The year 2015 saw the beginning of an arduous journey of endurance and transformation for Jasmine Bhupendra Jadhav, an interior designer and creative artist, to metamorphose into ‘Mrs. Queen of the World International 2018’ in Myanmar recently. Despite, motherhood often seen as a hurdle to strenuous pursuits such as beauty pageants or modeling, Jasmine managed to turn the table through sheer ‘willpower’ and changed her luck, body image and self-confidence by winning the runner-up title at the ‘Mrs. Maharashtra’ pageant in 2017. She shares her weight loss ‘mantra’ from being 100 kg post-pregnancy to losing 48 kg, and on her pursuits into health and fitness
Mental preparation is foremost. Everything else gradually falls in place”, said Jasmine Jadhav, Pune-based interior designer and partner at Vivid Interiors who holds the current beauty title - ‘Mrs. Queen of the World International 2018’. Not mere words, she converted her belief into a dream that did come true for her.
Like any conscious twenty something young professional; Jasmine was clued on balanced food cycles, home-cooked food, outdoor activities and trekking. In fact, with a good enough metabolic rate and energy levels; she did not indulge in any excessive workouts then. But, pregnancy added a bit of turmoil to her daily activities for this 25-year-old new mother.
At her height of 5ft and 3.5 inches, Jasmine felt that her post-marriage weight of 49-50 kgs actually looked good on her frame. However, “I was bedridden from the second month of my pregnancy; eating and sleeping and having conceived twins; consumed twice the food intake and thereby gained a lot of weight,” she said. “After six months since the birth of my twin girls, I started feeling bad. I was all of 100kgs and when I looked into the mirror, I said to myself that I had to change myself.”
This was the tee-off to an uphill task of losing weight gradually from 100 kgs and today at 53 kgs, Jasmine, a model and beauty pageant winner in the Mrs. or married women standard category (between the ages of 23-35), is a bundle of positivity-setting an example for other women who are gutted down by the ‘can’t do syndrome’.
As brand ambassador for ‘Mrs. Queen of the World’ and Abs Gym, she has taken upon herself to reach out to women to empower themselves and other mothers in their quest for life and living fit.
Jasmine gave herself a shot at a beauty contest—the ‘Mrs. Maharashtra’ pageant in October 2017, on sheer grit despite lack of previous experience or training on modelling or professional grooming. Unlike the Miss-titled contests, weight and height criteria are not as important as in the Mrs-titles. “However, you have to go through all the other rounds such as the swimsuit rounds as in regular pageants, the Q&A and most importantly the mental strength round in the close-door interview format. The pressures are the same as other beauty pageant categories,” she said. ‘Mrs’-titled pageants are tougher than the ‘Miss’ titles as you have to also consider societal norms and pressures. Being a mother, the well-being of kids is important so as to reflect positively on our kids. Especially, as a model and as mothers, many things around you also impact your decisions in this profession as in the others, your societal image matters a lot.” she said.
Jasmine lives in a joint family with her husband, twin daughters and her in-laws, and acknowledges their support for her rise to fame and in her business pursuits.
She added that the responsibility of a married beauty contestant is more; especially if you are a working mother and wife. “If you wish to resume as a model again, managing family with a career in modelling is definitely a big deal, but support from my family paved the way for me.”
“As I was 100kgs and had to lose weight–it was a very hard task; also I didn’t want my skin to sag as a result of the drastic weight loss and so sought out a good gym and trainer. It is very hard to get inspired by yourself and it is not everyone’s cup of tea and so, initially you need someone to get you on track.” she said.
However, in the initial stages while she lost some 5-6 kgs through workouts, controlled diet and prescribed supplements, the weight loss was not very consistent. It was then that her personal trainer, Amol Gaikwad, came to her rescue. “My trainer worked based on my BMI and changed my exercise pattern. From doing 3:3 days of cardio and weight training, my regime changed to daily cardio and three days of weight training along with improvisation targets etc. Gradually, when you get a toned body structure, it becomes a part of you.”
Like most mothers, her biggest challenge was to start any form of fitness regime and find time to pursue it. “With running my business, home and kids, it was very difficult but having a supportive family, I decided to give it a go. I prioritized myself and worked around all my other schedules. Initially, I started with 30 minutes workouts which gradually increased. Also, once I develop a passion and want something, I will do that and I followed the same with my fitness goals.” The training resulted in her confidence to enter the ‘Mrs. Maharashtra’ pageant in 2017. Her grooming sessions under Anjana Mascarenhas, her ‘Guru’, whom she herself sought out to help her in her new adventure into the unknown world of fashion and modelling. Hailed as a runner-up in that contest, there was no stopping her now.
“...Look good but, feel even better - the key is in developing basic mind and body confidence through overall personality building”
A call from her mentor, Anjana Mascarenhas, barely two weeks before the Myanmar pageant inspired her to take the giant leap for the ‘Mrs. Queen of the World International 2018’. “I didn’t even have a passport. On June19th, I went to the passport office, got it in 2 days, applied for my visa, and on the 23rd left for Myanmar”, said Jasmine. “I didn’t think of winning or losing. I just decided that I would give it my 100 percent and come back richer with experience. With that confidence and a positive outlook, I ventured into the pageant”.
She scored on her self-presentation, by remaining strong and maintaining her mental agility under pressure as she faced a barrage of questions from seven judges at a go. She did not unbuckle under pressure in the closed-door interview and this, she acknowledges as her ‘winning streak’.
“Self realization is very important and this can get you motivated to look after yourself. Look good but, feel even better— the key is in developing basic mind and body confidence through overall personality building,” said Jasmine.
By Sangeeta Ghosh Dastidar
