, schools, and fitness groups. “People came from Kandy just to take part,” Duaine said. “That tells you there’s demand for this kind of gathering.”

Duaine has travelled to over 27 countries and says what stands out abroad is how health and fitness are integrated into daily life from childhood. “It’s not about gyms or supplements,” he said. “It’s about culture — how people eat, play, and spend time together.”

He sees promising signs in Sri Lanka: new studios, growing interest in Pilates and functional training, and an increase in local entrepreneurs creating fitness apparel and recovery spaces. “We are building an ecosystem,” he said. “And that’s how real change happens.”

He also pointed to growing Government involvement and corporate partnerships. “We can’t rely only on individuals,” he said. “If the private sector, schools, and health ministry work together, we can turn the tide on NCDs.”

Lessons in resilience

Duaine’s journey, both personal and professional, is rooted in resilience. Raised by a single mother after losing his father at seven, he began working immediately after finishing school to support his family. His career took him through banking, advertising, and interior design before finding purpose in wellness.

His advice to others is simple but hard-earned. “Understand your reason,” he said. “If you’re doing something only for appearance, you’ll give up. But if you’re doing it for your health, for your family, you’ll stay consistent.”

Consistency, he said, is the key to any change. “You can’t build a house in a day. If you can walk 50 metres today, do 51 tomorrow. Don’t compare yourself to anyone. Your only competition is you.”

Ten years after opening, Calorie Counter is more than a restaurant. It’s a symbol of how Sri Lankans are beginning to take ownership of their health. What started as one man’s personal transformation has grown into a national conversation about food, fitness, and future well-being.

“When I go for a blood test and I know that the reports will come out good, that’s wealth,” Duaine said. “That’s the kind of security no money can buy.”