When I joined the Geeta discourses last year, it was akin to jumping in a river without knowing where the waters would lead me to. Little did I expect that the waters would immerse in every aspect of being…and least of all, my new found passion of health and physical fitness. 

But this would probably remain reticient, if my friend had not posed me the question, ”What are three fundamental things one should do, to get healthier and fitter?” 

I would have short changed myself and given her a clichéd response like “eat right, move more, and sleep tight”! And while that would not have been wrong advice, it didn’t seem it would help her much…It seemed like giving her an end without the means…an effect without the cause! 

And thats when the penny dropped. 

I found that the real answer lay in the most fundamental of Geeta teachings…

Jitendriyam – Control (of senses)

At the root of it, all major deterrents to a healthier way of living are some way related to us giving into our sensory organs — taste, vision, touch, smell, and sound. i.e. our unmindful acts to please these organs, whether it be binge-eating, uncontrolled drinking, cravings, addictions (not just of substance but of actions and inactions), forgoing sleep for pleasure! Now the only way to rise above this is to let your intellect rule over your sense organs i.e. getting to a state of doing every action with heightened awareness – concepts deeply talked about in many shlokas of Geeta…whereby one develops the sense of forgoing (or moderating) your lower level sensual desires to achieve one’s higher purpose or goal in life-(i.e. a sustained healthy lifestyle over constant succumb to sensory pleasures).

Abhyasam – Constancy (of effort) 

Well, In order to get healthier, you have to eat right, you have to exercise and you have to get the right amount of rest! – but what is missing from that statement is that you have to do this consistently.  Just like the river cuts through the rocks not by its power, but by its persistance..constancy of practice is the probably the only muscle you need to exercise higher level of physical fitness. Thus, the concept of Abhyasam described in Geeta as the constancy of efforts with dispassion (i.e. without attachment to your likes/dislikes or outcome)-remains another key aspect in your goal of a healthier and fitter lifestyle. 

Shraddha – Conviction (in the Coach/Ultimate Guru)!

And finally, Conviction or Faith!  When you are new to any journey (be it physical fitness or a spiritual one), it is helpful to have the right guide along your side. Just like how Arjuna had Krishna during Mahabharata. And to surrender to Him with full faith.  When all queries are surrendered, answers are found!  

Even in the quest of a healthier lifestyle, it is important to seek out and get guidance from the right coach. Now the right coach could be a friend, a guru, a nutritionist, a yoga instructor or even a philosophy- but someone or something worthy of your trust and one you can follow with full faith. Because in every journey, you are bound to hit roadblocks. The right guru (and your Faith in Him) becomes instrumental in steering your path in the face of these roadblocks. Until the time, you can get to the state of being your own Guru and let your consciousness guide you. 

And just like every journey is taken one step at a time, my Geeta Guru suggests the way to get to any destination is zhanay zhanay…a moment at a time! i.e. The way to get to a healthier state of being is also by evolving every day, moment by moment – using Control, Constancy, and Conviction!

ps. This post is dedicated to Garima ji (my Geeta Guru), and to all those Gurus in my life, who were instrumental in steering me in my personal journey of physical and spiritual health!  And to Bhagwad Geeta itself, the ultimate Guru!

Madhurjya is the most loved and respected swimming instructor in our part of town.

  But to the world, he is popular as the Indian 70.3 Ironman triathlon champion.  He has represented India in multiple international triathlon events.  And at 37, just a few weeks ago, he secured another podium finish at the Vietnam 70.3 Ironman triathlon.

Very coincidentally, I first met him during my son’s swimming lessons.  The one thing that is hard to ignore about him is his ripped body. Seems straight out of a sculpting mold. 🙂 A budding fitness enthusiast myself, I got curious to find out what it takes to build a body like that.

He gave me his secret sauce over our occasional chats (not a very talkative fellow, I must say :)) I have mulled over that for weeks and presenting you his insights in a manner that can be consumed as 3 simple nuggets of body-building (and fat loss).

Being an international athlete, he does train very regularly. But attributes most of his body-building success to his diet.

“Well, you can exercise, but you can’t exercise your way out of a bad diet…You eventually are what you eat..”

1. How much are you eating?

Its very important to balance your calories if you want to lose fat and build muscle. Your ideal calorie intake depends on your height and weight, your activity level, your age, and your goal.

Being a high performance athlete, Madhurjya maintains a diet of about 2500-3000 calories per day sustaining his BMI level between 15-18%.

But if you are looking to lose weight/build muscle, you must create a caloric deficit. Now there are lot of sophisticated apps (namely My FitnessPal and HealthifyMe (Indian diet specific)) that will help you to count your optimal calorie intake based on your goals. There are diehard fans of such apps but my personal experience says it is a bit too much work to fill in each meal, snack, and nibble everytime unless you have a professional  mindset like Madhurjya. Of course, there are nutritionists who can help you at a premium. But if you are looking for simple hacks on how to control calories, here are some of mine:

Eat till you are satiated, not full This is a very time-tested principle followed by Okinawans(world’s highest centenarian population)  in Japan: the hara hachi bu principle which is to eat until you are 80% full.

What it translates to is eat meals, until you have space left for a snack.

If you normally eat 3 rotis/flatbread, take two first. See how full you feel…often times you may actually feel satisfied with just two. The signal to stop eating is when you feel satisfied: no longer feel hungry, but not full.

“How do you even know it is hunger?” This is one of the transformative questions my husband’s nutritionist asked him. Often times, we mistake cravings, social settings, or stress eating for hunger. Listening  to your body for real hunger cues can help you reduce your calorie intake. Real hunger means that you will eat anything thats put in front of you, even if its that lauki sabzi (bottlegourd curry) that you’d normally hate to touch.

It doesn’t have to be eaten just because its served. When food is in the plate or in front of us, we get tempted to finish it. And that invariably leads to overeating. But I always remember my friend Sapna Chawla’s favorite quote: “Waste it or waist it”. Remember this, when you are stuffing that extra helping of rice down the gullet just so that your fridge won’t have to bear the load. 

2. What are you eating?

Food we consume is primarily a balance of three macronutrients: carbohydrates, proteins and fat.   The tricky thing about macronutrients is that the amount each of us should be eating can vary from person to person. Generally, for adults, the macronutrient breakdown recommendation is 45-65% calories from carbohydrates, 10-35% from protein, and 20-35% from fat. Fo example, Madhurjya tries to maintain a macronutrient ratio of 50-35-15. MyMacros+ app is a good start to calculate your daily macronutrients ratio. It will also give suggestions on what foods to eat to maintain the macronutrients balance as well as the micronutrients needed.

Love Food that love you back!

Btw, a big myth that Madhurjya busts is that you need supplements to get a six pack or to win medals. Madhurjya does not take any supplements, pills or protein drinks.  Just real food. His diet includes lot of  eggs, vegetables, fruits, cereals, legumes, rice, chicken, fish, and nuts/seeds.  

On a typical day, this is what he eats:

Early morning : Custom pre-workout fruits and vegetable drink*/one fruit, steel cut oats with dry fruits/seeds and honey, 1-2 eggs, black coffee

After workout: 2-3 egg whites and banana

Morning snack:  cereal bar or rava idli

Lunch: rice, dal and vegetables

Afternoon Snack: boiled egg, bananas with nuts/seeds or cereal bar

Pre-work Snack (Evening): curd with fruits, nuts and honey or a pre-workout vegetable juice

Post-work out Snack: Drumstick mushroom soup or boiled seasoned legumes/beans

Dinner: Grilled chicken or fish with salad or quinoa

After-dinner snacks (if needed): dry fruits and yogurt

And lots of water, in-between.

*Instead of whey proteins, he creates his own pre/post-work drink out of fruits and vegetables. He also creates his own dinner salads which are a visual delight. And since you have all been kind enough to read till here, I will share his secret recipes at the end. 🙂 Btw, If you are looking to get creative with fruit and vegetable drinks, please check out this book “Juicing For Healthier Families”  authored by a dear friend, Parul Agarwal. 

According to him, Indian diets invariably lack in protein…A simple tactic is to ask yourself “where’s the protein?” with each meal. And believe me, Its not hard to compensate the shortage of protein (if there is)…You can easily add a bowl of (greek) yogurt, some tofu/eggs/chicken, or even handful of nuts or hummus to any meal. Madhurjya packs boiled eggs in a tiffin wherever he goes. He will pop one in, whenever he feels hungry. 

But if all that seems complicated to follow and you still want to achieve results, here’s my take:  Instead of focussing on what to eat, start first with what not to eat.

No Processed foods            No added Sugars         No Saturated/Trans Fatty foods

3. When are you eating?

Nutrient timing may be important for elite eaters like Madhurjya but frankly not so much for most other folks. 

Madhurjya eat lots of small meals/snacks each day (i.e. every few hours). But frankly, there are only a couple of important considerations when it comes to nutrient timing.

The most important thing according to Madhurjya is eating after exercise (or during your most active part of the day), especially within the first 30-45 minutes since our bodies are greedy for nutrients around that time. He typically eats most of his protein and carbs during this time. 

If you are lean and simply want to maintain your existing body composition, consuming more carbohydrates throughout the day will likely be fine.

But If you want to lose body fat, you have to aim to consume a majority of carb dense foods during and after exercise sessions (for about 3 hours after). Outside of the 3 hour window you should be consuming primarily protein and fat, while consuming fewer carb dense foods (25% or less of the meals).

And avoid mid-night snacking if you are looking to lose weight. If you are really hungry, a warm glass of milk or green tea or even yogurt is a better choice.

But my take, if this is too complicated, follow this simple principle:

Eat when you are most active and less when you are not.

Madhurjya’s final advice to all is: If you want your diet to work for you, add discipline to it. That is the most important ingredient!

As promised, here is Madhurjya’s custom pre-workout drink recipe:

*According to him, the beetroot juice is a god-send for athletes/body-builders. It helps you run faster, pedal harder, and workout longer.

And as a bonus, some of his favorite dinner salad recipes:

And finally my take on body-building: If you strive for progress, perfection will follow! 🙂

Once in a blue moon, when I land up in the gym at an insanely early hour, I find him running on the treadmill at godly speeds with ungodly grunts…

Well, you may expect that out of a seasoned marathoner.  But what I did not expect was  the news he broke to me: that he had recently finished an international sprint triathlon at 14th place. And he is only 44! But his age was not my only cause for concern! 🙂 Not very long ago, I had seen him starting to learn swimming! From swim lessons to completing an open sea 500 mts stretch at the triathlon on an abnormally windy day… now that got me awestruck!

Amit Gupta, the man in question, is the CEO of Asianet News Network. He is a gifted vocalist, a weekend chef, a mountain-trekker, a self-proclaimed workoholic, besides being a father of two equally talented teenagers. He is also fit as a fiddle.

The great thing about blogging is that I get to uncover stories of real-life heroes like Amit.  More than fitness, his tale is about his personal transformation and personal learnings. I decided to pick out some pearls of wisdom around his passion of racing, marathon running, fitness, and more. 

A boss can make you run…(literally!)

His journey of running started in childhood with him trying to outrun the last couple of runners in his school running competition. 🙂 But took a sharp turn when he entered the workforce.  Well, we all know that a boss can make you or break you. In his case, his boss made him run.  A decade ago, the motivation for running got rekindled when his boss (a marathon runner himself) pushed him to try it. He has never stopped running since. 

As you can expect, there have been lots of ups and downs in his run.

“Darr ke aage jeet hai”…There is victory beyond your fears.

At the 18th kilometer into his first marathon, his knees started cramping. He somehow managed to finish but if he wanted to run again, he would have to go through an arduous knee surgery. (it was not due to the running per say, but due to a prior untreated injury.) He had almost succumbed to the fact that his running would have to be stopped before it could even start. But thanks to his wife, Shivali, who couldn’t see his dreams go unfulfilled and made sure he went through the surgery.  He went on to run 11 marathons after that. But the incident made him very diligent in listening to his body. 

Don’t stop when the pain starts….Stop when the pain gives up.

At another marathon, many moons later, he got severe stomach cramps and threw up at the 16th km. But he pep talked his way into finishing the race, even though he was completely dehydrated and overdosed on salt.  He surely learnt the importance of electrolyte balance that day. 🙂

It’s not about winning; it’s about finishing the race!

There was also the life-threatening feat at the recently participated triathlon. Having never swam in open sea before, he almost lost his sense of direction during the race. The drift of the wind was not in his favor either. He had gulped too much water and was almost hallucinating directionless. But something in him did not let him give up.  Not only did he manage to complete the swim, he finished the race at 14th place.

Now, you’d think he’d slow down after the last episode?! But he tells me that he is already training for the Olympic distance triathlon next. Clearly, his passion of running/racing goes beyond fitness and goals.

“My passion for fitness/running has by far been my best personal teacher!”

According to him, It has made him a better person overall…more organized, more time-conscious, empathetic, and much more open to new experiences and learnings. But most importantly, it has taught him a great deal about failure…

“I have realized that failure is just a self derived definition of your outcomes being a tad short of the expectation. So now, I focus on the cause and not the consequence.”

To me, Amit’s account signifies that fitness, above all, is a state of mind.  Your own drive and commitment is the most important gear in your journey towards fitness.  And whatever your marathon…(and no, it doesn’t have to be of the running kind, it can be of a body-building kind, or the yoga kind or any other fitness activity that you entail) shed your inhibitions; drop your fears; run that extra mile and see where it leads you.

If his story has inspired you to try running, here are few tips and advices from him to get you started:

Firstly, can anyone do it?

He quotes from his favorite book,  ‘Every Human is “Born to Run”’ by Christopher McDougall. 

So…absolutely (as long as you don’t get sweaty palms or palpitations while running).

What are the basic requirements to start training for a marathon?

First and foremost, you have to commit to drinking lots of water, maintaining a good enough BMI and taking care of your legs (he is gungho on ghee and oils his knees like a bicycle chain every Sunday :)) .

Before you start training, you need to get to a proper warm up and cool down routine and start sleeping for 7 hours.

He suggests to start running at least 3-5 times a week to test yourself. This is also the time you need to train your brain. Positive affirmations, self-talk, visualization, music,  running buddies….you can try any or all of these to prevent the cliched motivation fades. Once you get comfortable, you should try longer runs (more than 10K)  once every week. If you are consistent in this approach, you should be ready for a half-marathon in about 12-15 weeks.

Any diet restrictions?

Absolutely none.  According to him, dieting is criminal when you are burning up so many calories. Over the recent past though, he follows the V-figure when it come to breakfast, lunch, and dinner. And of course, minimal junk and processed foods.

Some of the biggest myths about marathon running?

That running is bad for knees! You need overall fitness, not strong knees to race. You need to focus on your running style, muscle strength, and endurance if you want an injury-free run. The secret to happiness is right at your feet, once the overall body runs in sync.

What kind of shoes would you need to invest in?

The general rule of thumb is that your shoes should match your current fitness level and your future aspirations. You should ideally get a shoe expert to help you with the right fit…basically they should nicely hug the entire feet while leaving some headroom to move your fingers up down and sideways. Nike Vomero,  Adidas Ultra boost and Barefoot Vibram are all good choices. 

How do you weave this into your already busy lifestyle?

You have to act like a petty time thief i.e. steal a few minutes from each of your daily routine: getting up, getting ready, breakfast, etc.  Plan, Plan, Plan! Every aspect needs to be planned in advance, from taking work calls during your commute to planning your workout the nite before. His biggest time-savers come from a very minimalist and disciplined approach to social media usage and devices.  If you let go of your FOMO (fear of missing out), you will be gain back your MOJO 🙂

Any parting advice for non-marathoners and wannabe marathoners?

Before every run, is a race between your mind and an excuse. Your motto should be to make your mind win. Your body will follow. 

And he signs off with one of his personal favorite quotes:

Everything in life is a marathon of different time, distances and tracks; don’t dash it. Run it per your abilities while improvising it in style and form constantly.