Neha Dhupia's butt is sexy, this is something that we all know. But she has gone ahead and shaped her bum so well that it sure is a sign of amazing health, the girl is experiencing.
Neha Dhupia has enviable fitness levels and is shaped like a Spanish guitar, but as any gym regular will tell you it's never enough. "Even after you lose those last two to three kilos, there are still those 'last few kilos' to lose!" says Neha. Lately, her distinctive rear has been chiselled into perfection. We get the diet and fitness plan that whipped her behind into shape.
The macrobiotic way
In January, Neha switched to a macrobiotic diet with dietician Shonali Sabherwal and pre-orders her dinner and lunch from her. The diet is rich in whole grains, organic foods and is free of dairy products. As a result, there is weight loss but no loss of energy which Neha needs to cope with, given her hectic schedules.
The macrobiotic diet introduces enzymes into your body that keep your digestive system healthy and clean, and capable of absorbing nutrition efficiently.
The meals come from world cuisine so that Neha, an avid foodie, does not get bored.
Even after you lose those last two to three kilos, there are still those ‘last few kilos’ to lose!
Her lunch is a power meal comprising 40 per cent whole grains, 10 per cent beans, 25 per cent vegetables, supplemented with an occasional salad or dessert. The dessert features only two or three times a week and is sugar-free, with no maida or sugar or dairy. It could be a piece of carrot cake or tofu cheesecake that uses natural sweetners.
Her dinner is light pre-monsoon it would be fish three times a week; these days it's a soup with miso paste, or a polenta pizza and a boiled bean dish.
The energy comes from brown rice, millets, amaranth (which is gluten free) and beans and everything is made from scratch. The cooking style retains the nutrition and Shonali only uses extra virgin olive and sesame oil, sea salt and organic ingredients as far as possible.
Neha starts her day with poha, fruit or cookies with a cup of green tea. If she is travelling, she consults with Shonali on what do eat during flights and abroad.
A macrobiotic diet helps you shed weight easily until the body reaches a plateau and then it is maintained.
Work out and about
Neha works out religiously, cramming in five to six days at the gym and four to five days of yoga. She has been practising Ashtanga yoga for three to four years now with guru Vinayak Dixit which keeps her core toned and her joints supple.
At the gym, her trainer Ahmed Yusuf has been raising the repetitions and weights she carries, while doing lower body exercises to tone it.
• She does 30 to 35 minutes of cardio every day, splitting it between the stationary cycle, elliptical trainer and treadmill.
• Other days her cardio routines involve three rounds of the Mahalakshmi race course or 50 minutes of running on sand at the beach. In this routine, she does 20 minutes of running followed by 10 minutes of brisk walking.
• Her work out is endurance based on four to five sets of various squats. Each set has 20 to 25 repetitions.
a) She does one leg squats that involve sitting down on one leg with the other outstretched, both hands in front of you.
b) Squat jumps, in which you go down till your thighs are at a right angle to your knees, your palms behind your head or clenched in front of you, body inclined forwards. Then you jump up on your toes and come down straight.
c) Regular squats with weights on the shoulder. Neha carries about 13 kilos of weights on her shoulders (since she wants to be svelte and not bulky) and squats down and gets up in 15 to 20 repetitions.
• Her resting time is only 15 to 20 seconds between sets.
• They also do leg extensions and side raises using the cable machine to strengthen her glueteal and hamstring muscles before going into the squats. She does these in three sets of 15 repetitions each.
• Ahmed uses the Swiss ball to put Neha through crutches to strengthen her back and core. She does three sets of 25 to 30 repetitions of straight and side crunches.
• When pressed for time, Neha just does ten minutes of cardio but at an incline of five or six on the treadmill.
• On some days, Ahmed instructs her to swim for half an hour using the breast stroke which work the lower body.
• Other days, they go trekking or camping to keep the work out interesting.
