Taapsee Pannu's diet and fitness mantras

Taapsee Pannu with her nutritionist Munmun Ganeriwal, the author of 'Yuktahaar: The Belly and Brain Diet'.

Actor Taapsee Pannu, who works in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu films, is known for delivering sharp performances and putting in tremendous effort to look the part. She has appeared in diverse roles – sharpshooter, lawyer, ghost, teacher, game designer, scientist, athlete, and undercover agent. Her next big film is Shabaash Mithu – a biopic on the life of Mithali Raj, who is the current Test and ODI captain of the Indian women’s national cricket team.

While she waits for the trailer to come out, she is busy with promotions for a book titled Yuktahaar: The Belly and Brain Diet (Penguin, 2021) written by her nutritionist Munmun Ganeriwal. Pannu spoke about her fitness journey with Ganeriwal at Crossword Bookstore, Juhu, Mumbai, on April 1, 2022. We bring you the highlights, in the actor’s voice:

Food lover

People on my film sets are shocked when they see what I eat. I have typical north Indian taste buds. I have grown up eating aloo paranthas and chhole bhature, so I am not giving them up. I also enjoy sushi. Munmun’s biggest contribution is that she has sorted out my digestive system. I don’t need to cheat because my favourite foods are not forbidden. Feeling hungry is not a bad thing. There is no need to suppress it with tea and coffee. Hunger is usually a sign that your metabolism is working fine and that you are burning calories.

Exercise regimen

I work out six days a week. The seventh day is a relaxation day. On the first day, I start with my lower body because I feel that it is one thing that people tend to avoid and even run away from because it is difficult. I feel that, for your overall health, it is very important to have a strong lower body. On the second day, I do my cardio and core together. On the third day, I focus on my upper body. I have divided my week like this so that I can recover by the time I come back to my lower body after two days on the fourth day, and so on. Every workout session is for one hour, and it is followed by a cool down session of at least 15 to 20 minutes.

Occasional swims

I don’t swim regularly. I learnt swimming pretty late in my life. The problem with it is that you have to take head showers continuously. With my profession, I don’t get that much time. There are too many overheads – if I can call them that – with swimming. I prefer to play squash. It is an endurance activity. It also builds my stamina and muscle strength.

Sleep schedules

I am a morning person. I have issues when the sun goes down. I just want to get into my bed and sleep. Munmun recommends seven to nine hours of sleep. I like routine. I am particular about this, unless I have been called for a night shoot. In that case, I sleep and wake up late. I’ve learnt that when my gut health and metabolism are not fine, my sleep gets affected.

Mental health

It is a terrible idea to compromise on food to look thin. My happiness depends on what I’m eating. As a teenager, my parents used to be quite worried because I ate a lot. That was not necessary because I was an active person. I was running and jumping around all the time. It is important to assess your health in terms of how you feel – light or heavy, upbeat or lazy. Depriving yourself of food will make you hangry, which is a combination of hungry and angry. You have to relish food and life – have not just the nariyal paani but also the malai.

Seasonal and local

Because of the stressful lifestyle that we have in the film industry, we end up compromising the way we eat. I used to have acid reflux problems, and also used to feel sluggish. That made me give up things that I enjoyed eating, and I was unhappy about this. I was worried because my mother’s metabolism is not very good, so I had this feeling that I had inherited it from her.

When I met Munmun, she just asked me to write down all the meals that I had consumed in the previous three days. She studied the patterns in my diet, and based on her knowledge, she gave me season-wise meal plans and incorporated local foods in them. I did not want to go on any exotic diet. I cannot spend time and effort before every meal to check the amount of carbohydrates and proteins in it. I am a Sardarni from Delhi. I need my food to be delicious.