Kareena Kapoor

_+//Kareena on a new fitness spree

Mumbai, November 2: Bollywood actress Kareena Kapoor is using her time off between movies to take up yoga, hit the gym and lose some weight, a newspaper reported.

Kareena Kapoor is looking ravishing these days. When asked about what's the secret behind this, she smile and tells us, "I have been very serious about my workouts, my body and fitness. I doubt I have ever been so fit, and now that I've reached this stage of fitness, I don't want to let go and give up. It's a hard toil all the way. But I am generally very happy now - everything seems to be working out right for me."

This babe has lost oodles of weight, and she’s looking more stunning than ever before. We spotted her over the weekend and on complimenting her, she replied, “Don’t so say much because I want to lose at least five more kilos. I am quite a foodie, but generally I have a healthy lifestyle. I begin the day by doing yoga and that has really helped! I must credit my newfound fitness levels to Bharat Thakur’s yoga sessions. The hour-and-a- half sessions every day have helped me tremendously to gain focus and maintain sync between my body and soul. I certainly recommend yoga to anyone who wants to be mentally and physically fit. Thanks to Shahid Kapoor, I eat vegetarian food which has further enhanced my physique! I also don’t drink alcohol. I am working at it and I am sure I will knock off a few more kilos really soon.”

As far as her beauty regime goes she says, "Don't use any chemical preparations," she advises. "Control you’re eating and drinking habits and your skin will be glowing forever."

Bebo has been unwinding, relaxing, chilling and catching up on everything she’s been missed out during all those months of hard work. So we guess it’s a case of healthy mind and healthy body, right?

__+// The Secret of Kareena Kapoor’s Sexy Figure

Kareena Kapoor probably has one of the flattest stomachs among Bollywood heroines today. And Boney Kapoor gave it centrestage in his film, Khushi. The secret behind that cool figure is Yasmin Haz, a fitness trainer from Bandra. She tells Patcy N how Bebo looks the way she does.


'Kareena heard about me from one of my clients. Whenever she's in town, she comes to my gym. She has learned to enjoy exercising now but, sometimes, I have to coax her to do an extra set. She's very serious about exercise though. Our daily exercise routine varies from single body part workouts to circuit workouts, heavy weights to normal weights. It's a different routine all the time. It depends on how often I feel the need to change the exercise.

Exercise also depends on what you are trying to achieve. If I'm focusing on losing weight, we do a certain kind of routine, starting with cardio and moving on to heavy weights. But it changes from person to person.

I don't believe in diet plans. I prefer food plans for specific people. I find out what they eat and then suggest how they can better their eating habits -- what they can cut out or add, how they can avoid fried food, desserts and anything sugar-based. I don't have to make Kareena look glamorous. She already is.

She is obedient when it comes to her health and figure. Beyond a point, one can't force someone but, if I tell her not to eat something, she usually tries to avoid it. Sometimes, it is difficult with outdoor shoots though, so I always take that into consideration as well.

If she is required to put on weight for a certain role, I tell her not to take it up (laughs). But seriously, we work towards it. In Hulchul, she was a bit heavy. But since she's young, she isn't offered roles where she has to put on weight. We have yet to work on the shape of her figure keeping a specific role in mind. As her characters in her filmshave been young and vivacious, she fits them the way she is. Her goal right now is simply to look her best.

Kareena doesn't carry her bad days to the gym. Her bad days generally occur when she's shooting for more than 12 hours. Otherwise, she is quite grounded. She spends an hour and a half at my gym, which is why we're very friendly. We do chat about personal matters as well, but not too often. I get along with her very well and have never seen any of her so-called tantrums in the last two years I have been training her. The image that is portrayed is completely different from what she is.

She is a very honest and open person. She's also very intuitive. By open, I mean she is what she is. She doesn't try to become another person just because she's a star. For instance, if somebody is using the treadmill and she needs it, she won't expect that person to get off for her. She will wait. Due to her erratic shooting, she comes to the gym anytime. Sometimes, I'm training someone else and end up training two people at the same time, but she doesn't mind that.

I have never been to her home or outstation locations because I train people at my own gym. She carries her workout plans with her when she travels. She is always put up at five-star hotels during shoots, which are equipped with gyms. She is smart enough to workout on her own. Other then Kareena, I train actresses Anita Raaj, Amrita Arora and Ishita Arun.'

___+//Kareena Kapoor's Workout:

Time: 8 months

Regime: Hot yoga, Pilates, cardio and a wholesome, healthy diet

Mission philosophy: To get rid of her flabby arms and to look fit, not pencil-thin

Dietician Speak: The expert Kareena turned to for a trimmer look was her dietician since January 2007, Rujuta Diwekar. “Kareena’s only brief to me was that she should look thin but not anorexic,” says Diwekar, who has a PhD in industrial chemistry and a PG in sports science and nutrition. “She told me that I could put her on the strictest diet but it shouldn’t affect her skin. She didn’t want to look washed out. You can see that even after she has lost seven kilos her skin looks radiant. Since she already had a yoga instructor, Pooja from Bharat Thakur’s group, I was asked to focus on giving her a balanced diet.” Just for the record, Kareena’s hot yoga weight-loss technique is quite famous. It involves practicing yoga with windows shut and fans and airconditioners switched off. The idea is to sweat it out like a good workout session. “While preparing her diet, I do take care of her likes and dislikes. She needs six- seven wholesome meals throughout the day. The diet is changed according to her body requirements and the place she’s shooting in. For example, during the shooting of Tashan in Ladakh, I included thukpas and steamed momos in her meals. A diet has to be practical; she can’t be running around looking for brown rice in Ladakh. When she was shooting in Jaisalmer, I made sure she ate poha and upma. Since Jaisalmer is very hot and one tends to sweat a lot, so I gave her lots of electrolyte with extra potassium to balance the water loss. The brief for Kareena is simple: eat many times but have small meals. And of course keep exercising and doing hot yoga,” says Diwekar.

Daily Diet: Breakfast options include upma, poha, parantha (without oil) and milk and muesli. In the afternoon, she snacks on a brown bread sandwich. Lunch is roti, sabji and dal (without oil). An evening snack is either upma or idli. Dinner is again roti, sabji, dal or soup.

Indulgence: Every 10-12 days, Kareena binges on her favourite Chinese cuisine.

Kareena Speak: For Tashan, where I’ve to look my glamourous best and also do a lot of stunts, I needed to lose weight. I’m following a healthy diet and a regular workout regime. And I’m feeling great.

____+//How does Kareena manage her diet?

Actor Kareena Kapoor is busy shooting in Venice for Sajid Nadiadwala's Kambakht Ishq. And one wonders how the vegetarian is coping with her diet and staying away from the Venetian wonders. BT speaks to her dietician-nutritionist Rujuta Diwekar.

Called the 'chana-singdaana' girl of the fraternity thanks to her constant munching of chana and peanuts on the sets, Kareena has stunned everybody. So what does Bebo do to eat right - take her dietician and cook along with her wherever she goes, perhaps?

"The only thing that Kareena takes along with her is her diet plan, her calcium and vitamin B supplements. And if she is shooting in a remote place very far away from civilization, she'll carry along with her packets of chana, peanuts, yoghurt and soy milk," informs her dietician, "I plan for Kareena way in advance. I try to locate some good restaurants for her and suggest what she should eat where. I try and locate local health stores where she can pick up her yogurts, packs of soymilk and fruits from. My motto is 'Think global, eat local'. I encourage all my clients to have the local food wherever they go instead of having them carry packets of khakhra from back home," says Rujuta.

So currently in Venice, what is Bebo gorging on? "In Venice, she is eating wholesome pasta with gorgonzola cheese. She's filling herself up with malta, minestrone soup... When she's in Bangkok, she feasts on Thai curry, steamed rice and noodles. And if some insist that New York is of burgers, chips and colas, it's also a place for salads and soups. When Bebo was shooting in Ladakh recently, she had tented accommodation. What she ate there? Momos and thuppa noodles! You see, the diet changes with the place you're in. For example, in a place like Ladakh, which is 3500 m above sea level where the sun shines bright, you get dehydrated, the travel leads to multiple dehydration, so you automatically up the carbohydrate and liquid intake. The logic behind increasing the carbs in your diet is that if there aren't enough carbs, you can't store enough water. So sometimes it's essential to have a carb-rich diet."

Source: Indiatimes
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All about Kareena's breakfast secrets!
In her foreword to her dietician, Rujuta Diwekar's bestselling book, Don't Lose Your Mind, Lose Your Weight, Kareena Kapoor reveals her breakfast secrets .

"Rujuta has changed my perception towards diets and dieting. She has taught me to eat well, eat right and eat regularly. I started working with her around the time I started work on Tashan. The results are for all to see. My size zero became a topic of national interest. The media asked me if it was diet or exercise. It was a combination of both; 70% diet and 30% exercise-training and yoga," writes Kareena in her foreword.

"Rujuta understands my work and lifestyle and has given me a diet totally customised to my needs. My diet on work days is different from my diet on shoot days. It even on varies on shoot days, like it is different if I have to dance or perform. The meal is planned according to my level of activity."

"In Mumbai, my breakfast is muesli and milk or a chillah or parathas; no chai or coffee. While shooting for Tashan in Ladakh. I ate fresh fruit for breakfast and thukpas and momos for my other meals. I had pudina tea without milk. On the last day, I was allowed pizza as well. In Kerala, I had idlis and appams. In Italy it was risotto and pasta with gorgonzola; half portions though, not full."

"I make sure I eat every two hours. My evening snack or meal is soy milk or a sandwich. Rujuta focuses on nutrition, not calories. Amazingly, she likes to keep the nutritional value of what you eat, as compared to the calories consumed, high. I have learnt what she means when she says, "be smart about food" and still enjoy what you eat. Now thanks to this book, you can (learn) too and I am sure you will find it good enough to eat," signs off the svelte and gorgeous superstar.

Rujuta Diwekar's book Don't Lose Your Mind, Lose Your Weight is available at bookstores.
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All about Kareena'Star Advice: Kareena Kapoor

Kareena Kapoor made headlines when she sized down from chubby to impossibly slim last year.

The gorgeous unofficial ambassador of the size zero trend in India who has a book, Don’t Lose Your Mind, Lose Your Weight written by her dietician, Rujuta Diwekar, dedicated to her, gives us some fitness tips.

Tip 1: You can eat everything you like, be it Chinese food, Dal Makhani or parathas but you have to eat it in moderation

Tip 2: Have a filling breakfast that sets your day and eat every 2 hours after that.

Tip 3: Don’t follow crash diets. Contrary to reports, I didn’t survive on orange juice and apples for Tashan.

Tip 4: Your diet should be well balanced in nutrients and healthy. You must also exercise for at least 45 minutes everyday.

Tip 5: Read and follow the book, ‘Don’t Lose Your Mind, Lose Your Weight.’
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Dietician Rujuta Diwekar dedicates her book to her client, actress Kareena Kapoor

Because you pushed me! Rujuta Diwekar and Kareena Kapoor

Kareena Kapoor recently launched a book Don't Lose Your Mind Lose Your Weight (Rs 199), penned by dietician Rujuta Diwekar, who's responsible for making the actress achieve her size-zero figure.

The book is No 1 on the bestseller list and has already sold 10,000 copies. Rujuta says, "Kareena had predicted that it'd be a sellout!

That's why I have dedicated this book to her." The book also carries a foreword by the actress.

Lose it, right

Talking about how she got the idea for the book, Rujuta says, "I once met a 24-year old girl who was planning to get married and wanted to lose weight.

She wore electric belts that gave her rectal bleeding. She also had lot of coffee with sweeteners, to kill hunger pangs. In the process, she got so dehydrated that for nine months, she didn't get her periods.

I wanted to write a book for people like her. To educate them about the right way to lose weight; in a healthy manner, without any side effects."

Finally, it was Kareena who made national headlines last year with anorexia and size-zero rumours, who suggested that Rujuta write a book.

Rujuta says, "Bebo told me there was so much media speculation about her diet that it was time to set the record straight. Essentially, it was about maintaining the body shape while keeping her energy levels high."

Rujuta took three months to complete the book. "From October to Deember 2008, I switched off my cell from 8 am to 8 pm and just wrote and wrote about all my experiences in my diary and laptop." She gifted the first copy of her book to Kareena.

Bebo: Diet stickler

Today, Rujuta prescribes diets for Kareena and her beau Saif Ali Khan. "Bebo follows everything strictly but Saif sometimes eats what he feeels like.

He asked me to help him, after seeing Bebo's weight loss and toned body."

Recently, Rujuta worked out a diet for Kareena in Delhi when she was shooting for Rensil D'Silva's film. "Kareena was having daal makhni, parathas and paneer tikkas.

Because of the Delhi smog, she got a throat infection but since she had been eating correctly, she recovered faster than she would have normally done.

I am amazed at Bebo's dedication. She is the most down-to-earth star I have met."

Excerpts from Kareena's foreword:

"Rujuta focuses on nutrition and not just calories. Amazingly, she helps you to keep the nutritional value of what you eat, as compared to how many calories you consume, high.

And still enjoy what you're eating! I have learnt what Rujuta means when she says, 'Be smart about food.' Now, thanks to her book, you can too. I'm certain you'll find it good enough to eat."

Excerpts from Don't Lose Your Mind Lose Your Weight

Anti-aging

To keep the face and body from aging, work at keeping body weight to optimum. To have a young face, you must not allow your body weight to go up from its optimum.

The second thing that you must do is include healthy fats in your diet, like nuts (including peanuts), cheese, ghee, paneer and fish.

Including fats not just provides your facial skin with the moisture and raw material that it needs to keep from wrinkling, but also helps you burn fat effectively there, by not allowing your body fat levels (body weight) to go up.

Coffee post dinner

Well, coffee for one, will come in the way of your sleep, you know that. It will interfere in the digestion, specifically in the absorption of minerals like iron and calcium.

And on low levels of calcium and iron, fat burning suffers (oh no!). Wait, one more, coffee makes your stomach acidic so you wake up bloated and constipated.

And now for the proof. When you wake up in the morning, brush your teeth, stand in front of a mirror, put your tongue out and look at its colour.

It will have a thick deposit. These are the toxins settled on your tongue after your night's sleep. Still want that coffee?
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My Beautiful Life

MAKE-UP MANTRA
During the day, I wear no make-up at all. For a night out, I line my eyes with black kohl. I also love a smoky-eyed look with Yves Saint Laurent’s brown eye pencil. Plus, I curl my eyelashes and use lots of YSL mascara. For lips, I prefer to use a pale pink lipstick.

HANDBAG ESSENTIALS
Under all the junk (my wallet, credit card and odd papers) you’ll find my favourite “Cherish” MAC lipstick, the MAC blush “Improper Copper” and a Chanel kohl pencil in black. I can’t live without my kohl pencil.

SCENT OF A WOMAN
I love Jean Paul Gaultier. For special occasions, I apply Un Jardin en Méditerranée by Hermès.

BEAUTY ICONS
I think Scarlett Johansson is beautiful. I like her face, her body and her hair. I also love Julia Roberts for always looking fresh.

TRESS TALK
I love oiling my hair with a mix of almond, castor, coconut and olive oils. I do this once a month. I use a Kérastase shampoo specifically for dry hair, and follow it with a blow-dry.

BEAUTY RITUALS
I use a Lancôme face wash. I try to avoid creams because of their chemical content. In cold weather, I use Clarins’ HydraQuench Rich Cream, and on a beach I use a Clarins sunscreen. I don’t believe in facials.

DIET CHART
I’m a vegetarian and believe in eating lots of green vegetables, like spinach, fenugreek and broccoli. I eat healthy meals with lots of whole grains and don’t cut down on carbs. I eat every 2-3 hours. At night, I usually have dal, vegetables, curd and roti or brown rice. I try to drink at least 6-8 glasses of boiled water every day.

FITNESS REGIME
I do ashtanga and power yoga for an hour every day.


THE BEAUTY BLACK BOOK
• Trainer
Twinkle at Cosmic Fusion by Payal Gidwani Tiwari, Mumbai. Tel. 022-61427178.

• Spa and mani-pedi
Oberoi Rajvilas, Jaipur. Tel. 0141-2680101.

• Hairstylist
Pompy Hans, Mumbai. Tel. 09867728214.

This column courtesy: VOGUE