I have never followed a diet, but I have stayed conscious of what I put in my body...(maybe it has a name, but it's my own conscious effort based on lots of research). Sometimes I do slip up, and put bad things in to my body (ie. cake, cookies, frappucino, ice cream, chips...) however for the most part, and unless in dire situations require (travel) I have cut out the major evils: Soda, fast food, junk food etc. Because I don't want to do that to me anymore.
Eating healthy doesn't mean having that slammin' "Victoria's secret model body", that takes a combination of eating healthy and exercise. Also remembering we all different, chemically, genetically, physiologically, psychologically - yep, no one is equal or perfect. So some people eat more than others and never put on a pound. Some people may diet and lose weight, on others diets may not work. Some people put on weight faster than others. We need to work with what we have- ourselves. One major thing we need to remember is its the FAT that is bad (which we think is weight); one maybe thin but have bad fat in the blood, arteries, around the heart. Exercise and Eat healthy, unless you want to sport some nice hospital bills when you are 50. Also remember some mirrors suck, and make us see what isn't there. Then again what our minds think are perfect bodies is different from what doctors will say is healthy. Media has made us believe thin is sexy, and sexy is in... thus being ridiculously skinny is Hot and desirable. So forget trying to have Kate Beckinsale's body, her bone structure is different, or Robert Pattinson's (Twilight) chiseled jaw, or Alessandra Ambrosio's skinny body... sadly most of it is CGI, or photoshop, or just their luck to be born that way! (Thank you Lady GaGa for that song). Most women will have wider hips than guys, and there's nothing wrong with broad shoulders, some men are just built smaller than others... We all have our strengths and we can work with it. Don't give up!
Here are some rules I follow to stay healthy, fit, young and active:
1- Balance: If you tried dieting and it hasn't worked try balancing it with exercise. if you've been exercising but not lost a pound, watch what you are eating. Just because you exercised does not mean you can eat the burger and the Tiramisu, in fact you should have neither - go for the grilled chicken salad, and water or hot green tea. In fact when trying to lose weight substitute all drinks with hot green tea (Chinese/Japanese variety). Jasmine Tea is also good. Exercise and a balanced meal and you will see the flat fall away (no need for lipo).
2- Teas: As mentioned above Tea's can work miracles especially Chinese/Japanese variety. Jasmine Tea is also good. Do not add sugar or any sweeteners. The hot water and whatever is naturally in those leave does its own work. There are some diet teas out there, they just give you diarrhea which leads to dehydration.
3- Hydrate: now as you start exercising more, and eating less, remember to drink tonnes of water. Add a slice of lemon to add taste, but def do not drink "energy drinks" and whatnot, they often have sucralose, fructose, sugars which you don't want putting in you body. Sucralose has been linked to some forms of cancer in high concentrations (artificial sweeteners). Water and tea are your best and healthiest bets. Juices - have sugars in them, fruits are best eaten whole, but if you wish to hydrate using juice, then use fresh fruit and squeeze it yourself, you get the natural sugars, plus all the other nutrients which are so great for you!
4- Self Discipline: For some this method is like turning your life around. It's a major adjustment, but basically this way you are not only trying to lose fat/weight but get healthy (so you boost your immune system, get fit, live longer, battle any genetic diseases, etc). It's not easy and takes immense self discipline and being mindful. Ask people for help, ie. your partner, family, if i want dessert don't let me and to help me out please don't have any either. It's like saying no to drugs - Just Say NO! ask for support from friends and family. If they don't get it, they really don't care about you inwardly and outwardly, and most likely don't care about their own bodies either.
5- Love yourself: We have to want the best for ourselves to have the determination to see this through. We need to learn to love our-self despite everything and work with it. No one else can do these things for you - motivation, health and care. So do yourself this one thing. Do something you love, once a week for an hour or more if you can spare, and do something you for yourself once a day - might be small in example meditate for 3 minutes, buff your nails, spend 5 extra minutes on your hair or yoga for 10 minutes, read a gossip column that makes you giggle, or look up that sports car you want to buy ... one day. Focus on you and breathe. Get some good deep breathing in. I spend 5 minutes everyday making a list of things I am grateful for. See my blog
post as an example. This also helps me do the next point:
6- Laugh: make sure you laugh for 5 minutes everyday. Make yourself smile, even if it's a crappy day, and things will look up. I especially focus on the positive things when I have a bad day, (The Secret by Rhonda Byrnes), otherwise it usually spirals downhill. So I make the list, and smile and laugh... this also helps my colleagues smile and laugh too. We have the power to turn crappy days around!
7- Cut it out: Sugars, carbs- breads, rice, pasta, dairy products (except yogurt -helps digestion), oily foods, deep fried, fatty food, alcohol, caffeine, processed food, frozen foods, cigarettes, other drugs... detox your body. If we want to burn fat and lost the flabs... we have to get our innards to work the right way (Liver, kidney, adrenal glands, intenstines etc...). So before getting off any meds ask your doctor what you can do, otherwise recreational drugs, alcohol and ciggies is a no no (also it is so gross what it does to your body... if you want to be that gross inside why not just drink the sewage water?). (Sorry about that I am dead against smoking and drugs, and lately 60 days sober as of today). This leaves you with veggies, meats (cut the fat off), lentils, yogurt, grains (wheat), corn, nuts, fruit and HONEY! Make sure your caloric and carbohydrate intake is a little less than what you burn, so your body will be forced to burn the excess fat you have stored. Your body stores fat for the case you don't have food later. Our bodies still react primitively to our food intake although so much has changed (evolution takes forever).
8- To Eat: veggies, meats (cut the fat off), lentils, spinach, yogurt, beans, grains (wheat), corn, nuts, fruit and HONEY! Eat fruit very separate from all other meals (hour after or before). Never drink water with meals (messes with digestion) but do drink lots of water. Hot water and hot green tea with meals is awesome. Honey is awesome you can substitute it for sugar in most things. Also I have a healthy cake you may eat which is totally vegetarian and maybe vegan, find the recipe here on this
blog of mine. Breakfast: make it good - cereal, almond milk. Banana, some nuts (raw walnuts, almonds, and some peanuts). If you can get a hold of some - sunflower seeds, pecans, pistachios and cashews are great too. Lunch: Keep it light, a soup and salad and maybe an apple. Dinner: should be even lighter, salad (seaweed and spinach), yogurt, maybe a lentil soup (Dhaal). Indian cuisine rasaam, sambar, oopma, any beans (kidney, soy, butter, etc.) are great. Roti is also ok, just limit it to 1 or 2. Fish is great! It's the best meat out there... eat it!
9- Exercise: Best time - Early morning; Duration - 1 hour minimum; Type- Cardio for atleast 21 minutes straight (depending on age)
If you work out first thing in the morning it wakes up your body and revs up the metabolism process, this helps burn fat. The more fat you have the longer you need to do cardio to get the fat burning.
If you are new to working out increase the work out everyday by a little, but remember to push yourself the right amount. Running and swimming are preferred forms of cardio. Bicycling is acceptable but then you have to do twice as much as how much you would run- example run 3 miles in 30 minutes, then do 6+ miles in an 30 minutes and 20 minutes extra (same for elliptical).
If you can't do early mornings, then pick evening before dinner. Make sure it is 1-2 hours after any meal you have had (gym buddies help, but make sure you don't pick up their bad eating/exercise habits). If you can commute to work via walking/ bicycle. Get as much walking and stairs in during the day. Skip the elevator/escalator. So right now I'm about 130lbs, as I begin working out, I will burn fat and lose weight, but at some point I will start building muscle (awesome), however I will begin to weigh more (Muscle weighs> fat wights). So I might go down to 120, but I will gain back 3-4 lbs in muscle.
Yoga and Pilates is great for creating muscle, stamina, balance and flexibility. Meditation is great to create a calm after the work out and the stresses of the day. If meditating in the morning, set your goals and intentions and what flavor you want the day to be (strawberry with a twist of comedy and a sprinkle of love). I usually go all out and mediate for the universe to send me tonnes of love :-P Make a routine for yourself.
ie: after 30+ minutes of cardio, (hopefully you would have broken a good sweat), work on abs, glutes (toning) for another 30 minutes. If you can, try 60 minutes of cardio and then 10- 20 minutes of toning. Once a week try going to a dance class, zumba, aerobics, jazzercise, pilates, abs glutes toning class.
10- Posture: Remember to have good posture while doing anything! Pretend you are Princess Kate or Catniss, whatever works for you... 007!? So while running, exercise, and even while working (and especially during down time), make sure your back is straight and you are keeping good posture... to avoid injuries. For some tips on the proper physiological mechanics my blog
Running the Right Way and
Feeling the World with Our Feet talk about the topic and also give insight into new ways of exercising and enjoying it more.
Lastly: Self Image... you don't have to be skinny like a model, all of us have different bodies. Love yours, no one else in the world has it! You also don't need to look like a sumo wrestler... it's probably not very healthy. So be healthy, mindful and take care of yourself. You have one life, it is yours, what you do with it is up to you. I hope you live it well!
Happiness is what you make of it. Don't settle for less. I think, you can get up and go make a change for yourself and be healthy Inside and Out!
Breathe!
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| Grilled meats (marinated in a little bit of soy sauce) and Corn on the cob... make sure you clean the grill very well every time. Carbon compounds can form and become dangerous in large concentrations (carcinogenic, but honestly, what isn't these days?). |
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| Salad - Tomatoes, onions, olives, artichoke hearts, bamboo, carrots, cucumbers, and avocado... home made dressing with lemon juice, garlic and other spices. |
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