Healthy Living Tips-
. Wish you could be more disciplined about your diet?
While on a diet maintain a
food and activity diary and record
everything – what you eat, when you eat, how much
you eat, amount of exercise you did, how you feel etc. This will help track of your caloric intake
and the calories burnt as well as what factors make you eat more and the
pitfalls. It will also help your dietician understand your eating pattern and
exercise routine.
2 What is served to you at a restaurant is always more than one
serving!
Restaurant portions
tend to be enormous, and if it's on the plate, we are, more often than not
inclined to finish it. After all, we have paid for the entire plate,
right? In that case, you could eat half of what is served and pack the rest and
use it for the next meal.
3 The best way to cook your veggies is to steam them.
Steaming is one of the
healthiest ways to cook veggies. The food retains nearly all of its natural
nutrients as opposed to boiling which may lead to leaching of the nutrients
into the cooking water. Even better, steamed veggies taste great -- which means
you'll be more likely to eat them instead of filling up on fatty foods.
4 How many fruits should I consume in a day to reap maximum health
benefits?
If you are otherwise
healthy, you need to consume at least 2 servings of fruits daily. One serving
of fruit is 1 cup sliced or chopped apple/pear Or 1 small (6” long) banana Or 1
cup Papaya cubes Or 1 small guava Or 10-15 grapes Or 1 cup diced watermelon Or
2 tbsp raisins (Manuka) Or 2 small figs Or 3-4 seedless dates. Yes! Even dried
fruits are allowed!
Do you take multivitamin or mineral supplements? Read further.
If you are advised to take
both iron and calcium supplements - For the best absorption of both iron and
calcium, it is recommended to take your calcium supplement 2 hours before or
after your iron supplement. You should not take them at the same time. It is
important to read supplement labels and follow the directions for use.
6 Nutrient of the day: Iron
Role in health
Iron plays a vital role in
improving your concentration and IQ levels.
Sources: Meat and poultry
are the best sources as its easier to get iron from them. Vegetarian sources:
Garden cress seeds(halim), Bajra, Riceflakes (Poha), dried Figs and small
amounts in jaggery.
Caffeinated beverages like
coffee, fizzy drinks and to some extent tea decrease its absorption. Add a dash
of lemon, wherever possible, to your foods to get more iron from them.
7 Food of the day: Figs
They possess carotenoids
which prevent us from infections and improve our Vitamin A levels. Figs can be
had in 2 forms- Fresh and dry. Dried figs are packed with Fibre and Iron thus
aids in maintaining our digestive health. Approx 1-2 figs give 60 calories and
3 g of fiber and absolutely no fat.
8 What should I eat before starting my workout?
The following are some of
the greatest pre-workout snacks:
a.
Skim milk blended with fruit to make a smoothie
b.
One whole wheat slice of bread and a yellow banana
c.
100 percent fruit juice (without added sugar) and half an apple.
Looking to gain muscle from your workout?
A post workout snack is a
must after your workout. The post workout snack is responsible for replenishing
the body with lost sugar and nutrients during a hard, intense workout and
helping the body to recover. Pick from high-protein options like
egg-whites, low-fat milk/yogurt, boiled and/or sprouted lentils like mung,
matki, chawli etc, almonds or a ready protein shake. Make sure you read the
nutrition label to see if the shake is beneficial to you.
So, you think potatoes are fattening? Think again.
Did you know that potato
is a low-fat food? In fact 60 to 80 percent of the dry matter in a potato is
starch (complex carbohydrate). Potatoes are rich in several micronutrients,
especially vitamin C - eaten with its skin, a single medium-sized potato of 150
g provides nearly half the daily adult requirement. It is a good source of
fiber, vitamins B1, B3 and B6 and minerals such as potassium, phosphorus and
magnesium, and contains folate, pantothenic acid and riboflavin. By itself,
potato is not fattening (and the feeling of satiety that comes from eating
potato can actually help people to control their weight). However, preparing
and serving potatoes with high-fat ingredients raises the caloric value of the
dish.
1 Food of the day: Pumpkin seeds - Seeds that we throw away are
actually very beneficial!
The roasted seeds from
inside your pumpkin are one of the most nutritious and flavorful seeds around.
They give about 185 calories in ¼ cup. But, they are brimming with manganese,
magnesium, phosphorous, iron, zinc, proteins and Vitamin K. They help keeping
men’s prostate and bones healthy. In addition to the above nutrients, these
seeds are high in MUFAs, which are heart-Ok.
A hug can truly do ‘magic’!
Reaching out and touching
someone, and holding him tight—is a way of saying you care. Its effects are
immediate: for both, the hugger and the person being hugged, feel good,
researchers claim. Many scientific
studies have shown that people who were touched lovingly every day had
significantly fewer heart problems.
Do saunas really burn fat?
Using a sauna for any
period of time will only make you sweat (There
is no muscle building, no fat shedding, no after burn (VERY important!) and no
muscle strengthening or toning). Sweating releases fluid from your body.
The longer you sweat, the more fluid you will lose, and this fluid loss is
really the only weight loss that you see from sauna use. Exercise is the
only efficient way to really get rid of calories.
1 Going on and off a diet? Don’t do it too often?
Frequent dieting, fasting, binging and purging
imbalance your electrolyte levels, causing weakening of the heart muscle and
damage to the heart. Moreover, constant weight gain followed by weight loss and
then re-gain of the weight (Called the yo-yo effect) will only leave you
undernourished and with a very poor resistance to infections. So, this diwali
eat sensibly and allow yourself only ‘small’ treats.
1 Yoga for your neck!
Relieve your strained
neck muscles by combining these four exercises. Sit with your back
straight on a chair and practice each set of the following exercises at least
three times.
a. Back & forth: Drop your head back gently and then slowly drop it forward.
b. Side to side: Tilt your head to the right shoulder, to the center and to the left
shoulder.
c. Turn: Turn your head to look over your left shoulder and then over your
right shoulder.
d. Rotation: Inhale as you rotate your head to one side, exhale to the other.
