This lady was on yo-yo weight loss diets until she learned to keep lithe without going to the extremeAs she saunters into Bandra's Pali Village Cafe, Sri Lankaborn, Mumbai-settled actor
Jacqueline Fernandez turns many a head. Some of them exchange pleasantries, hugs and handshakes with her. "I'm pretty regular here...these guys are such fun," she chuckles, as she shoos away a cheery cafe caretaker who is making funny faces to distract her soon after throwing open the entire mezzanine floor for us. Sipping on her cuppa, the pretty 27-year-old, in her cream-coloured shorts and a floral top, talks about how she wised up from her yo-yo
dieting ways and mechanical gymming days and found solace in healthy wholesome food and daily doses of yoga:
Wonder yearsAs a child, I was
athletic. I grew up on a
Sri Lankan staple diet of rice and curry. Being from a mixed background (mother Kim is a
Malaysian and father Elroy a Sri Lankan), I would get the best of both cuisines as my mom would incorporate some Malay and even Mediterranean food into our diets. In school, I was into gymnastics, track athletics and basketball. I wouldn't sit at home and play with dolls. I would go out with my brother and indulge in adventurous stuff such as terrain climbing.
Body watchMy body doesn't easily pile on the kilos. But what you and I would call normal weight doesn't translate well on screen. When I entered
Bollywood, I realised that though I can be completely fitlooking, I look big when the camera is turned on. For movies, you can't be your normal weight. You have to go the extra mile and put in a lot of sacrifices into your meals. Many a time, it's not healthy. Often when we are shooting, we are unhealthily
thin.
But we have to be extra slim to look good on screen. I have starved myself for hours and days to look a certain way in songs and then gone berserk stuffing my face. I have gone through all sorts of diets, from hardcore Atkins to exactly the opposite with no meat and only salads. I come from a yo-yo dieting background.
Deepika Padukone, for instance, has maintained a great body with stable weight for years which means she doesn't yo-yo diet. I have now learnt that your body, if taught a good habit, follows it to the T. I'm done with diets. The only rule to follow: what you eat, you need to burn.
Yoga bearSix years ago, when I was preparing for Miss Sri Lanka
Universe, which I later won, I realised that looking good and fit was fine but you are also judged by how you look in a bikini. Many marks are allotted to how much dedication and effort you have put into sculpting a good body. So even though I was at my skinniest, I began gymming to be more toned. But I would easily get bored of it.
After years of struggling with exercise ruts, I figured
yoga was the ideal fix. I discovered it when I came to India four years ago. Now, I have a personal yoga instructor and I do yoga an hour a day, five days a week. It's something I always look forward to. It relaxes me and doesn't
stressmy body out. That's my idea of
fitness. Doing something that comes to you naturally.
Yoga is calming because it connects your body to your mind. I have realised I breathe fuller now. I also go for gymnastics, swimming and capoeira. I love jogging as well. But I'm wary of it because I know it can be hard on your knees. But when I shoot in
London, I love jogging at
Hyde Park.
Food rulesWhen you've had a late night or binged, you can't get away with it before a camera. When you eat out, you're likely to intake excess sodium, which leads to water retention. It's really annoying but the camera picks this up. An actress looks a certain way in a scene because the camera's telling you more than she wants to.
I start my mornings with warm water, honey and lime. My mornings are incomplete without fruits, as they give good sugars and carbs to kickstart the day. And I include some form of eggs; boiled or scrambled. My lunch is light and vegan with salads, brown rice and lentils. When I eat healthy and light, I feel happy. For dinner, it's fish and grilled veggies. I like to have some protein at night as the body goes into repair mode.
I have noticed that people like to complicate their food and stress about it. Whatever you eat, balance your meals. Keep them simple and light.
