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Diet, according to Ayurveda, defines the nature of a person, his response to circumstances, mindset and moods. Ayurveda classifies food materials into several groups such as grains, grams (dhaanya varga), types of milk and milk products (ksheera varga), vegetables and fruits (saaka varga), types of meat (maamsa varga) etc.

The solid diet consumed should take up half the capacity of the stomach, the liquids should take a quarter and the fourth quarter should be left free to aid digestion. The order of the intake of food — sweet and heavy food first, sour and salty tastes next and the meal should end with astringent and bitter food substances.

BROCCOLI AND MOONG BEAN BAKE

Ingredients: 1/2 cup moong dal, 1 cup broccoli florets (chopped), 4 cups water, 1 tbsp lime juice, 1/2 tsp ginger (minced), 1 tbsp fresh cilantro (chopped), 2 tbsps ghee, salt and black pepper to taste

Method: Wash moong dal and add water to it. Cook it in a pressure cooker until tender. Mix it with broccoli, lime juice, ginger, salt and black pepper. Grease a shallow baking dish with ghee. Scoop the mixture into the dish and drizzle more ghee on top. Bake at 350-375 degrees for 10 minutes. Garnish with cilantro.

SAUTEED ASPARAGUS

Ingredients: 2 cups asparagus stems (diced), 2 tbs water, 1 tsp lemon juice, 1 tsp cumin seed, ¼ tsp turmeric, ¼ sweet paprika, ½ cup almonds (sliced), 2 tbs ghee

Method: Heat ghee. Add cumin seed and stir briefly and add turmeric and paprika. Now add the asparagus stems and sauté for 2-3 minutes more. Now cover the pan and stir occasionally. Add water to prevent sticking. Add in the almonds and cook for two more minutes. Serve hot.

MIXED VEGETABLE SAUTE

Ingredients: 1 small white radish (peeled), 1 medium zucchini, 1 medium carrot (peeled), 1 fennel bulb, 6-8 almonds (soaked and slivered), 2 tbs ghee, 1-2 tbs water, salt and pepper to taste

Method: Wash and slice all the vegetables finely. Heat ghee in a large flat pan. Sauté the almonds and add all the vegetables. Stir for a couple of minutes and cover the pan. Cook the vegetables on medium flame until tender. Season with salt and pepper and serve hot.

SWEET AND SOUR CARROTS

Ingredients: 1 cup carrot (sliced), 1 tbsp raisins, rock salt and black pepper to taste, 1/2 tsp minced ginger root, 1 tsp fresh parsley, 1/2 tsp fresh lemon juice, 1/8 tsp fresh lemon peel, 1/8 tsp crushed cardamom, 1 tbsp ghee

Method: Steam the carrot for 5-6 minutes until tender. Heat ghee in a pan and sauté the raisins. Now add carrots, ginger cardamom, salt and pepper. Stir for three to four minutes. Drizzle lemon juice, the peel and parsley. Serve hot.

IT’S A HUGH DEAL

If Shah Rukh Khan and Aamir Khan’s six packs in Om Shanthi Om and Ghajini respectively motivated you to pump iron, wait till you hear the real deal from Hollywood. Hugh Jackman, playing Wolverine in the latest X-Men flick, has lived his ‘animal’ avatar we will see on screen. In an interview, he tells us how Wolverine’s fights with the mutants are laced with SFX but his physique is the result of a hardcore diet and exercise plan.

THE LOOK

As per the brief given to its co-creators, Wolverine was supposed to be a small, ferocious creature with cat-like features and claws. Being medium built, that made him an ‘angry little guy’.

Also, I was adamant that in this film, there would be moments where people would see the character and think, ‘Oh, my, this guy’s a freak, an animal.’ I didn’t want to look pretty; but I didn’t want to be a bodybuilder either. I wanted to have a tight, ripped kind of look. You must feel that if you look at me the wrong way, I’m going to rip your head off!

WOLVERINE WORKOUT

I started working out for this body almost a year ago. Building muscle takes longer than losing fat; it needs real dedication to make that happen.

• I focused on weights, often very heavy weights. I moved heavy iron, did bench press, barbell rows, heavy barbell lunges, squats... I was squatting and benching around 143 kgs.

• My cardio mostly included high-intensity running, utilising a high-intensity interval-training format. There was no jogging and the workout was supplemented with protein shake to help my body recover.

• Also, I made sure to ‘cycle’ the Wolverine workout. People either never change their workout, or they change too often and too much. I wasn’t doing the same thing forever. I stuck on a phase long enough to cause a result, and then I changed.

• This was a three-week cycle. I did three weeks of heavy sets, with lots of rest. Then I did three weeks of lighter sets, with slower tempo (three seconds down, one second up. Or four seconds down, two seconds up). The last phase of the cycle was three weeks of explosive lifting.

MY DIET PLAN

I realised that training is all about eating. My trainer says, ‘How you look is 30 per cent how you train and 70 per cent how you eat.’

• My diet, prescribed by an Aussie guy, a natural bodybuilding champion was insane! I woke up at 4 am and ate egg whites with no salt because he said, ‘Salt will puff you up.’ Then he joked, ‘Man, you’re going to love this meal because you get a dry piece of whole meal toast. That’s the only bread and carbs you get all day, so enjoy it.’ So I had to look forward to waking up and having my dry toast and egg whites.

• I would then go back to bed and get up at six to have a full meal. It went like that for the rest of the day, eating the exact amount of calories, a lot of fish, chicken and vegetables — six to eight chicken breasts a day. My trainer allowed me a cheat meal on Christmas day. I’ve never eaten so much in my life!

THE X-FACTOR

Jackman’s fitness mantras…

• Will Smith once told me, ‘It’s easier to stay ready than to get ready’. I agree, I want to be prepared for future roles.

• The secret of my physical achievements is brainpower. I am always searching for the tipping point between what the mind wants and what the body can achieve.

• I don’t set goals.We limit ourselves with goals.We have far more ability than we give ourselves credit for. What do you think happens at the 100-metre Olympic race? When it’s once every four years, with everything they’ve done leading to that,it can’t just be adrenaline.Maybe it’s just the mind getting out of the way.

• As for Wolverine, he wouldn’t make excuses about gymming or punk out on his workouts! So this body is just a natural consequence of living the character.