Don’t lose your mind, Lose your Weight

Aaaaaand I’m back! With yet another guide to healthy eating. (I bet you’re wondering why I keep doing this) Well, like I said in my last post, I’m constantly on the hunt for …well… a guide to healthy eating. Given our erratic lifestyles and schedules, I’ve often thought that if I must eat (I’m not really much of a foodie) then I’d rather at least eat right. And this book right here has been sworn on by people for far too long and I’ve just shied away from it because it just sounded so much like a diet book!

However, it’s all about conquering your prejudices, right? 😛 Right. So, here goes.

For the uninitiated, the author, Rujuta Divekar – aside from her many qualifications and achievements, I’m sure – is the name behind
Bollywood’s latest “size zero” favourite, Kareena Kapoor. This lady’s weight and figure became something of a national obsession in this Bolly-tic (my version of Bollywood fanatic) nation of ours. It is probably something of a rule of thumb that if a dietician/ nutritionist/fitness expert can have the name of a Bollywood Star attached to their list of certificates, they will likewise shoot to instant stardom. And if that be the rule of thumb, Ms Divekar is nothing short of fitness royalty.

Though, since I’m personally not a fan of Ms Kapoor I pretty much steered clear of the book until I suddenly came across a lot of people who swore by the book. And then a friend gifted it to me. So I thought, ‘What the heck! Let’s give this a chance!’ And that’s how I’ve been reading this book for the past month or so. 😐 And I’ve got to say it’s not hard to see why I’m getting to be very, very fond of the book. 

After all, how many books with that title would actually say “Go right ahead and eat the butter, parathas or the croissants or pastries or full fat snacks (before  you scoff, she makes a pretty good case for that)”. And the correct answer is, probably none. It’s something that defies all conventional diet wisdom and everything the ad companies would have us believe. What’s even cooler is the food group-wise breakdown she gives us on why you need that particular food group, what’s the best source to eat it and (the book’s USP) what’s the best time to eat it. Rujuta seems to be a huge believer in meal timings and more importantly, what is a good time to eat what food. For instance, she says the stomach’s digestion is at its optimum between 7 am to 10 am (close to what the ancient yogic wisdom would claim, only perhaps, closer to sunrise) and instead of plying it with tea and coffee, it’s a better idea to have a good breakfast. Similarly as it is the best time to have your croissants and pastries if you must. Though she does say it’s best for the best that you eat the cuisine local to you. For instance, if you’re Indian, it’s probably best for your body if you stick to Indian food, irrespective of your global positioning.

And true to her word, the book is as much about the don’t lose your mind bit even though that’s in smaller print. A calm mind, she insists, is the optimal state for the body to absorb all its nutrition needs.

All in all, I thought the book was great. It wasn’t full of the pious ‘thou shalt not sniff butter” nonsense that these books usually tend to lean towards as well as being very ‘doable’. I’d give this one a 5 just for the ‘eat right and stop weight obsessing’ dictum.