“Eat right to keep your hormones in place”

Sonam Kapoor, Vidya Balan and Deepika Padukone swear by her diet plans. This Women’s Day POOJA MAKHIJA , Consulting Nutritionist and Clinical Dietician, shares diet tips for all with SURABHI RAWAT .

Eating out is inevitable. Any tips for eating healthy at such times?

I am not against any kind of carbohydrates; I am not against eating roti or rice or bread. I believe no food is bad if it is made correctly. The difficulty that arises when eating outside is that the hospitality industry’s motive is to make sure that your taste buds are happy. In such a case, making the food taste good means increasing the amount of fat—ghee, oil, malai! That is why when you have to eat out you have to be very careful about the type of food preparation and thus the amount of fat! Foods that are grilled, steamed or barbequed are usually wiser options than foods which are crisp, deepfried or batter-fried and crunchy. These are the usual names on the menu that you should be careful about.

Usually most of the sauces that are served are very oily, so the less you choose them the better. Stick to steamed options of chicken, fish, vegetables; sauté versus crispy fried. Keep smaller portion sizes. Sharing is caring so if the dishes are large then share them with others that you are with. Automatically not only are you sharing the money but also the love and calories!

Also, it’s noticed that if you are very hungry you’ll end up making poor choices. So try eating a little snack at home so that your decisions are not ruled by your stomach but by your head.

Women undergo a series of hormonal changes throughout their life. What are the essential food items that they should add to their diet?

It’s primarily about good eating habits throughout your life. Hormones are something that we cannot control. It is not in my hand to control my hormones, but it is in my hand to eat right so that the hormones are in place. If you eat right, then automatically your body fat percentage is in control. It is the excess of fat which leads to body-fat imbalance, which causes hormonal disturbances. If you can lead a moderately active lifestyle which means three-four small meals, at least one hour of any cardio activity, no large gaps and large binge meals, ensure you have ample amount of water and hydration, lots of fruits and vegetables in your diet then you’ll be successful and healthy throughout your life.

It’s said ‘You are what you eat’…

That’s completely true. What you eat is how you are. If you end up eating a burger, then you would look like one (laughs) but if you eat carrots and healthy foods you will look lean like one. If you are going to eat healthy food then you are going to speak healthy, you are going to have less mood swings, anger and irritation and snapping at others. If you are going to eat food that is high in sugar, high in fat, you’ll keep large gaps in your meals and then automatically you are going to be a nasty person with snapping and fighting! Yeah, it’s the bare truth of life - you are what you eat! The earlier it dawns on you, the sooner you realise it, the more successful you will be as a person, as a mother, as a wife, as a husband, as a CEO and as an employee.