I can't diet.

This is the predicament that most "dieters" face. Not being able to follow a calorie restricted OR healthier "diet". For most people following a prescribed diet restricted on calories and the "yummy" fried foods and sweets is as difficult to follow as keeping your sweet tooth in check during Diwali!

Some points to ponder over which just may put you on thr right track. Sometimes the reason you can't lose is right under your nose and you may not see it. LOOK......................................

- Most people think diets have to be boring. Wrong!! Diets can be made very interesting if you have the right person to guide you. A qualified and creative nutritionist could come to your rescue. On the other hand low cal recipe books could also be of great help.

- All 21 meals a week don't have to have a "diet quotient". Do let go of yourself 3 meals a week. See the difference it will create in your state of mind. As far as your diet goes, it won't mess it up. Just might do some good though.

- Don't stand on the weighing scale everyday. It psyches your mind n your body. If you havent lost on the sclae on "day1", mind does a nosedive, you risk the shooting up of cortisol levels depending on how depressed you get and remain so, and then fat loss gets hindered. Its not all about weight, When weight measures everything in your body including water, muscle your organs, bones and fat, why do we collate weight loss with only fat loss???? or weight gain with fat gain for that matter????
Weigh yourself once a week, better still get you fat% checked from time to time to keep a realistic check on your body stats.

- Don't stay away from fats. Good fats in your diet can do a world of good from accelerating your fat loss to improving the quality of your skin. Good fats come from almonds, walnuts, olive oil (virgin variety), flax seed oil or even safflower and sunflower oils.
The "bad fat" come from those which solidify at room temp, specifically, vanaspati, butter, ghee, malai, etc. Keep the comsumption of these at a minimum or at the least.

- Most people find it easy to stick to a good diet through the day......The nights are the culprit. Plan your nights if you don't go to bed early. A good book or a movie could keep your mind off food. You also tend to overeat at night. Eat smaller portions. Take only what you need on your plate and for the first few days sit away from the dishes on the table. Gift yourself something you really want to buy if you are good at nights for a week. Eat and close the kitchen, dont step in again until the next morning!!

Remedy for Diabetes

100gms Atta/dalia (broken wheat)
100gms edible gum (gondh) (avaialable at grocery stores/dry fruit stores)
100gms kalongi (kala jeera)
100gms barley
Boil all of the above with 1 litre water for 10minutes. Strain and keep refrigerated. The diabetic individual must have 150ml of this liquid on an empty stomach in the morning for 7 days at a stretch. Make fresh concotion on the 7th day using the same method and ingredients. From 8th day onwards have 150ml of the liquid every alternate day for a week.
Repeat the entire cycle.
People who have done this exercise have shown great results with insulin & medicinal doses
being reduced drastically or in some cases even eliminated.

Warning: Before you begin, pls consult your doctor, especially if you are above 60yrs.

3 MYTHS WE PAY FOR WITH OUR HEALTH

In our efforts to loose "weight" we assume certain heresay and unfiltered read ups to be true and do our own health mighty damage...read on

MYTH A
AAhaa I need to loose weight & I know what to do. Just eat healthy. I'll give up sweets, eat salads everyday. I'm sorted.
This kind of routine may initially help you shed a little fat. But to continue the run, you need to eat blow you daily required caloric intake calculated as per your BMR and activity levels. You also need to keep changing the ratio of energy givers (fat, protein, carbs) in your diet to reduce diet predictability as perceived by your body. Only a health professional can truly help you with accelerated fat loss with minimal muscle loss while keeping your BMR up all the way.

MYTH B
Bingo!! I should just stop eating non-veg. That will do it!
It is true that non-veg foods have a high caloric content. But it is the way in which it is prepared (largely oily, fried, high fat cooking bases like cream & cashew pastes), the organ meats(heart, kidney) & red meats (lamb, beef, etc) that loads the body with damaging fat. Lean meats like chicken (essentially the white variety) which is stripped of skin and fat portions, fatty fish (king fish, sear fish, salmon, etc) & eggs are great foods to inculcate into a fat burning diet. The reason being that your body uses fat preferentially over protein for its energy needs. Besides protein is needed to repair & build every single tissue and muscle in body which for your information is also a consequence of regular exercise! Breakdown of muscles, tissue damage are daily affairs of the body & complete protein (got from animal foods and only certain veg combinations) is quintessential in their repair.

MYTH C
Catch me if you can.....can't stop the treadmill anyway. Eat as much as you want, just exercise it all off.
You can't. 1/2 kg of body fat is equal to 4500 kcals. On an average people using the treadmill lose about 150kcals walking at medium speed for an hour!! Theres more...just 100ml of an areated drink gives you 100cals, a fried 50gms product will give you anywhere between 200-550kcals!! An indian sweet of 50gms could give you 250-300kcals. So much for burning all that you eat off.

The Inches loss Vs Weight loss debate

Most people let out delighted squeals when they see their weight dipping on the scale little realizing that this could be good news or bad!

The human body is comprised of 2 elemental structures, LBM (lean body mass consisting of structural components like bones, tissues, organs, muscles) and fat. Adipose tissue is the fat underlying our skin, the excess of which is detrimental to body health and aesthetics. The breakdown of this fat in excess is what we need to target with a good diet and exercise routine.

When we measure weight, it is a total of all body components including muscle and fat. When we lose weight it could mean a loss of either or both!

So how does this matter?

Muscle is one of the most dynamic elements in our body. It constantly craves for energy & burns body fat too. So keep your musces active and you only stand to gain.....further dips in stored fat. Higher the muscle weight higher is your metabolic rate & higher is the rate of fat burn. So muscle weight we definitely dont want to lose.

Typically when we lose weight during starvation or highly calorie restricted diets we land up losing more muscle in the hope of losing fat, finally showing just a dip in the scale but insignificant differences in body size. This is because when the body recognizes a severe, unhealthy dip in food energy it responds by breaking down muscle for it's energy requirement. When you walk into a room full of people no one including you would want to know your weight record but will surely notice a difference in your body size. This is because when the body realizes a severe unhealthy dip in food energyit responds by breaking down muscle for energy required for daily body functions.

So the next time you want to analyse the effects of a new diet or your body or get depressed cause your weighing scale hasnt budged after a good exercise and diet routine. get count of your fat % which is the true benchmark to the amount of fat you've burnt & the inches you've lost.

Fat ranges in the human body

For men

14-17.9% - fitness

18-24.9-acceptable

>25%-obese

For women

21-24.9%-fitness

25-31.9%-acceptable

>31.9%-obese

And remember all thin looking peopleneed not necessarily have a low fat%. Petite people too could have higher fat%s than one may think possible. It could reflect in their poor body tone & low metabolic rates.

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Welcome to Right Living

Hi visitors,
Welcome to Right Living and a world of health and nutrition. You and the world around you is becoming increasingly aware of the penultimate importance of health. A life free from disease may effect a worry free existence but a potent nutritional & fitness regime is what will help you put your most confident & happy foot forward in every hemisphere of life. If you too are convinced of this fact I am here to accompany you in this journey!

My name is Anu. A nutritionist by profession, I have been lucky enough to have had the oppurtunity to practise a job that has my heart and soul in it. A leaner by heart, it is my passion to explore & understand the science of the multitudinous foods that nature has gifted us with. But what I love most about my work is the world of people it presents me with....talking to them, guiding them, watching them, learning from them, being of service to them & above all accompanying them in their journey of transforming themselves to fitter and more happy individuals is what I find most gratifying.

Today the layman is overwhelmed with a sea of information flooding in through the internet, media and other sources laced with myths, intercepted with facts & cemented with the intent to sell. Its confusing and mind boggling, which is why I am here.
Ask me about what you need to know or clarify about health, nutrition & fitness. I will be only glad to help.
I will keep posting articles with authentic information that you will find useful in your routine and to keep up the health of your body, mind and family. You in turn my friends please keep letting me know of what you want me to update. And your opinions, reviews will only help me to help you better and further.