Hi,
Let this blog find
you taking good care of your self with regular exercise, eating healthy with
awareness & sound sleep.
I have been a total
fan of RUJUTA DIWEKAR (dietician, whose famous clients include Kareena Kapoor).
Her book “Don’t lose your mind, lose your weight” sparked off a new level of
awareness & connection with food & exercise in my life.
I came across her
next book “WOMEN & THE WEIGHT LOSS TAMASHA”. This book is especially
dedicated to women, the various life stages they pass through and how it takes
a toll on their health & fitness.
I found this book
extremely apt, lucid & pertinent for women of all ages. Even for men, this
book is important. It will help raise their awareness of the challenges faced
by women in their lives, be it their daughters, sisters, spouse, mom,
friends... Thus they can help them in returning to their best.
This book is a
simple read. It has many real life stories & conversations with women of
various ages. I was quite surprised by some of them and could relate many
others with people I know.
I have also found
that most of the moms (especially with young kids) whether homemakers or
working moms, keep feeling guilty about not doing enough for their kids or
families. They keep sacrificing their dreams and choices. This takes a toll on
their health, well being and self-worth. The idea of a perfect mom makes them
give zero priority to themselves many times.
I have always
believed that a mother’s role is lot more important in the upbringing of the
children. The child’s self-expression is in many ways a sub-set of the mother’s
self-expression. That is one logic I give to women to start expressing
themselves to the fullest, do what they love doing instead of postponing it
till their kids grow old.
Here is an excerpt
from this book that I found very interesting:
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“May be your team
[support structure] is around and you are not letting them take part in the
process because you are carrying some burden of “maternal instinct” or feel
insecure that you don’t do enough for your child.
Do you know what the
most priceless thing for a little baby or for any child is? A healthy, happy
and a self-assured mother. Somebody who knows that by investing an hour in the gym
she actually provides and ensures that the child will have a happy childhood
with a spirited mother who can bend forwards, backwards, run, jump and not have
swollen feet, weak knees and a bad back. A mother who eats intelligently,
enjoying and relishing the flavor, taste and aroma of food, so that her
hormones are regulated and she never feels unduly agitated, angry or low. A
mother who feels secure about eating out with friends, going to movies, getting
a massage, etc. and doesn’t feel threatened about losing her motherhood if she
enjoys herself. A mother who leads a fulfilling and rewarding life by taking an
active interest in her field of work, relationships, society, recreation, rest,
everything under the sun and pushes herself to her max potential has a good
chance of being an ideal mother.
Try telling any man
that now he has a child, he should stop watching the IPL match, forgo that
promotion at work, the badminton match in the club, not meet up with his
friends and not shave and he will laugh it off. Tell him again that this has a
chance of making him an ideal father and he will look the other way. Try
telling a woman these things and she will buy it; we like digging our own
graves. We will suppress our potential and then feel that this is it, I have a
child now, I have to feel complete and not frustrated.
The frustration isn’t
coming from the fact that looking after infants is physically demanding, it
comes because we expect one act or the role of motherhood to compensate for
everything we have given up on. It never can babe, it’s just too unrealistic.
And then because it doesn’t make life “meaningful” like they say, we give up on
some more and land up having a dull mind, tired body and a lingering feeling
that the “real me” is lost. I mean, there is this huge sense of discontentment,
like somebody cheated on us big-time, that somebody didn’t give us the complete
or true picture of motherhood.
Motherhood is a huge
responsibility and to successfully carry it out you need super fitness levels.
You will feel fit:
a) When you get good rest
b) When you eat right and eat yummy food
c) When you exercise
d) When you get back to a healthy sex life.
When a mother enjoys
good fitness levels, she doesn’t have to carry out a feasibility study for
every small or big thing. She simply has developed the required strength in her
body and flexibility in her mind to suit the new role and the responsibilities
that come with it. She has the clarity in her mind that the role and
responsibilities are going to change as the baby grows initially from month to
month, then from year to year, and eventually the young adult may only look to
her from time to time for advice or feedback and will truly appreciate being
left on her/his own. The mother, however, will always remain everybody’s
ultimate fallback option.”
Rujuta Diwekar, Women & the Weight Loss
Tamasha
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I wish you all the
best in being yourself, and assisting women in your life to live their dreams.
Warm regards,
Link to our workshops
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