Do you follow any fitness regime?
Yes, I do. I religiously follow my fitness regime all seven days of the week.

How much time do you spend in a day for workout?
Nowadays, almost my entire morning is spent in the gym. I give around one hour for cardio and an hour for weight training. I also love working on my legs because it hurts. And when it pains so badly I know I'm gaining on my fitness a lot.

Apart from this have you taken up any sport or habit that helps you maintain your body?
When I had to lose my excess fat I had taken up kick-boxing and Muay Thai which I even enjoy now.

According to you, how important is it to follow a fitness regime?
It's very, very important. I'm a fanatic so I'd put it before most of my other commitments…

Do you at all make excuses to go to gym?
Nooo! In fact, even if I miss out on a day, I don't take it as my off day. Next week the same day I won't be tempted into bunking again.   

What's your usual diet?
My morning starts with a bowl of corn flakes and skimmed milk. Then the whole day I eat at every two-hour interval. Like in a day I can eat four egg whites so I distribute it any way I want and have it. Same with the recommended one bowl of dal and 2 rotis. However, what I have as a must is mixed-vegetable juice of any three veggies. I used to suffer from constipation a lot and this simple home-remedy has helped a great deal to get rid of that problem. It continues to keep my system absolutely clean!

Do you look upon calories when it comes to eating?
Well, yes, but being a Bengali I have a craving for sweets especially the ones made out of jaggery that my mom gets from Bengal. But whenever I give in to such temptations I make sure I burn it off the next day. My usual 'knight in shining armor' is Gelato's 100% sugar-free ice-creams. By having them, your craving for sweets is taken care of and you don't need to bother about those sugar calories too (smiles).

What do you do to keep you motivated towards your workout schedule?
According to me the motivation should come from inside.

How were you in your teen years and now?
I wasn't very different in my teen years. Right since I was eleven when I saw Sushmita Sen on the cover of Teens Today magazine, I was allured towards the world of glam. I had set either modeling or acting as a career option for me. So, I was always careful not to overeat. But after entering the industry …after I guess about two years… the craze towards fitness sort of fizzled out and obviously it showed. Then I was like- 'You have got to get your fitness groove back!' So then I started gymming again and my transformation in turn has inspired my friends too (smiles).

Do you have a dietitian or an instructor to maintain your fitness?
An instructor is there to motivate and for me, like I said the motivation comes from inside. but I do have a dietician who charts out my food requirements for me.

Suggest some fun ways for working out.
Apart from dancing sports are good. Like for me, kick-boxing worked pretty well.

Anyone that you idolize when it comes to good physique?
I adore anyone with a good body. Even I come across someone as such in the gym, I compliment them and appreciate their efforts.

Who has an impressive body in industry right now?
Bipasha  Basu

Reporter and Author: Susan Jose