Many youngsters say they go on a diet under the pretext of fasting during the holy month.
Shravan, the holiest month for Hindus in India is also a month for fasting. But, it seems youngsters today are not keen on the idea of fasting, they instead are using the opportunity for dieting.
Usually most of the Hindus fast at least twice a week during the auspicious month. Some also fast for the entire month. But with size-zero being the new in thing, the youth are busy dieting under the pretext of fasting.
Twenty-five-year-old Supriya Mathur makes it a point to be on a diet during the month of Shravan for the past four years. She just drinks water and tea on each of the Shravan Mondays. "For me Shravan month is the best time to diet. My mother thinks I am fasting because of religious reasons and so she does not stop me from undertaking the 'fasts'," said Supriya. "I skip regular food for an entire month in a year during Shravan and I have been doing it for the last two years," said Anubhuti Dave.
"My birthday falls in the month of September and I eat lots of goodies and put on weight. But avoiding food a month before by birthday under the guise of fasting helps me lose weight. And this helps me balance the weight which I gain during my birthday," she said.
Bijal Shah, a collegian, has seen her family fast for the entire Shravan month for several years, but she said never felt the compulsion to fast for a religious purpose.
"I do not believe in showing religious sentiments through fasting. However, I still fast so as not to hurt the sentiments of my conservative parents. But I console myself by thinking of it as dieting and not fasting. In a way it is good for my body," said Bijal.
But do people actually lose weight by skipping food just for a month?
"I generally lose some weight every Shravan," said Supriya.
Nutritionist and dietician Liza M. Shah said during Shravan many people don't even bother to take one proper meal and this makes them lose two to three kilos in a month.
"But, actually losing weight in this manner will not help as such people tend to regain their weight within two to three weeks once the fasting is over. If a person wants to diet, he or she must do it properly, and not in a haphazard manner," said Shah.
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