Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Tackling Childhood obesity BIG NEW CHALLENGE

Children and teens are facing major obesity problems due to junk they eat,
Here is what you can do as a parent
1.Provide plenty of vegetables, fruits, and whole-grain products.( avoid mango if the child is in 95 pecentiile of weight )
serve only one cup of fruit at a time.( get cup measurement dish from market)
2.Include low-fat or non-fat milk or dairy products.
Choose lean meats, poultry, fish, lentils, and beans for protein( If you are vegetarian family so instead of meats you get tofu even instead of paneer)
3.reasonably-sized portions( try using small plates for serving )
Encourage your family to drink lots of water.
4.Limit /totally avoid-sweetened beverages.
5.Limit consumption of sugar and saturated fat(ghee)
6.NO PARANTHAS, serve lots of cucumbers and fatfree dahi with meals,
7.Get her to enroll in a dance class at least 3 times a week.which is fun and good way to burn calories,or can do rope skipping at home atleast for 20 minutes with 5- 6 breaks.
8.Atleast 10-12 hours of restful sleep.
9.Water water water my cheapest source of weight reduction.

SNACKS: please refrain from dal bhujiyas and other snacks which are fried and or are sweet.
A medium-size apple
A medium-size banana
1 cup blueberries
1 cup grapes
1 cup carrots, broccoli, or bell peppers with 2 tbsp. hummus ( can make it with grinding boiled kabuli chana and add garlic and spices)
Get a cup measure from market.

Sunday, August 14, 2011

RECENT RESEARCH SUPPORTS THE PROTEINS

HIGHER PROTEIN DIET HELPS CONTROL SATIETY AND APPETITE.

Research demonstrates dietary protein reduces hunger and increases fullness in overweight and obese men during weight loss.

Park Ridge, Ill. (July 11, 2011) – A new study demonstrates that higher-protein meals improve perceived appetite and satiety in overweight and obese men during weight loss.(1) According to the research, published in Obesity, higher-protein intake led to greater satiety throughout the day as well as reductions in both late-night and morning appetite compared to a normal protein diet.

"Research has shown that higher-protein diets, those containing 18 to 35 percent of daily calorie intake from dietary protein, are associated with reductions in hunger and increased fullness throughout the day and into the evening hours," said Heather Leidy, Ph.D., study author and professor in the Department of Nutrition and Exercise Physiology at the University of Missouri. "In our study, the two groups ate either 25 or 14 percent of calories from protein, while the total calories and percent of calories from fat stayed the same between the higher-protein and normal-protein diet patterns. "

During the study, Dr. Leidy and associates also conducted an eating frequency substudy in which the 27 participants on both normal- and higher-protein diets consumed either three meals or six meals per day. The researchers found that eating frequency had no effect on appetite and satiety on the normal-protein diet. However, subjects on the higher-protein diet who ate three meals per day experienced greater evening and late-night fullness than those who ate six meals per day.

Dietary Protein and Reduced Calorie Consumption

This study supports previous research that demonstrates higher-protein diets, including egg breakfasts, are associated with decreased calorie consumption. A study published last year in Nutrition Research showed that men ate roughly 112 fewer calories at a buffet lunch and 400 fewer calories in the 24-hour period following a protein-rich egg breakfast compared to a bagel breakfast. (2) Another study demonstrated that overweight dieters who ate eggs for breakfast lost 65 percent more weight and felt more energetic than those who ate a bagel breakfast of equal calories and volume. (3)

Protein: A Component of a Healthy Meal Pattern

Protein not only plays a role in weight management but is also important in muscle maintenance and the prevention of sarcopenia which is age-related muscle loss. The 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans highlight that healthy Americans can have an egg a day to help meet dietary protein needs, and eggs are included in the protein foods section of MyPlate.

"Americans should include dietary protein sources at every meal," says Serena Ball, MS, RD, registered dietitian, nutrition consultant and advisor to the Egg Nutrition Center. "The 2010 Dietary Guidelines and MyPlate education series highlight that protein is an important component of a healthy diet."

Give Eggs the Company They Deserve

Serena Ball suggests pairing protein-rich eggs with whole grains, fruits, vegetables and dairy for a complete, healthy breakfast. Some meal and recipe ideas include:


•Cherry Tomato & Portobello Omelet with whole-grain toast, an orange and low-fat or fat-free milk
•Mini Breakfast Pizzas on a whole wheat English muffin with sliced apples and yogurt
•Basic Scrambled Eggs with low-fat mozzarella cheese and veggies along with fresh strawberries and a bowl of oatmeal made with low-fat or fat-free milk.

Saturday, August 6, 2011

Kick start that weight loss

Here are some samples for staring the regimen: Note here that you want to first check with your physician if you can start a regime.

1. First thing in morning drink 1-2 glasses of water.

2. If you can exercise in morning well done but if not then skip an imaginary rope 100 times and do some knee down pushups ( women) and regular push ups ( for men). That kicks in the day....

3. Remember to eat a healthy breakfast 100-200 calories as soon as you can after waking.(examples of good breakfast.....egg whites in which ever way you like with a cup of fat free Milk a cup of fruit ( for colon health fruit should be eaten only in early hours of the day otherwise they ferment and cause gas).

4. Grab a snack at 11 am or so.... Examples: hummus and carrots/ fatfree yogurt / 10 almonds/ celery and chutni or cucumber and chatni/1o to 15 peanuts/ protein-shake (my favorite), low fat cheese one cube with tea/ coffee and a glass of water.

5. Lunch at 1-2 pm: one part protein like chicken fish or turkey( for vegetarian you can soy nuggets ) and 2 parts sautéed veges like zucchini/ eggplant/ mushroom/string beans.

6.4 pm snack again with above choices plus another 2 glasses of water.

7. Get to the gym by 6 or so and spend an hour for sure or go running outside or do treadmill at home.

8. Avoid carbs at night try out unlimited salad and a protein,( you have to understand that our body burn less calories in evening),

9. Have a green tea before dinner,

10. Family time ....add 2 ,2 more glasses of water,

11. Sleep early as less you sleep more hungry you get. get 8 hrs of sleep at least.

12. Follow similar routine for several days with minor changes. Stick to it.

13 . How to deal with friends and family Who may discourage you.... IGNORE focus on your Determination to get rid of extra pounds

14. A healthy weight loss is 1-2 kilo a week.



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Thursday, August 4, 2011

weights and exercise facts for beginners.

WHY IS EXERCISING IMPORTANT?
Exercise tones your heart (disease resistant),releases endorphins to uplift you mentally,increase your libido and sex life,helps memory,increases natural feel good hormones,better sleep,you become more active and effectively burn calories,in most case you will not reach out for that cookie if you just ran 2-3 miles cause you have just experienced a lot of pain achieving your target for the day.

I am not a trainer but here are some simple suggestions for those who may have never exercised or have not done in a long time.
Before you start any activity make sure you are fit medically to do it.

1.Start any activity at a low level like walking 30 minutes per day at a pace where you cant have a conversation without getting breathless.
BASICALLY YOU WANT YOUR HEART RATE TO GO UP TO GET RESULTS.(atleast 50% of your basal heart rate).
You can walk for an hour daily at a low pace or do household chores as your workout and there will be negligible change in your weighing scale.
2.Aim for 7 days a week then you will achieve atleast 5 days.
3.When staring going to gym and if trainer is not affordable I suggest that you do cardio(walking or running on treadmill/cross trainer/skipping rope/kick boxing/power yoga/cycling)alternate with weight lifting.30-40-50-60 minutes of cardio should be the goal depending how paced up you are.
4.Question is how much weight is good to pick up: if you can do 8-10 reps and 3 sets of any muscle group increase weight by 2 pounds everytime.
5.Women maybe thinking-Oh what if I become manly....NO you dont have enough testosterone so you will get lean not muscular
6.Why weights are important....well they increase your metabolic rate and burn fat even when you are resting, or you couldnt exercise for 3-4 days...its backup fatburn.In addition they also decrease your cholesterol and triglyceride levels, plus in long term help you stay and look younger.
7.A way to find out how many calories you burn at rest is to get a VO2 test done which measure RESTING ENERGY EXPENDITURE.Many gyms have it now or you can visit a center which has it if you are really MOTIVATED.We do it in our office.
8.What are normal muscle groups you want to use weights for?....Biceps,triceps,shoulders,quadriceps,back,hamstrings I maybe missing some info there but pretty much these are your main muscle groups.
Most of the exercises can be found on Youtube till I post some animation on my blog for demonstration.
9.Stretching is very important before and after workout to decrease the stress on your muscles and help all the lactic acid release which would accumulate in your body as you exercise.
10.Use muscle groups like biceps and shoulders, hamstrings with abs one day, followed by triceps and back and quadriceps next weight lifting day.
11.NEVER PUSH/FORCE YOURSLEF TO A VERY UNCOMFORTABLE LIMIT WITHOUT A TRAINER.
BOTTOM LINE ONCE YOU START EXERCISING ITS AN ADDICTION.....MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCE.

Coming up tomorrow are sample ways to kick start your journey to a fitter you.

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Simple tips first

1.Never skip breakfast: what you eat within 2 hours of waking up will burn faster than any other meal.
2. Never go hungry for more than 4 hours: eat a fistful of healthy snack in between meals.( healthy snack ideasncoming up both veg and non veg),
3. Drink at least 8 cups of water ,tea coffee or other caffeine beverages not included
4.cut or abolish alcohol during active weight loss stage
5.Physical activity at least 30 mts most days of the week
6.drink hot beverage half hour before your evening meal
7.Make sure you get enough protein ( will give protein rich foods list soon) get at least 1gm per kg of body weight if your kidney functions are normal.
8.LIFT WEIGHTS to increase metabolism
9. Eat the fruit not the juice.
10, try using less salt,oil,butter,sugar.
11. Get your hands on vitamins ( list of supplements coming soon)

Myths about weight loss

1. I can a do a juice fast and lose 10 lbs :( NO you can't it's only water loss that shows up on the scale
2 I can lose weight by eating a lot and exercising a lot:( NO diet is 80 % change that you will have to make.
3.I can eat dals as my proteins and lose weight :( NO dals have carbs also so they are great but when you restrict you need more protein
4.I can get liposuction for weight/ fat loss:( NO liposuction is designed for for people with normal BMI,
5. I always lose weight when I diet so I can do it I just don't find time:( NO whatever weight loss you did was wrong because you put the weight on back.
6.I can starve and lose weight :(NO you are lowering your basal metabolic rate and when you eat your fat cells will double in size again,the yo yo factor.
7.I want to lose just on my belly:( NO there's no way that you can do that without a overall exercise and diet routine.
8. I eat very healthy still don't lose the weight :(NO you are probably eating something during the day that piles up fat in your body and you are not aware that it's doing it to you.
9. I eat only salads and vegetables and I manage to lose but comes back in some months(Yes you can lose it that way but if you haven't added protein you are losing muscle proteins and your tone goes away and weight loss will not last.
10.I can't find time life is so busy:( NO you can find time to eat/sleep/ make money why not make 1 hour for yourself,trust me best investment of your time.

Next realities and facts about weight loss.......keep looking

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

The Start up challenge

Most important for starting to get fit and lose to ask yourself WHY you want to do it
Whats your motivation: could be an upcoming event,new love life,health risks,just out Of a relationship etc etc.
Set a goal: weight loss/ fat loss/ just increasing endurance and core strength or just toning up,
kick start that weight loss program by following steps
1. Get a diary
2.write your goal,current weight, timelines, body fat percentage or just measure your waist at navel, thighs upper and lower, arm at biceps level and hip circumference, your BMI( can be done on line just plug in numbers)
3. See what tools you have available,: a near by gym, can you afford a trainer?,can you run/ walk outdoors or do you have a cardio machine at home and have you done your yearly physical with a MD.
Start a 3 month program: you have to give yourself 3 month patience to see good results, after all that that fat didn't store up in 3 months its years of wrong eating and less activity.......but never too late I promise.
A realistic goal setting is important: if you are morbidly obese target for mere obese and if you are obese target for overweight, and if you are just overweight then get lean.
There is no one rule that applies to all, we all are different with cultural differences in the way we have lived and eaten so besting to stick to what food is liked by you and make the best of it.
NOTE: all cuisines have a healthy option:-)