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RAINY SEASON WEIGHT LOSS CHECKLIST

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It’s raining buckets. You theatrically sigh in pretend lament as your heart secretly does cartwheels ­ no exercise today! For those of you who find it hard to reign in the urge to skip rained-out workouts, I’ve got bad news.I am going to suggest ways to lose weight, eat smart and exercise within the four walls of your home. Don’t hate me.It’s all for your own good.
Unless you have a home gym or a place of exercise that doesn’t involve some travel, there will be days where you genuinely won’t be able to make it. But I find that a lot of people use this season as a pretext to get off the health track entirely. Why gain when it rains? Look at it this way: a healthy monsoon means that when the party season rolls around, you are looking smoking hot. Instead of taking a rain check this season, take in the rain checklist instead…

 

FOR FOOD

You don’t have to plough slippery streets and negotiate overflowing gutters to get to a nutritionist. Online meal plans as well as online home delivery options abound. Nutritionists have also started online programmes so, after preliminary health checks and blood tests, the meal plan gets delivered straight to your inbox.

If you aren’t going to a nutritionist, do your research online and carefully choose diets that consist of about 25 per cent protein, 10 per cent (good) fats like MUFA, PUFA and Omega-3 and 65 per cent carbs (which includes fruits, vegetables, breads, pastas and the like). Needless to say, your carb intake needs to tip in favour of healthy fruits and vegetables. Check with your doctor that the diet ensures weightloss or maintenance (whatever your aim), and will not affect your general health. Also, don’t forget to monitor your oil and sugar content during the programme: depending on your lipid profile, 2-4 teaspoons of oil a day is all you need to ensure that your low-cal food has both fat and flavour. I’d also advise you to break up any diet you take into smaller meals and eat every two hours. The process of digestion burns calories and smaller meals help keep your body in the digestion mode for longer.

One of the most fun parts about going online though is tracking your progress -there are tons of weight tracker apps out there. But be honest to yourself.

FOR COMFORT FOOD

There’s something about the monsoon that heightens the senses and the food cravings with it. Avoid common comfort food traps. While bhujiyas and pakoras are standard monsoon comfort fare, other healthier options also work. Corn-on-the-cob or bhutta is a brilliant and incredibly healthy masala-filled option. Corn-in-a-cup also works. Boiled black chanas, piping hot idlis with yummy sambhar, masala rava idlis, hot masala chai (without tons of sugar), hot soups, boiled peanuts, kebabs, chicken tikka (with low oil), grilled vegetables, dosas, neer dosas, uttapams and upma -all have the ability to satisfy your craving for something fried in the rains.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

FOR EXERCISE

If you can’t make it for a walk or the gym, you’d be surprised with the kind of workouts DVDs can give you. These may even go one step further, providing that missing bit of variation to your workouts, leading you to exercise mus cles that may not have been active in your regular workouts. Or just climb stairs or jump rope: both are amazingly simple ways to get your heart rate pumping just enough to lose weight.

So there you have it. The no-excuses guide to monsoon fitness. And a no-holds-barred solution to looking your best during the monsoon months.

 

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HOW VITAMIN B12 IS GOOD FOR WEIGHT LOSS BODY?

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Not much is known about vitamin B12. People usually aren’t aware of its vital role in keeping the human body together. B12, an integral part of the B complex group of vitamins, is responsible for many things that we take for granted ­ it helps in the conversion of carbohydrates into glucose, pushes up our energy levels and keeps lethargy at bay. It is vital in regulating both the nervous and digestive systems, which implies that adequate quantities of this vitamin decrease stress, fight depression and keep the brain from shrinking.

B12 also helps shield you from heart disease by regulating your cholesterol levels and protecting you from high blood pressure and stroke. It is, in addition, crucial to the maintainence of your nails, skin and hair. It also keeps you looking young as it aids in skin cell renewal. Wait, it’s not over yet.

This vital vitamin has a role to play in your body’s metabolism and helps in producing the all-important red blood cells. And when it’s done with that, it moonlights as an anti-cancer superhero, fighting colon, breast, lung and prostate cancer. Phew! Like all things we take for granted, B12 is missed only when its levels drop. Many conditions affect the body’s ability to absorb this vitamin’, ranging from severe anaemia to the thinning of the stomach lining, to diseases that affect the small intestine (celiac disease and Crohn’s disease). Problems with the immune system like lupus or Grave’s disease and heavy drinking also interfere with the way B12 is absorbed by the body.

But all’s not lost. And even if it has, it can easily be regained. 
B12 is abundantly available in many foods like meats, eggs, milk, cheese, certain kinds of fish and liver. For those who don’t eat these, B12 supplements are widely available.

But all’s not lost. And even if it has, it can easily be regained. B12 is abundantly available in many foods like meats, eggs, milk, cheese, certain kinds of fish and liver. For those who don’t eat these, B12 supplements are widely available.

For those with severe B12 deficiency, intramuscular doses is a medically-approved way of compensating the lack of it. The best part about this vitamin though is that it is water-soluble, which means that after the necessary levels get absorbed by the body, the extra amounts are excreted naturally by your body.

But don’t self medicate. You need to check with your doctor before deciding how exactly to tackle a B12 deficiency. Sometimes it could be symptomatic of a larger problem.

If you are feeling chronically tired, get your B12 levels checked. The prescription may be as simple as eating more B12-rich foods or popping a pill.

Vitamins B12 is very important for good immunity, energy, stamina and to prevent hair-loss.

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A GUIDE TO ONLINE WEIGHT LOSS

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Today you can do everything from shopping to watching the latest movies to booking your next holiday without leaving the comforts of your couch. It’s no surprise that a large part of the health and fitness industry has also moved online, providing us with a range of convenient ways to lose weight. These include fitness trackers to track our daily steps; online food diaries, which monitor our daily calorie intake; exercise programs, which delivers a variety of weight loss videos; and online chat apps that allow us to connect with doctors over video consultations.

Needless to say, many of these tools do require us to move off that couch, but they also give us that much needed motivation to lose weight and make doing so a lot more fun! The FitBit fitness tracker, for example, is a wearable with blinking dots that keep increasing as we reach closer to completing the number of steps we’ve set as our daily goal—cross the finish line and the bracelet vibrates in approval. The Nike+ Running app, on the other hand, allows you to compete with people in your network and from around the world and even allows friends to support you by sending in-run cheers. Food diary MyFitnessPal can be customized to suit your specific dietary restrictions or nutritionist’s requirements, and online consultation apps allow you the comfort level of chatting with a doctor from home even when you’re travelling outside the country.

Nourish Genie, one of the new entrants in the online health and wellness arena, attempts to take all these components—community, motivation to lose weight, customization, and remote access to a nutritionist—and fit it into one streamlined package.

The brainchild of nutritionist Pooja Makhija, these online portal offers an easy onboarding process. First you subscribe by entering your details and choosing a plan suited to your health goals; options include weight gain and weight loss packages, pregnancy diet plans, lactation diets, plans for PCOS as well as plans for diabetes, weight maintenance, and muscle training. Next you upload your medical history, followed by your blood reports to your personal dashboard or to the Nourish Genie App, and…you’re done! The portal delivers customized diet menus and easy diet plans for the month to your inbox, and gives you access to an online food diary, as well as trackers to map your food and water intake, exercise, and food quota. Chat forums let you speak with others in the community, trade weight loss tricks, share which was the best diet for your weight loss, or even just vent if you’re feeling frustrated. And, of course, you can sign up for live video chats with Pooja Makhija and receive further motivation and guidance.

An MSc. in Food Science and Nutrition, Pooja Makhija is committed to providing her clients with easy diet plans and the best diet for their individual weight loss needs. Her weight loss packages and weight loss videos espouse a nutrition philosophy that embraces the nourishing aspects of food. Through Nourish Genie, Pooja aims to introduce this philosophy to clients world over.

Don’t feel like getting off that couch just yet? Don’t worry. Stay seated, log onto www.nourishgenie.com, check out the portal, and you may just find yourself naturally inspired to get moving!

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EASY DIET PLAN

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Celebrity nutritionist and founder of www.nourishgenie.com, Pooja Makhija weighs in on the easiest way to diet.

Let’s face it. No one likes to diet. If you’re used to getting your four square meals a day, the word ‘diet’ conjures up scenarios of no meals at all, of empty plates or you emerging from the fridge empty-handed, wistful about the old days when you could, quite simply, eat. How about banishing that scenario, and creating a new one where no foods are the enemy, and where being healthier is a lot easier than you think?

The trick is not to eat sparse but eat smart and no, there is absolutely no need to go crazy. Think of your body as a willful child. Or better yet, a hormonal teenager. The more you restrict your intake, the more it will fight back . So here are some weight loss tips that will not only help you reach your goal weight but also help you stay there.

  • Love All, Eat All

The easiest way to diet is to include all foods – or mostly all – but to ensure that they are eaten in moderation and prepared healthfully. On my diets I prescribe pasta, noodles, rice, roti, bread, mangoes – almost everything except a few foods like red meat, for example. In this way, you don’t feel deprived and you resist the urge to play truant. Starvation – or even fad diets – is the worst thing you can do to yourself. Food is the only source of fuel for your body and the best diets consist of a daily consumption of 65% carbs, 25% protein and 10% fats. You can get a general diet online – by calculating your Basal Metabolic Rate online and subtracting 100 calories from it. So if your BMR is 1500 calories, you need to choose a 1400 calorie diet – or even a customized one from www.nourishgenie.com – which obviates the need to meet a nutritionist in person.

  • Eat Every Two Hours

Apart from breathing, eating and sleeping, your body burns calories digesting food. Breaking up your meal plan into smaller meals and eating every two hours ensures that your body is constantly in the ‘gym’, burning more calories through the day than it normally does.

  • Eat Smart

Choose weight loss foods that your body burns more calories to digest than the calories they contain – called negative calorie foods, these include apple, grapefruit, lettuce, for example – as well as include more healthy weight loss foods like egg whites, salmon, leafy greens, beans, legumes, broccoli, sprouts, boiled potatoes, cottage cheese and avocados.

  • Exercise

You don’t have to go mad. Just a daily brisk walk will do but if you find that that’s not quite your cuppa tea and the thought of walking daily bores you to death, you can do aerobics, Zumba, running or whatever gets you moving.

  • Hydrate and Sleep

Drink lots of water and get your Zzzzs in. Both lack of sleep and water have been scientifically proven to derail weight loss efforts so don’t forget to get plenty of rest and fluids to use these weight loss tips well make your weight loss wishes come true.

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NOURISH GENIE:TAKE IT WITH A PINCH OF SALT

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Can’t do without it, and definitely can’t do with too much of it. Salt is a chemical compound called sodium chloride ­ 40 per cent sodium and 60 per cent chloride. Studies recommend that the upper limit of salt for adults is anywhere between 3.75 5 gm (sodium intake between 1.5 2.3 gm per day) which actually measures to just a tsp of salt per day. This is the ideal amount of salt for all healthy adults without high blood pressure, diabetes or cardio-vascular diseases.
WHY DOES THE BODY NEED SALT?
Cutting back on added salt is a small way to avoid over consumption. Do remember that you don’t need to add salt to all the food items you are consuming ­ 75 per cent of the salt you eat is already present in everyday food items, like bread, breakfast cereals, ketchup and a lot of canned foods. Fortunately, nutrition labels on most ready made foods indicate the salt content in them. (1 gm sodium = 2.5 gm salt; so if you know how much sodium is present in a food item, you can roughly know the amount of salt it contains). Here’s how you can decode the labels: High salt content: If the salt content is higher than 1.5 gm per 100 gm of the food product, the sodium content mentioned will be 0.6 gm per 100 gm. Low salt content: If the salt content is 0.3 gm for less per 100 gm of the product; equivalent sodium content would be 0.1 gm per 100 gm.
Medium salt content: Foods between high and low figures. e Also note that dis-solvable vitamin supplements and painkillers contain up to one gm of salt per tablet. It would be advisable that you switch to non-effervescent counterparts, especially, if you have been asked to watch your salt intake.

WHY TOO MUCH SALT IS BAD FOR YOU
If you binge on foods that are too salty, you feel bloated and puffy hours later. This is be cause eating too much salt causes your body to retain more water, which increases the blood volume. This furthur leads to excess pressure on the blood vessels, thus demanding a lot of hard work from the heart in order to ensure smooth blood flow through the body. This is the main cause for high blood pressure and various heart dis eases. Other metabolic disorders associated with excess sodium intake include osteoporosis, kidney stone, asthma and gastric cancers.
SALTY FOODS ONE MUST AVOID
Cheese Pickles Papads Salted nuts Wafers, chips and other savoury farsan Soy sauce Tomato ketchup, mayonnaise and other ready-made sauces Breads Ready-to-eat soups, noodles, pasta
BALANCE THE SALT INTAKE
Focus on potassium
Increase in the level of potassium helps lower sodium levels, thus balancing blood pressure positively. Potassium rich foods include fruits like plum, peach, banana, muskmelon, avocados, orange, spinach, prunes, raisins and apricots to name a few.
Increase your water intake
This is the best way to flush out the excess sodium and maintain correct pH balance in the body. Aerated waters, sodas, energy drinks are unfavourable and can easily sabotage your efforts to maintain normal blood pressure.
Rinse canned foods
Vegetables and meat that are packed in brine (salt solution) always increase the salt content in the body.Rinse them to wash away extra salt.
Replace salt with herbs
Instead of reaching out for the salt shaker to add that extra flavour, season your food with citrus juices, herbs and spices.

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