Kareena Kapoor was all oomph in Tashan

There is a charm about the forbidden that makes it unspeakably desirable. You will know the feeling if you have been on a diet and struggled to banish your favourites.

Kareena Kapoor does. But she does not travel the beaten track anymore. She’s been there, done that — and exercised to boot. The scales though still stopped at 60 kilos for the 5’5” star.

“I did everything — from eating little, being on a low-fat, no-sugar, no-carbs kind of diet, sticking to artificial sweeteners. In the end what worked was so basic — eating the right amount at the right time,” she says.

And you thought your mum knew nothing about being fit?

She would love Rujuta Diwekar — and so would you. She is the one who brought Kareena down to a dream “size zero” — with a plan that stressed on eating to stay healthy and slim.

“I did not know what size zero was. Neither did Kareena. I Googled the term after she achieved her target weight for Tashan. She was 48 kilos. And full of energy and health. She was on nothing like any orange juice diet or any such weird thing as was reported. She was just eating every two hours and exercising,” says Rujuta.

Rujuta Diwekar

Contrary to reports, Kareena did not faint on sets because of her diet. “She was shooting in Ladakh and because of low oxygen levels there, feeling dizzy or fainting can happen to even the toughest,” says Rujuta.

It all began with an SMS Rujuta received — “Hi. This is Kareena Kapoor. I hv bn trying to get in touch with you but your cell is swtchd off. I hv heard so much about you from Shaira. Wats a gud time to call? Thanks.”

Shaira, as Rujuta says in her book, is a close pal of Kareena. When they met, Kareena was eating 2-3 times a day, doing 50-surya-namskars and weight training. She had just done Yeh mera dil with SRK in Don.

Rujuta put her on a plan to eat eight times a day “that included all her favourites — paratha, poha, cheese, paneer.”

At the end of two weeks she lost two kilos. “I am loving this. I am never hungry. After every two hours I get this feeling that it’s time to eat and I eat a little and feel very happy and satisfied. So new for me. I am used to not feeling hungry and then ‘dabaoing’ when I see food,” Rujuta quotes Kareena as saying.

It has been a while since then and under Rujuta’s guidance Kareena is now on her way to gain back a few extra kilos post-Tashan. As Rujuta launched her first book Don’t Lose Your Mind, Lose Your Weight this weekend, Kareena stood by her, lending support.

Clad in white trousers and shirt, she packed in the pencil-thin glamour of a Hollywood diva, and yet looked surprisingly radiant and healthy.

“I had not been to a dietician before I met Rujuta and her whole approach appealed to me. I come from a hearty Punjabi family with a close attachment to food. She showed me how I just needed to plan my eating, not give up food. And that completely changed my life and approach to health and fitness,” said Kareena.

Not an easy thing if you are a Kapoor. So has her healthy habit rubbed on to the rest of the family? Kareena raises her eyebrows and rolls her eyes. “Well, not really. But they did support me through this. Everybody feels proud that I am a health freak,” she smiles.

Her sister Karisma and beau Saif Ali Khan are also neo-converts — they follow Rujuta’s way now.

So how is it sitting across the table when others are licking their fingers over a butter chicken? “I am a vegetarian by choice so that helps. But I do have my Dal Makahanis, pastas and risottos — there is no problem with them as per Rujuta. But there has to be moderation... some self control. Like if you feel like having a pakora, do pick it up. But please stick to one, don’t hog on six,” she says.

Kareena also believes in eating local and thinking global. Her advice for youngsters: “Eat fresh. That is the most important thing. Rujuta tells me that even though I may be travelling, I should focus on freshly cooked foods — it does not matter if I am eating out as long as I am eating on time and eating right. And that is what I have to say to youngsters. Do not starve-eat — that is the way to boost your metabolism and burn calories.”

Rujuta calls that Diet Induced Thermogenesis (DIT). DIT is the increase in energy expenditure above basal fasting level divided by the energy content of the food ingested and is commonly expressed as a percentage. It is, with basal metabolic rate and activity induced thermogenesis, one of the three components of daily energy expenditure. In layman terms, the right foods can help you burn calories.

Also, stay away from packaged foods. “I used to have a lot of packaged soups and canned and tinned stuff earlier. But I have given that up completely,” Kareena says.

Does that mean she will not endorse packaged foods and colas anymore? She has a quick escape route. “Rujuta’s plan allows one to cheat. I can have a packet of chips or a cola sometime. I even have pizzas. After all I am human, not a robot. But that’s just once in a while. Though the remedy for that indulgence trip is not skipping meals — it is more exercise,” she says.

Rujuta Diwekar speaks highly of the traditional Bengali eating habits and feels it can help you stay slim in a healthy way. Here is sample healthy diet (“But everybody needs a customised diet depending on their age, sex, lifestyle and weight,” she says).

Breakfast

As soon as you get up, preferably by 7-7.30am — A banana, Doi-chirey/ Dudh-muri with a little gur instead of sugar

Around 9.30am

An egg white and toast

Around 11.30am

Some peanuts or a fruit (she does not believe in juices)

Lunch about 1-1.30pm

Some rice (dhenki-kata chaal, also called brown rice), dal, charchari (vegetable stir-fry) and fish

About 3.30pm

Some peanuts

About 5.30pm

Jhalmuri (she swears by it). That is also preferred over popcorn while watching a movie at a multiplex

Dinner by 7-7.30pm

Rice, vegetables, fish (preferably in very small amounts)

RUJUTA’S DON’TS

Jump on the scale everyday; (give yourself time to lose weight)

Late dinners

Long gaps between meals

Indulge too much and at the wrong time. For instance, don’t hog on a pizza post-7pm