Working out is addictive: Ileana D’Cruz
11/08/2020
Ileana D'Cruz, like most of us, entered the lockdown thinking she would be confined to her home for a few days. To make the most of the unexpected break, she revisited her love for baking. "I have always wanted to make sourdough bread and it turned out quite good on my first try," she recalls, adding that as days turned to weeks and then months, she realised she couldn't sit around eating cakes and breads. "I told myself I'd become a ball by the time it was over-big and round, like those people in Wall-E," she chuckles.
So, cutting out bread, sugar, and processed food from her diet, the actress switched to simple, easy recipes, experimenting with low-carb dishes and taking on an 80-day fitness challenge to give a much-needed boost to her workout routine. "You don't see results overnight, but you feel better and more energetic right away. I work out in the morning, an hour after breakfast and it preps me up for the rest of the day," she relays.
Working out has helped Ileana deal with lockdown-induced stress and was a major motivation behind her continuing with the gruelling regime. "Being away from family has been taxing.
Earlier, working out at the gym with my personal trainer always made me feel good. I was wondering initially if there was enough space for me to move around at home, but once I started, it all came together beautifully," she exults, admitting the first week is always the most difficult. "I cried every time I stood up or sat down, everything hurt," she reminisces.
A few weeks ago, she even powered through a fever, but Ileana assures that she ensures she gets enough rest. "We all have days when we feel horrible. Two days ago, I had acid reflux and my stomach was sensitive. I took a couple of days off, but couldn't wait to get back. Working out is addictive," she asserts.
With work from home not an option, the actress spends the rest of the day doing laundry, dishes, making lunch, and even manages to squeeze some time out for her hobbies. Though the canvasses didn't make it to the social media, she has been painting, but ask her if an exhibition is in the offing and she shoots back, "I'm just an amateur, bumbling my way through. If I get better, I might post some of my art on the social media to assess the response before thinking of a show."
Ileana has also taken up a house improvement project, redecorating an entire room by herself. "I moved the heavy dresser, took out the shelves, and put in new ones. Normally, for such projects, my dad would be around, but this time I had to make do with video calls, asking which way the screws went!" she laughs, adding that though it pushed her to the limits, it helped make her house into a home.
But despite all the fun she's been having on her own, the actress can't wait to be reunited with her family in the US. "I'm taking the first flight out. Of course, I'll have to immediately quarantine myself, but at least after that, I can hug my mom. I have always been close to my family and eight months away from them have been hard," she reiterates, maintaining that she didn't stress as much about the pandemic as she did for her family's safety and well-being.
And when will she be resuming work? "It's going to be a while, even if the crew is reduced, you need actors and we can't shoot wearing PPE kits and masks. It's extremely hard for producers to take care of everyone during the shoot," she sighs. Meanwhile, her The Big Bull co-star, Abhishek Bachchan, was just discharged from hospital post Covid-19 treatment and it remains to be seen when the makers can resume shoot. Ileana is positive it will happen soon. "Abhishek and I have common acquaintances, who have told me he's getting better," she informs.
On June 14, the day Sushant Singh Rajput was found dead in his Bandra apartment, Ileana had taken to the social media to share a heartfelt note that read, "Spent the day in a heavy emotional haze...Bawled my eyes out for hours...I didn't even know Sushant personally but this hit so close to home it affected me so deeply..." Asserting she didn't think much before putting up the post, the actress says, "I have gone through mild depression and mental illness. Sometimes it's really hard for people to relate, perhaps because they haven't been through this. But would it hurt so much to be kind?" she asks.
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