Health is a key to success. Life changing wellbeing tips from Deepti Sehgal
They say when you desire something from heart; the Universe brings it to you. It may get delayed, but won’t be denied. Deepti Sehgal; an internationally certified macrobiotic nutritionist, Alkaline Diet Coach, Skincare Formulator and Trained Yoga Instructor had a passion towards fitness and well being since childhood. She got the opportunity to practice it as a professional in her mid thirties, post her second daughter. Yes! You heard it right after her second daughter when most of the women think to give up on their respective career. But, she chose to chase behind her unfulfilled dreams. What she gave up was her full time IT profession, and decided to explore her untapped talent. It wasn’t easy for her to give up something that is stable and peak.
But, more than monetary gains, fulfilling her childhood dream getting into reality was way important. We are simply spellbound by her dedication towards her profession and zest for her passion. Her knowledge and attitude towards life have left us in awe. Are you also excited to delve into her nutritional knowledge? So, let’s begin:
Hello Mam! Firstly, we want to know what is “Macrobiotic Nutrition”? It seems a new term in Nutrition Industry. So, can you elaborate it?
Macrobiotics is an ancient Eastern way of looking at foods from its energy perspective & originates out of Traditional Chinese Medicine. ‘Macro’ means large & ‘Bios’ means life, & hence Macrobiotics is a philosophy of living life that offers a sense of liberation at the physical & mental level.
The principles of Macrobiotics somewhat resemble the concept of ‘Prana’ in foods, as understood in Ayurveda & Yogic sciences. Macrobiotic diet is about raising consciousness at the food level & associating it with our body symptoms to attain a balance between what we eat & how we feel. This ancient science emphasizes on food energetics to attain internal balance that also resonates with the balance in the outer environment. Simply put, the science focuses on balancing the two extreme forces symbolized by ‘Yin’ & ‘Yang’, where ‘Yin’ represents the traits of one extreme & ‘Yang’ represents the traits of the ‘other’ extreme.
Why you think ancient Nutrition is way effective than Modern Nutrition Science for the Sportsperson?
Ancient nutrition looks at human health holistically as an outcome of its internal & external surroundings. It believes that body is self-healing & we just need to provide the body with right healing environment. It considers the association with different parts of the body with each other & guides us to live in sync with the rhythms. Precisely, ancient nutrition takes a holistic approach to health, healing & targets to heal the roots than treating the symptoms.
Modern nutrition works on the concept of energy consumption & energy expenditure & believes that by balancing the intake of calories with the expended calories, one can achieve specific health goals. Though modern nutrition provides us a scientific framework to achieve health goals, but it also lacks the root-healing approach that ancient nutrition provides.
What diet would you like to recommend to athletes?
An athletic body has special dietary demands for energy production & sustained energy, as well as muscle repair. However, this demand is not just limited to macronutrients as there is a lot of free radical damage that happens to body cells that must be repaired with good consumption of anti-oxidant rich foods. Hydration is yet another very important aspect of athlete’s vibrant health.
Considering these requirements, it is important for an athlete to consume a balanced diet full of macronutrients & micronutrients along with ample hydration. Obsessing over protein more than required can cause more harm than good. Vegan sources of protein are less acid forming in the body & can provide a clean source of fuel to the athlete. An athlete must at any cost refrain from excessive smoking, alcohol, high-sugar diet, artificial energy drinks, excessive protein supplements, colas & sodas. A simple enriching diet consisting of a balanced combination of complex carbohydrates & proteins, with ample of vegetables, beans, legumes, nuts, seeds & fruits can keep an athlete energetic & light for great performance.
Also, for the indoor game players, after all it also requires focus and sharpness of mind?
Research has proven that 60% of human brain is made-up of fatty acids similar to what are found in walnuts & flaxseeds. People associated with brainy fats must incorporate regular supply of complex carbohydrates to fuel the brain constantly & to maintain the brain structure good fats like walnuts & flaxseeds must be included in diet regularly.
Imbalanced dietary intake of fatty acids has clearly been associated with impaired brain performance. Oxygenation is yet another important requirement of someone with athletic profile as the harder one thinks; the more oxygen is used by the brain as a thinking fuel. Hence, deep breathing practice is a must of an athlete.
So are you associated with any Sports Federation to impart your knowledge to the National and International Athletes? If yes, so can you name them? If no, then who are your basic clients?
I am not yet associated with any Sports Federation though would love to if given a chance. My basic clients are anyone & everyone who believes in the power of nature & is ready to transform their ways to move on to the path of healing.
Can you share the most challenging case of yours till now that you overcame with immense research and dedication and gave gift of health to your client?
My first case is the dearest case to me. It was a case of severe eczema where this lady had tried everything from topical medications to steroids & natural remedies but her eczema was just growing. She consulted me to try out natural ways of taking control of her health concern, & to our surprise, her 80% of skin issues got better just within 21 days of self-transformation the natural way, where we worked on cleaning her diet & reducing the exposure of chemicals from multiple sources including skincare products, household products, perfumes, toxic foods & toxic lifestyle activities.
Women of today’s age are suffering from lifestyle diseases like: Thyroid, Sugar, Arthritis, PCOD, and Migraine, what is the reason?
I see stress, disturbed hormones, wrong habits (smoking & alcohol), high sugar consumption, and exposure to toxins as some of the leading causes of health issues in women today. All these factors impact the core foundation of health & disturb our hormones, gut health, immunity & cause toxicity & high inflammation in the body. All these health issues do not happen in a day. First the body chemistry begins to go wrong with blocked internal channels, & then body begins to give signals in subtle ways like headaches, fatigue, sinus, cold, flu, cough & so on. If we keep ignoring such subtle signs is when the body gives up of its efforts of keeping us disease-free. Cleaning ourselves physically & mentally is the demand of the hour when it comes to healing health issues from the root.
Can we know your secret diet, daily routine and fitness regime?
There is no secret diet; rather it is the philosophy to build the health foundation strong that I work on. Rather than working on a diet pattern, I work on the underlying foundational concepts of deep healing that also are a huge part of my dietary philosophy. Strong gut health, detoxification & alkaline body state are the three fundamental dietary principles that I live by. This gives me enough freedom to experiment & eat anything that I feel like, keeping in mind these 3 rules. I am a hard-core believer in the ‘Dincharya’ concept of Ayurveda & try to match my daily rhythms with the rhythms of the nature.
I wake-up between 4-5 AM, follow a set of cleansing & warming yogic practices before I begin my day. Breakfast does begin with a glass of green smoothie that cleanses the body & helps freshen up my thoughts. My morning routine is most dear to me considering that is the only exclusive time you have in hand for yourself. Fitness for me is breath & asana work as I am a core believer in the philosophy of yoga science. However, beyond these gross concepts of health & wellness, we must also feed our brain the right inputs to generate positive thought patterns & meditation serves the purpose beautifully.
Can we know your secret diet, daily routine and fitness regime?
A quick and easy hacks tips to keep skin soft, supple and glowing skin for all the athletes.
Relaxation is the key as the first & foremost step. When we are in stress or under pressure out, the blood supply to our skin gets restricted. Unless blood reaches the skin cells with nutrition & oxygen, our skin will show up lifeless. Hence, as a very first step to beautiful skin, an athlete must learn to deep relax & meditate to make the blood circulation normal & make it reach the corners of skin cells that will create radiance inside-out with nutrition & oxygen reaching them.
As a way of life, an athlete must refrain from polluting body as much as they can. Smoking, caffeine, alcohol, high surgery drinks, artificial glucose & energy drinks may provide quick energy burst at the cost of exhausting nervous system energy & spoiling cellular health. It all shows on skin as aged, wrinkled, pigmented & dull skin. Relaxation with incorporation of natural foods & cellular-health supporting lifestyle can keep the skin of an athlete supple, soft & glowing irrespective of their activity schedules.
How do you define the cliché term ‘discipline’ in your life when it comes to Diet?
This term in my dietary practice has a much wider meaning. A discipline that your body & mind would want to follow without making you suffers with any cravings whatsoever. That state of freedom yet discipline is only possible when you begin listening to your body needs versus your taste needs. For me, this discipline boils down to three concepts namely, strong digestive health, alkaline body state & detoxification.
Is it perfectly okay for an athlete to binge into cheat meals on weekends?
According to me, binging out purely depends on your current state of your health & there is no generic answer to this. The idea of cheat meals is a little different here & goes like this. If your body is toxin-free & organs have enough strength to digest what you binge on, it is ok to eat out sometimes. However, if you have a weaker body condition & are prone to health issues often, it is advisable to avoid eating out & strengthen your condition with healing dietary pattern. Once the body & organs restore strength & vitality, it is ok to have cheat days occasionally. In a scenario where you have strong digestion, the body is in a state to process everything that goes in.
However, in a sick & weakly body state, the immunity is always on a low & even simple meals may have issues getting digested properly. In such case eating out may have a strong negative impact & may further weaken the system. Having said that, I would want to add that athletes must be mindful of their athletic goals & should not mindlessly consume everything that comes across. With a mindful attitude, an athlete can easily maintain a balance between their health state naturally & still maintain balance while doing some cheats occasionally.
How can women continue their athletic journey post 30 or after becoming a mother?
We are blessed to be nature’s most marvelous creation. A human body if kept well can completely regenerate itself. We can transform our blood quality in 4 months, cellular health can be revived in 2 years, and liver regenerates itself every 7 years. This comes as a message by nature that we have been blessed with a self-sufficient body to revive itself, considering we support our body through right diet, lifestyle & positivity so that it gets an environment to transform itself.
Having said that, with age there are certain body parameters that are bound to decline like muscle mass starts to go down, bone density begins to reduce & hormones begin to decline. Post 30, from a physical perspective, an athlete must focus on dietary & lifestyle areas that help them restore muscle, skeletal & hormonal health. Daily movement & practice of activities that help them strengthen & build muscles, protect their bone health & supports their hormonal health are the three areas of utmost importance.
How does the right eating of food can inculcate positive thoughts and bring mindfulness for athletes?
Food is energy & in Macrobiotics, we classify foods as per their energetic component. There are foods that make you feel happy, foods that make you feel grounded, foods that can make you feel sad, foods that can ignite your creativity & foods that can activate your brain for better physical or mental performance. Applying right dietary principles, incorporating system easing foods, consuming foods as is the demand by the body, including foods that build strength are all routes to inculcate positive thoughts & mindfulness. These are great tools & have always been focused upon by ancient sciences.
You have so many degrees, how are you balancing your studies, profession and your family?
Firstly, knowing yourself is important & I knew what I expect from life. I did work very hard on educating myself & utilizing all the time I had to well-verse myself with food & related topics. It surely was challenging managing all; however, I built on it. Any new education that I enrolled for was built on my previous knowledge that saved me time & effort to understand the newer concepts much easily. And yes, it would not have been possible without maintaining balance & without keeping my mind & body healthy.
How do you tackle pressure moments of life be it personal or professional?
Balance is the key. The very first thing that I am mindful about during the times of pressure is not switching to emotional eating. Often during stress times we overeat or eat wrong stuff that further add-on burden on the digestive system making us more tired & weakening our immunity. However, there are times when stress does take a toll & try balancing emotions with yogic practices, deep breathing & with intent to ‘Let it go’.
What is one thing common in all the cultures when it comes to physical and mental fitness?
All ancient traditions have always talked of just one concept that keeps us going, that is ‘Balance’! Extremities are always there, however, human body strives for balance similar to how nature strives for balance. From human perspective, balance in physical, mental, emotional & spiritual elements is the key to physical & mental fitness.
If not dietician, which profession would you have opted?
I believe I was born to be a dietician. Rather, from my previous IT career, I transformed into this field to be a nutritionist!
.jpg)
What is your source of inspiration to keep going in life and climb ladders of success?
I believe you are born a certain way & have your unique traits that, when realized, can keep you going forever. Often, this sense of ours gets subdued under duties, pressures, situations & we are just not able to see beyond what we are actually made to do. It’s about doing something that maps your inborn uniqueness with any work you take in hand. I consider myself fortunate enough to have found myself & that keeps me going, rather will keep me going forever!
For me, success is learning about my area of interest everyday & being able to apply it to my dietary, yoga & lifestyle philosophy. If my philosophy becomes famous, then it is just the effect of my energy into my passion being spread out to the outer world. My philosophy of health & wellness is my way of life & it shows as success when many other show trust & begin adopting the same philosophies & begin to transform inside-out!
How can one realize the hidden Godliness and evoke spirituality to let our life live in the most sorted ways?
The beauty of life is that the universe & the elements of nature including Earth, Water, Metal, Space, Fire & Earth, all exist within us in different forms symbolically & analogically. Fire within our body is represented by our metabolism, blood, urine & other liquids represent water, our breath represents the air & hollow spaces in our body are represented by the space element. We must try to keep these elements in balance through our diet, lifestyle & thought & rest is all taken care by the nature.
There is such a beautiful synergy between how nature functions & how human body functions that when you begin to closely apply the nature’s concepts to your body, you automatically begin to become sorted & spiritual. Spirituality is all about connecting with our own selves & knowing the truth, while also living within the confines of rules defined by nature. Once you begin living by the rhythms of nature, your spirituality & Godliness is evoked on its own.
What’s your sweet message on International Women’s Day for all our lovely women athletes?
I truly believe in this age-old Ayurveda phrase that says, ‘An Empty Vessel cannot serve others. Unless you have all the energy, positivity, strength, calm & peace of mind, you cannot pass that energy to others, be it your family or friends.
For a truly liberated you who enjoys every second of feeling alive, self care is a must in all aspects, be it physical, emotional, mental or spiritual. You all lovely women athletes, do not shy away from pampering yourself the right way to show up as tough & will-powered on the ground!
In today’s busy schedule, how can an athlete practice meditation?
I believe Meditation for an athlete is not a choice but a mandate, & talking of the importance of meditation must be a part of athlete’s counselling & coaching sessions. The training programs designed for these performers must include meditation, which will help them incorporate the practice in their daily routines easily. However, even 10 minutes of daily self-connect & meditative practices done with a conscious intent to relax, during morning or during bedtime can bring about positive changes in the brain waves of an athlete that can help create a state of deep relaxation & can fast-forward the recovery from muscular strains that strenuous activity may cause.
Meditation can take the performance capacity of an athlete to a different level. With right Meditation practices incorporated as an important part of healing, an athlete can effectively recover from physical & mental stress. Look at it like this, an athlete’s nervous system is always under performance-pressure & with a lot of activity happening in an athlete’s life, conscious efforts to relax the nervous system deeply with meditation; not just helps rejuvenate the body physically but can get an athlete to a state of calm emotionally. Additionally, body recovers in a relaxed state, and so, deeper the level of relaxation, better would be the recovery.
A woman is much stronger than what people imagine about her strength. She has a solid inner strength and whatever she decides; she keeps her eye on it and besides all the odds, she accomplishes her passion. Example is Mrs. Deepti Sehgal, she might have started late working for her passion, but in the past six and seven years, she has achieved a lot. So, all the lovely ladies this International Women’s month don’t forget to draw motivation through the life journey of Deepti and say goodbye to all the excuses you have been making till now because it’s all in your hands, what you want to achieve and how much you want to achieve!
By Admin
Special Thanks: Deepti Sehgal
Website: www.svarasya.com
Email: contact@svarasya.com
Pic Courtesy: Deepti Sehgal
