Lose that flab and get fab!

Rujuta Diwekar is no ordinary dietician. She is credited with the fab body of Kareena and also advises what Saif, Sonia Bendre and Anil Ambani on what they should eat to keep fit. So if you have been craving for ultra-glam look, here are a few tips from the diet Goddess herself, as told to Smita Mishra of Spicezee.com: Weight today seems to be the biggest problem after global warming! Please suggest 10 tips to lose those hateful Kgs? Yes, its sad that it is turning out to be such an epidemic. Especially in a country like ours, where on one hand a sizeable population struggles for basic health care, education, food and sanitation and on the other a vast majority is obsessed over its weight on the scale. My tip number one is –Stop calling them `hateful`kgs. Know that we have been blessed with abundance and with enough food to eat. Its just that we have abused this blessing. So lets stop the abuse first.

1. Don`t have tea/ coffee first thing in the morning on an empty stomach. Instead start the day with fruits/ dry fruits/ milk etc. 2. Eat every two hours. 3. Eat more when more active, less when less active. 4. Eat 2 hours prior to bedtime. 5. Eat full fat version instead of low fat substitutes. 6. Sugar is a better option than sweetener. 7. Do not use tea/coffee/ cigarettes as a way to mask hunger. 8. Get consistent with working out. 45 min every alternate day is more than enough. 9. Eat healthy, wholesome and fresh food. Avoid packaged variety. 10. Say no to juices. Eat the whole fruit instead. What are the dos and don’ts for someone on a weight loss programme? The biggest ‘Do’ is – Do use your common sense. Only eating right, at the right time, working out regularly and a calm state of mind will lead to fat loss. Getting obsessed with body weight, starvation or killing yourself walking or in the gym will backfire. It just always does. What should be the ideal diet for an average Indian who intends to lose 5 kgs in 2 months? I cant emphasize this enough. We really need to change this entire mind set of 5kgs in 2 months or whatever. The focus instead needs to be in getting our basics in place. Avoid the long gaps between meals, eat every 2 hours, eat 2 hours prior to bedtime and start exercising three times a week. When you bring about these changes in your life, the body, its appearance, size and weight will change too. Diet or exercise, what do you consider is more important? Diet and exercise are the two sides of the same coin. One doesn`t exist without the other. Though diet or eating right plays a much bigger role in your lifestyle, without a regular workout / exercise you will not find the motivation and goals. b>What should be the workout regime? Should it be the same exercise daily or it should be a different one each day? The workout routine needs to be personalized to your genetics, fitness levels, medical history, and fitness goals. The principle of progressive over load is very important. You have to follow a step up plan while planning your workouts. I have explained this in detail in my book. How should an average Indian housewife who cannot afford expensive gyms or diet programmes lose weight? You don’t need money to lose weight. It only requires getting your priorities right and a bit of discipline. Housewives tend to put themselves last on the priority list caring and providing for everybody else other than themselves. When this attitude of theirs changes, they will see a change in their body too. To lose fat, a housewife needs to eat at the right time and has to make time to exercise. The fundamentals are the exact same. The question here is - are housewives ready to provide themselves with nutritious meals and to make time to exercise? If yes, then they are on track. If not, then any amount of money will not help! Five rules that dieters should never miss? Dieting is about eating the right food at the right time. This is the most basic rule. Its not about starvation. So the five basic rules would be – 1. Eat within 10 mins of rising. 2. Don’t kill your hunger with tea/coffee/ cigarette. 3. Stop counting calories 4. Plan for indulgence - samosa, gulabjam etc. Eat what you want just don’t feel guilty later . 5. Drink plenty of water daily. How effective do you think are cellulites, creams and body wraps in weight loss programme? Body wraps/cellulite creams/ or any other such things that you buy has a small * asterisk on the label which says that for best results follow a diet plan and exercise regularly. So if the manufacturers themselves are aware of the limitations of creams/lotions or whatever that it is why should we as clients believe that they are magic cure? Do you really need me to tell you my opinion? Just use your common sense and read labels carefully before buying anything including what is written in small print.