Jennifer Lopez looking super toned in a string bikini, celebrating her 52nd birthday on a yacht with Ben Affleck admiring her derrière, looked unreal. Jennifer Anniston is another 50-something who has the body of a 20-year-old. We have 47-year-old Malaika Arora giving teenagers a complex when it comes to a fat-free body. What is the secret?
It is their diet! In a recent interview Jennifer Anniston admitted that a clean diet was responsible for her fit body. She was quoted as saying she never, ever, gets tempted to have cocktails and eats only one chip or one m&m when tempted! Her self-restraint is amazing, but since most of us don’t have multi million-dollar movie contracts lined up and want to enjoy the instant satisfaction food gives us, how can we can afford to indulge?
This is where a nutritionist comes, in because just weight loss is not the secret to looking good. To be healthy and look age-defying, your diet needs to be sustainable — there should be a holistic analysis about how you can eat clean in your environment.
“It’s important to understand that it’s not too much food that’s making us fat, it’s stress, hormone imbalance and environmental chemicals like obesogens,” says clinical nutritionist and health educator Lovneet Batra. She adds, “This is where anti- inflammatory and anti-ageing diets come into play. They should be rich in vitamins A, B, Omega 3, healthy fats and the right amount of protein. For a diet to work it needs to be well synced with your hunger hormones.”
Also, now it’s not about the weight. It’s about strength and body composition. “You can weigh 48 kgs and be skinny fat, or 60 kgs and have lean muscle and bone density,” points out Lovneet. To look like a movie star you need to pay attention to things like bone density, muscle mass. and collagen too if you want to prevent cellulite.
A nutritionist is worth the money because they will factor in all the important stuff needed to be healthy and look great. Nutrition coach Ali Faraz, who advises sports stars like Sania Mirza and Jwala Gutta and many other socialites in Hyderabad, says, “There are a lot of fad diets out there that can really damage the body. A nutritionist with experience can guide you without causing harm or stress to your body. Things like this are best left to experts.”
It’s easy to stick to a proper food plan. “People tend to overeat/under-eat. A nutritionist can figure out exactly how much and what you should eat,” says Ali. If you eat right, you can look good even without exercising; but without a good diet in place, a fitness regime won’t help much. An hour of cardio can burn up to 400 calories and this is very easy to eat back. Your body needs the correct food to look and feel fabulous,” he stresses.
