Celebrity nutritionist Rujuta Diwekar, who has worked for many years with actor Kareena Kapoor, ignited a conversation on self-acceptance and healthy ageing with her latest post. On December 6, Rujuta took to Instagram to share a video of herself speaking at an event, and wrote in the caption, “I am anti anti-ageing. Here’s proof.” Also read | Dermatologists bust common myths around anti-ageing treatments and explain what really works: ‘Balance is key’
Rujuta Diwekar encouraged people to embrace their age, shape, and size rather than striving to meet restrictive societal beauty standards. (Instagram/ Rujuta Diwekar and Freepik) Embrace your age: 40 in your 40s is ‘wonderful’
Rujuta argued that true health and happiness were fundamentally intertwined, encouraging people to embrace their age, shape, and size rather than striving to meet restrictive societal beauty standards. The nutritionist said that looking one’s age was a desirable sign of growth, wisdom, and kindness. She pushed back against the common compliment of appearing younger, stating it misses the point of a fulfilled life.
“It is not a compliment that you look like a 20-year-old in your 40s. Looking like 40 in your 40s, looking like 70 in your 70s, looking like 20 in your 20s, it’s a wonderful thing. That much insight comes into you, that much empathy comes, kindness comes,” Rujuta said. She suggested that a slight increase in body size with age should be accepted as a natural and necessary aspect of the body learning to perform its functions.
True health markers are basic functions, not weight
Rujuta also challenged the notion that weight and size were the primary indicators of health. Instead, she outlined a set of fundamental markers that she believes reflect true well-being: waking up refreshed every morning, sleeping well at night, enjoying food without guilt, including seasonal sweets like pinni and gajar halwa, feeling light and stable when standing on one’s own two feet. She added that for women, having regular, pain-free menstrual cycles also mattered.
“We have to know that our shape and size don’t determine how healthy we are. If you are a woman, you are never small enough. And you are never light enough. So the only thing that you should worry about is when I stand on my own two feet, do I feel light? If you feel light, you are fine,” Rujuta said.
Mumbai as a model for acceptance
The nutritionist praised Mumbai, which she noted was recently voted the happiest city in Asia, attributing part of this happiness to its culture of acceptance. She said that in Mumbai, people were ‘bindaas (carefree/uninhibited)’ and they refrained from making judgmental comments about others’ physical appearances.
“This is just not a conversation that happens in Bombay (Mumbai); people are like, ‘Baby, you look wow.’ So everyone is like that because people are very accepting of themselves,” she explained.
Rujuta concluded by urging people to be the change by practising body positivity, starting by not criticising their own bodies and refusing to offer explanations to others who comment on their appearance. “Be the change that you want to see in the world,” she advised. “The next time you see yourself in the mirror, do a double turn because you are all looking great,” she added.
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This article is for informational purposes only and not a substitute for professional medical advice.