The value for nutritionists and fitness trainers is great in the present society. In today’s fast-moving life, people often forget how to be fit and maintain a healthy life.
To guide us we have, nutritionist Hardik Bonthu a fitness trainer, physique transformation specialist. He is surely the guide to a much-needed healthy lifestyle.
Conversation on Fitness and Nutrition with Hardik Bonthu
Hardik Bonthu, fitness coach and nutritionist, guiding people towards a healthy living in conversation with Icytales.
Q) What is the one thing you would recommend someone to follow to be active and lead a healthy life?
Hardik Bonthu – The first point is to be active like to start working at your home itself. Nowadays, we don’t have time, due to work. So what you can do is work for 5 to 10 minutes between your work, like within 2 hours or so, if you have worked at 12 PM, you can again work after two hours. Just 5 minutes of the work, and you are done.
And the next thing I would recommend is that do not snack on junk food. Some people have the habit of, taking a bowl of peanuts or anything, for snacking. So we should avoid that, and try and stick to whole meals because snacking would lead to overeating.
Q) Tell us something about your fitness regime. How do you maintain your fitness?
Hardik Bonthu – There is no secret, as it isn’t very difficult. But I keep myself active, go to the gym 5 days a week, and keep track of my nutrition, and limiting my consumption of junk food to a great extent.
When I crave food that is not very healthy like chocolates, chips or anything unhealthy I try eating only 10% of junk food and 90% of healthy food.
Q) What are some ways that people can people can keep track of their diet and nutrition?
Hardik Bonthu – Most importantly one should add any of the protein sources in their diet. They can add any protein source, like eggs, fish, chicken, paneer, they can have whey protein also. It will help you a lot with millions of things in your body. Then as we can come to the carb sources, like rice, roti, you can have them all. There shouldn’t be any restrictions to your favorite food.
Q) There’s a myth, to permanently cut off sugar and oily food for people looking to have a healthy diet plan? What is your say about the same?
Hardik Bonthu – Oily foods and sugar have been seen as unhealthy and food that should be avoided, but what you can do is, you can eat these in moderation. If you eat sugar to the limit and don’t binge on it, you are fine; your health will be top-notch, your weight won’t go up.
The same goes for oil. You don’t have to pour extra oil above your roti or above any of the foods you are eating, and that will save you in terms of calories, eventually helping you not to gain weight in the future. So the goal here is to eat within your requirements and in moderation. Like when you decide to eat ice cream, stop it at one and don’t keep on eating. Overall, sugar and oil are not a problem.
Sugar and oily foods are not responsible for weight gain. What is responsible is the overall foods which you eat in a day. If you eat sugar, like just one spoon of sugar per day, you will not gain weight. So, eating food in excessive amounts matters. It is all about how much food you eat and not about specific food, like oil or sugar.
Q) Nutrition as a subject is gaining popularity gradually, and a significant number of students are pursuing it in their higher studies as well. Can you please give some tips regarding this, like career opportunities, and how far someone can benefit by pursuing the subject?
Hardik Bonthu – The option for studies is that you have a basic degree in sports and nutrition science, and for your master’s, there are many opportunities regarding the same. But one thing you have to remember is that you don’t have to get certified or have to get a degree to excel in this industry.
This industry works on the experience and the knowledge you have. However, if you want to get certified, and want a degree, you can pursue it in many educational institutions. I know some people in this industry who have no degree or certifications, but the knowledge they have gained by working with other people is certainly remarkable, which helped them excel.
Q) What is the one thing that can instantly light up your mood?
Hardik Bonthu – My mood would get lightened up just by meeting my friends and the other will be going to the gym and working out. Like there’s no priority between the two, both are on the same level. Whenever I meet my friends, and whenever I do work out, I feel good.
Q) Does having good or bad mental health affect fitness?
Hardik Bonthu – Yeah, certainly. If you have bad mental health or going through depression or something, it creates a lot of stress. And, the stress in any form is not good for your health. It will deteriorate your body in the long run. You might not feel any negative impact in the first few weeks or few months, but it might harm you internally in the long run. So stress management is very important.
Q) There would have been a journey full of ups and downs behind all your success. Would you like to tell us something about your journey?
Hardik Bonthu – I started it back in 2016, when I saw one of my friends who was out of town for sometime and when he came back he had undergone a great transformation, I saw him and thought that if he can do it, why I can’t.
This is because he was such a close friend to me, we used to stay together, on vacations and everything. Then I started my journey. And from then till now, I have been in this field and doing this continuously.
Q) Who has been your constant support, during all this time? Is there someone who you look up to as an inspiration?
Hardik Bonthu – I have always received immense and incredible support from my parents. No inspiration as such. In my initial days, I got inspired by myself at how I was progressing.
Hardik Bonthu with his Parents
Q) There was a period when we ate for pleasure, but today, we are more mindful of aesthetics and health. According to you, how can one take care of their daily meals?
Hardik Bonthu – We can start by eating things in a controlled manner, and the aesthetics is what we think, most of the internet and Instagram show people to have a perfect body, like to have six-pack abs, and if they achieve that, only then they are deemed fit. But that is not the case.
I have seen people, and I know people who have excellent fitness, but they don’t have abs. Excellent fitness means, you have your stress levels in check, you are sleeping well, you don’t get tired easily, plus your blood reports are perfectly normal. If your blood reports are fine, you are considered healthy; it doesn’t matter if you have abs or not.
Q) Would you like to tell us something more about your plans ahead?
Hardik Bonthu – I plan to make people eat healthily and follow a healthy lifestyle in general regarding health and fitness. So that would be my current goal. It might change in the future, but currently, I am working on this one.
Hardik Bonthu, who desires to make people lead a healthy and happy life with his remarkable knowledge about nutrition and fitness, aims to guide and help many and assist them with tips and ways to seek their fitness goals in life. Go ahead to start your fitness journey with him!
Last Updated on by ritukhare
