This one question has been on my mind for a long time (for my own selfish interests). I am person who loves to stay fit. I have been exercising since last 25 years regularly. At the same time, I love to eat. For me food is not about filling my stomach, but it is something I look forward to! I enjoy giving pleasure to my taste buds.

Usually I am fit, not just by looks but from within too. The inside and outside is in good state! But I feel I can become better – I can get more toned from tummy; maybe broader shoulders; wider chest; stronger legs; flexible hamstrings; increased strength and stamina; and so on!

So, this question has been hovering for long! I had some beliefs and knowledge, but not a concrete conclusion. So, I decided to reach out to a few people whom I thought could give insights. Here are my observations and their inputs summarized –

1. Portion – One of the most important things is to eat in portions. Anything is excess (not just food) is harmful. Usually a foodie goes on eating and eating what they love to eat. My favorite dietician – Rujuta Diwekar says it best, “Eat everything you want to eat. Just keep the portion less. Don’t eat full pizza, eat one slice! Enjoy every bite instead of gulping it down mindlessly!”
2. Eat in time – Late night eating is the worst for the body. Food always takes time to digest. Eating food late and in excess quantity will definitely cause issues. Ideally eat atleast 4 hours before you sleep. We help our body to digest food properly. Early eating also ensures enough water is consumed after meals.
3. Watch on carbohydrates – Indian food is filled with carbohydrates (carbs). We can’t completely avoid carbs, as it is a part of our staple diet. If you become aware, you can reduce the amount of carbs we eat with small changes. Eg: If you are eating 3 rotis and vegetable, switch to 2 rotis and an extra bowl of veggies.
4. Avoid crash diets – Never adopt crash diets. They will never give you long term results. The faster your weight drops, it will increase even quicker once you stop the diet. Adopt a diet, which you can follow for lifetime, and not just 2-3 months. If you are going on a diet, be sensible in choosing it. Staying hungry for longer time might be a deterrent too
5. Stay away from packaged food – The easiest thing we binge upon is packaged food. The fact that they can stay good for 3 months itself speaks about what all chemicals must have been added to increase the shelf life. The food in our house goes bad in a day, but packaged food can stay for months? Any sane person would know that home cooked fresh food will always be more nutritious than packaged or restaurant food
6. Watch Yourself – Ushakiran Sisodia, Chief Dietician at Jaslok Hospital & Research Centre says, “Being in the profession of Clinical Nutrition and Lifestyle Medicine, I often see physiological changes depending on eating habits.” She continues, “We have a plethora of knowledge due to social media. But we need to understand ourselves and filter the knowledge we get. You need to watch yourself and choose food that suits you and avoid that doesn’t help you”
7. Replace not so good with good – Archana Sancheti, co-founder of PuneFitLife suggests, “Replace the ‘not so good things’ with ‘good things’ in your food. Eg: Replace salt with rock salt, refined oil to cold press organic oil, white sugar with monk fruit sweetener.” She further adds, “Include protein in your diet. When the protein is less, you feel hungry and craving for junk food is always more.”
8. Avoid that extra bit – Yash Jain has represented India at Futsal World Championship in 2016. Out of his personal training experience, he points out, “In India food is not just food. It is about love, culture and emotion. So when someone says – ‘stay fit’, it often triggers guilt or fear of giving up that which we love!” He observes, “One doesn’t become overweight overnight. It happens through small repeated choices like – an extra paratha, chai with biscuit, or finishing your friend’s fries. It is just that you are eating things without realizing their impact. We need to train our brain to pause before overeating. Eat slow, and without distractions. Be aware rather than restrict”
9. Exercise is a must – Mayur Pangare, is a fitness enthusiast. Like how we eat food every day, he feels so should be it for exercise too. He has been regularly exercising for more than 20 years. He is one of the most toned people I have met. He has read a lot on diet and fitness. He says, “1^st Law of Energy is – Energy can neither be created nor destroyed. Likewise, it is for calorie intake. Excess calories consumed if not burnt will lead to weight gain in due course leading to obesity.” He adds, “If you know you have eaten lot of calories, exercise accordingly next day. It is not about guilt, but the need to shed off those excess calories”
10. Not Mindless – Dr. Sejal Chhajed is a Neurophysiotherapist par excellence. Her understanding of human anatomy and the interest in eating right is a rare combination. In simple words she articulates, “Mindful eating is the best. Know what you are eating and don’t eat only for taste. Be Mindful and not Mindless!”

To conclude, I would like to happily point out that it is indeed possible to be a FOODIE and yet be FIT/ TONED. One just needs to have right information, take appropriate action and exercise control!

P.S. – if you know a place which serves tasty fresh food, I am game! Let’s go!