‘Eat almost 3 kilos of fruits; do 60 push-ups in a minute’: Milind Soman on diet, fitness, and more

“Unity was a great concept. I thought it would be nice to do it. I, however, didn’t train for it and was running for 30kms a week. During the run, because of low immunity and a mild form of bronchitis, I got 104 fever. But the recovery was so fast that I was able to bounce back 24 hours later to do 50 kms a day. That’s because of the regularity of my lifestyle,” Milind told athlete Ayesha Billimoria in an Instagram Live recently.

Speaking about the need to be regular with fitness, the Ironman athlete said, “We give so much importance to training for a particular goal that the regularity of it is somehow left behind. It is regularity rather than sport, speed, fitness. Those little things that you do every day count and show whether you are fit at the age of 50, 60 or 70. That little bit you put in everyday matters.”

Sharing his experience of recovering from Covd-19, Milind said that he started slow. “I started running on the 14th day of quarantine. I ran for three kilometres to check how I was feeling. I slowly increased it to 5-6 kms,” he shared.

Here’s what all he spoke about:

Importance of running

“I run for health — not just physical but mental. I run for joy. I used to swim 65kms a week, which is difficult, but I can’t even run 65 kms a week now. I do very little intensity; I run slowly but longer distances. Endurance is more important to me now; to be able to go the distance. Being fit would mean being able to do anything at any point. I should be able to run marathons or do Ironman with minimal training. That’s the level I aspire for,” he said.

The Pinkathon founder also revealed that he’s “never had any sports-related injury”. “That’s because I am very cautious and am very aware of my body at every moment. And that I am really lazy. So, I want to know exactly how much I need to do at that moment to make that small improvement. So, I am okay with small improvements knowing that cumulatively, I am going to get to my goal, whatever it is,” he said.

‘I am lazy, but have patience and am regular’

“Laziness is a natural instinct. You will not move unless absolutely required. So, you will have to fight that laziness. I do micro workouts — between 30 seconds to three minutes at a time. And I work out about 15-20 minutes a day. But in those minutes, I push myself a little bit. I do 30 Surya Namaskar everyday, which takes me seven minutes. That takes care of my mobility. I do 60 push ups in a minute. I might push myself to do 62, and I am happy. Make sure you are getting the correct form and doing it correctly,” he said.

Diet

Revealing that he has not been “disciplined with food”, he shared, “I don’t measure. I don’t count any calories. I have never taken any special diet in my life. I eat as much as I can,”, a habit that has stayed from his school days when he used to swim 65kms a week.

“I used to love chocolates as recently as 7-8 years ago. I used to eat a quarter kilo of chocolates everyday. I started cutting down on sugar. I actually think non-vegetarian food is not good for health. I have gravitated towards vegetarian food, and only eat non-veg for taste since I have eaten it from childhood. I eat almost three kilos of fruits in the morning — 5-6 mangoes, 6 bananas,” said Milind while sharing that he’s “never tried intermittent fasting” or “protein shake”.

Milind Soman loves fruits. (Source: Milind Soman/Instagram Stories)

What about sugar intake? “I eat a lot of ghee, jaggery. Everything is sugar whether bananas, mangoes or jaggery as the body breaks it down to glycogen which is needed for its functioning. But the more whole, unrefined it is, I feel it is better for me,” he shared adding that he loves cashews and always adds them in his khichdi.

Fitness tips for beginners

*Comfort is extremely important, whether running a marathon or climbing a peak.
*You need to arrest rate of ageing. Start 25 years or earlier.
*Whatever new thing you are learning, you need to take it slow. Every day is an experience to learn about yourself, your body, mind, emotions. Sports and challenges help you with your life.
*Pay attention. Every step is what you should focus on.

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