Soap operas might be keeping her busy but TV actor Mihika Verma still manages to take time out of her tight schedule to do marathon and stretching exercises.
To realise that she has become an inspiration to fitness enthusiasts is a humbling experience, confides Mihika, who is playing Mihika Iyer/Khanna in Yeh Hai Mohabbatein on Star Plus.
As one asks her about her fitness mantra since the days of winning the Miss India International title in 2004, she corrects saying she has been into keeping good health since the age of 12.
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“Stretching and exercising started as early as that for me. And since I live very close to the beach, running has been a part of my life for a long time now. My parents have always encouraged me on my extra-curriculars and the fact that I took Shiamak Davar’s dance classes for five years also helped me stay fit,” she says. Today, her fitness mantra is running. “Somehow, after years of experimenting, gym bores me,” she chuckles. “I run alongside the beach for at least 40 minutes every day. I also ran DNA's ‘I Can’ women’s marathon recently.”
Mihika also advocates an early introduction of bodily activity on the part of parents for their children.
“I know friends who make their kids practice yoga at the age of 4 or 5. An inclination towards sports is something parents must encourage,” she believes.
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Mihika eats every two to three hours, a habit she has cultivated on her own. She begins her day with a heavy breakfast of two boiled eggs, some papaya, six almonds, coconut water and a special concoction of cinnamon powder, haldi powder, and honey – something her mother prepares for her. A little poha or upma goes on the side.
With a fruit, glucose biscuits or green tea at 12, she follows with lunch at around 1, comprising two-three chapattis along with a must-have curd, kadhi and lassi. The rest of her day’s meals consist of sandwiches at 5, an apple or two bananas at 7, and chapattis with chicken at 9. She also has a sweet tooth. It manifests in her indulgence of something sweet after lunch and dinner. Red velvet pastries are her favourite.
To all the fitness geeks out there, here’s Mihika's message, “You need to listen to the signs your body gives you. It will tell you what to do. Don’t fall prey to short term fads, don’t expect instantaneous results, and make fitness part of your everyday life. Listen to your body!”