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Pooja Makhija

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In Bombay Times - Ask the expert

General Motor Diet – To do or not to do?

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Dear Pooja,
I followed the GM diet twice, and lost almost 8 kilos. I’d followed the diet then because I had a wedding to attend. Now, I want to lose 10 kilos permanently. Is it safe to practice it on a regular basis? Or are the results just temporary?

What if I asked you ‘Will you be able to do the particular diet permanently?’ Nothing lasts till you don’t work towards it. That holds good for any regime you intend following whether it was a hair care, skin care, exercise or diet related weight loss. Till you apply a certain cream to can prevent the pigmentation that bothers you, till you lift the weights to have the tone and strength you want, similarly till to follow a particular diet you will have the results it gives you. If you can’t do it forever – how will the results last forever? Thus my strong advice is never start something that is difficult to sustain. If the cream cost lakhs the results can be great on you skin but you cant keep applying it forever? Follow a food plan that can be become a lifestyle then its results are here to stay. Eating just fruits or just meat or vegetables in the whole day is not something anyone can sustain so then obviously once you start eating everything the weight will come running back on. No wedding or occasion is worth putting your body through the torment of muscle loss (and lack of eating wholesome only leads to losing your healthy burning muscle mass) and the worse being it comes back on as fat (the unhealthy storing component that further lowers your metabolism) Weight loss is not about deletion, we all tend to make food the enemy by starving or depriving ourselves to the point where we are punishing our bodies to lose weight. Weight loss is not about upheaval, its about adjustment. Weight loss is not about dieting, it’s about making permanent changes to your eating habits. So that you don’t have to do this rut for another occasion around the corner. Please do visit a nutritionist who can help you chalk this regime for you well and forever. Good luck!

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In Bombay Times - Ask the expert

Are health foods really healthy?

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Dear Pooja,
Are health foods really healthy? Should I be snacking on soya based foods and protein bars, or having energy drinks regularly? I’m a 21-year-old college student.

 

In ‘moderation’ ALL foods are healthy. Absolutely no food is bad for you ever. Just the frequency of consumption of different foods should vary. Being a college student that stays away from home anywhere from 4 to 8hrs, portable, healthy snacks is a good option. Soya sticks, khakras, crackers could be consumed. Protein bars are also a good option for a quick, easy to carry, hygienic snack, but do read the labels cause many of them are high in sugar content too. Moderate amounts of energy drinks could be consumed occasionally but please to do reply on these to attain energy all the time. These provide energy through caffeine bursts, which is only temporary and later will result in complete drop of energy. Small frequent meals are best ever ‘energy’ battery that your body can healthfully sustain on always!

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In Bombay Times - Ask the expert

Quitting smoking increases hunger?

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I’m 26-year-old girl. I used to be a regular smoker but recently have cut down to one cigarette a day. Ever since, I experience maddening hunger pangs and end up eating a lot. My hunger isn’t satiated easily because of which I’ve been bingeing and have put on a few kgs. I’m already overweight. What do I eat and how frequently should I eat so that I avoid putting on further weight?

 

Nicotine within 7 seconds of lighting up causes release of ‘adrenaline’ this hormone elevates heart rate (and thus burning), prevents insulin release and reduces hunger pangs. However as you quit the cigarette this enhanced burning meets a dead end. Sticking to the ‘hand-to-mouth’ habit food becomes your next best friend. Also you seem to enjoy the flavor of food without the smoke masking your taste buds. Weight gain is thus a feared consequence of giving up the deadly habit of smoking. However this can very well be managed if you shift focus to better exercise schedule (for the same adrenaline and endorphins rush), drink lots of water (to flush out the toxins and control cravings), keep healthy snack in reach, limit alcohol and most importantly distract yourself! Congratulation on cutting out the cigarettes, your body and mind will thank you for it.

 

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In Bombay Times - Ask the expert

Post pregnancy weight loss – help me!

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Dear Pooja,
I am a 33-year-old woman. I have two children — while my first born was a normal delivery, i had a C-section for my second one. However, both were premature babies, born at just seven months. After my deliveries, I started gaining weight and from 60kgs, I reached 76kgs. I admit I do not have healthy eating habits — irratic timings and junk food are to blame. This has caused health problems like high cholesterol, spondylitis, spine problems and fatigue. I’ve finally reached a point where I want to follow a healthy diet and lose weight. What foods should I eat and what should I absolutely avoid? Please help.

 

Aaliya just so many of us women forget all about our body and its needs when motherhood dawns on us that we wake up just when too many alarms signs are screaming in our face- diabetes, high cholesterol, hypertension and the list can be long. Maternal fat does not have to be eternal. We must realize that by ignoring our health and nutrition it will take a toll on the health of the whole family. Only a women that has a good diet can have good energy levels, good moods, less pms, better memory, more patience and understanding, better multi-tasking, more alertness and isn’t that what we women are all about? Family, children, work and the many relationships we marry are all before us, but don’t put them before your health. Post delivery focus on basic good nutrition and exercise. Anyways it’s never too late. Do get in touch with a good nutritionist so that she can plan a healthy weight loss diet keeping all your health parameters in mind. Sadly I wont be able to do the same through this space.

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In Bombay Times - Ask the expert

Is curd bad for throat?

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Dear Pooja,
I have been suffering from cold and cough since more than a week now. There are some diet advices that i have been getting from people that i really need a professional opinion about….
Does having lemon and citrus foods help? People say khatta is bad for throat but isn’t the vitamin C in them, good? What about curd and bananas? Is curd bad for throat? And another confusion is – fried and oily food? How is that bad for cough and cold?

If it’s free – its advice; if you pay for it, it’s counseling – right? Well having said that, yes I do agree that most advice you get can be confusing and difficult to decipher without some guidance. Do note that different schools of medicine have different core principals and thus the advice can get confusing. My views and suggestions are purely from a nutritional standpoint with no disregard to other schools like Ayurveda or naturopathy. Citrus foods are rich in antioxidant and flu fighting Vitamin C which markedly help relieve a cold but may aggravate a sore throat– my suggestion however would be eat the fruit and not drink it. Fresh yogurt at room temperature helps build the healthy intestinal flora, which help combating the unwanted bacteria, improves internal immunity, which also help wards off viral infections. Bananas contain vitamin B6 that helps the body fight infections.  Fried and oily food on the other hand worsen the cough as frying releases a compound called acrolein, which acts as allergen that aggravates the cough and causes an itch in the throat. Other don’ts would be to avoid alcohol and smoking. Avoid excess caffeinated beverages (although warm fluids temporarily ease the throat) as they increase acid reflux that worsen the throat. Focus on good hydration levels (just plain warm water or clear soups) as that helps dilute the mucus and possibly ease the congestion. Roots like garlic (Allicin being the active compound) and ginger both help alleviate common colds and sore throats. Hope that helps Shreya – take care!

 

 

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In Bombay Times - Ask the expert

High fructose corn syrup – tell me more!

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Dear Pooja,
On various foods, from packaged foreign mayonnaise to even chocolate syrup that you add to milk, I find this common ingredient as an additive – high fructose corn syrup. I have read that this ingredient can cause health problems such as diabetes and so on in the long run. Please tell me more about this suspect ingredient.

 

High fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is the hidden adversary that has crept its way into so many of our packaged foods ranging from baked goods to dairy products, carbonated beverages and almost every sweetened product in the market today. HFSC is sweeter and cheaper than cane sugar and thus used so widely in so many commodities. But this is bad to the last drop. Corn industry promotes that corn sugar is the same as cane sugar when it is not. The biochemistry breakup of cornstarch is very different in the glucose-fructose combination of cane sugar – where it is very easy for the body to break up the HFCS and easily increase blood sugar levels leading to more lipogenesis (fat storage) in the liver. Thus increasing incidence of obesity, diabetes, heart disease, cancer, dementia, and more. It is also claimed that HFCS has high levels of mercury that can be toxic to us. All in all HFCS is not natural food product and if you read it on labels you can be sure that the product is not a whole real fresh food full of fiber, vitamins, minerals and antioxidant and if you want to stay healthy then stay away from multiple products rich in high fructose corn syrup.

 

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In Bombay Times - Ask the expert

I am tired of FAD diets – help me!

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Dear Pooja,
I am a 26-year-old woman and have been dieting  (I eat only two meals -lunch and dinner) for the last couple of years now. However, the amount of weight loss is rather slow. I have tried different diets (the GM diet helped me to lose 4 kgs last year but now i am the same) but none of them have worked so far. What should I do?

 

Sadly my dear, you are losing out only your healthy burning muscle mass not the unhealthy storing fat. When the body is not fed frequently and adequately, it drops its metabolic rate and moves into a compromised burning state where it is unable to breakdown fat as a source of fuel and therefore survives by breakdown the next available source- muscle. This too leads to weight loss but after a while plateaus as the body cant let go of too much of its muscle mass. Any diet that starves you can only lead to loss of muscle never fat thus all your previous weight loss attempts have failed. To start up (and for the last time ever) eat to lose. Divide your meals into four main meals plus three to four fillers depending on the number of hours you are awake. Eat little but eat every two hours – that is the best way to keep your metabolic rate up and thus use fat as the reverse fuel- helping you lose weight gradually but permanently because as the fat mass decreases it increases inherent metabolic rate making it easier to maintain the lost kilos. Happy eating!

 

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In Bombay Times - Ask the expert

What foods will help me while I trek?

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Dear Pooja,

I am 29-year-old unmarried woman and planning to go for a trek to Manali after two months. Since trekking requires one to have good stamina, I would like to know the right diet that will help me increase my stamina levels. Currently, I feel tired when I run or brisk walk even for a short while. Please let me know which foods I should eat. Thank you.

Lets thank the Manali trip that triggered you to wake up and address the signs your body is giving you. In this roll-a-coaster life where we are so tuned to listening to every beep of our mobile distinguishing the sounds easily between an email, sms or or a what’s app – but the signs our body gives us so easily goes unnoticed. Weakness, breathlessness, poor stamina amongst others are all signals of under-nutrition, vitamins, minerals and/or amino acid deficiencies. Firstly I’d suggest you check your hemoglobin and serum B12 levels and have these deficiencies corrected as low levels of these are directly related to the signs you have mentioned above. Gaining long lasting stamina may take a little more love care and attention in your day-to-day diet and exercise regime over a long-term basis but you should see some definitive improvement within two months as well.

A visit to a nutritionist can teach you what your daily requirement for proteins and carbohydrates is and how to divide this effectively into several small meals to fuel your systems adequately. Keep the focus on good quality and quantity of proteins daily along with a good tilt toward fresh fruits and vegetables. Avoiding excess sugar and fat always goes a long way in terms of a fit and healthy mind and body. As I always suggest eating small meals every two hours not only improves metabolism and aids weight loss, it also makes sure that the body gets a steady supply to energy without any peaks or troughs in the blood sugar levels – this is one main essential for sustain Duracell stamina levels. Sorry I was unable to give you exact foods and quantities cause that requires me to know many details about you to help you in complete totality. All the best, hope you enjoy your trekking trip with great vigour and strength.

 

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In Bombay Times - Ask the expert

Eggs are bad for me?

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Dear Pooja,
I have been an egg lover for years but now that I have reached almost 35, people say i must not have so many eggs in one day. I am not fat, just a little overweight but I end up eating too many eggs in a day. (around three at least) People have asked me to stop eating yolks but that is the tastiest part of the egg, so i cannot! I walk three to four times a week for around 45 minutes… and that is the only exercise i ever do. Should I stop eating eggs? Are they really bad for my age?
Please advise.

Eggs and bad? Never! How can something that has so much nutrition and so little calories ever be bad for you? At only 16 calories, the egg white provides a massive 4 grams of protein and is a 100% reference protein, which means that it all has all the nine amino acids needed for full utilisation by the body. Thus I can easily say that consuming about three to four egg whites can be a safe number for most adult to have on a daily basis. Yes, depending on you lipid profile and other healthy parameters, the number of yolks you can have weekly will have to be decided. The yolk may be tasty (for some) but there is some caution needed while having this daily – therefore discuss this with your doctor or nutritionist to get the exact count.

But egg whites are the safest, healthiest and most easily accessible form of complete protein that one should try and include daily. It helps one get better muscle tone, weight loss, stronger and longer hair and nails, lesser sugar cravings, better stamina, more attention and retention powers while studying, lesser aches and pains and this list is endless. Therefore let nobody fool you into stopping the egg whites Shikha, enjoy them daily – guilt free!

 

 

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In Bombay Times - Ask the expert

Do I need a detox???

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Dear Pooja,

I am 37, 58 kg, and my height is 5.1. Last year I had taken a herbal slimming pill for one month (LIDA) and lost around 10Kg. had felt energetic and less hungry and great during that time but, my bowel movement which had always been regular till then, went haywire – once in two days etc. I stopped after a month and in two months came back to my previous weight of 56-58kg. Just wanted to know what should one eat that acts as laxatives and keeps the system clear? What can help to detox? Which foods can help? I am a non-vegetarian and rarely have vegetables and fruits.

 

If there were such an easy way to lose weight (and maintain it) would more than half of the world’s population be overweight? There are no short cuts to weight loss darling I hope you have realized that now (perhaps the hard way). Each of these short cuts – pills, creams, starvation fads, machines – all come with their bag full of side effects – constipation, hair loss, headaches, joint aches, blood pressure fluctuation, brittle nails, dull skin and the list is endless.

You ask me about detox, why should one need it? If you eat food in moderation (healthy and unhealthy), drink ample water, exercise three-fours a week – your body knows how to purge and clean itself – that is the magically power of this human body. By torturing (yes, its sometimes even more harsh than torture) with pills and medication or starvation in the name of weight loss – that is when your body needs a detox – not from food but from these unhealthy practices. God has gifted each of us one magically body – that relentlessly works 24*7 like clockwork – learn to respect this temple. Nourish it with food not pills and you will never need doctors, nutritionists, dermatologists and the like again.

And lastly you asked me about constipation and how to relieve it – well you also did give the answer yourself – you eat no fruits and vegetables! If do not provide the fibre and roughage then how can you expect to have clear bowel movements? Include at least four to five vegetables and fruits (whichever you like from the vast bounty that is available) servings a day along with adequate hydration and you should be able to help yourself without artificial laxatives.

 

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