Ayushi Agarwal
JWB Blogger
Richa Chadha Talks About Her Eating Disorder & Gives Advice On Weight-Loss
- JWB Post
- May 26, 2016
Richa Chadha: That Bollywood actress who lights up the silver screen with her off-beat & unconventional roles like a boss.
Her latest flick ‘Sarabjit’ is increasingly becoming the talk of the town too! (Here’s the review, btw)
Like any other girl, Richa too went through a phase where she was plagued by a horde of body image issues & eating disorders. After her bikini shoot with Maxim magazine, she admitted to Mumbai Mirror in an interview that for several years she used to live in guilt for feeling hungry.
After being a target for several hateful comments on her body by certain people from the film industry, she started working out extensively and eventually gave up all the fatty & carb-ridden food items.
Chadha would put herself through “long hours of fasting, munching on protein bars and [drinking] Red Bulls”. Explaining where her fears came from, she said: “There is a lot of pressure because everyone is judging you on the basis of how you look. On screen your face is magnified so people are pointing to your nose, eyes, jawline, smile and even your eyelashes.”
But, her perception & attitude towards her body suddenly changed when she stumbled upon the film Amy (2015), on a flight while travelling to the Marrakech Film Festival. The film depicts singer Amy Winehouse’s rise and eventual fall, precipitated in part by a crippling eating disorder.
On that Richa said “It was a nine-hour flight. I saw the film in the first two hours and spent the remainder of the flight weeping, landing with red, swollen eyes. But being away from people helped and I decided to take control of my life and body.”
After two months and a plethora of discussions, she contacted a renowned nutritionist and a naturopath to help correct her diet. She started eating all the food she’d been denying herself for many years, such as rajma-chawal, dosas, parathas, and salads — food she’d grown up eating. Along with this, she maintained a schedule of regular workouts.
She has started noticing that her skin is glowing, and believes that soon she will be in the best shape of her life.
Chadha feels that it’s important to avoid a lifestyle that involves the use of ‘fat-melting medicines’ and ‘supplements’, which can cause hormonal problems in women as well as hair-loss and decrease in sperm count in men.
Decrying body-shaming as a “new phenomenon” we don’t need, she said:
“All I can say is that my grandmother who is 87 still has a small but healthy dinner everyday of rice, chapati, sabzi and never misses her dessert. She laughs when I run away from ice cream and she’s as slim and beautiful as she was when she was young. I’d like to tell people to love themselves the way they are without bothering about popular perception.”
It’s time we took her advice, isn’t it?
- 0
- 0
-
-
JWB along with the brand Jewel Saga bring you a selfie contest inspired by the campaign AidToMaid.
