Archives for August 2015

August 20, 2015 By Nilakhi Nath 2 Comments

Not fitting into your favorite dress? Here’s how you can!!

Has it become practically impossible to wear your favorite clothes which once adorned your body? Many of you want to shop for new dresses and wear new collections but when you go to the mall there is nothing that fits you. Whatever does fit you is probably too long or too skimpy. So, what do we do? Let another year pass by and you stick to your collection because the new ones are too short or too tight and you don’t have a body to flaunt it. Or just buy it and stack it with your favorite clothes because you don’t fit in?

I say No, let’s not prepare ourselves to fail. Let’s win this time, win a new body and wear that favourite dress of all time. Gift yourself those beautiful dresses which you always wanted to wear.

How do we do that? Well, it’s pretty simple. Pick up your workout attire and get a bottle full of energy drink and get started with these 5 exercises.

Jump Ropes: You must have done this exercise in your childhood everyday and for hours together. Only that, you never thought of it as one of the best and simplest cardio exercise. This exercise not only elevates your heart rate but also works out your entire body by involving all the small and large groups of muscles. It improves your coordination and builds muscular strength.

Burpees: Burpee is a full body exercise which involves some degree of agility, balance, coordination, and total body strength. It is also a great exercise to build up your endurance and can be done anywhere. Muscles used for doing this exercise are muscles of upper arms, lower back, core and lower body muscles.

Mountain Climbers : Mountain climbers works on your upper arms muscles, as well as your core and your legs. The benefits of muscular and cardiovascular fitness are increasing strength, flexibility.

Declined Pushups: This is a variation of basic pushups. It works on your chest, arms, back and shoulders. But, to do this exercise you need to have a good amount of strength and stability in your arms, core and legs. You should try this exercise only if you can do basic push up without any difficulty and discomfort.

Jump Squats : It works on your quadriceps mainly and also works on your core. Your lower body, including your glutes, hamstrings, and calves are also worked. Use a deeper squat when doing the exercise for fat loss. Lower your body until your upper thighs is parallel to the floor. It shapes up your lower body and also builds the strength.

Stretches at the end of the exercise session is very important. It reduces muscle tension, makes the body feel more relaxed, increase the range of motion. Prevents muscle strains and also reduces the risk of back problems.

August 17, 2015 By Hardika Vira 1 Comment

Strawberries and its nutritional benefits

The moment I hear the word ‘Strawberry’ the first thing that comes to my mind is the dark red juicy strawberries of Mahabaleshwar. How about you? Have you ever wondered what is so good about this fruit that we all love? It is loved so much that you tend to get various food products ranging from syrups to biscuits, toffees, chocolates to ice creams etc with this flavour. People want to enjoy its flavour in any form possible.

Let us have a look at its nutritional values and its health benefits

Nutritional Informatiion for 1 serving (i.e 100 gms) of strawberries:

Calories – 44

Carbohydrates- 9.8 gms

Crude fiber- 1.1 gms

Proteins – 0.7 gms

Fats – 0.2 gms

Calcium and phosphorus – 30 mgs each

Iron – 1.8 mgs

Rich in Beta carotene, Vitamin B complex, Vitamin C and also contains many of the essential aminoacids

Wow! Isn’t it amazing? Not only this, there is lots more to add to this super fruit. Do you know benefits of consuming strawberries? Well here it is:

Improves immunity- The Vitamin C, Beta carotene, flavonoids and anthocyanins present in strawberry acts as antioxidants and help improve immunity. The fibre also helps remove heavy metals from our system helping to detoxify our system thus improving our immune system
Prevents cancer-A phytochemical called ellagic acid and Vitamin C together yield anti-cancer properties like suppressing cancer cell growth. It also contains antioxidants lutein and zeathancins which are scavengers to free-radicals and neutralize the potentially negative effect they can have on our cell.
Heart Friendly- The components in strawberry- ellagic acid and flavonoids has an antioxidant effect which benefits heart
Younger looking skin-Strawberries help in producing collagen. Collagen (helps improve skin’s elasticity and resilience) which we tend to lose in the process of ageing. It fights occurrence of wrinkles but also prevents inflammatory response which is one of the cause of wrinkle formation.
Improves eyesight- Antioxidants and Vitamin C present in strawberries prevent cataracts—the clouding over of the eye lens—which can lead to blindness in older age.Vitamin C not only protect eyes from exposure to free-radicals from the sun’s harsh UV rays, which can damage the protein in the lens but also strengthens eye’s cornea and retina
Lowers bad cholesterol and helps reduce hypertension- Quercetin, flavonoids and fiber protects heart against damage caused by LDL cholesterol and it also prevents platelet build up. Its good potassium content helps maintain the blood pressure
Reduces arthritis and other inflammatory diseases- The antioxidants and phytochemicals help reduce inflammation
Helps improve digestion- The fibre and water content helps reduce constipation and other digestion related issues
Good for weight and diabetes management– Strawberries are low in glycemic index and at the same time has good satiety value.
Improves prenatal health- All the females who are either pregnant or trying to conceive is advised to have folate tablets. Strawberry is naturally high in folate which is one of the basic requirements for tissue/cell differentiation and development of brain, spinal cord etc. thereby preventing neural tube defects
Helps control asthma and allergies- due to its anti-inflammatory properties and Vitamin C content
Lifts your mood up- Folic acid helps reduce production of homocysteine which hinders with dopamine, serotonin(feel good hormone) which may cause depression

The list doesn’t end here. There are loads to add to this super fruit. Incorporate this seasonal fruit in your regime whenever possible as it is or in any form and enjoy all the benefits of this fruit.

August 13, 2015 By Shimpli Patil 2 Comments

MCTs: The Good Fats

Most of us are ignorant about fat. The moment we hear fat, we associate it with high calories, weight gain, obesity, heart diseases, etc. But, the fact is, we need fat in order to live!

Having said the above not all fats are alike. The devil and angel concept applies here very well. We have good fats which are the essential fats and are needed for healthy brain functioning, immune system, hormone production, and energy production. There are bad fats too that can clog our arteries and lead to internal inflammation. All that we need to do is, choose the right kind of fat and consume it in the right way!

Heard of MCTs aka Medium Chain Triglycerides? Well these good fats are gaining fame in the health sector these days. They have received considerable attention in the past too.

MCTs, are the major fat components in coconut oil. We can find varying amounts of MCTs in olive oil, ghee, palm oil, butter and nuts too.

To understand why MCTs are so wonderfully beneficial for us, we need to get into a bit of chemistry.

MCTs are composed of only 6 to 10 carbon links, unlike other fats which have up to 22 carbon links, and because of their shorter chain length, they are absorbed faster by the body and are quickly metabolized (burned) as fuel/energy. Thus, rather than getting stored as fat, the calories contained in MCTs are very efficiently converted into fuel for instant use by our body.

Let me share some astonishing benefits that MCTs have to offer:

* Aid in weight loss:

This is one reason why most people are eager to get their hands on MCTs. Apart from being minimally stored as fat, MCTs are knows to induce thermogenesis and wake up the sluggish metabolism, which thereby accelerates the calorie-burning process. This makes it useful in case of Thyroid too, where the metabolism is terribly slowed down.

*Good for diabetics:

MCTs reduce the glycemic index of the meal to which MCT Oil is added as they have a slight hypoglycemic/blood sugar lowering effect.

* Good for heart:

It’s often said that fats are bad for heart. But, MCTs have shown to prove it wrong. Since they are metabolized faster, more like carbohydrates than fats, they provide instant energy to the diseased and stressed heart which is usually energy deficient. That’s not the only thing, MCTs also have an anti-coagulation and cholesterol lowering effect that safeguards our heart.

* Good for brain:

MCTs are like rocket fuel to the brain as they release ketones when they are metabolized. Ketones are an efficient fuel for brain and can boost cognitive performance. Thus, MCTs are considered beneficial in case of epilepsy, seizures and alzheimer’s disease.

*Powerhouse for Athletes:

Athletes usually depend on carbohydrates for instant energy. Carbs however provide lesser energy than fats. Since fats are absorbed slower than carbs, athletes choose to go for the latter. MCTs pick up the positive aspects of both- They are absorbed faster plus provide instant energy, which is an ideal combination to bolster an athletic performance.

* Malabsorptive conditions:

In conditions like liver and gastrointestinal issues, where absorption is severely affected, MCTs are a boon. After consuming MCT containing food, they are absorbed quickly from the small intestine and taken straight to the liver and are converted into energy without requiring a single drop of bile (produced by the liver), thus reducing the workload of the organs of an ill person.

*Cancer:

MCT containing oil is a super food for cancer as it heals the damaged cells, improve immunity and provide instant energy to the weak body.

The benefits of MCTs are incredible, aren’t they? Now the question is how to use MCTs containing oil in our day to day life?

Best way is to make use of coconut oil in your meal preparations OR you can bake some popcorn or foxnuts (makhanas) using ghee/coconut oil OR You can add it into your coffee or smoothie OR simply use it as a salad dressing.

1 tbsp a day is more than enough.

August 10, 2015 By Ashwinkumar Rahate Leave a Comment

Anaerobic Or Aerobic which is better for fat loss

Most people when they indulge any kind of outdoor or exercising activities they primarily are focused only on fat loss. To achieve maximum fat loss many just indulge in cardio training such as running, brisk walking or jogging. In my career as a trainer I have also come across many of the bodybuilders who want to achieve fat loss only through weight training and neglect cardio as well as flexibility training.

I would like to elaborate the type of the training and its benefits for fat loss.

Weight Training or anaerobic activity

Weight lifting or weight training normally comes under anaerobic type of the activity where in oxygen is not present and this type of training helps to achieve an after burn effect. This is also known as the EPOC effect. (Exercise Post Oxygen Consumption). The acronym EPOC itself elaborates the after burn concept. Oxygen in reality is consumed more after the exercise. In short it means that burning more calories after workout and also helps to burn maximum fats in minimum duration.

Cardiovascular Training or Aerobic Activity

Any activity performed for more than 2 minutes with low, moderate or high intensity is known as cardiovascular training. This training includes running, Jogging, Swimming, aerobics etc. Cardio training is supported by oxygen therefore also known as aerobic activity. Cardio exercises helps in strengthening the heart, lowering stress and recovering the muscle tissues

Major fat loss is achieved when we follow interval training. The simple example of interval training is 1 minute of fast run and 2 minutes of slow run. It’s all about the high and low intensity.

We can also go for HIIT (High Intensity of Interval Training) for example 20 to 30 seconds of Sprinting and 10 to 20 seconds of slow running. This type of training also helps the EPOC effect. To burn maximum fats we need to apply both anaerobic and aerobic method.

I can say both types of training go hand in hand and support each other. If we are targeting only anaerobic activity like body conditioning or weights it will definitely improve the muscular fitness but will not help in strengthening the heart. And neglecting cardio workout will result in poor heart, less recovery of the muscles, and increase the stress levels.

If we target only the cardiovascular exercises then we will lose the muscular fitness. We will lose most of the weight in muscles and not fats. By neglecting Muscular fitness we will also invite many issues like knee pain or others.

My advice as a full time trainer and coach is that both type of exercises are important for fat loss and to maintain or improve the muscle mass. Apart from fat loss these exercises help to improve our heart condition and are applicable in all weather. These exercises can be performed by any normal person, athletes or body builders. Degree of both the modes may be different but required by all.

Thus focus on both type of training to achieve maximum fat loss.