IN CONVERSATION
The size zero way
MONA RAMAVAT
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Fitness and nutrition expert, Rujuta Diwekar on celeb fitness, her new book and more…
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RUJUTA DIWEKAR: Eat right and stay fit.
At 31, she looks a good decade younger and why not? She does more than practise what she teaches, shall we say? With her book Don’t Lose Your Mind, Lose Your Weight topping bestseller lists, Rujuta Diwekar’s a household
name. Of course she is better known as the lady who got Kareena Kapoor into her size-zero shape. Rujuta is soon coming up with her second book. Excerpts from an exclusive interview:
Don’t Lose Your Mind, Lose Your Weight has been a roaring success…
Well yes. This is an issue with most youngsters today. The approach to weight loss and staying fit is usually not right. the book talks about how to eat your way to fitness! What we eat, how we eat, how much we eat at one time, our state of mind while we eat all contribute greatly to fitness. Crash dieting doesn’t help in the long run. How you manage your diet is more important. Once you get a grip on this, weight loss can be managed rather sensibly. Usually, people are confused about which one to follow since the information comes from half-baked sources. For instance, a diet regimen says, “eat asparagus”. Now how many of us actually know what is asparagus, where to find it in our city, and how to cook it.
Tell us about the whole size zero experience…
Kareena worked hard to get into her size-zero shape mainly by regulating her diet and exercising, without compromising on her nutrition. She’s been a pleasure to work with. Size zero soon became a fad. Everybody wanted to get Kareena’s figure, but not everyone emulated her approach and attitude to getting there. It’s ironical however that, on the one hand, there are people who go all the way to not eat while, on the other, there are kids dying of malnutrition.
Are we a generation obsessed with weight problems?
Certainly. It just goes with our lifestyle and the dreams that advertisers sell. In the process, many youngsters end up ruining their health.
How does being overweight affect body image? Do you deal with such issues too?
Body weight has a great deal to do with body image. I have people — especially young girls — say things like they are disturbed to see themselves naked in the mirror. So some of them don’t bathe everyday for fear of seeing themselves! This emotional stress is damaging to self-esteem. I counsel them, but when the problem gets out of hand, I have to seek help from a body image expert or psychiatrist.
What made you take up fitness for a career?
You’d be surprised. Something as simple as the aerobics hour in college! Incidentally, my parents have always been the sort who’ve emphasised greatly on education, so I couldn’t get away with saying I wanted to pursue a career in fitness. That’s when I took up a post-graduate course in nutrition and sports science at SNDT, Mumbai. So I was doing what I am passionate about while also ensuring my parents were happy.
How challenging was it to make a place for yourself?
It was in the beginning but a combination of patience and perseverance has seen me through these last 10 years. Back then, when I began, mostly film stars and models were particular about how glamorous they looked. And fitness is an integral part of that. Gradually, a whole lot of industrialists, entrepreneurs and young professionals started coming in too. I believe that once a sense of fitness is instilled in the young, the habit continues into adulthood. Then, irrespective of whether they are 24 or 35 or 45, they’ll follow a disciplined approach towards getting fit.
What is the second book about?
The second book is focused on women’s fitness in particular. Women, especially in India, are so busy managing the home, children and their careers that their health and fitness is last priority. The stress they bring home from the workplace and then cook and eat in that state of mind… All this affects their health big time. I honestly think women need to become more aware of the damage they are doing to themselves. I’m quite inspired by the book, Burnt Toast, by Teri Hatcher.
What’s your daily fitness regimen?
Well, I do everything my star clients do, starting with nine small frequent meals a day! Apart from my regular workout, I also trek quite a bit. In fact, I usually take off a couple of months to go to the Himalayas.
You dance as well…
I’ve trained in Bharatanatyam. I don’t really do much riyaz these days, I want to take it up again.
And yoga?
Oh, I’m a yoga and meditation person. I take time off to study hatha yoga at Uttar Kashi and Rishikesh every year.
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