Her journey will inspire you, to be a ‘RUNNER’ for Life

She is a working mother who believes in living a healthy lifestyle. But, being a mother its not easy to plan goals and accomplish them. She has done it so can you! Meet Navdeep Malik, Head Wishful ( a premier occasion wear line by “W” )

You are a wife, mother, working professional and a Runner. How does it feel to adorn so many hats?

Motherhood is the most beautiful phase of a woman’s life and it feels great to have a beautiful family who understands and supports you thoroughly, a satisfying career, and a hobby that refreshes you to manage the first two. Sometimes I too feel extremely exhausted managing work as well as family, and there’s always a guilt that you aren’t around your family all day long. But all in all, it feels great to be a multi-tasker and managing things equally well. Being called “a runner” is a new feather in the cap and it gives me a totally different kind of high, especially when the efforts start to show results. I feel fortunate for being able to manage many things, which many women of my age aren’t able to do because of various limitations.

You had an amazing journey from fat to fit. Was it always about loosing weight or being only fit to the core?

I enjoyed my pregnancy days and didn’t face any health issues as I have always been a firm believer in maintaining a healthy lifestyle including good diet, a daily walk/ yoga regime, proper sleep hours, and focusing on the professional front too.

I gained immense weight post my delivery but loosing weight then was the last thing on my mind, as I wanted to give all my time and energy to my baby. After a couple of years when she started to go to play school, I was about 20 kgs overweight and I wanted to get back in shape so that I could handle many other things with more ease and so that I could feel more comfortable in my body. I surely wanted to focus on fitness but without compromising on my family/ office time. So I chose a workout that I could manage in my vicinity and a “guilt-free time” which was an early morning time for a daily walk- sometimes as early as 4 am even in peak winters or rainy days. I never believed in crash-diet-courses and no other short cut to get in shape as I believe in strengthening the core. I wanted to pursue something that would stay with me in the longer run and not just as a temporary phase.

Was it easy to start and sustain the routine of being a runner?

Nothing is easy in this world; if you want something really badly- you must go full swing and do whatever is needed to achieve that. Health is as much of a mind game as it is physical. If you make up your mind and your body can take it, there you go. One must train their mind first- you have to have the “go-getter” attitude. To reach where I’m today, has taken immense amount of time, efforts, patience, pain (sometimes bruises and blood), commitment, and discipline. I would like to add that I’ve been blessed with a family and friends who really supported and pushed me to achieve my life goals. We’ve formed a Running group in office, which ensures we participate in marathons regularly, and catch up for small sessions related to health.

You are a fashion designer, so how do you keep the whole process stylish?

Well, one will automatically look stylish if you have the right confidence and attitude to carry what suits your personality. Half the battle is won if you are fit and have a healthy body to wear what you like. However, I usually don’t get swayed by the trends or blindly follow fashion but being in the fashion industry it’s important to be updated with new things around and choose your attire well. One must know their body type really well to take on trendy stuff and intelligently choose things. A physical appearance is not enough, one must feel healthy from within too. Running has really helped me be more fit and wear tricky clothes with equal ease and confidence. You get a boost when colleagues, family and friends shower you with compliments- isn’t it? And it happens quite often now (giggles)

Do you believe in super foods?

I would rather say I believe in healthy foods. I don’t know the concept of super foods but I eat in regular intervals and eat home-cooked food (with barely-there oils), have plenty of fruits and at least a fistful of nuts. I rarely eat junk food which is how I’ve been brought up- My mother would serve us fruits or home-made juice every time we felt hungry. My body has been attuned to eating healthy when hungry and keeping junk at bay.

What kind of diet and routine you follow everyday?

A balanced diet is very important in today’s world and especially when you’re doing any physical workout. When going for longer distances, your muscles tend to break. For a good recovery, it’s important to have a good diet, which includes: nuts, fruits (at least 3-4 different kinds), lot of fibre in food, pulses and vegetables, dairy products (curds, milk), and eggs. One must feel hydrated and have atleast 2-3 litres of water which I religiously follow. I also do a raw-food diet (all un-cooked food) one day in a week, which includes roasted vegetables, nuts, whole fruits etc. This helps me detox. I try and finish my dinner by 7-7:30 pm on most of the days. I have a habit of having “unfiltered apple-cider-vinegar” along with lemon in warm water twice a day, this helps to detoxify the liver for better overall health and bodily functions. . It also helps in reducing belly fat. On marathon days or longer runs, the energy drink that keeps me going is Honey and lemon in plain water and some jaggery post runs. However, I’ve a bad sweet tooth and end up eating sweets on most stressful or most happy days (a problem still unsolvable for me- someone please help… winks ;)

Lot many women think of making that one start when it comes to fitness but taking that first step needs some courage in this patriarchal society. This Women’s Day is all about #BalanceForBetter, so how the balance has been for you at the personal level?  

I enjoy a balanced life where I have lot of responsibilities to handle and I chase a hobby that boosts my inner energy to carry out these responsibilities.  

I always remember a quote by Albert Einstein: “Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving”.

A change doesn’t happen overnight and good habits don’t get formed in a day. So do not be in a rush, take one-step at a time but keep moving. Step by step you will learn to walk and then jog and then run. One needs to pursue at least one thing that de-stresses them and slowly make it into a regular habit. Believe me, nothing feels better than being in a healthy body- so go for it ladies and go full force to achieve what you want.

As Told to

Richa Sharma