Archives for January 2015

January 30, 2015 By SNEHA CHIKHALE Leave a Comment

How to stop that binging after workout

Nothing’s more annoying than burning calories only to ruin all the hard work done by overeating in the next hour. We always are surrounded by this myth, that we now have liberty to gorge on our favourite food as we have sweated it out in the gym! Let’s have a glance to simple and effective ways to avoid that insane hunger after workout.

Grab a pre-workout snack

Eat healthy, fibre rich snack before working out. This will not only help in satisfying your hunger but will also give you energy in slow interval. And your craving for food immediately after a workout is over.

Get rid of the habit

We tend to confuse habit with necessity. We might have noticed that, we are not really that hungry but, crave for food because our mind knows that we have sweated it out. Consciously work on breaking the habit of eating post a workout.

Have high carbs and protein food

Always opt for a snack which is high in carbohydrates and proteins. Whole wheat bread or multigrain bread sandwich with chicken / paneer filling or wheat bread toast and scrambled or poached egg whites are the ideal and healthy options. You’ll not only suppress your hunger but your body will also heal faster.

Drink enough water during and after workout

Water tends to make you full. Moreover, you need to regain all the fluids you have lost through sweating. Before reaching out to your post – workout snacks, drink a glass of water and wait for at least 15-20 minutes. You will see your hunger vanishing.

Schedule your workout close to meal time

Often after workout, you feel like hogging on a junk food menu! However, you can avoid this planning your workout right before your regular meal time. You can rest for 15-20 minutes after your workout and directly proceed to having your meal. This will avoid you from taking in those additional calories in the form of special post – workout snack.

Enjoy your exercise routine

A recent study conducted by Cornell University showed that people who enjoy their workout eat less afterwards. Try to vary your fitness session frequently, if typical workout bores you. Keep switching to a new form of workout to retain your interest in it!!

January 28, 2015 By Luke Coutinho 2 Comments

Exercise is good for you. But exercise Smart

In our zeal to get fit, sculpt an attractive body or lose weight, we may tend to overdo it when it comes to the exercise we choose.

When you find yourself struggling to get the body results you want, one enrolls themselves for more complex and intensive training’s, longer hours in the gym, fad diets and crazy supplements.
What we need to remember, like everything else is that our body parts and organs have a life. There will be natural wear and tear as we age and that principle remains the same for all of us. It’s true that the right amount of exercise can delay this and keep degeneration at bay and that’s what ensures us a better quality life as we age. A life free of knee/back/joint pain.

The media including Hollywood and Bollywood have blown the whole concept of exercise way out of proportion. Everyone wants to read about diets or exercise regimes of these super stars. Spending 2 hours in a gym or working out thrice a day is apparently what you need to get a model like body or that of your favorite actor.

Extensive spinning, extremely heavy weights, running more than a marathon in a year, MMA mixed with weight training, kickboxing integrated with weights, etc… all require special nutrition plans, if you are really into all of this.

These are great forms of exercise and we would all like to think of ourselves as long distance runners etc.. But, is your body prepared for it? Are your knees ready to take the massive stress that his can put the body thru? Is your back strong enough to brace impact and support you for the rest of your years without giving way?

Getting involved in intensive exercise is not your solution or compensation for binge eating over the weekend.

Your knee has a fluid (synovial) that runs around it and as this dries up due to stress (exercise) improper sleep (recovery) and poor nutrition. you will be left with excruciating pain that will severely alter your lifestyle. .

Exercise smart is the way forward.

Short but productive workouts. 1 hour is a number. Break away from it.

The best workouts get over in 25 – 30 minutes saving you a valuable 30 minutes of your day to use it for things that are meaningful to you. Tough to break from it if you have always been a “1 hour” gym person but, try..

After 45 minutes of exercise, your body generates ‘cortisol’ a stress hormone, that tells your body to ‘STORE FAT’. This becomes counterproductive to your whole goal or working out.

Body builders and athletes have longer training schedules, because they have supporting sports nutrition plans and they sleep over 8 hours for recovery..

Exercising smart is:-

Keeping a day of recovery between intensive workouts or allowing for enough muscle recovery time,
Doing max sets with minimum rest between sets (depend on your fitness goal),
You should be maxed out post 30 minutes and you should feel energetic,
Warm up and cool down will allow you toe more productive.

Break away from traditional exercise methods. Mix it up, challenge and push your body.

Consistent walking, is one of the best exercises ever, something that works beautifully with a balanced nutrition plan and great sleep. You can lose fat and tone up.

Consistency is key.

Meeting and exceeding the 10,000 steps daily is one of the best benchmarks when it comes to your walks. Re-evaluate your exercise schedule and how you feel after each workout.

Don’t just think ‘ NOW’, consider the future years as well.

January 27, 2015 By SANA SHAIKH 5 Comments

Camomile Tea and its Benefits

Although tea drinking has been associated with health benefits for centuries, only in recent years have its medicinal properties been investigated scientifically. One must recognizes the healthy power of tea while getting the most out of their cups.

Tea’s health benefits are largely due to its high content of flavonoids — plant-derived compounds that are antioxidants.

Green tea benefits are known to many, but Camomile is yet to receive those kudos for its varied benefits that just a cup of it’s brew or the herb provides. Camomile is an ancient herb and has been in use since ages for its healing and soothing properties to fight problems ranging from alleviating stress to relieving an upset stomach.

Camomile, is a herb alike daisy. This flower is used in different forms to avail its benefits, ranging from a powdered preparation to brewing a cup of tea to using the used tea bags or tea leaves!

Let us see what are the multiple benefits of this little herb, that’s making it’s sipping a popular trend all over the world??

1.Sleep tea:

Camoile tea, off late has become extremely popular among the new generation, as they lead a fast paced and stressed life due to work pressures with increasing sleep deprivation.This tea is a good solution for all those insomniac’s or sleep deprived people!

Stress = Sleep disorders. Camomile = soothing, relaxing, sleep inducing effect!

A cup of steaming camomile tea is all you need 30 minutes prior to hitting the bed!

(Those who like cold tea, brew it hot and then cool it down. Savour and relax!)

2.Cold fighter :

I know it sounds strange but studies have shown that camomile has immune boosting elements, that boost up the immunity and help in keeping infections like common cold at BAY!

3.Upset Stomach:

Camomile tea can be used to relive the same. Brew yourself a steaming cup to get rid of that nauseous feeling, gassiness or to speed of your digestive track! It helps to relieve the discomfort, diarrhoea and is also a known remedy to cure colic in infants.

4.How about a pill free relief from those dreaded Menstrual cramps?

Yes, regular intake of camomile raises your amino acid glycine or ( IS IT GLYCOGEN) levels within the body and higher levels of glycine reduces muscle spasms and helps the uterus relax, thus relieving the cramps.

The tea is also considered to be an emmenagogue, and increases the flow of blood to the uterus and the pelvic region, thus helpful in cases of irregular menstrual cycle.

**HOWEVER, Pregnant women should those who are aiming to get pregnant should not have this tea as it can increase uterine contraction and lead to abortion.

5.Skin soother!

Apart from various health benefits, Camomile tea certain other benefits such as soothing an insect bite to a diaper rash or even sunburn.

It’s a well known remedy to soothe eczema and other skin infections.

6. That’s not all. It can effectively be used to give a lighten look to the brown hair by using it as a hair wash. Add it to your bath and unleash the spa experience.

It’s antioxidant rich. Not only these antioxidants boost the immune system but, also keep the body away from chronic diseases. It also exhibits anti-ageing properties.

It’s has anti inflammatory elements too.

Cold Camomile tea can be used as a gargle or mouth wash to relieve tooth ache, painful gums etc.

** Person can be allergic to it, so be cautious about its intake.

**It contains coumarine, so those on blood thinners or bleeding disorders, avoid taking it as it may increase the bleeding.

So still thinking?

Grab a cup ad brew yourself the hot steaming benefits of the Camomile!!

January 23, 2015 By Mitali Ambekar 4 Comments

Excruciating Knee Pain- can’t workout? Here are some dos and don’ts

India is rapidly getting on the fitness path. However, many who have been active have suddenly become inactive due to injuries and largely these injuries pertain to leg or back. Knee pain and back pain being the most common among the young adults.

Knee pain today has become one of the most common orthopedic pain ailment among people of all age groups. What was earlier considered to affect people after about 60 years of age is now striking people earlier, reason being wrong foot wear, injury, bad and sedentary lifestyle, body weight, etc.

Let me cite my own example: I had injured my knee during the rainy season due to wrong shoes while performing an adventure activity. I couldn’t walk for few days as I had ruptured my ligament. It was a ligament strain. Thereafter, my knee became a hindrance for my workout. Doctor suggested rest and no workout.

I had to skip everything, right from running, working out, playing a sport. And I felt miserable and helpless that an injury stopped me from so many things. This is exactly the scenario with many of the people I consult. Most come up with the same issue of Knee injury so exercise is a NO NO, which is necessary for being fit.

First and foremost one needs to understand there are different kinds of Knee pain, it can be an injury, strained past injury, excessive weight, high uric acid, joint pain, arthritis. Depending upon what it is exactly that is giving the pain; there are different or similar solutions to it. In my case too, I spoke to different experts like Physiotherapist or My Trainer and I figured out that I need not stop exercising. I need to work on the strengthening of the knee and avoiding exercises that would worsen it.

In cases like High Uric acid and joint pain, of course dietary changes play a major role but exercises also need to be a part of recovery.

Things that would bother it more is exercises like Squats, that is why your doctor says start using western toilet and don’t sit down, as that motion would impact more on your knee and give pain.

Also avoid lunges, a form of exercise. Jumping moments as it would give shock to your joints especially the knees.

How do we still continue to be active with the knee pain?

What can be done?

1. Exercise to strengthen it: Sit on a chair and raise your leg up and put it down again, repeat this for 10 times in a set of two. After few weeks, repeat the same exercise with little ankle weights, if you can manage.

2. Roll up a towel or a cloth: to form a cylindrical type format and keep that under your knee with the leg extended, try to press that with the knee and then release, repeat this for 4-5 times.

You can follow these two exercises for a better and stronger knee muscles.

3. Avoid running, squats, jumping movements

4. Eat foods that make your knee stronger Walnuts, Almonds, Milk and Milk products

5. In certain cases physiotherapy exercises will be needed.

6. Strengthen the supporting muscles like glutes( hip muscle), core muscles and leg muscles.

7. Stretching the leg muscles will also help as the stiffness in this part of muscle can cause difficulty in movement of the knee leading to pain.

8. Anti inflammatory and high antioxidants food like fruits, vegetables, fish, nuts.

9. Have food rich on Omega 3 like flaxseed and fish

10. Home made ghee of cow’s milk.

11. Maintain body weight.

12. Warm up well before any type of activity.

13. Opt for swimming as it helps a lot in knee issue.

14. Wear proper fitting shoes

15. Do not increase or decrease your activity. Keep it moderate.

16. Increase your Calcium & D3 uptake. Sources can be Milk, cheese, cottage cheese, egg yolk

( avoid for people have high cholesterol/ triglycerides), Ragi, Broccoli, Nuts, Fish.

All these points can make your knee pain better and make it more stronger and don’t stop yourself from workout if there is knee pain.