For a long time, I used to think that diets were all about starving and punishing yourself. And I wasn’t alone. A lot of people thought the same way. Then I met Rujuta. She totally changed my perception about diets and dieting. First, she told me it wasn’t about starving but about eating well, eating right and eating regularly. I said, ‘I’m a Kapoor, I love my parathas, paneer, cheese.’ Rujuta replied, ‘You can go right ahead and eat all of that and more.’ I was like, cool, when can we start?
I started working with Rujuta around the time I started working on my size zero became a subject of national interest. The media asked me if it was all diet, all exercise or both. My answer: it was seventy percent diet and thirty percent exercise (this through a combination of training and yoga).
Rujuta spent a lot of time understanding my work and my lifestyle, and gave me a diet totally customized to my needs. My diet on work days is different from my diet on shoot days, and even my shoot diets vary on days when I have a shoot or performance which requires dancing. Meals are planned accordingly to level of activity. When I am in Mumbai, my breakfast is muesli and milk, or a chilla or paratha (no chai or coffee) – when I was shooting in Ladakh, breakfast was fresh fruit and pudina chai without milk. In Ladakh, I also ate momos and thukpa (on the last day of the shoot I was even allowed pizza!) I had appams and idlis in Kerala, and in Italy, it was risotto and pasta with gorgonzola (half portions though, not full).
I make sure I eat every two hours, and my meal or snack ranges from a sandwich to a glass of soy milk, for Rujuta focuses on nutrition and not just calories. Amazingly, she helps you keep the nutritional value of what you eat, as compared to how many calories you consume, high. And still enjoy what you’re eating!
I have learnt what Rujuta means when she says, ‘Be smart about food’. Now, thanks to her book, you can too. I’m certain you’ll find it good enough to eat! Kareena Kapoor Mumbai, 2009
Milan Keswani, founder of The Third Eye is a pioneer in bringing various mind, body, and energy concepts to this region and stresses that Rujuta Diwekar’s profound simplicity brings us back to our natural state of being, creating a perfect semblance of a healthy mind in a healthy body.
“We only promote holistic health and fitness that creates completion within because finally that’s what each one is looking for – to be whole and complete, and Rujuta offers just that. If you feel good about yourself, you will attract exactly the kind of life you aspire to live,” patriot of a holistic approach to life.
Tickets for the “Rujuta Diwekar: Don’t Lose Your Mind, Lose Your Weight” event will be available online at the Time Out Ticket line and the DUTAC box office, Dhs 135. At 6:30pm before the inspirational talk, Rujuta will also be signing her bestseller book “Don’t Lose Your Mind, Lose Your Weight” at Borders (MoE).
Tashan, and the results are there for all to see:
