Working Out With Pooja Bedi- Femina

My Workout Routine:
After I delivered my first baby at 27, I realised I couldn’t take my body for granted any more. Now, I work out five times a week. I do stretches, lower body exercises, light weight training, crunches, upper body and back exercises. I rest on the weekend to give my body time to let it recuperate and repair itself.

Sports I Love:
I have always been into sports and exercise. I grew up a water baby — swimming, water skiing, para sailing and boating. In school, I won certificates for swimming.

My Trouble Spots:
My trouble spots are my amorphous hips and butt. What seems to be working well is a combination of walking, lunges, leg curls, step-ups, squats, and exercises with light weights twice a week.

Exercise For The Mind:
I have tried meditation, yoga, art of living and ‘pranic healing’. It’s crucial to have inner balance to keep your mind, body and soul in alignment.

My Diet Plan:
I’m a vegetarian. I don’t smoke and I don’t drink alcohol. I’m not particularly fond of sweet stuff. My food is usually light on oil, never overcooked, and I love snacking.

I have a bowl of high fibre cereal or two scrambled eggs and four cups of light tea in the morning. I have a huge glass of cold coffee and my multivitamin along with a granola bar before my workout.

Post-workout, I have lunch that comprises anything vegetarian. I love variety, so my meals vary from South Indian to Punjabi, Sindhi, Gujarati and Continental fare.

I then snack on biscuits or ‘bhelpuri’ (no sev) or granola bars in the evening with two cups of tea. I love having soup for dinner in addition to whatever else is made. I have a big cup of hot chocolate milk with a calcium supplement before I go to bed at night.

Bodies I Admire:
My ideal body type is Jessica Rabbit! But I also admire Paulina Porizkova, Angelina Jolie and Catherine Zeta Jones before she had kids.

A Fitness Tip For Femina Readers:
Never ever starve your body. Eat sensibly; watch the proportions, and WORK IT OFF!!
Don’t make exercise a task. Enjoy it and make it a way of life.
Don’t join the ranks of those who confine their exercise to JUMPING to conclusions, running up bills, stretching the truth, bending over backward, lying down on the job, side-stepping responsibility and pushing their luck.

As told to Minal Thakkar

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