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I'm a completely outdoors person. And I know fitness makes a difference in life. From the very beginning, I was an outdoors outdoor, sports-crazy individual. So fitness meant everything to me.

I started martial arts when I was 10 or 12-years-old and I played cricket in school and college. I always wanted to be fit and I always wanted to fight.
For me, fitness is not about going to expensive gyms or having expensive diet and health food.

If I have to workout, of course I go to the gym but I prefer my sports, whether it's cricket, squash or swimming. I'd rather do that than get into the gym and do cardio.

Too many people are getting obese these days. I think we as parents, are not teaching our children the right habits. We are not feeding them right.

We are not understanding food, not understanding burnout. We're not understanding how much they need to play. It's very important they go out and play to get fit. Physical activity is very very important. So we are responsible for it.

Being overweight is an issue and we need to tackle it. The retail culture and international brands entering India are bringing it here in a big way. Burgers, pizzas, junk food have all arrived.

Junk food, pre-cooked and frozen food have gatecrashed our homes because of working parents. I grew up on fresh food. I grew up on Mama's cooked food so I was always in control.

Weight training is great for people who want bulk, who want to look good, add weight. It's good for toning muscles. Yoga and outdoor cardio, helps you stay lean and fit, increases stamina and improves breathing.
I feel, a perfect combination of both would be best.

Now, I spend more time doing cardio and light weight training. I play a lot of sports so I understand my level of fitness. I understand my diet well. I'm 46, and it's important at this stage to remain lean and be supple.

I work on my stamina. For me, to look young, you've got to look lean. Basically that's the look that's in now.

The day you decide to workout, it could be a simple exercise, could be a walk, swim, jog or visiting the gym, take the advise of your doctor, monitor yourself, don't be lethargic. Give it your all. Once you decide you want to do it, nothing is impossible.

But the day you decide that you want to do something, let it be diet and exercise together. You should also check your body type. For someone like me, it's 45 per cent carbohydrate, probably 38 per cent protein and then fat.

So you should know how much you need to eat. It's simple mathematics. It's about you eating right and burning right. Once you get the math, once you realise how weight loss works, it will never stop.

You can control it the way you want and when you want. You can put on weight in a week and you can lose weight the next week. That's how beautiful your body is and that's how beautifully it works.

My advise to vegetarians who are working out - have an extra bit of proteins. You could have soya, paneer, milk products and protein shakes. Very few veggies have a great protein content.

But I would not recommend steroids because it will finally tell on your kidneys and liver. Even an excessively high protein diet will long term tell on your system.

So people, hope you find the tips interesting. If not, just throw it out of the window as that's how I led my life when I was training. What worked for me worked for me and no trainer made any difference.
If you like what I said grab it!

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