Make Your Winter a Healthy One!

I yawned again and sleep walked till the coffee machine for my 3^rd cup of extra strong coffee that day. I cranked up the noisy machine and watched it pour the espresso in my big Soup mug. I stared at the mug trying to convince myself that the caffeine is not all that bad after all. A, It helps boost metabolism, B its winters, C…Damnit, I ran out of excuses there. Truth to be told, coffee is not one of the best things to be consumed in winters. Sorry, coffee machine gossipers.

Coffee and other caffeine containing beverages, dehydrate your body. They have a diuretic effect on your system, meaning you’d need to visit the washroom more often; having said that, it also kills your thirst for water. Coupled with this, the long hours of spending time in air conditioned office rooms, one tends to get dehydrated more. My advice, restrict yourself to one cup of coffee per day.

Here is my list of food that you should pig out in winters. ( coz appetite somehow triples in this season)

•  Oranges and Guava- Nature has its own way of taking care of us. These 2 fruits, found only in winters, are extremely rich in Vitamin C (especially guava, which is the best source of Vitamin C). Amongst other qualities, Vitamin C helps protect you from infectious diseases by boosting your immunity. Also they are not heavy on calories, so eat to your heart’s content.

• Potatoes- Yup that’s true. Potatoes sometimes get a bad rap for being a white starch, thrown into the same category as white rice or white bread. But unlike those starches, potatoes are whole foods that contain several beneficial nutrients. They are an excellent source of two immunity boosters—vitamins C and B6, delivering 25% and 29% of your daily needs per medium potato, respectively.

• Avocados and Almonds- One thing that you can never miss about winters, even if you are on the equator, is the chapping skin that it brings along with it. Having vitamin E rich foods like Avocados and almonds, help retain the skin’s collagen and elasticity and prevent it from chapping.

• Tofu, Soyamilk, anything Soya- Soya may help to preserve skin-firming collagen because it is rich in isoflavones. You will have fewer wrinkles and smoother skin even when exposed to UV rays.  And lets’ face it; you tend to expose yourself to sun more in winters than in summer.

These are just some tips to combat winters. Believe me, seasonal fruits and veggies are the best bet for any season as they have just the right nutrient required for the season. So stay smart and pick out the right food this winter. You can always have reasons for coffee machine gossips, but if you don’t make the right choices, you might not always have your health!

Don't Wait to Loose Weight! See results in a week!

You know you have done everything possible on this earth to make sure that the weighing scale actually favours you. you have tried all sorts of weird diets GM diet, maple syrup diet, detox diet, all liquids diet et.al; but nothing seems to work out for you. Or worst still, you loose pounds real fast only to realize that you have gained double the weight that you had, before you started your adventure with food! I believe, the best way to ensure you get that fab bod, is to start treating your body as friend and not making it your worst enemy, and yes you will still be able to see results in a week's time. Here are some tips to torture the the fat in your body:

1. Hydrate Hydrate Hydrate but only with water:

65-90%of your body is made up of water and there is a reason to that. A fruit smoothie, sports drink, beer, or any other drink can hydrate your body but they also contain 100 or more calories. Moreover these drinks do not satisfy you the way 100 cal of food does, so basically, they are waste. Also these drinks are also high in sodium and carbs which retain water, making you feel puffed out. Water on the other hand is zero in carbs, makes you feel full, hydrate you and detoxify your system. Also water is the most important item in fat mobilization and fat metabolism, i.e without water, fat will not get degraded no matter how much you run on the treadmill! And hey, if water is boring, add a slice of lemon sweet lime or orange.

2. Switch one meal/Snack with fruits:

This can even be your evening tea snacks or your morning breakfast or dinner. Fruits contain more fibre( read fat killers), more water and more vitamins as compared to breads, rice etc. Instead of having that sandwich in the evening have an apple, or instead of having croissant jam and toast in breakfast, have a fruit plate and juice, or instead of having bread, veggies and sizzler at night, have a big bowl full of fruit/ sprouts and salads. The dinner switch is my personal favorite as the lighter you go on your stomach during the later part of the day, the more chances of you losing weight faster and better the chances of you getting up in the morning with a healthy glow! 

3. Drink Coffee 30 minutes before workout:

This is an exception to rule one. Coffee is said to have metabolism inducing power and also help you metabolize fat faster. But this coffee doesn't mean a big cuppa of cappuccino. Preferable that you have black coffee with very little or no sugar. If you must add milk, add skim milk to the tune of 3-4 tablespoon. Coffee also helps you jump-start your body and gives you the additional kick while working out so that you workout better and don't get fatigued soon. Word of caution- Do not go overboard with coffee, it also has dehydrating effects on your body.

4. Make thy Sacrifice:

Make one food sacrifice. Simply by Cutting out one favorite sinful indulgence from your daily list of must haves can create wonders for you. Like stop eating chips  or finger fries or chocolate, whichever is your must haves. Also if you succeed at this the first week, continue with one more food item the next week. This way you'll eliminate all your evils out slowly but surely, and boy will that work wonders!

5. Cardio for just 30 minutes:

 Yes there is no escape to workout, if you want a fit body. Do cardio once in 2 days atleast. Your body will love you if you do this everyday though. Cardio can be in any form- be it running for 20 minutes, brisk walk, jogging, climbing up and down the stairs instead of using the stairs, getting off the bus one stop earlier so that you get the extra mile to walk back home, skipping,  or jumping...anything. But yes make that body work.

And yes here is a special tip- if you want to look slimmer in for the camera, stand in a slightly diagonal angle, chin up and hold your hands slightly away from your body- this should do the trick ;)

Happy slimming!

For the Love Of Meat!

Everyday you come across tabloids and articles attacking you with gyan of how you should not have meat and chicken, and why it’s a better option to go green and turn to vegetarianism. Honestly I am tired of reading such stuff. I have reached a mental block stage where when ever I read headlines like ‘go vegetarian’ or  ‘ban non-veg’ – because to me its more of a fad rather than being a logical explaination to a drastic shift in your diet.

Now I am saying all this because I have been on the swing of off and on non veg. I had quit non-veg for four years (honestly! And been successful in that). It had been pretty difficult for me considering the hard core meat lover that I was. But trust me I din’t do it for health reasons, it was a personal choice. But 4 years, 6 kilos less(when I was in need of gaining some of it), weakness and constant bouts of fever and ill health was what was needed to wake me up to reality and tell me that “Don’t mess with your metabolism”.

Now for all the non-veg lovers, flesh is not all that bad . Seriously no need to quit non veg just coz someone else feels ite the right way to control your eating habits because trust me this trick does not work for everyone and more-so-over there are plenty of health reasons for not quitting non veg.. Heres telling you why:

•  There are innumerable health benefits of eating meat, for example it serves as a fabulous source of high quality protein, which a single vegetarian food is not able to provide. it contains all the essentiall amino acids that the body requires.
• the phosphorus content present in meat gets much more easily absorbed than that present in cereals and legumes. this is owing to the fact that cereals and legumes contain phosphorus usually in the form of phytic acid that must be hydrolyzed before absorption. Meat also serves as the main source for the intake of Vitamin B12.
•  Fish, especially the small varieties are a rich source of calcium.Egg-white is good source of protein and easily digested and chicken is the best low fat high-protein food (benefit alert: low fat high protein helps you loose fat and again lean mass)

Vegetarian or non-vegetarian, the decision depends on various factors such as cultural or dietary habits of the family, personal preference, taste and avoidance of certain foods for health reasons. Whatever the case, a well-balanced diet supplying proteins, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals should be taken.

And keeping the theme of the post alive,  no need to chicken out on that chicken just because a fancy post in the health magazine says so!

P.S: My apologies for not posting anything for almost a year (gosh that's long..so long i don't even have a believable excuse for it ) but just to justify, blog hacking + laziness to re-activate+ password loss etc etc..kept me away from my 1st love.

Cheers to Coconut!

A couple of days back, I met this lady, by the looks of whom one could clearly make out a typical day in her life.  i am talking about the breed who have filthy rich spouses, have never done anything productive in life yet wear nothing less than solitaires and Swaroskis', do nothing at home except keep a track of Page 3 and arrange kitty Parties to show off their husband's money... (guess i should stop before my jealousy starts shouting loud and clear).The moment she came to know that i am a nutritionist, I was bombarded with questions and queries of all sorts. (like any other time when people 1st meet me..maybe I should write about those experiences too) All I could hear was 'what if...', 'how to..', 'Do I..' and so on..

Anyways, from all the clutter and confusion, what I could figure out was that she wanted to avoid the amount of junk she was consuming through all the colas and cocktails. She rightly pointed out that when we go out for parties, unhealthy food can be avoided..there are lot of choices but what about drinks? we just can't say no to a round of drinks.

This is just one situation and I am sure lot of us face it at some point of time where we have to choose between saying no or upsetting people.Well my answer is simple.Go for Coconut water!
Its refreshing, healthy, trendy and a beverage with calories as close to plain water!
Let me explain.Coconut water contains organic compounds possessing healthy growth promoting properties that have known to :

1. Keep the body cool and at the right temperature (hence also suggested during a fever)
2. Orally rehydrate your body.
3. Raise your metabolism (hence weight management)
4. Boost your immune system.
5. Balance the Ph in your body and prevent cancer.
6. detoxify and fight viruses
7. Cleanse the digestive tract.
8. Naturally replenish the body tissues after exercise.
9. Control Diabetes.
10. Boost poor circulation.
11. It is Tasty!!

(I guess you won't be in a doubt again Ms.Page 3.)

Interesting fact about coconut: The English name coconut 1st mentioned in English print in 1555, comes from a Spanish and Portuguese word 'coco' which means 'Monkey Face'