Rujuta Diwekar is a celebrated nutritionist. She has been in the nutrition industry for more than 20 years. She is one of the world's most-followed nutritionists. Besides the best-selling author, she is India's foremost speaker on health & wellness.

The best part of her advice is that her guidelines are easy to adapt, affordable & in tune with our eating cycle. She emphasis in glory & pride of our Indian culture, heritage & our food practices. Change in our meal portion & eating guilt-free are the mains for her fitness projects.

1. Start Your Day With Soaked Almonds (or Raisins) or Fruit.

• Don’t drink tea or coffee first thing in the morning.
• Have a glass of plain water. After that, eat 4-5 soaked almonds (badam) or 6-7 soaked raisins (kismis) or local & seasonal fruit.
• Eat this small meal within 10-15 mins of waking up.
• After having this small meal, you can do your yoga/exercise/workout.
• Have breakfast within 60-90 mins of this first meal. Have your tea or coffee or with that.

Pro-Tip - In the case of women in PMS or in periods, soak 1-2 strands of saffron (kesar) with 6-7 raisins & have it with a glass of water in the morning.

Health Benefits - Having raisins first thing in the morning helps in reducing sugar cravings & low energy levels. Banana (or any fresh fruit) helps in digestion issues. Soaked & peeled almonds – helpful in diabetics, PCOD, and poor sleep quality.

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2. Use Cloth Napkins for Wrapping Chapati in Casserole/Tiffin Boxes

• Aluminum foils have a tendency to stick to our food. Better to be a bit Old-School!
• Use cloth napkins for keeping chapati in your casserole & tiffin boxes.
• Cloth Napkins are healthier, durable & cheaper option in the long run as compared to aluminum foil. So, It's an economical & healthy option.
• Make your nearby people aware too, of the health benefits of these cloth Napkins.
• It is a simple & inexpensive change!

Pro -Tip - Take a pride in continuing the legacy of your grannies & have its health advantages.

Health Benefits - Wrapping & storing chapati in the cover of cloth napkins is a more health-based decision. Putting hot rotis (chapati) in aluminum foil has the tendency to stick to our food & harmful in long run.

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3. Add 1 Tsp of Ghee (Clarified Butter) To Your Meals

• Add 1 teaspoon(tsp) of ghee to your meals.
• Adding 1 tsp in lunch reduces your sugar cravings & dip in energy levels after lunch.
• Adding 1 tsp in dinner helps in digestion issues, constipation & regular bowel movements.
• Try to make ghee at home. It's not so tough! Google for easier preparation of ghee making at home:)

Pro-Tip - You can cook food in ghee (once in a while) to have added flavor & benefits.

Health Benefits - Ghee is lipolytic in nature, means it's a fat that breaks down other fats. It moves fats from stubborn fat areas of the body.

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4. Distraction-Free Meals

• In distracted mode, you can ignore the moment when your stomach feels full. This can lead to overeating.
• Eat your food without distractions. Don’t use phones/ TV/ emails/ messages/ social media, etc while having meals.
• Start this practice with at least one meal a day. You tend to eat less than what you eat with distractions.

Pro -Tip - Eat at least one meal of the day on a floor mat with a cross-legged posture. Feel the benefits yourself!

Health Benefits - By practicing distraction-free eating, you would not overeat. You would appreciate food, flavors with full senses. Optimum eating would lead to your weight loss too!

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5. Say No to Plastic

• Take your own cloth bags for shopping & to your vegetable market (sabzi mandi).
• Replace your plastic tiffin boxes with steel dabbas (or boxes).
• Use steel bottles or cooper bottles for water usage.

Pro -Tip - Educate others too. Set an example for your family & society. Change of tomorrow comes with a single action of today.

Health Benefits - Carrying your cloth bag reduces the consumption of polythene bags, which are the main cause of water & soil pollution.

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Final Remarks

So, in all, I want to conclude 5 takeaways from nutritionist Rujuta Diwekar's fitness mantras

1. Start your day with soaked almonds or nuts.
2. Use cloth napkins for warping chapati in casserole.
3. Add 1 tsp of ghee to your meals.
4. Distraction-free meals
5. Say no to plastics

If you like to know more tips, do read this blog.

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