Neha Dhupia is On a Macrobiotic Diet - Know Her Exercise and Diet Regime

MY EXERCISE REGIME

My workouts comprise indoor and outdoor routines with a mixture of cardio and weight training thrice a week. I also play squash and often go for a swim. Both are great forms of cardio that not only make you sweat but also help you disconnect from the woes of the world and help you focus on what you have at hand, thereby improving your ability to concentrate and maximize your output.

Playing a sport or swimming helps maintain the interest level in a workout and adds to the fun element. I also practise yoga, something I’ve been doing for many years. You need to have a balance in your workouts as cardio helps build stamina and yoga helps provide the necessary balance and overall wellbeing.

Neha Dhupia

MY PROBLEM AREAS

My curves. But I always use them to my advantage since I don’t believe in size zero.

MY STRENGTHS

While I enjoy sweating it out in the gym. I believe my strength lies in my attitude. When I work out I always feel it is mind over body and because of that I’m always able to push myself a little more.

MY DIET REGIMEN

I am currently on a macrobiotic diet which is 80% organic. I don’t eat anything that comes out of a can. I eat freshly cooked vegetables, fresh fruits and consume freshlymade fruit and vegetable juices. I tend to stay away from red meat but I do give in once in a while. I love ghar ka khana because I know it is fresh and without preservatives.

I start my day with a glass of warm water with honey and lemon. For breakfast, I have five almonds and a bowl of fruits. Then follows a mid-afternoon snack of four boiled eggs with brown bread. Lunch usually consists of rice, roti, vegetables, dal and sprouts. My mid-evening snack is green tea and dried figs. Dinner is usually grilled vegetables and salad. My diet is specially constructed according to my blood group.

Ideal celeb body male

Daniel Craig because he is lean, fit, muscular and ripped!

Ideal celeb body female

Scarlett Johansson as she is extremely curvaceous and gorgeous, and Halle Berry as she’s well-toned and super fit.

My top 4 tips for sexy toned abs & healthy body!

1.  MENTAL STATE

2. EDUCATION (FOOD, FLUIDS & EXERCISE)

3. ACCOUNTABILITY

4. SUPPORT

 These were the 4 things I needed achieve & maintain a flat, toned stomach.

 I have been really excited to share this with everyone, especially after the feedback I received on my social media channels about this post in particular! Learning, understanding & implementing these 4 tools is something that is a long term action for me. Not a short term. This post is not about my 'secrets' to getting flat abs in 10 minutes.. It is factual, realistic & I am speaking from experience - You won’t find any opinions, I’m not a personal trainer or a nutritionist so I am simply sharing what has worked for me.

1. MENTAL STATE:

My mental state I believe is above all the most important factor to achieving anything I set goals for. It determines where you go, what you achieve & how you achieve it. Sit down & write down exactly what you want to achieve & what date you want to achieve it by, if you don't have an end date you don't have a finish line to become focused on. create a motivation/vision board (This is a canvas of inspiring images of things you want to achieve in the future) and what I found to be one of the biggest motivators that kept me on track was list of 50 reasons WHY I want a flat and toned stomach (you can use these lists for anything you want to achieve).

2. EDUCATION (FOOD, FLUIDS & EXERCISE )

You can’t have a nice flat, toned stomach or healthy body if you don't fuel your body with the foods & exercise it needs to thrive. From my experience of achieving a nice toned stomach I have found I need a reasonable amount of cardio/aerobic exercise. I found long distance running (25-30 mins a day), 45 mins to an hour on the cross-trainer, cardio-kickboxing class, skipping, weighted sit ups, gym ball sit ups, core focused bridge exercises & bike riding are fantastic exercises to help strengthen my core, shrink my waistline & tone my stomach.

A major lesson I learnt about exercise when I first had a personal trainer was not to over-do my workouts. If I try and do a heavy exercise routine every day of the week, that will be too much for my body. It won't allow my muscles anytime to recover from what they've been through & actually grow & strengthen. The body needs about a day or two to actually recover from the workout (depending on the type of work out).

I have created a post about my healthy eating plan in my blog post 'You Are What You Eat... And More!' - This is a fantastic plan to take away & alter for your everyday life, obviously my diet is going to be different to a persons who isn't being photographed in underwear and everyones diet will be different, but, this is great start.

Also check out my post on my 'Top 10 Tips for Keeping A Healthy Body & Soul!" - In this specific post, I note on things like the importance of healthy, organic foods, organic skin care, supplements, H20 & why you SHOULDN'T EVER diet.

MY EATING PLAN

Meal 1 – 7:00am - Breakfast

- 1 piece of organic gluten-free light rye toast + squeeze of lemon + ¼ Avocado (No Butter) + banana

OR

-A shake with half a cup of natural fresh mixed berries (no added sugar), 1 cup of raw oats + 1 scoop of whey free protein+ 1 cup of water..

- Warm water with lemon & freshly sliced ginger

Meal 2 – 9:30am – Snack

- 1 medium apple + 15g natural almonds

Meal 3 – 12:30pm - Lunch

50g of chick peas or 4 bean mix + salad

OR

- Salad + gluten free light rye bread made into a sandwich (Use small amount of avocado as a substitute for butter if you need it)

OR

Organic lentil pattie with sliced zucchini, carrot, garlic & onion

- 1 cup of organic green tea with freshly sliced ginger

Meal 4 – 3:30pm - Snack
- 1 cup of steamed vegetables + tofu + lentils + 4 bean mix

- 1 cup of organic green tea with squeeze of lemon with freshly sliced

Pre Workout Shake (20 mins before workout) 

During Workout Shake (Consume during workout)

Post Workout Shake – 6pm (Straight after workout)

Meal 5 – 7pm – Dinner

Vegetarian stiryfry + lentils + chickpeas+ vegetables (zucchini, broccoli, carrot, baby corn, organic tofu, squash & spinach) with garlic, chives, chilli, coriander, lemongrass & onion

OR

Veggie pattie with cooked spinach, chickpeas in an organic wrap with a side of tofu

OR

Mediterranean salad (Lentils, chick peas, leafy greens, tomatoes, spinach, spanish onion with steamed vegetables)

-       1 cup of organic chamomile tea before bed

Notes: 

•  I stay away from coffee & dairy products - Milk, cheese ect.. 
• I drink 2- 3 litres of water per day + 1 litre for every hour of exercise done 
• For best results on this plan – No Alcohol is the way to go! 
• I allow myself 1 meal off per week. 
• Stick to this plan 100%. 
• Avoid store bought juices, coffee, milk & sugary drinks/energy drinks

Great alternative to milk:

Almond milk; How do I make my own?

Throw natural almonds in a blender with water! Or alternatively you can buy organic almond milk, soy milk, rice milk which are all still great if you still love your milk but want to replace it with something healthier!

Alternative to ice cream? You can make it!

Throw a frozen banana in the blender with water & you have a healthier, dairy-free option.

MY NATURAL DETOXS TO KICK START HEALTHY HABITS & MAINTAIN THEM -

○ Drink ginger tea, Green tea & fresh juices with no additives or preservatives (stay tuned for my GO GREEN Alkalizing foods & juices blog post)

○ Every morning before anything else squeeze half a lemon into a glass of warm water & drink. This helps alkalize your body (Like wheatgrass does) It also kick starts your metabolism for the day!

○ Drink only water, fresh juice and tea the entire week – Avoid store bought juices, coffee, milk & no sugary drinks at all! These are full of sugar, fat, ACID, hormones & a lot of other horrible additives.

○  Take wheatgrass in the form of powder OR tablets once a day

○ This next tip is something I learned through my Anthony Robbins Living Health pack: Ever wondered why most smokers are slender? Well, besides the cigarette smoke decreasing your appetite - They are taking big deep breaths in & out which enhances the circulation of your body! Remove the cigarette from the equation & take big breaths of air as MUCH as you possibly can! Breathe in and out through your nose & out through your mouth. This will ensure constant circulation through the body.

So, with the nutrition side tuned-in (in a simple & straight forward way) & doses of realistic cardio for your body at that time – you will set yourself up for metabolic synchronization – By then adding the right types of core & ab exercises this will give you the steps for getting rid of that excess stomach fat – & resulting in achieving a tightly toned stomach!

3. ACCOUNTABILITY

No matter what journey you are on in life, you always need to be held accountable for your actions. This is having your surrounding circle of influence ensuring are you on track, checking your doing your action steps & being the person helping keep you in check.. and also telling you the things you don't necessarily want to hear, but HAVE to hear!

Learning to also help keep myself accountable & maintain mental strength is also something I have really enjoyed doing over these past few years. Sometimes, you may not have that correct circle of influence & this is where your own mental strength comes in to play.

4. SUPPORT

In one of my favorite books "HOW TO GET FAT & HOW NOT TO" by Rowena Szeszeran-McEvoy the no.1 first thing under 'The 103 ways to get fat" is; Surround yourself with negative people. The support of your surrounding circle of influence (Family, friends, co-workers) is important. It is the constant emotional backing of confidence to make sure you stay on your path. Having people around you who positively encourage you to eat regular healthy meals, work out on a daily basis & help you achieve your goals is a very vital factor to achieving a great body.

Lets be honest, it doesn't really help when all your friends or family want to do is eat junk food & be a couch potato does it? No.

 At the end of the day, you don't need people telling you how to do things - You need role models & desire to want something so badly you will do anything to achieve it.

All of the information is at your fingertips, so it's time to stop procrastinating & get out there to make it happen. Never sit around and say things are too hard or you are not educated enough because many people in your same position in the world have done it before you;

- You may hear a BIG voice interrupting your plan to be fit, healthy, happy & full of energy.. It may sound something like this - "You can't do it, its unachievable, eat something else because it's easier & more convenient, keep drinking alcohol because your friends are, wait for Monday to come & start.. WAIT TILL NEXT YEAR!!" I think we can all call ourselves procrastinators from time to time but it is the action that speaks louder than the words my friends... Tell the little voice in your head GOODBYE, because there is truly nothing holding you back from your ideal figure & mental state but your decision & action to do it. The end result is truly worth it.

 Healthy living is ultimately your own choice....

LOVEELLIE x

"EVERY HUMAN BEING IS THE AUTHOR OF THIS OWN HEALTH OR DISEASE." - BUDDHA

John Abraham Says There Are No Shortcuts to Losing Weight and Looking Fit

IF you thought that John Abraham was at his fittest best when you saw him in yellow tracks in Dostana, you need to look at him now. He spent eight long months working on his body for his upcoming film, because the filmmakers wanted him to build 96 kilos of muscle and look like Sylvester Stallone. The actor, who calls the gym his ' religion', talks about being India's sexiest bachelor and staying in shape: Body art I might have been voted as India's sexiest bachelor, but I don't find myself sexy.

Every morning I look in the mirror very critically and view my body as a piece of sculpture. I make a mental note of the part that needs to be chiselled and then down to work. I'm the happiest when I am working out. Even when I am down with fever, I make it a point to hit the gym. I’ve now reached 70 per cent of my optimum fitness level. In the next two years, I'll touch 90 per cent and then I'll be super fit.

When youngsters come to me saying that they like my physique because its proportionate, I love it. I tell them that it is important to stay fit. It’s good to know that have influenced a lot of people around me to become healthier.

Dare to bare People might say that he looks good in the ' yellow chaddi', but it takes guts to be able to bare that much. A great diet and great discipline are needed to look like that. And as actors, we need to have great bodies because cinema is a visual medium. Today, most stars are realising that and showing more skin than ever before. But frankly, I think all the actors in the industry need to work on their fitness, except maybe Akshay Kumar. Unfortunately, most stars have only focussed on their upper bodies. The Indian perception is that if your arms are big, you have good body. But you can have a six pack and still be unfit. It is important to workout every muscle in your body.

Gym jam I have been religiously eating healthy and exercising since the last 10 years. My target now is to look like Sylvester Stallone. I don't think there are any shortcuts to losing weight and looking fit. If you resort to a quick fix, you'll expand your glands or lose your hair or jeopardise your chances of having a baby. Trust me, it's not worth it.