�It�s no point being careful of what you eat Monday to Friday and then going crazy on Saturday and Sunday. That won�t improve body composition. If you really want to see change, be strict with yourself. Nothing happens one day to the next. Everything takes time.�

MEET Juanita Uribe, global master trainer of the sports merchandise giant Reebok; at 42, all rippling muscles and girlish charm. And with a husband and three children back home in Colombia, the eldest of whom is 22, the youngest 14.

She was in India for the second time, impressed with the way people (women especially) here are into fitness, strength training, and taking care of their bodies. Juanita held exclusive workshops in India on Reebok�s new gym ball exercise techniques. She went onto the floor of all the gyms she was demonstrating in and exhibited her amazing fitness levels. Without exaggeration, Juanita Uribe is one of the few women in the world with six-pack abs!

She�s been in the fitness business for 20 years. And it shows! She�s recognised as being one of the best personal trainers and aerobic instructors in Latin America. She has represented Reebok all over the world, flexing that amazing Latino tanned and muscled body, flashing a sexy smile, and making converts out of people who have never in their lives so much as lifted a weight! It is amazing, coming from Colombia, a country better recognised for its football, drugs and coffee, for Juanita to be where she is and with a bio-data as big and impressive as Arnold Schwarzenegger�s biceps! �Colombia is a beautiful country,� she says, �we have no seasons, no snow, only sun, and we are exposed all the time. We need to take care of our bodies. There�s fresh vegetables and fruit all year round. That helps with our diets. I�m extra particular. No red meats, no sugar, no alcohol.�

Nutrition, believes Juanita, is more important than working out. Says Reebok�s attractive brand ambassadress: �If you take care of your diet, there�s no need to work-out. There�s no sense doing a two-hour aerobics session and then having pizzas, colas and chocolate brownies! It won�t happen for you. Nutrition and work-outs go hand-in-hand. When you have a commitment to be healthy, you should keep in mind that working out is also about the way you eat. There is no such thing as good foods and bad foods. Anything in excess is unhealthy.�

What she does is try and balance all that she eats. She is fond of trying to locate different colours in her meals. �White is out, rice, idlis, bread, pastas are white, they are all complex carbohydrates,� Juanita explains. �But simple carbohydrates like fruits and vegetables, which are easy to break down and assimilate and give instant energy, are coloured greens and yellows and reds.� She is against complex carbohydrates like breads which have hydrogenated fats in them. �Breads are not like what Mum used to make. They are now made with additives to keep them fresh and on shelves longer,� she says.

Juanita�s own lifestyle is balanced. �I don�t stop eating things that I really like,� she explains. �For instance, I like one glass of really good red wine. And I can have it anytime, not wait for a special occasion. If I like it, I just have it. It�s all about habit and has got nothing to do with diet. The word diet means being restricted. Habit means choice.�

According to the Reebok fitness diva, in women, there is a direct relation between the heart and stomach. �When a woman is depressed, she eats what she wants. When she is dating, she wants to stay healthy, so she is careful about what she eats and how she looks.� Her advice to people is to be aware of the weekends! �It�s no point being careful of what you eat Monday to Friday and then going crazy on Saturday and Sunday. That won�t improve body composition. If you really want to see change, be strict with yourself. Nothing happens one day to the next. Everything takes time.�

Juanita believes it is important to be happy to be healthy. �Exercise is not just about the body, but also the mind. Feel good about yourself. People see you the way you make them see you, remember that,� she says. She has very simple philosophies such as this about food too that go a long way in her life. For instance, she says most people misunderstand thirst for hunger, and you should never eat when you are feeling thirsty. She also believes in rewarding herself once a week by eating or doing whatever it is that makes her feel happy. She doesn�t like lowering her intake of food, but prefers to control what she eats. Nor does she skip meals. �That�s simply not good. Also, avoid being really thirsty and hungry. Always carry something you can eat when you�re hungry, that�s important.�

Juanita Uribe talks about life in Bogota, Colombia, which is 3,000 metres above sea level and very hot. She is reckoned to be a strong woman in Bogota. Juanita jokes, �At sea level, I can kill! Don�t even think of fighting with me. The muscles make men respect me. But I am still a woman.� She realises how strong she is only when she goes outside. �Compared to the average woman, I am very, very strong. But there�s lots of things I still want to work on. Not the way I look, but the way I feel. I am still in the learning process. I keep an open mind. I teach and learn more,� she says. Life in India, on the other hand, is so uncertain. And she likes that! �There are so many colours, so many people, their clothes, the streets, the noise! It drives me crazy but I�m learning to get used to India. I even like South Indian filter coffee!�