Interview: Rashi Chowdhary: From Kareena Kapoor to The Protein Bake Shop to Size Fit!

Rashi Chowdhary started out as an assistant to Rujuta Diwekar and helped whilst Kareena Kapoor was creating her size zero bikini body for the 2008 Bollywood scorcher Tashan. After moving from Mumbai to Dubai and starting her own nutrition business, she thrived both professionally and personally, also helping me remain fit along the way!

She did an interview for my blog in May 2012. 2 years later, Rashi Chowdhary, is not just any nutritionist. She is also the owner and creator of a new Dubai based healthy Bake shop called The Protein Bake Shop, a spectacular restaurant that offers healthy desserts and other fun indulgences, guilt free! Not only has she been busy with her two businesses, she also had the time to get washboard abs like never before. How does this super fit, super hot super woman do it all? Read below to find out how how Rashi, my friend and  inspiration, went from Kareena Kapoor to the Protein Bake Shop to her own size fit!

(For those of you interested in her indulgences, there is information at the bottom of checking out how to order from the Protein Bake Shop!):

Tell us about the inception of the protein Bake shop and what health value it has added to frequent visitors?

Protein Bake Shop is not just a healthier version of your favorite desert. When you look closely at the nutrition label and ingredients, you’ll see how it’s a healthy snacking option for anyone trying to lose weight/ get fit/ fighting with allergies and intolerance and gain muscle mass. Anyone battling with sugar addictions and wanting to make improvements in their eating habits will benefit from switching to wholesome baking with natural sugars at the protein Bake shop. Also, people with metabolic syndrome like Type 2 diabetes, pcod, Insulin resistance etc, can turn to the baked stuff from the Protein power range, since the total carbs are kept under 10 grams, plus whey protein isolate is used to improve the protein to carb ratio.

I’ve been practicing as a nutritionist since over 7 years now, and the amount of misinformation that exists in people’s mind about nutrition has always made me want to do something about it. People need to go beyond concepts like calorie counting, truly understand the effect of whole wheat, low fat dairy on their body and how it might not be the best option. Also, the misconception that fat is bad for you and your cholesterol and gives you heart attacks! In, my opinion, all these nutritional beliefs come in the way of us leading healthier life’s. The concept of Protein Bake Shop is based on new age nutritional science where nutrients matter more than calories, fat is good for you, refined sugar is an absolute NO and ingredients like wheat and dairy are not what marketing gimmicks make them seem like. The quality and processing methods of these ingredients are compromised heavily which makes them nutritionally very different compared to what they use to be decades ago.

 

How do you come up with the recipes sold at the PBS? What should the ingredients have that makes it PBS worthy?

I am not a Baker and that’s not my passion either. My passion is to create nutritionally perfect recipes. So I give my bakers the ingredients I want to use and most importantly the amount I want to use it in. Based on that these recipes have been created. Talking about developing recipes, I can’t help but brag about the one recipe I did create which is our best seller! “ The chocolate stacks” It took me 3 minutes over a phone conversation to come up with it. Since the ingredients are so simple! It’s fun to get lucky like this J

The ingredients need to be really simple, really clean. No wheat/ dairy/ refined sugar and absolutely no nasties just to improve shelf life etc.

How can people internationally order from your store? Is there anything like the PBS in the USA or Europe? How do we incorporate these items sold at PBS into our daily diets?

We’re now available in Dubai and Mumbai. We’v worked out a way to deliver in other bigger cities in India too. And we will start accepting orders by the end of this month. So I’m sure we’r not far away from reaching International markets.

So you are seriously looking fabulous and really fitter than ever of late.  You did a 66 challenge to get there? Can you explicitly tell us what this 66 challange was and what your weekly routine of workouts looked like (including cardio and what and how.much?). Did you ever split up into twice daily?

Great things happen when you are open to criticism and surround yourself with people who inspire you! That’s what I learnt from the 66 Challenge. I was always into fitness and was doing cross fit for over a year now. But being part of a challenge that has a deadline was very new to me. A client of mine, Saad Umerani, who owns Valustrat, which is a consulting firm that specializes in strategy and valuation services. So I get a whole lot of great business advice and motivation for PBS too J So anyway, he got together with his friends and guys at the gym and started this 66 challenge, where they decided to get a 6 pack within 6 months. We all started out with decent fitness scores to begin with so it wasn’t unreal. He won this thing and I lost but considering he’s my client, it’s not a terrible thing!

I joined in much later so I had about 3 months to get there, which was obviously not possible but it was extremely motivating and exciting to compete.

I was working out 4-5 times a week doing cross fit movements and WOD’s. Not a single workout was over an hour. With my work schedule and stress levels, I would just be losing muscle and the high levels of cortisol would never allow me to burn fat around my waist. Once a week was fasted state cardio. This really seems to be a thing that works for my body. In 3 months I saw myself jump from 30 kgs to 45kgs on a front squat, jump from 20 kgs to 28kgs on a bench press and 58.5 kgs to 72 kgs on a deadlift. And NO I have not bulked up. Most Indian women have this misconception of bulking up if they lift. It only makes us stronger mentally and physically. My body has never been this toned and firm before. The feeling is phenomenal!

April 2014 picture (“Before)

June 2014 (After 66 challenge)

 

 

What did you weekly workout schedule look like?

Workouts:
Day 1:

1) 3 RM – Deadlift: 67.5 kgs

2) 10×30 seconds: 5 deadlifts @47.5 kgs

3) 8 mins AMRAP:

7 over head squats

14 Push ups

4) 30x back squat @ 20 kgs

 30x Thrusters @20 kg

Day 2:

1) 6×6 bench press @ 22.5 kg

2) 6×6 walking lunges @40 kg

 3) 5 rounds every minute:

 40 skips, 3 clean and jerks at 35 kg, 8 burpees

Day 3:

REST DAY

Day 4:

1) Back squat 6 x 4@ 40 kgs

2) For time:

30 kcal row

30 box jumps over 13”

30 Dead lifts at 35 kg

30 wall ball

15 Assisted dips

30 wallball

30 Deadlifts at 35 kg

30 box jumps over 13”

30 kcal row

 Day 5:

1) 10 RM front squat: 35 kg

10 RM deadlift 60 kg

2) 1 RM clean and jerk 35 kg

3) 3 rounds : 1 round every 5 mins

75 skips, 21 Kettle bell sings @ 20 kg, 12 Burpees

Day 6: Fasted state interval cardio early morning: 40 mins on empty stomach (12

hours fasting)

Day 7: REST DAY

What about diet chart? Fill out the below chart of what YOU ate to get you that fit

Meal 1: 7:00 am 1 tbsp of butter + black coffee

Meal 2: 9:00 am 3 whole eggs cooked with veges

Meal 3: 11:30 am sweet potato cooked in ghee + 12 Almonds

Meal 4: 2:00 pm 4-5 chicken legs + veges

Meal 5: 1-2 Almond cookies or Chocolate stacks from The protein Bake shop

Meal 6: Post workout: 1 scoop of protein shake

Meal 7: Beef or fish + veges or 2-3 Paleo pizzas with a chicken salad

How often and what do you “cheat” meal with?

I Have access to Protein Bake shop. So I really don’t feel the need to cheat anymore. With snack options that cur your cravings so well and are so perfectly balanced nutritionally, cheat meals are really a thing of the past for me. Chocolate cake, dark chocolate, peanut butter cake, cookie and even pizza is no more a cheat meal for me.

 

How do you get in your workouts,  eat right, and run two businesses (PBS and your nutrition business)? What is your routine and secret?

Honestly, I eat, sleep, dream, breathe, talk, walk Nutrition. It’s my only thing you know! When you have so much passion and so much love for what you do, work never seems monotonous, you are never tired to do more, think more, work more. I guess that’s what does it for me.

Your trainer seems amazing. What kind of workouts does he do with you to keep you on your toes?  Cross fit or boxing? Anything special that has helped your body more than something else?

My trainer Martin Ruski is the best thing that happened to my career. The first time I trained with him, I just did not want to go back. I felt it was just too tough. But I guess I knew if I didn’t go back, I would just stay where I was. He has to a great extent changed the way I think about Fitness. It’s not about getting the abs or the flat stomach, it should always be about how fast you want to run and how heavy you want to lift and how badly you want to break your own personal best! With any sort of workout, it’s about consistency.

What about portions? Some people just feel hungry all the time. What is the cause of this and how can it be managed? (I hear this from many women quite a bit).

Being hungry all the time could mean a lot of things. Emotionally, you could be going through a lot of stress or are just bored and don’t have too much exciting stuff to do all day. If you don’t have a fixed sleep and wake up cycle and don’t sleep very well all night, your appetite will be larger the next day. If you are insulin resistant, chances are you will be hungry soon after you finish a carb rich meal. Lastly, from a nutritional standpoint, if you do not eat enough fat and protein in each meal, you will always be hungry for more. Once you know the reason, get straight into finding the right solution and get started with eating clean. You’ll never regret this decision.

Tell me what your next goal is? (Cuz you know there is going to be a follow up interview!)

To take The protein bake shop to unimaginable heights, making it accessible to practically everyone trying to eat clean, get fits, lose weight and stay healthy!

 

http://theproteinbakeshop.com

http://www.rashichowdhary.com/

http://www.facebook.com/#!/RashiChowdharyInchLoss

Email:  mail@rashichowdhary.com

 

Interview: An expert’s advice: Rashi Chowdhary Nutrition and Inch Loss Expert

Today kicks off my series of  interviews of different sectors of the fitness scene: Nutritionists, experts, success stories and even professional competitors (if I am lucky to score an interview:)).  And who better to kick off the series with but my personal favorite and MY success story: Rashi Chowdhary.

Background

Rashi and I first met over email in October of 2008. I had done ample of research on nutritionists and diets in India and came across Rujuta, At the time, Rashi worked for Rujuta, and I received my first few emails on behalf of Rujuta from her.  After that, I worked with Rujuta until 2009. IN 2009, i took a break and in October, Rashi sent me a message (I think an accident but I call it fate!) saying hi. I then found out she had married…and moved to Dubai and become independent. And I have to say..since then, it has been quite a journey. I have gone through MANY ups and downs with her. I won’t say it’s always been progress. There were times when I was so stressed personally, that nothing we did helped…but she stuck with me..and I with her..and today, I am making progress like ANYTHING! I am so content and fulfilled and healthy! Trust me, she is worth every penny!

Today, i would like the world to know more about Rashi and her philosophies…and how she got to where she is….and psst….small secret! She has worked with some celebs in Bollywood too! 🙂  So..read on folks…and use Rashi to lose those inches……

Rashi Chowdhary Nutrition And Inch Loss Expert is based out of Dubai, UAE.

She has clients all over the world and pretty much communicates via phone, email, Skype and any other form of e-communication every where you can imagine. Check out her websites at the bottom of the post:

 

1.       What prompted you to join this profession and how did you get to where you are?

Well, to be very honest while I was graduating, most people did not even know what dietetics was. A nutritionist was looked upon as someone who tells you do’s and dont’s in black and white. Like No fried, no sweets, low cal, low fat, eat more veges and fruits etc etc. People did not really feel the need to hire one unless they had some health concerns. It’s only recently that everyone has become aware of how food can have a big impact on just your weight but also the way you look and feel. So back in the days while I was studying, the main purpose for me to take this up was to literally take care of my family and myself in the future. I was always scared of being a unhealthy fat slob because for the longest time I believed that fat genes run in my Punjabi family and now I realize how wrong i was :).Well,the good thing is that fear pushed me to study nutrition for 5 long years!! Thankfully, by the time I graduated, people had become more conscious about what they put into their system and how it affects them. Sadly, quick fixes were the only solutions then. Give up carbs completely, keep off sugar and cook with no oil was all that was available. So that’s when I decided to fill that void and start a “no gimmick,low fuss lifestyle plan” My diet plans have evolved over the years but the crux of it has remained the same-A quick fix is never a good fix!

2. Tell us about your fitness/nutrition philosophy

In my opinion the simpler your fitness/nutrition plan the more you will connect with it at every level. Most often we try and do things so drastically different that we can never keep up. It’s important that your plan fits into your lifestyle so beautifully that it does not really feel like a diet that you keep going “on and off”.

3. Not many people know you worked closely with Rujuta Diwekar during Kareena Kapoors miracle size zero transformation. How was this experience? Had you worked with other celebrity clients before?

It was an amazing experience. I learned so much from Rujuta! Working with Rujuta gave me an opportunity to work with most of her celeb clients as well. It’s amazing how much time and effort celebrities put into taking care of themselves. And from what I know through Rujuta, Kareena was extremely compliant with her meals and her fitness regime. No matter where she was on the planet she wouldn’t miss a day of working out and eating right.

4. In your opinion, what made Kareena get to 48 kg? How did her meal plan change during the course of time to lose so much weight?

Consistent efforts and taking full responsibility of what she ate, her meal timings and regular workouts got her to a size zero! Her meal plans changed according to her travelling schedule. We believe in eating local produce since the nutritional profile of food that is locally grown and cooked is much higher, the nutrients are highly bio available. So in Italy she would have freshly cooked pasta and risotto, seasonal fruits were encouraged and in leh she would savor momos.

5. Give us a sample “Tashan” Kareena meal plan

For that you’ve got t o read “Don’t lose your mind,Lose your weight!”. And not just read but start applying the basics to your life. Its amazing how simple principles like waking up to a fruit and eating every few hours can have a dramatic effect on your health and well being. It does come with its share of inconvenience at first but once your body gets use to the pattern of grazing all day long, its difficult to get back to the old habit of starving for long and then stuffing yourself like there is no tomorrow.

6. How do the meal plans change for people who want to gain weight after losing so much weight (like Kareena Kapoor has lost and then re gained weight again)

I worked with Rujuta until November 2008, if I remember correctly. So I wasn’t around when Kareena started her weight gain plans.

But when you want to gain back some weight after losing, its important that you go slow. Most people get back to eating refined flour, sugar and a whole lot of trans fat. This always leads to fat gain in the wrong places and you gain back the weight in places you least want it. You’ve got to stick to the basic rules of eating every few hours, eating food close to its natural original form and hydrating well, but the main focus here should be weight gain in the form of muscle. So resistance training, calisthenics and plyometric is what you should be focusing on. Your post work out meal becomes extremely essential here. Make sure you get some good quality protein right after your work out. The consumption of unsaturated fat from unsalted nuts, avocado, seeds and olives should increase. You could also consider having coconut, cheese, soy beans etc as mid meals and up the consumption of whole grains to make sure you don’t gain fat the unhealthy way.

7. Is there any miracle to losing flab instantly? Detox?

In my opinion, Fad diets/detox plans are a complete waste of time, energy and muscle. Fad diets make you lose too much weight too fast. There is no bravery in following a fad and losing say for eg:10 kgs in 2 weeks! Most often the weight you have lost is mainly muscle and water. That is exactly what you lose when you fall sick. So fad diets are a way of self-induced sickness.

Most often, the fad diet is so far away from what your “normal” lifestyle is that when you give it up-you always gain back the weight in no time. So you are back to square 1 but this time you have a slower metabolism and lesser motivation to take charge of your life and more fat to knock off! Downright foolish if you ask me.

8. What is Rashi’s fitness mantra? What is YOUR meal plan and fitness regime?

Well, the main focus of my fitness regime now is on gaining muscle mass. My personal trainer, Boyet is absolutely brilliant and knows exactly how to push me and most importantly when to stop!:)He trains me with a wide variety of exercises, it’s a great mix of resistance and plyometrics.I hit the gym 3-4 times a week, no more than 45 minutes per session. But my fitness regime is incomplete without a proper pre and post work out meal. A peanut butter sandwich 1 hour before work out and 2 hard boiled eggs or protein shake taken along with a fast carb immediately after work out, really help me with burning my fat and feeding my muscles!

9. Any other advice to people wanting to get fit and stay fit?

My top 3 favorite tips that really work are:

–Rate your plate: Make sure that most of the food you eat is close to its natural original form. So pick a whole fruit and not the juice. Snack on whole wheat seeded bread and not refined white bread which is stripped of all its nutrients and have full fat milk/yoghurt in stead of bingeing on that fat free ice-cream.

 

–Hydrate: Have 3 lts of water every single day to make sure you cleanse your body of all toxins and help your liver metabolize fat efficiently.

 

–Wake up to a fruit and not caffeine: Caffeine puts your body in the starvation mode since it is an appetite suppressant. wake up to a fruit to keep your sugar levels stable all day and keep those massive cravings away. Have your cup of java 20 mins after the fruit.

 

http://www.rashichowdhary.com/

http://www.facebook.com/#!/RashiChowdharyInchLoss

Email:  mail@rashichowdhary.com

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