Weight and watch
“Men are no longer thinking about sex. They too are obsessed with weight, especially the weight of their wives,” says Kalli Purie at the launch of her new weight loss memoir Confessions of a Secret Dieter.
The book of the chief creative officer of the India Today Group is a first person account based on her 43 crash diets and workouts. “My book is written from a dieter’s and not from a dietician’s point of view. Readers like it because they can relate to it. When people saw the transformed me, they were curious to know how I did it,” she explains.
Her 103-kilo weight had become a challenge for Kalli to do things that she always wanted to do. Today, after years of struggle, she defines losing weight as a sense of liberation and confidence. “The triple digit weight on the weighing machine was shocking and scary. Initially, losing weight was about a new body and a new wardrobe. Slowly, other benefits come into play. Now, I can multi-task and take many projects at one time. It boosts your energy. Initially, people would just not let you do certain things because of your weight. My relationship with the world has changed,” she adds.
Kalli plays a vital role in her father, Arun Purie’s publication India Today. “I’m the chief creative officer for the India Today group. My favourite publication is Men’s Health. I get to choose covers, which is basically choosing between one six-pack model and the other. We’re now coming out with a women’s health magazine. I’m sure it’s going to be one of my favourite publications as well,” she adds.
Describing her bond with her siblings, Kalli says she has a love-hate relationship with her actor sister Koel. “We’re 18 months apart. We’re best friends and also each other’s critiques. For years, my conversations with her revolved around my weight. She would snatch away my food and banned ice creams at home. During my wedding she told my husband that now my weight was his responsibility.”
Brother Ankoor, who is seven years younger, is like an advisor in Kalli’s life. “He is not a man of many words. He always comes up with something very insightful and inceptive. Either weight loss or work, he will just say one word and that will be all. He is incredibly perceptive and insightful. He was really helpful during my weight loss as he himself is very fit and healthy. He used to call me sumo but after my weight loss, he was full of compliments.”
With her university sweetheart and husband Raj, it has been like growing together as one soul. “We are very communicative. It’s like seeing each other growing up. We dated for six years and then got married.He is a very fit person and not like other typical husbands who get upset about their wives gaining two kilos, while they have a 45-inch waist. He encouraged me throughout the journey.”
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