Rujuta Diwekar

Some Lesser Known Facts About Rujuta Diwekar

• Rujuta Diwekar is an Indian nutritionist, sports science expert, author, and speaker on health and wellness.

• Diwekar is amongst the world’s most-followed nutritionists. She lives by the mantras – “Eat local, think global,” “Choose local, not low cal,” and “What is good for their bottom-line is not good for your waistline.” ^[10]Rediff

• She is often seen giving the advice: ^[11]The Associated Press
  

  Cook Indian food the way our grandmother cooked them.”

• India’s leading weight-loss guru’s clientele is spread across 50 countries. In more than 20 years of her career, Rujuta has worked with some famous clients including famous personalities like Kareena Kapoor Khan, Saif Ali Khan, Karisma Kapoor, Varun Dhawan, Alia Bhatt, Shahid Kapoor, Anupam Kher, and Anil Ambani.

  

• Rujuta was born in an upper-caste and typical middle-class Maharashtrian family. Her entire family practised yoga as a way of life that hugely influenced her. She eventually decided to further her understanding of the subject and studied Yoga and Vedanta, along with Ayurved, from Sivananda Yog Vedanta Forest Academy. ^[12]Rujuta Diwekar official website

  

• Diwekar started initially as an aerobics warm-up instructor while she was studying in college. Her experience prompted her to do a post-graduation degree in Sports Science and Nutrition in 1999 from S.N.D.T. Juhu, Mumbai. ^[13]Uppercrust India

• After her post-graduation, Rujuta set up her own gym named “Urja.” She had to take a loan of Rs. 5 lakhs to set it up, which took 45 days to sanction.  ^[14]India Today ^[15]Sheroes

• Rujuta’s work with celebrity clients began in 2000 with actor Varun Dhawan’s mother, Lally Dhawan. Diwekar took up the job of Dhawan’s fitness instructor after she had just completed her diploma in sports nutrition and training. ^[16]Rediff

• Diwekar first came into the limelight in 2004 when she trained Anil Ambani to run the Tata Mumbai Marathon by helping the Indian tycoon lose one-third of his body weight.

• In 2005, Rujuta started “Run With Rujuta,” India’s first marathon training program.

• In April 2008, Diwekar rose to fame for helping Bollywood actress Kareena Kapoor Khan achieve a “size zero” body for her movie Tashan.

• The celebrity nutritionist is an author of 9 books that have sold around 1.5 million copies and made her a best-selling author. Diwekar’s debut book, “Don’t Lose Your Mind, Lose Your Weight,” published in 2009 by Random House Books, still remains India’s top-selling book in the “fitness and diet” section as of 2021, while the second best-selling diet book in the list for the last 10 years also belongs to Rujuta. ^[17]Al Jazeera

  

• The sports science expert spends two months every year in the Himalayas or the US. ^[18]India Today

• Rujuta got married to Gaurav Punj in 2012 in an impromptu simple wedding ceremony in Manali when the two had gone on trekking from Kashmir to Manali. Their nuptials took place at a local seventh-century Krishna temple in the presence of only 15 guests. In an interview, Rujuta talked about her marriage. She said, ^[19]Hindustan Times
  

  I had already decided not to pay any more than Rs 25,000 on our wedding. The priest, who organised the ceremony, chai, lunch and sweet dish, did it for Rs 5,000. I was stumped. We closed the deal, went down to the German Bakery, I had a cup of cappuccino and GP called our parents, sisters and close friends.”

  

• Rujuta has also worked to make Mumbai cops fit. Reportedly, in October 2016, the nutritionist made police personnel at eight police stations in Mumbai fill out forms, describing their daily activities Diwekar’s team then gave the officers a simple tip every day at their morning parades. Rujuta’s tips for the Mumbai police have been collected into a Marathi booklet, which was launched by the Mumbai Police Commissioner Datta Padsalgikar on 8 March 2017. ^[20]News18 She said,
  

  It is not that they don’t want to bring changes in fitness and health. They just don’t have the right information.”

• In January 2018, Diwekar experimented with a free 12-week online fitness project. Within five hours, 75,000 people signed up from across 40 countries, and Rujuta started giving a health guideline every week to 1.25 lakh people. ^[21]The New Indian Express Indulge^[22]Al Jazeera

  

• Rujuta works with an all-women team of 5 in a small office in Mumbai’s Khar, where she moved from Andheri a few years ago.

  

• The celebrity nutritionist boasts a total of 3.6 million followers across her four social media handles. ^[23]Al Jazeera

• Her services are quite expensive. For a 12-month programme, Rujuta charges $20,000 with a two-month wait to get in.

• Diwekar has declared publicly that she does not and will never endorse any product or brand. She claimed that she was offered more than 700 brand endorsement requests during the COVID-19 pandemic. The nutritionist; however, said she wanted to keep her brand, “Rujuta Diwekar,” simple, small, and personal. ^[24]Al Jazeera In an interview, Rujuta said regarding this,
  

  Food is a very, very intimate thing … you are building a relationship for a lifetime. I’m very ambitious. I want my clients’ grandchildren to inherit the diets they are on.”

• In 2021, the nutritionist revealed on Twitter that she was approached by a media agency offering to give her an award for being an inspiring woman, and in return asked her to fill a form and to pay Rs. 2.5 lakhs. Her claims shocked many people on Twitter, while some of them agreed that they have had the same experience. ^[25]Instagram – Rujuta Diwekar ^[26]OpIndia