Archive for the ‘Weightloss’ 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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Mindless Eating is more common than it appears and one of the major hidden causes of overweight & obesity. Life can get so time-crunched that we feel that devoting exclusive time for eating is a waste. You may feel that why do that when you can read, work, drive, watch TV & get many other things done while eating.

Here’s the hitch. You lose touch with your body. You miss to relish the different tastes & your stomach’s ability to signal you to stop gets weaker. In fact you overeat without knowing you are overeating. Here are some factors that influence your portion sizes and ways to overcome them:

A Classic Eg of Treating Eating as Secondary

Your Plate Size:

According to research, it is almost automatic for people to help themselves to larger portions when using larger platters. Know that your usual portion appears smaller if dished on a larger plate. Whoever thought ‘illusion’ too had a say in your mindless eating!

Chew Well:

Yes, you are in a hurry. Understandable! But that doesn’t mean you should gobble down food at top speed. Your stomach needs time to register the amount of food you need. And by the time your stomach gives the ‘full’ signal, you will have eaten almost double the amount. Also, how much ever busy you are, it is better to take a break for meals rather than grabbing a sandwich while working.

Out of Sight… Out of Mind:

It is better not to store junk foods like fried stuffs, maida snacks etc at home. And if you must (for guests), keep them out of sight. Try keeping them in the bottom drawer of your cupboard or at the back of storeroom. You may not grab them as often as you do, if those foods do not tempt you tantalizingly in your eye level.

Your Environment:

Read beauty tips by any movie actress, 2 advices will be common in their interviews. Drink plenty of water & get a good night’s sleep (6-8 hrs) . They make sense. Compromising on sleep leads to slower metabolism & reduced calorie burning rate. And most importantly, its been linked to increased mindless eating during the day.

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Of course! Aerobics is the exercise to burn or lose extra belly fat. No need to squander a fortune to tauten and tone that Abs! Aerobics exercise is any physical activity intense enough to work your lungs and heart harder- resulting in increased blood circulation and fitness.

“Belly fat located deep within the abdominal cavity fills the spaces between internal organs and is linked with increased risks for heart diseases, diabetes and some cancers.” -  MayoClinic

Aerobics exercise is a safe bet to combat these risks. Let us see how.

Brisk Walk

Did you know brisk walking too is as good as aerobics? Brisk walking puts all your Ab muscles through its paces. It is important to swing your arms and pull in your tummy while at it. Walking in this manner for atleast 30 minutes a day can attain the aerobic effect. Make it a point to do this before breakfast, post lunch and after evening tea, 10 minutes each. This will largely increase the chances of you sticking to it.

Weight Train (Resistance Training)

Weight training not only boosts your metabolism, but also good for bones. It reduces the odds for osteoporosis after middle age. No, weight lifts do not make you masculine as commonly believed. Moreover, it enhances your energy level while burning most of those unhealthy belly fats. Same can be achieved through regular push-ups.

Link earlier blog on the same?

Play a sport

Playing a sport is the best bet to make one break into sweat. Not everyone may have access to tennis court, basket ball court or swimming pool. But one can easily rig up a net on a nearby ground and enjoy a spot of badminton. Same can be said for sports like cricket and football if you can gather enough people. It will set your heart racing and shed those bad fats.

Remember, you need to start somewhere and crossing the starting-trouble hurdle is a huge step. So ready to face that aerobic challenge that leaves you out of breath to make Ab fats history?

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The Christmas holiday is often stressful, especially with kids at home- what with the festivals and guests and visiting around. But returning to work, school and the same old routine can be even more so. You might wish for another holiday to recover from it. You are not alone in coming back to routine life with tales of family fights, money problems after overspending or even a mere end-of-holiday gloom.

Shall we explore some tried-tested tips to manage post holiday stress?

Slowly easing back to normal routine:

Late nights and afternoon wakeups take time to alter. Try going to sleep and setting the alarm for the same time. Within a week, your bio-clock will (or forced to?) reinstate itself. This alone can cut down half the post holiday blues. If your diet or workouts have gone down the hill over the holidays, try fishing out the old diet chart and get them back to normal.

Appraise the happenings during the hols (both good & bad):

If your vacation hasn’t gone as smoothly as you wanted, think over what went wrong calmly. Perhaps there were some petty quarrels with friends or family, or may be your boss imposed an urgent assignment unexpectedly or budget didn’t go as planned. It would be easier to be objective if you think over things now. Talking to a trusted friend can put things into perspective.

It sounds unreal. But while solving post holiday stress, one often faces a wake-up call about what you want from life. Of course it is your choice to act on it. But it can make a sizable difference in your professional and personal life. Technically, however you holidayed, whether you liked or tolerated, it is now in the past. Focusing on the present can lessen any post holiday stress tremendously.

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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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Yes workouts! Did I hear a groan? Have you wondered why this is a general reaction to even the slightest suggestions to exercise? Perhaps we are programmed to avert or dislike things that are good for us. And regular workouts top this list with a close competition from saying no to junk food. Its New Year… Lets start a new family tradition- family workout sessions.

Do you have a park nearby? Or even small lanes with little traffic in the morning would do. Packing your family for a 10-minutes jog daily may sound next to improbable with your regular and mad morning rush- but not impossible. For that you yourself need to be convinced and determined that you are going to make this a family tradition.

Start slow. Putting your body through hectic activities suddenly can be risky. Also jogging for more than 10 minutes on the first day can be so tiresome for your family that they may refuse to come the next day. You may experience a muscle pain or even ankle sprain as you are engaging in heart-rate raising activities after so long. . That’s why it’s essential to begin slow and then steadily increase your speed and duration.

Dancing to the tune of your favourite music once in a while is not only a great way to unwind but also workout. And if you do it as a family? Jam it out as family to add that zing to your family bonding as well as lose some of those extra kgs.

Same can apply to adopting a ‘no junk’ policy for you and your family. Now its not fair for just one or two of you to have to cut down on junk, is it? Firstly, go to kitchen and take away all those tempting foods like fries, fizz drinks etc from the fridge and cupboard. Remember, if out of sight, its out of mind. This will essentially stop you from waking up at 3AM craving for a cookie. Instead store fresh fruits like oranges, bananas, apples and raw veggies etc. And try to eat them together as a family. Nothing motivates more than this.

Now you know why your weight loss goals appear much nearer when you have company, especially that of family and friends.

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Are you one of them who wake up incredibly grouchy, especially on cold winter mornings? Admit it, you are secretly jealous of those ‘morning people’ who not only manage house chores in record time, but also keep their spirits up as they cheerfully set to tackle the day’s assignments. The funda is simple- they i.e. their brains are all set for the day and yours unfortunately are not.

Morning people are not born that way. They become that way through certain practices and lifestyles- just the way you have become a regular sourpuss in the morning by years of practice. Lets see what you can do to wake up smiling and have a great day ahead every day.

• Had a great sleep? First things first. Nothing will help improve your morning tempo unless you have had a good night’s sleep- advantage of well-rested body, mind and all that! So please work on polishing your sleep hygiene before doing anything. The best sleep strategy you can follow is to try going to bed and getting up in the morning at the same time.

• Morning Shower: You know what they say. “Whatever makes you feel lazy to follow is probably good for you”. A cool morning shower may top this list which includes daily exercise, diet control etc. Yes, you hate the cold plunge, we know. But it’s a good (rude?) wakeup call to your brain and you feel dynamic and energetic enough to face whatever is thrown at you.

• Energetic Music for Energetic Morning: If slow soothing music is an aid to good sleep hygiene, then it can work in reverse. That is, if you put on some lively music in the morning, will you be able to stop your body moving and get geared up? Mix up a few jazzy numbers and try it. Who knows, you may even be game enough to go for a morning shower.

• Having fruit juice to fire up brain cells: Having juice with breakfast is the best way to ensure essential nutrient intake that you often miss in the whirl of junks and fizzies. Fruit juices have everything you need like vitamins and minerals to keep you chirpy and productive all day. Some of those Ads do talk sense once in a while, don’t they?

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When people hear the term ‘Facial Exercise’, it is not rare to see their raised eyebrows as their standard reactions (which in fact is one way of doing it). Saying that it is as good as a plastic surgery is without doubt an exaggeration. But conscientious practice of facercise can and will give you a face-lift! And this fact is now backed by ample research and studies. So you really needn’t lose weight (unless you are overweight) to slim and beautify your face.

Why would you doubt the benefits of facial exercise anyhow? If exercising legs and arms can tone them, regular workouts can result in flat belly, why can’t face exercises tone and strengthen your face muscles? Increased blood circulation promotes formation of new cells. This stimulates your skin layers to produce collagen and elastin proteins, giving your skin that elasticity and smoothness that you craved for. A facercise routine can also activate creation of natural oils that keep your natural glow always.

Droopy & dull eyes can take the life out of any conversation as it may make one think that you are not interested. Since eyes are the most eye-catching feature of face, lets focus on some eye-lift techniques as a first step to face-lift:

Gazing around:

‘Well, we do it all the time’. Is that what you are thinking? Not in that mechanical way without taking in anything! Sit somewhere and look up… deliberately and as far as your eyes can see. Repeat the same and look down, leftwards and to the right side. Doing this eye-xercise atleast 10 times for each side every day will gradually sharpen eye muscles and make your eyes appear bright & sharp.

Practicing your typical surprise reaction:

Yes, you heard right. Take a break from whatever you are doing and raise your eyebrows like its in the danger of disappearing into your hair. Relax. Do it again with closed eyes.

Blinking away your eye wrinkles:

Sit on a chair. Keep 2 fingers on either side of your eyes near your forehead. Stretch a little and then blink many times. Relax and do the same. Within 2-3 weeks, this face-lifter can take care of the first wrinkles that appear on a woman’s face.

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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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You are drained physically, emotionally as well as mentally during your pregnancy and delivery. Now, your health front needs to be in the forefront. Along with your newborn, your health also needs your special attention. It is necessary for you to keep hale and hearty as your newborn care can quickly make you drained and exhausted. So, do not miss your share of self-care.

En Route to Fitness

With the newborn, it is obviously difficult to find time for exercise, but you have to make the effort. It is not about getting back to your original shape soon after childbirth, but it is about staying fit as your body needs it. There is absolutely no need for any organized fitness classes; just a few exercises done at home can do wonders.

• Dance a little! The foot taps can tap your fitness.
• Chalk out some time for a small walk. Take your baby on a pram tram ride too in a park while you move your legs a bit.
• Swim away a little from your baby for a swim. You can leave your baby  with his/ her dad for a while and you go for a swim.
• Postnatal exercises are taught in child health clinics. Certainly, attending a class or two will give you a fair idea as to how to go about it.

Eat Right

As you would be breast-feeding your baby, so it becomes even more important for you to eat right. Never skip on the sips of water. Increase dietary calcium with lots of milk and dairy products. Even the temptations of snacking should be met with some healthy options like sliced and salted raw vegetables, vegetable soup, breadsticks, baked beans or scrambled eggs every now and then.

Come Out of Your Shell and Socialize

The more you meet your loved ones, family members, relatives and friends, the more you will feel reassured. Socializing helps! Try to interact with other new mothers who can be some of your friends or relatives, meet them frequently by visiting their houses, plan for outings together if possible. Getting to see the same pediatrician or exercising at the same dance class will further motivate you to keep fit and to stay healthy without affecting your bond with your newborn.

How has the phase of new motherhood added fun and excitement to your life?

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