Latest news with #AdnanFaisal
Express Tribune
11-03-2025
- Health
- Express Tribune
How Aijaz Aslam stays fit during Ramazan
In an interview with Adnan Faisal, actor Aijaz Aslam shared how he keeps his fitness in check during Ramazan, especially when it comes to maintaining a healthy diet. "I have my personal iftari that I take to Ramazan transmissions," he said. "I bring my own fruit chaat and spices. Aside from that, I have some nuts and later, some coffee and dark chocolate. I follow the same routine I do for breakfast." Aijaz doesn't follow strict diets. Instead, he views his healthy habits as a learned part of his daily life. "It has become a lifestyle now. You have to make some effort to stay healthy." However, he doesn't let a change in routine limit his fun. "I do stay up late till sehri if I have plans with friends, but I have a system for that too. I go to sleep early, right after iftar, so that I don't feel hungry again," he explained. "If you go to sleep in the first half of the night, you wake up feeling refreshed. You may fall asleep after 3 AM, but even if you wake up at 12 PM, you won't feel the same way. Your body won't be able to recover as it does with a good night's sleep," he added. "You'll be lethargic and drowsy. You won't have fun for the rest of your day. That's because your body doesn't recover from the previous day's activity." Per the Uraan actor's observations, a lot of people succumb to weight gain in Ramazan, which is especially evident when Eid comes around. "That's because an iftar with pakoras and samosas has become a tradition here, and without them, people think an iftar is incomplete. This is a very wrong concept," he said. "When you're fasting, digestive juices accumulate in your stomach since it's empty. If you don't break your fast with the right food then those juices turn acidic in your stomach. When you start chowing down on fats and fried foods, what's going to happen? Many people end up feeling fatigued. They even develop gastric issues." Aijaz asserted that these physical reactions begin manifesting early on, when one's body isn't able to adapt to the sudden change in routine. Keep it simple," he said. "These days, the trend of having grand iftar parties has decreased, so people have now shifted these gatherings to sehri." The 52-year-old actor also believes that these changes are a part of life and, ultimately, Ramazan should be spent well spiritually. "What matters is how you utilise the month of Ramazan when it swings by," he said. "You should aim to not just enjoy it but also to perform as many good deeds as possible."
Express Tribune
28-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Express Tribune
Miss Universe Pakistan reflects on gender bias, pageant struggles
In an interview with Adnan Faisal, the 2023 Miss Universe Pakistan Erica Robin shared that she believes gender bias still prevails in society. Addressing the words "Stop gender bias" in her Instagram bio, she said, "This is something that's been happening in not just Pakistan but everywhere. Opportunities aren't distributed equally." However, Robin still has hope for both the present and the future. "Yes, opportunities were much lower in the past. It is getting better, but we're still not there," she said. "There are certain male-dominated fields, which I believe need more female representation. But those opportunities are not given out equally. So, yes. Change is coming but slowly." Robin credited social media as an aid for women in these trying times. "Back then, we didn't have a platform to raise our voices, so I think it was easier to suppress them. But now, everyone has a voice, everyone has a platform. So, if you post your views online, people are willing to listen," she said. Amplifying the positives Owing to her optimistic outlook, the model believes that the situation in Pakistan isn't as bleak as it is portrayed on the news. She added that mob mentality is an issue that persists everywhere, not just locally. "Pakistan is highlighted more in these negative instances. This all happens abroad as well, though it is not talked about as much." Citing an example, she shared that her phone once got stolen when she was not in Pakistan. "I think news channels tend to show Pakistan's soft image less and highlight the negative image more," she said, adding that the public wants to see the positive side as well. Not immune to negativity Robin admitted that she tends to stay away from news channels. "Every time I watch the news, I get anxious and depressed, so I stay away. That, of course, isn't a good thing; one shouldn't stay ignorant to the world's issues. But I stay connected through social media." Although she endorses social media in an ever-progressing world, the beauty pageant titleholder has seen its negative side, too. "I'm comfortable wearing a lot of different things, and I've always shown that on Instagram. But when I embarked on the Miss Universe journey, I changed my dressing to cater to my growing audience since I was representing Pakistan on an international level." Robin believes she earned the public's appreciation then because her old posts got buried under the new ones. "However, when all that ended and I went back to posting as I usually did, that caused an uproar. People kept saying, 'What is this? Why are you wearing that?' And all I had to say was, 'I've always been like this.' "Obviously, I wasn't representing myself at the pageant. No one called me 'Miss Erica'. I was 'Miss Pakistan,' so I represented myself as such," she defended. After the pageant was over, however, Robin wasn't reluctant to return to her home country. "I was fine because I was being very careful about this," she said. "I had already faced a lot of backlash before even attending the competition." She recalled a 2023 article from the BBC, which used the word 'shameful' to shed light on Robin's struggles in representing her country as a model on an international level. But she persevered through the vitriol and committed to speaking about Pakistan in a positive light at the competition to show what she stood up for. "I knew I had nothing to fear after returning to Pakistan," she said. "Because if I was praising Pakistan and representing it well on this scale after 71 years, why would anyone have an issue?"
