When Your Love Language Should Be Loving Yourself Healthily

Maitri Ramaiya, Celebrity Nutritionist   who has Bollywood eating out of her hands (okay…we worked on the words literally) was our Keynote Guest Speaker at iRise Weekender Series in Pune. We totally connected with her ideas and philosophy and so we decided to do something about it.

 

 

We asked 5 essential questions to Maitri Ramaiya which had a very unique twist. The idea was to connect her vision for good health, nutrition and body positivity with Social Media Kindness Day on November 9. Basically, wanting to have more people practising kindness towards body self and self-worth along with nutrition.

 

Let’s read what she has to say -

 

1. When you see diet shaming or food-shaming comments online, what is the single most powerful, kind response people can use to shut down that negativity?

 

"See, diet shaming and food shaming happen when there are people making blanket statements like, 'This food is horrible, never eat it,' or 'That food gives you GERD,' or 'This food gives you acidity,' when they vilify particular food groups or particular foods. This is one of the biggest mistakes that people are making or, you know, professionals or influencers are making because the truth is that  no one food group is good or bad. All foods made by God are good for the body. It just depends at which time in your life and in what situation you are using it.

 

And the one thing that I say to  shut down that kind of negativity is don't look at what not to have. Stop attaching yourself to 'don't have rice,' 'don't have sugar,' 'don't...' Start focusing on what to have. Once your focus moves on, you know,  have healthy salads, include  proteins, vegetarian proteins like paneer, tofu, include non-vegetarian proteins like chicken and fish,  and include protein powder if you are working out.  include healthy fats from   good fats, good monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fat. Move their focus towards what is working so that the focus towards what is not working automatically collapses. If I could put it in one line, I would appreciate and focus on what works and ignore what doesn't. That is the best way to shut down that kind of negativity."

 

2. Outside of fad diets, what is the single most damaging nutrition message or trend currently being amplified on social media platforms like Instagram?

 

"One of the most damaging nutrition messages that is being amplified on social media platforms like Instagram and lot is professionals and influencers without any knowledge of the person they are talking to, they go out ranting blanket statements about what should be done, how it should be eaten, which food should be combined with which other food and eaten at what time. For example, 'Berries should never be combined with bottle gourd and eaten after 6:00 p.m. in the evening,' or 'The moment you stop having carbs for breakfast, you will start seeing a shocking drop in your weight.' Making these kinds of blanket statements without understanding the body of the person you are talking to can be extremely harmful.

 

Because I have understood in my 25 years of career that everybody is different. And the only way to give them a diet that will give them results is to thoroughly evaluate their likes, their dislikes, what works on them, their blood group, their body composition, and only then are you in a position to make any comment about what works and what doesn't work. The truth is, what works for one may not work for another. So, making blanket statements is one of the worst things and the most damaging things that are happening on social media today."

 

3. As a nutritionist, do you feel pressure to always present "perfect" meals, or is embracing the messy reality of healthy eating a form of kindness to your followers?

 

"The word perfect does not exist. Not in nutrition, not anywhere in the world. You can attempt to. The only place one can be is in an attempt to achieve perfection. But is perfection a place that anybody has ever arrived at? No. In no field. Not in your work, not in your finances, not in your wealth, not in your career, not in your relationships, not in your food either. Anybody who's saying 'my my relationship is perfect,' or 'my money is perfect,' or 'my concepts on my business are perfect' is lying because the word perfection just does not exist.

 

So my suggestion is to follow what works for you, what is going to give your body a result after thoroughly... after being with a professional that is capable of... that has that kind of experience with that many people and that can capably analyze your body and what would work and what would not and guide you towards the correct form of nutrition. That is the only thing you can perfect. You can only perfect a process, and that is also in process.  That's also never the end because you're just getting better. After 25 years of being in this field also, I am still a student of nutrition. I am still learning and I am... I have so much more to cover and it's never... the end never arrives.  You're just getting better and better.

 

Did you know it takes multiple cycles of bulking and losing for a bodybuilder to be able to achieve a high muscle body percentage and a low fat body percentage. But for that, they need to go through multiple cycles of bulking and dropping. And the more cycles they go through, the better their muscle percentage and the lower their fat percentage. Will that bodybuilder ever, till the end of his lifetime, reach a concept called perfection? No, never. But will he get better with every cycle? Yes. Will he be striving towards perfection? Totally. But will he achieve that? No."

 

4. On a day dedicated to Social Media Kindness, what is the one habit your followers can adopt immediately to foster a more positive and self-compassionate body image online?

 

"Your body is listening to you and you will be shocked that more than your food and your workout, your body is responding to what your mind is telling it. Your mind is that powerful. And that is why the motto of our company, if you see the caption, it's always 'Mind Over Fitness.' That is how powerful your mind is. Your mind can do exactly... your body will do exactly what your mind tells it. If your mind tells it you cannot lift 25 kilos today, your body will not be able to lift it, no matter what a big bodybuilder you are. But if your mind tells a very thin, frail, and a starter, 'You can, you can totally lift 35 kilos today,' you will be surprised that that person who has never been to the gym is lifting 35 kilos only because the mind was more powerful than the body. So that's how strong the mind is.

 

This is what you need to do. Follow your correct process. Follow the correct nutrition program, follow the correct workouts, take guidance from a professional with experience and knowledge and someone you feel is actually understanding you as a person and your functioning and someone who's not there thrashing out generic advice.

 

After having the following...it's more like, you know, 'do your duty' and 'Karam kar, phal ki pratiksha mat kar.' This is what the message I want to give people to foster a more positive and self-compassionate body image online. Do your duty, but keep your mind powerful that no matter where you are, this body has been given to you by God and it is beautiful the way it is. And yes, the maintenance contract is in your hand. Keep taking care of it, keep taking an effort after it, keep nurturing it, keep nourishing it, keep trying to get it better. But are you fantastic the way you are? Yes, you are fantastic the way you are AND you are also interested in making it better. This is how you will look at it. This doesn't mean that there's something wrong or bad, it just means that the word 'perfect' doesn't exist."

 

 5.Aside from food and nutrition, which act of kindness do you think the world must show more?

 

"Apart from food and nutrition, one of the acts of kindness I think that the world should show more is acceptance. There is no one standard definition of what fitness means. Fitness means different things for different people. For someone being able to run a 42 kilometer marathon means fitness. For another person being able to do a 72-hour triathlon means fitness. And for the third person, he may not be able to run even 1 kilometer, but having a six-pack abs means fitness. For a fourth person, being  o- being an X weight means fitness, because probably all his life he has been malnourished and on a lower weight scale.

 

So for everybody the definition of fitness is different, and as fitness professionals or as people who support fitness and who are into fitness, the least we can do is encourage other people who are trying to get fit, whatever the word fit means in their definition. If they are trying to get fitter, if they are trying to get better, support them, support their goals, and make them feel positive, make them feel comfortable, and  accept whatever their definition of fitness is.

 

You can hold on to your own definition of fitness, but like I said, there are multiple definitions of fitness and the kindest thing we can do is accept whatever the definition of fitness means to a fellow fitness enthusiast. As long as that person is making an effort to stay fit and to keep himself healthy, the only thing he deserves is support with kindness."

 

That’s a high five! Thank you for your insightful sharing, Maitri Ramaiya!

 

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TAGS: Maitri Ramaiya, Nutritionist, Body Positivity, body image, acceptance, kindness, social media, instagram, eating, food, nutrition, iRise Weekender, Pune, body building, weight,