Archive for the ‘Overwieght’ Category

You exercise, eat well and even sleep a good 7-8 hours. Still your weight hasn’t come down at all. You feel disappointed. – Is this the current scenario in your weight loss efforts?

What you’re missing here is Portion Control. Just because you have started exercising, it doesn’t mean that you can indulge and overeat all the time. Overeating is often followed with slight tummy ache, lethargy etc. But over time you get used to it and overeating becomes a habit.

And since you are taking in more calories than you lose by exercising, your weight remains the same. This is where you need to master the art of portion control and ingrain it in your daily life.

Portion control is not eating less. Portion control is eating only the amount of food your body needs.

At home, it is easier to control portion as you can measure foods with the plates, cups and bowls you’re familiar with. But this may not be practical when you decide to eat out, go to a party or picnic. Well, there’s no need to worry your head as you have the perfect measuring tool with you- your hand.

The hand method presents you a simple way to gauge a sensible serving. Let us see how.

How about trying this out at your next meal and see if it works? Here’s a toast to healthy eating with healthy portion!

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Let us beckon 2013 with a fresh pledge to living healthy. The following healthy resolutions, if you adopt, are sure to keep you happily fit and gorgeous, both inside and out.

Rein your portions

Wish to right size your shape? Mindless binge eating is often the villain. Start right sizing your food portions by using smaller dishes. Yes, the smaller your platters are, the more you lose that extra weight. And instead of serving directly from the main bowl, take some into a small dish and put away the main bowl.

Staying Active

Instead of sighing jealously at those naturally thin people, observe their lifestyle. They are most likely to share a great liking for being physically active. Aim for moderate intense activity like brisk walking for atleast 30 minutes per day. This, you can squeeze in your busy schedule easily- like 10 minutes in the morning, 10 minutes after lunch and and another 10 minutes after office.

Cutting down on salt

Now the recommended limit of salt consumption per day is 1 teaspoon. And you know that’s way less than your daily intake. Besides making your stomach feel all bloated, this habit can shoot up your BP. Processed foods are the most dangerous as they use salt as preservative. Remember to check labels carefully before you give it for billing.

Piling on the antioxidants

Do you know why we need antioxidants? When foods are digested, body releases harmful free radicals that can eventually lead to heart burn, cancer etc. Antioxidant-rich foods like orange, tea, pomegranates etc are important to defend your body from these free radicals.

Flossing Daily

Oral Hygiene is horribly underrated. But bacteria in mouth can cause serious health risks. Flossing daily can ward off bacteria; it is a simple enough practice to ingrain with long term benefits to your dental health.

But all these resolutions will go down the drain if your expectations from yourself are far from healthy. For example, don’t expect a drastic change in your figure soon after you started portion-controlling and exercising. Just as it took your body to build-up fats, it will take time to lose it too. So if your inner-spirit tends to be a bit mean to you, just bash it with healthy acceptance. Let that be your founding stone to all your healthy New Year Resolutions.

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The outset of cold weather is often welcomed by sniffs & sneezes. Let it be different in your family this year.

Infections like common cold and flu are most common during winter. No wonder it’s called the Flu season. The best way to keep potential infections at bay is to give a little extra care to your immune system.

Stop Smoking & Reduce Alcohol: Cold weather is temptingly a good combo with tobacco smoking and alcohol drink. You already know how smoking kills in many ways. The problem with drinking alcohol is that it is linked to immune deficiencies and a greater number of reports of infections.

I’m sugar, but don’t overdose yourself: Do you know why you find sweets irresistible? Sugar releases the happy hormones endorphins that have a soothing effect on you while giving you a natural ‘high’. But you just have to opt for other ways to set off endorphins like whole grains, fruits etc and stay away from sugary foods. Studies say that our White Blood Cells’ ability to fight viruses deteriorates if exposed to high sugar levels.

Short-cut to energy, I feed on your sleep: Agreed, coffee contains some antioxidants. Apart from that it does more harm than good. If you are a regular reader here, you may already know how coffee tampers your deep sleep, which will have a direct impact on your immunity. Also, the high acid levels can hinder the lining of the small intestine, adversely affecting your body’s ability to absorb nutrients like calcium.

I’m fat, but I have a good side too: And that is Omega Fatty Acids or Good Fats. So please don’t banish nuts, red meat, walnuts, soybeans etc from your diet. Omega 3′s & 6′s if taken in moderately can help the immune system to control & kill cancer agents.

For a total flush out of toxic food from Diet: It may be impossible to do away with artificial stuffs like preservatives that often dominate most packaged foods. It is surely impractical to avoid pesticides, insecticides etc sprayed on fruits & veggies. But avoiding packed foods & giving a thorough wash to your buys can make a huge difference.

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Weight gain and winter season are inter-related! How? Though a little twisted explanation, it’s at this time that we like to curl up in blankets with a book or TV remote or laptop in one hand and steaming coffee in the other. Result? Reduced physical activity & consequentially reduced metabolism rate too. In winters, our digestion improves and we tend to eat high-calorie high junk that we used to run away from in summers. So, on the onset of winter, stop being a victim of weight gain by this seasonal-culprit, by following a few tips given underneath:

What are you planning to do to avoid weight gain this winter?

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Weight loss is a gradual and natural process, not a puppet dancing to the tunes of your idea of a perfect figure. If being thin and being toned are two different things to you, you are probably not losing weight the right way.

Caloric Balance to Healthy Weight

Calories matter! Weight management is all about balance; balancing the calories you consume with the calories your body uses or ‘burns’ through activities. Don’t choose a diet or an eating plan just because it worked for your neighbour’s niece. Your body’s needs may be utterly different. And for God’s sake don’t deprive yourself. Your meals must contain things that you like and have been eating since small. Be true to your genes, babe!

If you are sustaining your present body weight, you are in ‘caloric balance’. If you need to put on weight or to shed weight, you’ll need to tilt the scale in the right direction to achieve your goal. Confused? Have a look at the chart below.

You need to eat something, not tea/coffee, within first 10-15 min of waking up to kick start your metabolism into action. A healthy breakfast ensures that your body doesn’t go into starvation mode. As you go ahead with your chosen diet and activity plan, keep track of your progress. Don’t you want to know whether your attempts are working or not? No shying away from scales and tape measures then.

Did you know that more than an hour’s workout a day actually leads to loss of muscle tissues and lower metabolic rate? And please, forget the glossy ad on TV. Nobody loses 10kg in 2 weeks unless they fall ill. It will be much simpler if you choose to fit in physical activities brisk walking, a sport, gardening or cooking in your schedule.

Ice cream, cheese pizzas, pakoras, samosas, fizz drinks… Mm, pretty tempting! But who is telling you to abstain completely? You are allowed to ‘cheat’ once in a while as long as it doesn’t become habitual as well as if you make up with some physical activities. Lost again? Lets brief you with a few examples. You’ll be pleasantly surprised.

Once your body is attuned to healthy eating and hydration habits, which will obviously take its time, it is all under your control. Stick to them, stay disciplined and soon the mirror will see a new you.

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