Mumbai: Bollywood actress Taapsee Pannu, who was recently seen in ‘Assi’, urged women not to chase unrealistic beauty standards, calling out the obsession with a flat midriff and Instagram-perfect photos.
The actress took to Instagram Stories on Sunday and highlighted that lower belly fat and water retention are not flaws but natural features that help safeguard body’s organs.
“I had to speak about this obsession of having a flat midriff. I remember I had this obsession because while growing up I was extremely fit but I never understood why the lower belly fat always stayed. I worked out intensely almost to an extent that I over pushed myself and rightly said over pushing rings an alarm in your brain that your body needs protection. So, instead of actually losing water retention the body starts retaining it and then that lower belly fat, which is actually might not just be fat, it’s also water retention, it stays and it increases by over working out which I really believe people should not do,” Taapsee shared.
The actress went on to explain that hormonal changes affect women differently, and expecting the same body shape or a consistently flat midriff every day is unrealistic.
“It cannot look like any other girl so you need to accept this. I accepted it very late after really torturing myself and then I realized that there are some days it happens and there are some days it doesn’t happen. My nutritionist Munmun Ganeriwal explained to me how it’s actually important to have that little bit of fat, a little bit of water retention under the belly because that’s where your reproductive organs are and they need protection and by virtue of being a woman you need that protection,” she explained.
“It is healthy for you, so just to get those picture-perfect Instagram pictures, please don’t torture yourself. It’s supposed to be healthy to have that bulge and to have that little bit of fat there. Please don’t torture yourself”, Taapsee advised.
