Shilpa Shetty - I Am My Fittest Best Today

Actor, wellness motivator, food enthusiast, the labels are endless. What’s incredible about Shilpa Shetty Kundra, though, is her dedication towards staying fit and healthy in a world so hurried. Here, one of the country’s most-sought after fitness influencers, shares her mantra with charlene flanagan and natasha pereira. Photographs by suresh natrajan

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Since childhood, fitness has been an integral part of this Bollywood A-lister-turned-fitness-guru’s life. She represented her school at volleyball tournaments, and enjoyed martial arts like karate and taekwondo. Presently, she is busy ensuring that her son follows in her footsteps, and develops a healthy relationship with food. In fact, her foray into the world of tech, and the recent launch of the Shilpa Shetty app, is her attempt at spreading the message of a healthy lifestyle, and making people aware that a wholesome relationship with food coexists with weight management and staying in shape. She believes that an unrealistic weight loss goal, propagated by various social media fads, does more damage than good, and champions the message of a holistic lifestyle. Excerpts from the conversation:

This is your first swimwear cover in 25 years of your career, and you’re rocking it! How does it feel to be at this level of body beautiful?

I just think that there’s a right time for everything. Yes, it’s taken me 25 years to get into a swimsuit for a cover, but it’s happened at the right time. I am in great shape, and Femina is an ideal platform to discuss health and fitness, so I had the confidence to do it. Besides, if getting me into a swimsuit is a way to motivate people to get healthier, I am more than happy to do it. I have never been more confident and comfortable in my skin than I am right now, and that’s the reason I knew it was the right time.

How difficult is it for women of a certain age to stay fit?