Two decades in the public eye have taught Neha Dhupia to tune out the noise around appearance, motherhood, and the pressure to “bounce back” after pregnancy. Wellness, for her, no longer means the scale or the stopwatch. It means marathons run on her own clock, prioritising eight hours of sleep, and a body she’s started admiring. The shift didn’t arrive gently. It came via postpartum weight gain paired with postpartum depression, a period that rewired how she sees her body, her health, and how she’s raising her children to see theirs.
In conversation with The Hollywood Reporter India, Dhupia talks about postpartum pressure, raising children without negative self-talk, and the wellness habits she refuses to compromise on.
Edited excerpts from the conversation.
THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER INDIA: What’s changed in how you look at wellness compared to 20 years ago?
NEHA DHUPIA: I think my wellness has changed in how I prioritise myself. When I was younger, I was always ready to get on another flight or do something else. I was right at the bottom of my priorities. After having my children, I feel like I have to be a top priority for myself.
Because when you’re older, it’s not like somebody’s getting up to you and saying, ‘Hey, do it.’ Your goals are not ‘I need to get up and run faster’ or ‘lose those 10 kgs immediately’. The one thing is that you need to look after yourself because things in your body are changing every day.
And more importantly, you want to do it for yourself, to be healthy and fit for your kids, and to be able to have the perfect work-life balance. You have to have that level of importance of self-love and indulge in wellness.
THR INDIA: Was there a specific moment or period that made you take your health more seriously?
Probably my weight gain after my delivery. I didn’t think it would be such a drastic change, because it’s really beautiful for as long as you’re carrying the baby. After that, when you can actually stand back up on your feet, you’re so overwhelmed with the amount of love that you see for your child. But at the same time, you’re so taken aback by this body you’ve never seen — your stomach is saggy, your body has changed, and your clothes don’t fit. That’s when you want to get up and do something about it.
My advice would be — don’t rush into it, because I didn’t. Also, don’t believe anything that you see on social media or hear from people — try it out for yourself. ‘Take your time’ would be my advice.
THR INDIA: How did you navigate postpartum weight loss and what was the most difficult part?
I think finding time for yourself is the most difficult part. And cutting the noise out is the way you manage your pressure.
THR INDIA: Did motherhood change your relationship with your body?
Yeah, in so many ways, I got more confident. The second time around, you need to normalise things like feeding your baby when there’s a cry for food, and the weight gain. You need to understand that breastfeeding is something that has a completely different nutritional need compared to when you’re pregnant.
I’ve been on camera, I’ve done a film called A Thursday when I was eight months pregnant. I saw myself in front of the camera and loved it. I’ve completely honoured my body for what it did — that it stuck with me and helped me honour my passion, even in its strongest or weakest time.
My relationship with my body went through a dip because I had severe postpartum depression, and I hated the way I looked. But the way of coming out of it is to honour how much your body has done and not compare it to when you were in your 20s, because it’s not even fair. I’ve caught myself having multiple conversations with myself, saying that ‘it’s okay, and you’re beautiful, and you achieved so much’. And then I look at my children, and I’m like, I can’t be hard on the body that’s given me so much.
I’m extremely comfortable with the way I look for a woman in her 40s. I run marathons, I have two children, I walk around the clock; I can climb multiple flights of stairs without ‘ohs’ and ‘aahs’. I can stand in stilettos and host events for 10 hours at a stretch. I can honour myself with eight to 10 hours of sleep every night.
The day I started having a great relationship with my body, it instantly started looking good to me, and nothing changed weight-wise. It was just the way I looked at it.
THR INDIA: Have your wellness habits started rubbing off on your children?
Oh yeah — eating healthy, sleeping on time. Never using the ‘F word’, which is ‘fat’, in front of them. And not judging anybody. I never judge people by the way they look or the way their bodies are. My children don’t do that. Everybody is able and capable, and they’re fully aware of that. My daughter wasn’t as athletic as she thought she was, and she pushed herself. Today she’s winning a gold medal for her school in swimming — she’s just seven. I feel like the first step towards positive talk is to never talk negatively. So, even if you’re not talking positively, just don’t talk negatively.
THR INDIA: One wellness habit you swear by and one you think people should throw out entirely?
The one that I would swear by would be a detox water that I came up with along with another dietician because I believe in mixing superfoods. So, this one has this incredible recipe — just warm water with a dash of lime as a great digestive, or cinnamon and a little bit of ginger and lime at night as a digestive to have post a meal.
The one thing I wouldn’t do — and I’m not taking away from people who are doing it, especially if it’s medical — I wouldn’t do any sort of fat-cutting drugs. I wouldn’t do fat burners ever.
THR INDIA: Any wellness products you’d recommend, and any you think are overhyped?
The overhyped ones really are the fat burners, and the multiple creams that you feel are going to change the way you look — they’re all very, very overhyped.
The ones that I would recommend are the only wellness things you find in my kit — a yoga mat, sunscreen, and a pair of sneakers. That’s all you really need.
THR INDIA: The first thing you do in the morning and the last thing before bed?
I wake up and drink tea first thing in the morning, but without sugar or milk — I just need the caffeine kick. And the last thing I do is drink chamomile tea at night. I usually drink different kinds of tea or warm water. I find warm water very soothing — It touches my soul and gives me that warm fuzzy feeling.
THR INDIA: What are your wellness non-negotiables?
Hydration and sleep.
THR INDIA: What does your wellness routine look like?
I wake up and train for about 75 minutes. If it is a very early start, I train for about 75 minutes at the end of the day — either weight training, a cardio session, or yoga. If I’m travelling, then it’s walking between 10,000 and 12,000 steps a day.
THR INDIA: What does being confident in your own skin look like?
I think having a voice and using it, being sure of who you are mentally, physically and emotionally, and having the ability to cut the noise out.
Neha’s Wellness and Travel Diary
What’s in your wellness kit?
I have everything from multivitamins to sanitisers to cleansers.
What are your travel essentials?
Sunglasses, neck pillow, shawl, iPad, AirPods. There’s lot of content that I consume on the flight. I usually also carry a book but read two pages before I fall asleep.
What’s your workout routine?
I try and do three cardio sessions a week, go running. I do three strength training sessions a week and then do three yoga sessions. Some days I double up.
What’s the best wellness advice you’ve ever received?
The best wellness advice I have received is from my dad. Everything in moderation is great. Exercise a little more than you can on most days, eat a little less than you can, like hold back as much as you can. And of course, sleep.