"Diet Defence!"

healthfoods.com

Tea, garlic, broccoli….sound like I’m making a grocery list? Well, it’s more like a medicine list. You’d be surprised to find how much help we can get protecting ourselves from those horrible infections which always seem to be “going around” from our very own kitchens! Mother nature, in all her wisdom, has created and given us the ability to build our immunity and strengthen our bodies defenses against disease just by eating right. Here are some easy ways to stay happy and healthy all year long.


Almonds – Can you believe this? A yummy snack which is also good for you?? Its true, almonds contain natural ingredients which make this food a great stress buster J Plus with the Vitamin E it contains, it effectively works to help your body combat disease. Need I say more? Just carry a small container with you to work everyday and you have the perfect mind-afternoon snack which also (amazingly) helps you deal with your cranky boss!

Watermelon – besides the fact that it tastes absolutely fabulous (who can resist a slice of cold, juicy watermelon on a hot summer day?),this fruit is also wonderfully hydrating and also works to improve the effectiveness of the digestive system. In fact, being a natural laxative it’s one of the healthiest ways to deal with constipation. On a more pleasant note, it also contains powerful antioxidants which help to strengthen immunity and fight infections.

Oranges - there is a god girls and boys. Because the orange is yet another example of something that not going tastes fantastic, making your tummy smile, but is also super-good for you! Packed with high amounts of vitamin C, your friendly juicy orange is the perfect natural remedy to protect you against colds and flues (of course that doesn’t mean you need to stop your multi-vits coz you need full power strength to fight the flues out there these days!)

Button Mushrooms – filled with B vitamins and antioxidants, these little guys can play a vital role is strengthening your immune system – keeping you flu-free all season while people around you seem to be dropping like flies!

Cabbage – easy to find, especially now in the cold season, cabbage is loaded with disease-fighting agents. Toss it in with a fresh salad, steam it, make it a soup, or serve it as a sabzi, you wont regret getting enough of its green goodness.

"Liquids in your Diet"

dietmag.org

Alright so lets get one thing straight right away. I am the last person to recommend any kind of so called fad diets. None of that weird cabbage soup diet, or eating just carrots for a week thing for me, and not for you either my sweethearts. Truthfully, although these highly exclusive (usually they exclude food of most kinds!) can lead to weight loss, the effects are not very long-lasting (ie you bounce back to your size 10 or worse, to a size 12 within weeks of going back to normal eating) and they can often be downright bad for your health. So this is not a piece on liquid diets. This is about ensuring that you are getting the right liquids in your diet. The kind that lead to higher caloric burning and not a wider waist.

So first things first. Know your liquids. Number one on the no-no list is always the aerated coke, pepsi, seven-up, fanta, Miranda nonsense which is loaded with sugary sweetness that does absolutely nothing good for your body! Even if you do switch the diet variety of these drinks, go easy and remember just because they contain fewer calories does not mean they are good for you. Another dangerously innocent looking liquid is the milkshake also known as the smoothie. Trust me, these guys are almost also filled with full-fat milk, whipped cream, sugar, ice-cream, not to mention the chocolate sauce! One of these is enough to finish your calorie requirement for the entire day. Approach with caution and have them once in a while as a special treat!

Other devils in disguise would include any “fresh juice” drink which contains added sugar (always ask the waiter and ask for 100% pure fruit juice and read all labels carefully) and cocktails (alcoholic more so than non-alcoholic) which taste great but usually contain way too much sugar syrup in them. Where are the heroes in this story of villainous liquids?
Here are some guaranteed good guys to get your fill of:


- Water: not only is it great for your skin and digestive system, it also works to improve your metabolism. Drinking 2 glasses before you eat also fills your stomach ensuring that you keep your meals lighter.

- Green tea: filled with free radical fighting antioxidants which protect your body against disease, this stuff also revs up your metabolic rate allowing you to burn calories faster – yay :)

- Vegetable juices: tomato juice not only contains about half the calories of a glass of orange juice, it also fills you up so that you can eat a light meal followed by it.

"The Truth about Exercise: Fact versus Fiction"

fitsugar.com

Exercise right - Know your facts!

Running on the treadmill is safer on the knees than road running: the truth is any form of running is going to have an impact on your knees. Experts say the best way to avoid chronic pain and keep your running injury-free is to combine it with other activities. So if you are running on the treadmill thrice a week, use the alternate days to work on the elliptical or the cycling machines, which tend to have a lower impact on the knee joints. Bottom line: watch yourself. If you find you are beginning to have a chronic pain which isn’t going away, switch to another activity.


Working out on an empty stomach will help you lose more weight: the theory that less is more in this case just doesn’t work. In order to have a good workout in which you burn enough calories, you need to have some food in your stomach to fuel the workout. Understandably, this is not for everyone and there are those who like to exercise on an empty stomach, however the idea that weight loss will be faster doing this is simply not the case. Usually, you end up feeling ravenous post work out in this case, and eat enough to make up for being on an empty stomach pre-workout. My advice? Try and get a little something to eat before you hit the gym: a granola bar, an apple or banana, even a protein shake all do great to give you a strong workout.


No sweat means nothing happened: Sweating is a sign that your body needs to cool down. It’s a way the body naturally controls its temperature. This does not mean that without sweating buckets its impossible to lose weight. In fact, some activities like walking or yoga may burn several calories without you even breaking a sweat.


Yoga can relieve all back problems: While it is true that a regular practice of yoga can strengthen the spine as well as increase flexibility, its not always advisable as a solution to all back problems In fact, in some circumstances, practicing deep backbends can lead to further pain for someone who is suffering from backaches. The best thing to do is to identify the kind of back problem one has and then ask your doctor if practicing yoga (or even modified yoga) will help to alleviate the discomfort.


Doing crunches will make you lose your belly fat: I am sorry to break your bubble boys and girls but doing just crunches alone are not enough to rid you of that unwanted flab on your tummy. Although crunches will strengthen the muscles of your abdomen, for these to show (ie to get a flat stomach) you need to combine crunches with other forms of cardiovascular and weight-training activities. This encourages weight loss for the entire body, including the core area, which in turn will look trimmer through the muscle toning achieved through crunches.

"Breaking Your Fast!"

bbcgoodfood.com

Waking up on the average week dayis a pain. You usually hit the snooze button on your alarm clock a couple of times and then end up having to jump out of bed to run into a quick 3 minute shower before grabbing the first decent thing you can find to wear to office (assuming its not one of those awful client meeting days when you have to try extra hard!) and literally rushing out of the front door….And straight into your office cubicle where you begin the fire-fighting of the day. Answering mails, sending mails, taking calls of irate vendors, client servicing, follow-ups, and of course dealing with your boss. You can hardly believe it when the hands on your watch read 2pm the next time you look. Only lunch time and you are dead tired already. So what are you missing?


Well to begin with, you are literally running on empty. Like a car which doesn’t have any fuel in its engine, your body is basically working on its lowest battery. You have ignored the most important meal of your day: breakfast. I cant stress enough how super-necessary it is to put something, literally anything, in your mouth within those first few hours of waking up. Think about it, you eat your dinner at 9pm at the earliest? Which means, if you are one of those idiots who skips breakfast, and end up having a quick office bite for lunch at 2pm, you are literally starving your body for 17 hours. Does that sound smart at all?

 Instead, if you just take 10 minutes out of your morning rush to feed your empty tummy, you will be amazed at the difference in your day. First of all, you are able to get your work started with guns blazing full of energy and not for just a short time which your black coffee can give you for maybe an hour, but you will find that you are able to go through the entire day feeling stronger, fuller, and with the capacity to last. Even with a light lunch and a simple tea time snack (biscuits work well) you feel good by the time you are ready to leave the office. And your choices for that morning meal? Take your pick from the more continental cereal, French toast, scrambled eggs, omelets, boiled eggs, poached eggs, toast and fruit or go regional with poha, upma, even idli. As long as its not deep fried, its all good. Get started today and enjoy the difference.

"Eating Out: Do it Right"

graphics8.nytimes.com

So you’ve been on the most awesome diet for the last two weeks. Combined with the balanced, mini-meals you have been dutifully feeding yourself, you have also on the most kick-ass workout regime. You tummy is flatter, thighs are workin it, you butt is fitting into those jeans just right, and your arms are looking to-die-for. All in all, life is good.


And then it happens. The phone rings and you hear those words which you’ve been avoiding all month long…"lets go out for dinner tonight!” And in the next five minutes you can literally visualize all those hours of blood, sweat, and tears going straight down……to your hips!

But don’t worry, there’s always hope girls and boys. I am here to give you some simple tips on eating out so that you can enjoy your meals in peace, without worrying about putting on any extra pounds and ensuring that you still have a fantastic social life!

Pre-Dinner Preps: Alright so this might sound a little strange, but trust me, it’s the answer to eating a sensible dinner out. Eat before you eat. Confused? Basically, you need to eat a little something before you head out to dinner. Think about it, most of the time, dinners out tend to be late. And between your lunch and maybe coffee break, your stomach has been empty.The result? You end up so ravenous by the time you get to the restaurant; you are ready to eat a horse. And so you end up overordering, and yup, that means overeating. An easy way to avoid this is to have a small bowl of salad, vegetables, or even some grilled chicken before you go out and you are all set.

Grill it, bake it,steam it, sauté it: Open up almost any menu and you are hit with choices, choices and more choices. Vegetarian, seafood, red meat and white, its all there. So how do you know what to pick? The key is to choose the dish which has been prepared in the healthiest method. So choose from grilled, baked, steamed, or even sautéed dishes and you are golden girls and boys. If you are watching the weighing scales and want to be safe, avoid the fried stuff entirely if possible.

Skip the sweet stuff: Finally, the meal is over and you are a rockstar who has had an amazing grilled fish with a side of sautéed mushrooms. Just right to fill you up after your pre-meal salad. So don’t spoil it all by ordering the gooey chocolate brownie with vanilla ice-cream and whipped cream! Be smart, skip the dessert and order some green tea instead.

"The Power of Fruit"

pollsb.com

Fruit for All Reasons

Red, yellow, green, orange, pink, and even purple. Filled with the goodness of natural nutrients, they come in a rainbow of colors, shapes and sizes. Slice them, dice them, cube them, or even juice them, you can always be sure you are getting all the good stuff you need when you include them in your daily diet. Fruit. This stuff is everywhere. From the phalwalla down the street to the aisles in that fancy new supermarket. From the good old apple, to the exotic kiwi, you can pretty much find anything you are in the mood for. These are also the perfect mid-morning snack, filled with the sweetness of fructose, and miles better than scarfing down those chocolate chip cookies. Instead of waiting for the smell of the office evening pakoras, grab a bowl of grapes. Feeling like something with a salty kick? Chopped guava sprinkled with a little salt and red chilly powder has got to be tried! And guess what? Those digestive problems, that constant acne, the falling hair, those brittle nails and even that extra weight? All gone. IF you take the time and load up on your portions of fresh fruit on a regular basis (and yes, that means upto 3 helpings a day). The best part of this oh-so-important addition to your menus? They taste grrreeat :) Here some reasons to bite into something juicy today…


Apples – great source of fiber, lowers cholesterol, helps with weight loss, and detoxifies the body.

Bananas - potassium rich and very good for the digestion, perfect energy food for pre-workout!

Grapes – besides tasting delicious these little guys are good for fighting fatigue, replenish iron into the body, and have high anti-bacterial properties which fight infection!

Papaya – said to be the best remedy for any kind of abdominal disorders, prevents heart disease, and also effective in lowering cholesterol levels in the body.

Oranges – loaded with vitamins, and especially vitamin C, this juicy fruit helps boost immunity levels, prevents cells from damage through antioxidants, and protects bones and teeth.

"Baby Got Back!"

Can your Shoes make you Bootylicious??

So I was recently flipping through a fashion mag while waiting for my hair appointment when I noticed a new ad in the glossy. Its product was simple enough – it was a pair of sneakers . Ordinarily, I would have continued to flip the pages had it not been for the very interesting claim this product made - these magic sneakers actually claim they are capable of helping their wearer to lose weight!!


Now this is gutsy I thought.

Every woman (and several men in fact) I know would kill to get her hands on something like this. But here’s the thing. Would they really work?? The ad said that the shoes were specially designed so that the muscles in the legs would have to work harder while walking in them – and the hard work would pay off – in the form of a very shapely derriere, and oh-so-toned legs, so that one could proudly flaunt curves in the all the right places.

But buyer beware: if it were that easy to get a booty like J- Lo, wouldn’t there be a lot more of them walking around in our midst? And from my own experience, those curves do not come so easy. You have to work for them, and by that I mean you have to pay for them in sweat! Here’s what I would suggest. Don’t burn your gym membership yet. However, if you have the extra cash and are so inclined, check out a pair of these wonder sneakers and see what they do for you….I plan to! Will give them a shot and give you a personal preview of my own experience, so watch this space!

Find out more about the “Easytone” sneakers at your nearby Reebok outlet.