She loves playing games

Gurnaaz Kaur

One doesn’t need to get caught up with all the fancy names and ways to stay fit. It can be quite simple and doable. 

That’s what Kashmira Shah, an actress and model, believes in and puts into practice. With her recent stint as a director and having done two short films, Come Back To Me and Casting Couch, this dusky, bold and bindaas lady feels more responsible towards the work she chooses to do, just like how she feels towards what she eats. Here’s her way to a fit body...

Fitness means

Fitness for me means life. I was blessed with a very good, shapely body, so in the beginning I was not so fitness conscious. But in the late 90s, I realised everyone was into fitness and took it up seriously.

Gym addict, nah..

I am not a very gym person like the Maliakas and the Kareenas, who are so much into gym and will go there for two-three hours. I do gym but the duration spent there is limited and if I miss it occasionally, there are other ways to clock-in my daily physical activity. 

Sports, bring it on

Like I said, you’ll not see me doing gym for very long. Instead, you’ll find me playing squash for good enough time. I am more of a sport person. I love playing games.

First thing in the morning

I begin my day with two cups of coffee. Totally addicted to this drink, and Starbucks- that’s the brand of beans I use. After coffee, I go and play for an hour and then come back and have a protein-rich breakfast like chicken. 

Detoxify

I am a very high-protein eater and a pure non-vegetarian. I’ve been brought up on such a diet. Mondays and Tuesdays I am a vegetarian, so I find it very hard to maintain my diet on those days and literally crave for non-vegetarian food, but I have been following this since ages now. I think it’s a good way to detox.

No sweet cravings

I don’t have a sweet tooth. There’s nothing sweet that I crave for. I think I would say I have a sour tooth and that has saved me. Plus, I don’t overeat, so there aren’t too many restrictions that I need to follow.

Cheat bit

I cheat with Goan food since I am a half Goan. I’ll have my fried fish and sole curries. That’s my cheating way- it would not be biryanis or poori bhaji but just these fishes and I love to gorge on them.

Fitness mantra

I was somebody who never drank, never smoked, so that became my fitness mantra. But there were a lot of people who smoked around me, so I became a passive smoker, which was really bad. To overcome that, I started avoiding parties, night clubs. I couldn’t avoid smoke, so I chose to avoid places.

Listen up, people

Fitness is not just eating right or hitting the gym, it’s about how well you look after your body as far as what to ingest. If you drink, drink moderately. Likewise, if you can’t quit smoking, at least limit it.

gurnaaz@tribunemail.com