Anjali Hooda Sagwan, a doctor by profession with a specialisation in weight loss and diabetes control, had a live Instagram video chat with her younger brother, the Bollywood Hottie, Randeep Hooda and talked intensively on many health and diet-related topics and myths.
Since Randeep is known for having lost 18 kgs in a month for his movie Sarbjit, lots of people look up to him as an inspiration. The actor gave us little insights saying that he did it for a role as the shooting dates got shifted and he had less time, and it is absolutely unhealthy. ‘And one should not try these unless under a proper guidance of a physician, not a dietician, who knows what they are doing because they know the complications post and during it. If I had any problem or started feeling like this or that I would call her (Anjali) and under her guidance I was able to achieve this. But I would not advise anybody to lose so quickly because you will gain it back and it can cause real health problems,’ advices Randeep.
What is health for the star who does intensive exercises and does horse riding? Every person’s personal ego or self-esteem is attached to how they look but I don’t think that is really equal to health because you can look a certain way but not really be healthy. Crash diets are done for a short period of time and for certain goals, but for everyday life one must eat well and exercise well. ‘Body is like an engine, it depends on how much you put in and how much you take out of it and that’s how you will gain and lose. But I believe the inner health is what makes you feel good. Beauty is the glow you get when you’re happy and feel healthy from inside,’ says Hooda. Every human has a body type, an ideal weight, which is not same for every human to find out what is comfortable for you.
Talking about the current fad- the keto diet, the duo shared that Randeep has never done keto but has tried Candida diet- a detox diet for intestines which accumulate many bacteria and bad fungus over a period of time due to eating sweets and other oily food. He did it for 21 days and felt so much energy that he was bouncing off the walls. But he also agreed that he indulged in a lot of food later. Anjali believes that it removes mental fog and if someone feels better in 21 days and gets relief from bloating, acne, joint pain then it’s a good detox diet.
Also there is no Vitamin D in milk, but mushrooms are filled with them. Also you must not be worried about a little sunlight exposure; Asian skins are dark which makes it hard to make Vitamin D in the body thus one can also go for dose-dependent course with the recommendations of the physicians.
Doctor Anjali says in keto the low-calorie fat comes in circulation and gives you a severe headache, illness and viral syndrome as cytokines are released in the diet. Instead, take a step down and reduce the number of rotis
But Randeep is not the hardcore diet-supporting actor as he agreed that according to his experience he put on 20 kgs muscle weight for his movie Do Lafzon Ki Kahani and in the same year lost 30 kgs for Sarbjit, after which he decided mentally that he can’t do diets and eats whatever comes his way, as long as it is fresh and clean, because he believes that whatever the diet is, it mentally and emotionally kicks you back, especially the crash diets. The short-term diets make you feel deprived, you start to miss the food, see food everywhere and the day it ends one jumps over food like anything, eats whatever he gets and eats double.
A crash diet cultivates binge eating behaviour as these short-term diets unless it’s a very low-calorie diet, orthopaedic surgery or bariatric surgery, is not recommended. The slower you lose weight the slower you gain it back. Anjali tries never to recommend fast weight loss plans to her patients.
Intermittent fasting- Intermittent fasting is not at all relevant to weight loss, Anjali says it is not recommended for diabetic and heart patient and is not for everyone. It’s a diet where one eats during the 8 hours and then goes on a 16 hours diet. It was applicable for the old age ‘sadhu-saints’ but not for the people who have busy schedules and start their breakfast late and have routines. It causes acid flux, irritation, and the organs find it difficult to function. But if you want to do, try it twice a week.
The Highway actor says you must not follow celebrities or advertisements or recommendations from friends for weight loss diets. As the diets require proper lab testing, correct introspection according to your ideal weight, hormones and blood types, for which you need proper guidance from a doctor and a dietician.
Some people are naturally thin, and the ones with BMI less than 16 are considered unhealthy. For they should include the combo of fat and protein in their diets (not fried food and potato fries etc), for example- ghee in ‘dal’ (lentils) and veggies. Another big myth is Ghee is unhealthy, but the jats of Haryana busted the myth saying that it is one of the best things to have as a good fat only can remove a bad fat easily from the body. Good fat also includes nuts like almonds and walnuts. 30% of your diet should be from fats.
Anjali further explains that you must not be obsessed with cholesterol. Cholesterol is the mother of all the hormones thus one should not bother much about reducing it, instead just avoid oily food and your it will be alright. Rice is very easy to digest thus it leaves you feeling hungry very easily, but some east-Asians eat a lot of rice yet stay thin, that’s because they use a lot of veggies in their plates. So in order to eat your favourite dal-chawal, you must also have the habit of moving your body. Have a progressive workload, start with a 10 minutes jog\ walk and increase it gradually.
Randeep always had a sweet tooth and usually eats sweets in the night when he craves for, but he also burns double the calories the next day (1000 calories a day). He does not believe in artificial sweeteners and says that unrefined sugar and jaggery is equally good if taken in moderation. Same goes for the egg yolk myth, the yolk is equally healthy.
Workout- the actor follows cardio at a heart rate level, targeting at the fat and not muscle. He also does weight training because even in recovery you burn calories. He includes high-protein diet, but just protein is not the answer, he recommends.
For pre-workout, he takes oats 1-2 hours before, or a toast and peanut butter. He strongly suggests eating sweet potato half an hour before the workout for good energy, you can drizzle some lemon juice and add some chilly and paprika too.
Randeep Hooda is a part of Body Building India (BBI India) and suggests that protein shakes are okay to have. If you have less protein in your diet then you can use whey protein, vegan protein etc.
