Tamannaah Bhatia’s fitness trainer opens up on how to balance Indian lunch plate

For many in India, the lunch plate—a comforting stack of rotis and a generous bowl of sabzi—is a symbol of home. But according to celebrity fitness trainer Siddhartha Singh, who works with stars like Tamannaah Bhatia and Kangana Ranaut, this humble combination is nutritionally unbalanced and often unwittingly a ‘carbs on top of carbs’ meal.

Here’s how you can balance your plate

In a post on Instagram recently, Siddhartha broke down why the typical Indian thali can derail fitness goals, offering simple yet transformative tweaks to create a more nourishing meal.

Rethinking the staple

The problem, Siddhartha Singh, is portion size, more so the number of rotis being consumed. Chapatis are a whole grain staple, but four-five at one sitting will send blood sugar levels soaring and play havoc with weight management.

His advice is simple-keep the rotis to one or two. This reduction is important because it allows room on the plate for other essential macronutrients without compromising the feeling of a full meal.

Adding volume and protein

Another common mistake is doubling up on carbs with vegetable dishes. Siddhartha says that potato-based sabzis, while delicious and made with love, add even more to your carb load. He says just keep portion control when having such heavy-carb side dishes.

The easiest way to improve the meal is to address the two missing elements: fibre and protein.

Siddhartha highly recommends adding a small bowl of raw vegetables or a plain salad. This provides the necessary fibre and roughage, which promotes digestion, slows down the release of sugar, and therefore keeps hunger pangs away much longer.

"What's missing here is protein," he further stresses. He suggests adding a high-protein side. Convenient options include half a cup of Greek yoghurt, which offers nearly 20 grams of protein, or an equivalent serving of paneer. By making these minor changes, cutting extra rotis, keeping sabzis with a high carb content in moderation, and adding specific sources of fibre and protein, the typical Indian lunch is transformed in an instant. Siddhartha concludes that smart eating is as crucial as exercise and this small shift can make a "huge difference in your fitness journey."

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