Eat, workout, sleep, bond to remain fit

NEW DELHI - What are the four secrets that keep women fit and healthy? According to nutritionist Rujuta Diwakar, who has often been described as the mastermind behind actress Kareena Kapoor’s famed size zero, it is nutrition, exercise, sleep and relationships.

Diwakar, whose new book Women & The Weight Loss Tamasha will be released in bookstores in January 2011, says moderation is the key to fitness.

Her last book Don’t Lose Your Mind, Lose Your Weight had sold 200,000 copies in four languages and is still on the best-seller list.

Deepthi Talwar, executive editor of the Westland Tranquebar Press, which is publishing the book, said: “The book focuses on women, their health and fitness through the various phases of their lives - puberty, student, marriage, pregnancy and menopause. She (Diwakar) also talks about the very prevalent disorders of polycystic ovary disease, hypothyroidism, diabetes and high blood pressure.”

“It advises women on what they can do to get better. It’s different from her first book in the sense it specifically addresses women and issues that affect them,” Talwar told IANS.

The author, winner of the Nutrition Award 2010 from the Asian Institute of Gastroenterology, is one of the most sought-after and qualified nutritionists today. Her work addresses diet fads, diet-related disorders and fears among urban Indians across all walks of life.

The book emphasizes how important one’s relationship is with oneself. “So many issues, anorexia, bulimia, can be traced to the relationship we have with ourself and with food,” Talwar said.

Talwar said books on nutrition are in demand in market because “the kind of lifestyles people lead, the pressures people are under, lead to a host of disorders and unhealthy habits”.

In her last book, Diwakar had advised “readers not to starve” and to remain fit. “Nor is it needed to burn the last remaining drop of fat in your body by torturing, crash dieting, no all fruit diet, no carb deprivations and no curb on cravings,” Diwakar prescribed.

Diwakar works with Bollywood celebrities like Kareena Kapoor, Anil Ambani, Preity Zinta, Karishma Kapoor, Saif Ali Khan and Konkona Sen Sharma, among others.