Why can’t we make a shift in our thinking process towards healthy obsessions rather than body consciousness, asks Shilpa Shetty Kundra. By Deepali Meena
Shilpa Shetty Kundra wants to convey a message to women across the globe to take care of themselves before they priortise their families. The minute an individual stops believing, they lose the will to eat healthy food.
Shilpa is known for maintaining a daily exercise routine. There are many things about her which is awe-inspiring. She is a regular yoga practitioner and has launched several videos related to it too. Shilpa lives by the mantra: “The secret of your future is hidden in your daily routine.” luke Coutinho is an author, inspiring speaker, exercise physiologist and a nutritionist too. Eat smart, Move more, sleep right are some of his remarkable books on health and lifestyle. He believes a change in lifestyle can help anyone achieve their health goals. He has been involved in nutrition and food science since he graduated from IHM. He practices in the field of holistic nutrition and integrative medicine. To improve medical conditions of people he helps and motivates them to use natural food products and forbids the use of conventional medicines.
He believes that each one of us is a product of nature and can align or improve our health ourselves with proper eating and sleeping habits and any health-related problems such as diabetes, obesity, cancer or arthritis can be treated. Both of them gave a motivational lecture on maintaining good health and an active lifestyle.
Shilpa spoke about her inspiration while writing about food inventions in her books. The Great India Diet and The Diary of a domestic diva gave people confidence who were earlier struggling with health issues. She wants to send out a message to those middle-class women who forget to take care of themselves and give priority to their family and not themselves. It is important to maintain a balance between personal and professional life which is not an easy task. “I am inspired by my mother who takes care of us without ever complaining. The Diary of a Domestic Diva gives you 90 mindful and heartful recipes from my kitchen which consists of healthy and famous recipes with a twist and guilt-free desserts. Diva means lamp in Marathi and gives the women power to step out from mediocrity of life in order to do what they really want to. This book tries to give a message to all the womenfolk that they ought to have some ‘me’ time.” Shilpa draws out from the concept of women in Indian society and their day to day struggles.
“The way we used to eat in earlier times is now totally different than what we are having these days. The good part is that we are making changes in our diet for the sake of our health. We have started cooking in olive oil and declining all other types of oil.” The question arises that how junk food culture transforms our eating habits which prove to be a big disadvantage for our health. When asked how does she manages the food servings during get-togethers at her home because parties do tend to make us cheat our diet chart sometimesIJ “I had put on 32 kgs during my pregnancy which gave me a kind of insecurity related to my body. As celebrities, we are constantly judged by the audiences for our features and personality. Getting back into shape gave me confidence. Also the minute you stop believing in yourself, you also lose the will to eat healthy food. I took refuge in Indian food to lose weight after my pregnancy which made me lose around 32 kgs.”
Both luke and Shilpa spoke about the importance of discipline to lead a healthy lifestyle. “Nothing can be achieved without discipline. It is essential for an individual to follow a diet and remain fit to build a conscious life. Why are we not health-obsessed rather than futile obsession with our bodies. It is prominent to keep it simple. Just eat fresh and make each and every dish from scratch.”
luke Coutinho, popularly known for his work in the field of health and lifestyle feels that maintaining quality life is the determining factor. “In the real world, self-esteem among teenagers is low which is why they prefer protein shakes and supplements rather than consuming healthy homemade food. This generation needs the right kind of motivation and values, so they are aware of their health and the problems associated with it." Shilpa spoke about food chakras that have to be balanced and aligned to energise our levels.” If a soul is disturbed, it will not be happy.
Refreshing health tips shared by Shilpa and luke at the end of the session gives each and every individual, a reason to think before eating junk. It is important to give meaning to our life. Shilpa stated three mantra’s, listed ‘Breathe and Chew, Gratitude and Invest on yourself’ whereas luke gave three health tips, ‘Meditate and laugh’, ‘Eat But Don’t Over eat’ and less is more.’
Kareena Kapoor exudes elegance and royalty in a blue ethnic dress by Masaba Gupta, decked in gold jewellery. The blue desert sage tunic and skirt look was styled by Tanya Ghavri. The diva was seen in a cheerful mood when she came for a store launch.
Fatima Sana Shaikh and Ritu Phogat were in CP to spread awareness about fitness and launched new running shoes. By Ramya Palisetty
Wearing black leggings and a grey jacket, Fatima Sana Shaikh looked chic with her hair tied into space buns. She is an actress who loves to challenge herself to understand herself better.
A crowd of onlookers were assembled near a stage while the crew was setting up the equipments. The DJ, standing in the corner was playing groovy music to energise the masses. With expectant gaze, every one was waiting for Fatima Sana Shaikh and Ritu Phogat who are endorsing the Skechers running shoes, Go Run 6. The brand has introduced a digital campaign for the very first time with athletes from various fields.
As part of the campaign, there was a beat my speed challenge where an individual is given 40 seconds to reach their top speed which has to be maintained for five minutes. Fatima challenged Ritu Phogat, a silver medallist in World Wrestling Championship in Poland. The Dangal actress was equally nervous and excited about challenging a world renowned athlete. She climbed on the manual treadmill and after wearing a harness, she started running. She picked up great speed initially but was unable to maintain it for long.
Ritu Phogat entered next in sea blue and black running attire. Once, she stepped on the treadmill, she ran like the wind and won the challenge.
Actress Fatima Sana Shaikh made her debut in Bollywood with Dangal and chose to endorse this brand as she feels that for individuals interested in sports and fitness, shoes are very essential. “All injuries begin from the feet and if the shoes are not right, it might disbalance the whole body.”
She will be seen in the forthcoming film Thugs of Hindostan sharing screen space with Aamir Khan yet again. “It is very easy to work with him. He is a great co-actor who is supportive and I feel I am fortunate to work with great actors at the beginning of her career.”
She diligently follows a fitness routine and staying healthy is an integral part of her life. “I try to be active as much as possible. It is challenges like beat my speed that puts an individual in a situation where s/he is forced to challenge their limitations. In those moments, you realise how unfit you are and you work on yourself.”Though, she can walk for hours but she can’t run for long because of problems in her knees.
Before she forayed into films, the actress has worked in television as well. Every role was a stepping stone for the actress towards success. She is one of the few who didn’t think much about where it was all going and just went with the flow.“When one is in a certain mind frame, things just happen which helps you to mould into a character. It also adds layers to the personality.”
Ritu Phogat is the youngest of the Phogat sisters. like Babita and Geeta Phogat, Ritu has also made a mark in the field of Wrestling after winning accolades for the country. She is waiting to win a gold and bring glory to her family and the country in the 2020 Olympics.
“My main target has always been gold, anything else doesn’t matter. All the hardwork and rigorous training is to bring gold home.”
He father, Mahavir Singh Phogat believes that his daughter has the ability to win and she is putting her heart and soul into training to fulfill her father’s dream. “My father has only one dream and the one who fulfills this dream would be my father’s favourite.”
Missing even a single day of training is detrimental to an athlete’s fitness regime which is why Ritu trains every day. “A single miss creates an impact that lasts for the next three days. Wrestling is a sport where you can’t let go of your diet and exercise routine. Our opponents are training every day and we can’t lag behind and it keeps us motivated to wake up everyday for our training.”
Wrestling is an aggressive and ruthless sport and her brother Rahul Phogat feels that Ritu is the most callous among the sisters. “Without aggression in Wrestling, our opponent will dominate us.”
While she is on the mat, she is utterly focussed and sharp. “I can see only my opponent and all the techniques I have learnt keep playing in my mind. The only thing that matters is giving my 100 per cent. At that very moment, winning or losing doesn’t matter.”
Her association with the brand is special as she has used innumerable brands before but no shoe has been as comfortable as this one. She believes it has also improved her overall performance.