Priyanka Chopra

Priyanka loves food!

She succumbs every time there’s good Indian or Thai food around, even while the other beauties brainwash themselves into resisting the sumptuous goodies.

If you look at her perfect ten bod, you wouldn’t think Priyanka Chopra is a foodie.

But the actress simply adores desi khana. In fact, she succumbs every time there’s good Indian or Thai food around, even while the other beauties brainwash themselves into resisting the sumptuous goodies.

"I don’t have one (fitness regime). I don’t work out. I don’t need to. I don’t have the tendency to put on weight at this age. I do not diet. I love eating! I eat anything at any time," says the beauty.

What those around her can’t figure out is how PC maintains that lovely figure inspite of her weakness for such food.

"I do not exercise or go to the gym but thanks to the songs and dances in Hindi films, I get to work out there and then. I love food and Indian and Thai are my favorites. I never compromise when it comes to eating but make sure I include a lot of greens in my diet. I don’t take to crash dieting and would advise everyone to refrain from unhealthy eating habits," says the former Miss World.

Now we’re sure the other actresses are already spying around to find out the secret of Priyanka’s fitness!

__+//Excerpt from Movie Mag, March 2007

BROWN for body tone

Like most heroines today, she lays great stress on physical fitness. What’s her current workout routine like?

In an age where fitness is a mantra and working out a craze, Priyanka hasn’t lagged behind. Her action-packed roles and frequent fight scenes demand a high level of stamina and agility, which is why she’s turned to the study of martial arts. Currently she’s training Gatka.

“Yes. It’s lots of fun,” she says. “I enjoy doing stunts very much. It’s one way of bringing out a different facet of an Indian heroine, and not many female actors have done that. I am very thorough about a rigourous training regimen for my action roles. For instance, I trained in Tai Chi for weeks before shooting for Don. Presently I am learning the ancient Sikh martial form, Gatka for Goldie Behl’s Drona opposite Abhishek Bachchan. Gatka is a desi martial art, a form of fighting practiced in North India which comprises simple circular and semi-circular movements that are used for self-defense. The moves are tough to master and physically demanding. But thanks to my martial arts training I’m physically fit and have a lot of stamina. This enabled me to dangle in mid-air and do somersaults at Nelly Furtado’s concert on New Years Eve! It was awesome. I am learning something every day!” she smiles. She’s talking not about fitness, but about life itself.

Green for grub

What’s the secret of the Priyanka-diet?

She says she doesn’t follow any particular die t and that those hourglass curves aren’t the result of any iron discipline when it comes to food. “I’m just lucky! I love food and hog a lot. It’s my biggest weakness. I eat anything and everything and then end up with an upset stomach. My favorite cuisines are Italian food and biryanis. Serve me a fragrant, typically Muslim biryani at any time of the day and I will devour it. I’m really fortunate that I don’t have to watch what I eat since I don’t put on weight easily. Of course, I do my workouts to keep myself fit.”
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My workout - Priyanka Chopra

I HAVE always been a fitness freak. But now I take extra care to keep myself in perfect shape. I am monitoring my food intake, regularising my fitness schedules and also reading quite extensively.

For physical the thrust is on workouts. I go to the gym four times a week just to tone my body. I am lucky I do not have a tendency to put on weight. So there is no drastic cutting down on the food intake as such. I continue to eat normal food that I was eating before winning the Femina Miss India World title.

The only thing that I have cut down on is oil and that means going without my favourite stuffed paranthas! I surely miss my stuffed paranthas because I used to savour them so much before I entered the preliminary contest.

I also avoid any kind of heavy meals. Instead, I thrive on healthy snacks. In my case, baked, steamed and stewed stuff has edged out deep fried delicacies.

Sprouts of all kinds too make a frequent appearance on my plate. I also love raw vegetables especially fresh, red carrots. For the present, it’s also no cheese, no butter but high fibre foodstuffs for me. I firmly believe that if you eat right, you feel right. As far as beverages are concerned, nariyal pani (coconut water) is my all time favourite. I can have any amount of it anytime of the day.

For mental stimulation, I just keep on reading. My keep-fit regimen also includes a number of breathing exercises.

As told to RITA SAWHNEY