Mandira Bedi is many things to many people. She's an actor, television host, sports commentator, wife, daughter and now, mother to baby Vir.
Bright and energetic, she's known for her fit frame and perky personality. Dressed in skinny jeans and a bright green tee at her Bandra home, Mandira radiates the healthy glow of a new mom. Her hair is glossy and her slender body is in perfect shape. All in just seven months post delivery! Has she lost all the baby weight, we ask curiously.
"It's about being fit and healthy and not just about losing weight to fit into a stereotype," she says, smiling at the question she seems to encounter often. "The body responds differently in different situations, especially after a life-(and physiology) altering experience like pregnancy," she adds.
Despite her controlled diet and dedication to fitness during the nine months of pregnancy, Mandira gained 22 kg. "Can you believe it?" she squeals, eyes wide open.
To lose it all must have taken some determination and to retain the ideal weight, a great amount of resolve.
Finding the New Me
Mandira has always been a champion of fitness and exudes amazing body confidence. Remember the gutsy stunts that helped her become the first female winner of the reality show Fear Factor India? Or the shoots she's done for magazine covers, including Prevention?
So how has motherhood changed Mandira's life, and her body? "Being a mom does change fitness for you. I had to obviously work at it. Motivation was never a problem for me since fitness and exercise have been a constant in my life," she says.
Launching into an explanation, she adds, "Pre-pregnancy and post-delivery fitness regimes are completely different. One formula, or one regimen, does not fit all." But she had her goals in place-from being present to attend to the emotional and other needs of baby Vir, to planning her back-towork strategy. "At one point, I did not let my image rule who I am. No matter what the media said, I was me.
But now, I consciously let my image rule me. I thought to myself, why should I be unfit, I should be who I was in the media," she says nonchalantly. Being a fitness junkie-yoga, running on the beach and rigorous treadmill routines-kept her sane in a world where being busy is the way of life, she says. She had television shows going, celebrity parties to attend and corporate events to host. Until she delivered her son-and then, along with many other things, her fitness and diet regime too underwent a major change.
"Before I got pregnant, I was the thinnest that I had ever been. I would wear anything and it looked nice on me. I never stopped to think if my hips were looking thin or my stomach was showing-I was in a really good body space," she reminisces of her 'thin' days. Then came the 22 kg, despite being careful about her diet and foregoing desserts through her pregnancy.
Walk in the Rain
"Everyone has a different pregnancy. I had no cravings - no khatta, no sweets. But I had my addictions-the last few months of my pregnancy, I had a huge bowlful of frozen yoghurt every single day. It may not be full of calories but it had its own shortcomings-it added up in the end," she laughs.
She was working until the last few days of her pregnancy and walked to stay fit and healthy. After Vir's birth, Mandira says that she immediately lost 6 kg but had another 16 kg ahead of her.
"The needle was stuck there-it was frustrating. I had a C-section so I couldn't exercise, my doctor gave me 40 days to even start doing my daily walks. I counted the days and on the 41st day, I was walking on Carter Road," she says earnestly.
It was raining heavily, so she bought a raincoat before starting her very first walk. "I had a goal and I told myself that I had to do this for myself. There is an old wives' tale about how the weight you gain in nine months, you lose in the next nine months caring for the baby. But I wanted to shed it earlier," she adds.
Reclaiming the Wardrobe
The final frontier in fitness for Mandira came with a pair of jeans. Her favourite pair that she'd shoved into the closet.
"Vir was six months old and I just had to fit into those. I did! My wardrobe was mine again," she beams.
There is a sense of responsibility towards her body that Mandira clearly feels-she treats it with the respect it deserves. "You know that you can never be the same as before, even if you lose weight. And that's ok and good. It's also probably one of the hardest things I had to do," she admits.
New Ways to be Fit
After the initial three months, Mandira began her original fitness schedule of workouts and evening walks. She adopted a six-day-plan- peppered with power yoga, walking, running and other forms of exercise. "The idea is to do more than what your body is used to-if you're looking at serious weight loss," she advises new mothers.
Her husband Raj supports her beautifully. "We took off to the US without any help, it was just the three of us, and I managed to take care of Vir and go for my run every day," she reveals, telling us how she never misses her 40-minute jog and carries her running shoes with her wherever she's travelling.
"One is not likely to find a gym everywhere we go, you need to improvise. If I don't find anything, I run around the building 20 times," she says. No matter how busy, it's important to find time. "We have 24 hours in a day, if you eliminate 8 hours of sleep, sparing 45 minutes for exercise should not be difficult," she explains.
As far as diet is concerned, she's never had an issue adhering to the rules of the culinary charts. "I am a healthy eater-it helps that I am a vegetarian. I eat a big fat breakfast-with eggs sunny side up, toast and the works. Even a glass of milk and egg whites work for me. For lunch I eat dal, roti and subzi. Dinner is light, and if I've indulged during the day, I avoid carbs at night," she says.
The balance tilts when sweets arrive on the scene. "They are my weakness, I can never do fewer sweets, so I go clean, all the way. I avoid it for some time. I pretend that I am on a mannat, that settles it. No taste of a little chocolate on the side," she says. Then adds with an endearing smile, "I'm not a star who says I eat everything and still lose weight. I worked very hard for it."
Thank You : Yahoo
Bright and energetic, she's known for her fit frame and perky personality. Dressed in skinny jeans and a bright green tee at her Bandra home, Mandira radiates the healthy glow of a new mom. Her hair is glossy and her slender body is in perfect shape. All in just seven months post delivery! Has she lost all the baby weight, we ask curiously.
"It's about being fit and healthy and not just about losing weight to fit into a stereotype," she says, smiling at the question she seems to encounter often. "The body responds differently in different situations, especially after a life-(and physiology) altering experience like pregnancy," she adds.
Despite her controlled diet and dedication to fitness during the nine months of pregnancy, Mandira gained 22 kg. "Can you believe it?" she squeals, eyes wide open.
To lose it all must have taken some determination and to retain the ideal weight, a great amount of resolve.
Finding the New Me
Mandira has always been a champion of fitness and exudes amazing body confidence. Remember the gutsy stunts that helped her become the first female winner of the reality show Fear Factor India? Or the shoots she's done for magazine covers, including Prevention?
So how has motherhood changed Mandira's life, and her body? "Being a mom does change fitness for you. I had to obviously work at it. Motivation was never a problem for me since fitness and exercise have been a constant in my life," she says.
Launching into an explanation, she adds, "Pre-pregnancy and post-delivery fitness regimes are completely different. One formula, or one regimen, does not fit all." But she had her goals in place-from being present to attend to the emotional and other needs of baby Vir, to planning her back-towork strategy. "At one point, I did not let my image rule who I am. No matter what the media said, I was me.
But now, I consciously let my image rule me. I thought to myself, why should I be unfit, I should be who I was in the media," she says nonchalantly. Being a fitness junkie-yoga, running on the beach and rigorous treadmill routines-kept her sane in a world where being busy is the way of life, she says. She had television shows going, celebrity parties to attend and corporate events to host. Until she delivered her son-and then, along with many other things, her fitness and diet regime too underwent a major change.
"Before I got pregnant, I was the thinnest that I had ever been. I would wear anything and it looked nice on me. I never stopped to think if my hips were looking thin or my stomach was showing-I was in a really good body space," she reminisces of her 'thin' days. Then came the 22 kg, despite being careful about her diet and foregoing desserts through her pregnancy.
Walk in the Rain
"Everyone has a different pregnancy. I had no cravings - no khatta, no sweets. But I had my addictions-the last few months of my pregnancy, I had a huge bowlful of frozen yoghurt every single day. It may not be full of calories but it had its own shortcomings-it added up in the end," she laughs.
She was working until the last few days of her pregnancy and walked to stay fit and healthy. After Vir's birth, Mandira says that she immediately lost 6 kg but had another 16 kg ahead of her.
"The needle was stuck there-it was frustrating. I had a C-section so I couldn't exercise, my doctor gave me 40 days to even start doing my daily walks. I counted the days and on the 41st day, I was walking on Carter Road," she says earnestly.
It was raining heavily, so she bought a raincoat before starting her very first walk. "I had a goal and I told myself that I had to do this for myself. There is an old wives' tale about how the weight you gain in nine months, you lose in the next nine months caring for the baby. But I wanted to shed it earlier," she adds.
Reclaiming the Wardrobe
The final frontier in fitness for Mandira came with a pair of jeans. Her favourite pair that she'd shoved into the closet.
"Vir was six months old and I just had to fit into those. I did! My wardrobe was mine again," she beams.
There is a sense of responsibility towards her body that Mandira clearly feels-she treats it with the respect it deserves. "You know that you can never be the same as before, even if you lose weight. And that's ok and good. It's also probably one of the hardest things I had to do," she admits.
New Ways to be Fit
After the initial three months, Mandira began her original fitness schedule of workouts and evening walks. She adopted a six-day-plan- peppered with power yoga, walking, running and other forms of exercise. "The idea is to do more than what your body is used to-if you're looking at serious weight loss," she advises new mothers.
Her husband Raj supports her beautifully. "We took off to the US without any help, it was just the three of us, and I managed to take care of Vir and go for my run every day," she reveals, telling us how she never misses her 40-minute jog and carries her running shoes with her wherever she's travelling.
"One is not likely to find a gym everywhere we go, you need to improvise. If I don't find anything, I run around the building 20 times," she says. No matter how busy, it's important to find time. "We have 24 hours in a day, if you eliminate 8 hours of sleep, sparing 45 minutes for exercise should not be difficult," she explains.
As far as diet is concerned, she's never had an issue adhering to the rules of the culinary charts. "I am a healthy eater-it helps that I am a vegetarian. I eat a big fat breakfast-with eggs sunny side up, toast and the works. Even a glass of milk and egg whites work for me. For lunch I eat dal, roti and subzi. Dinner is light, and if I've indulged during the day, I avoid carbs at night," she says.
The balance tilts when sweets arrive on the scene. "They are my weakness, I can never do fewer sweets, so I go clean, all the way. I avoid it for some time. I pretend that I am on a mannat, that settles it. No taste of a little chocolate on the side," she says. Then adds with an endearing smile, "I'm not a star who says I eat everything and still lose weight. I worked very hard for it."
Thank You : Yahoo
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