Navigation

Vashi2Panvel.Com: Navi Mumbai: Aug 21: Her noodle strap blouses and her dazzling smile took the nation by storm during the Cricket World Cup 2003. Her enthusiasm is infectious… her style is envious…and currently she is bitten by the ‘live-bug’. A vivacious host for various popular television shows – Mandira Bedi needs no introduction. Starting her career as a small screen actress she stepped into films with Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge but it was the Cricket World Cup that overnight made her a recognizable visage and name across the country. Constantly under a microscope for all that she does and more importantly wears, 33 –year-old Mandira knows exactly what is good for her body and mind and what is not! In an exclusive interview Mandira shares her fitness secrets which surprisingly do not include a strict gym routine!

Fitness for your family means….
My entire family lives a very active life. Dad is a thorough fitness freak. His daily routine involves a lot of exercising. He plays golf six days a week. Golf is known to be a game meant for people who are fit as it does involve a lot of walking across the golf course. Even at his age my dad plays the game with vigour of a young man. My mom has a tendency to put weight on her hips but she is very much conscious about it. Last when she felt herself a little overweight she regularly started going for walks and she marvelously lost around 7 kgs in a span of just around a month.

Harmeet, my elder brother is a total workaholic. He lives a crazy life in Singapore where at times he hardly sleeps for 4 hours a day but he unfailingly removes time for exercising. Luckily for him his office has a gym so working out for him gets easy. So you can well imagine that being fit is in my blood.

Fitness for you…
Is not about how much a person weighs. Fitness cannot be judged on inches around the waist. It is a wrong perception that being skinny means being healthy. Fitness for me means being fit mentally as well as physically. Fitness is about feeling good and confident about yourself.

Exercising is…..
A real stress buster! I thoroughly enjoy exercising. It makes me feel good in my head. I make it a point to exercise at least 3-4 times in a week for at least 20-25 minutes unless and until there is a taut schedule. If that is the case then I balance it with my diet and exercise a little longer whenever I have the time. But I love the feeling after exercising. It makes me feel great internally.

Going to the gym…
Is not in my list now. I am not at all a ‘gym freak’. Earlier I used to but not anymore. I find it extremely boring going to the gym and walking on a treadmill. I prefer exercising on my own at home.

The last time I was overweight…..
Was during and after the Cricket World Cup Series in South Africa. I normally weigh between 51 to max 54 but during the World Cup my weight went up to 57 kgs! I must admit I over indulged in the lovely wine and pastas served there. But I was conscious of the extra kilos and I knew I had
to shed them soon. I started with rigorous exercising and soon I was back in shape. Being fit and healthy is a personal choice and if a person sets his mind then motivation to do so comes automatically.

If laziness prevails over exercising then….…
WALK! Walking burns a lot of calories and is very important and healthy. When I am not traveling I go for evening walks at Bandra Bandstand and I walk the entire stretch. At times I do not drive home directly. I ask my driver to drop me mid-way somewhere near Juhu and from there I go on foot till my house. That is a good 7-8 kilometer walk! Walking in itself is a very good exercise and specially so for people who do not have a habit of exercising. It is not difficult to pull out half an hour in a day to get out of the house and walk a little…no one is that busy!

Simple things that make a difference….
Include taking the steps instead of the lift at work or at home. If your daily schedule involves sitting in office for hours together then instill the habit of using the flight of stairs. If there are not too many bags for you to carry then you can carry your gym shoes to work and while returning home you can walk a portion of it. Small things like these help a lot.

When it comes to food….
It is extremely hard to resist. I am a total foodie! I do not mind treating myself to a bag full of French fries but then I also know my cut-off point. When it comes to food one should mentally set a standard and know exactly what and when to eat.

If junk food cannot be avoided then…
Inculcate the habit of exercising. You cannot have your cake and eat it too. Ideally junk food should be avoided but it is not a sin as commonly professed. It is perfectly OKAY to indulge in junk food once in a while.

If you cannot avoid the temptation to eat a burger or for that matter any other rich food then set the balance right by exercising your body to burn the fat and calories.

For mental peace….
One should practice yoga. Yoga helps an individual immensely to grow. I was very much regular with my yoga classes but after the World Cup I had to give up though I do plan to enroll myself for the classes again. I have fertile imagination and that does not allow me to meditate for more then 10 minutes but meditation is good for the mind.

Zainab Abbas