Archives for January 2018

January 16, 2018 By Nida Kazi 9 Comments

To be Healthy – do you have to go on a diet?

Most of who are on the higher side of an “acceptable weight spectrum” and trying to lose weight, and you declare your intentions to the world, then you have to be prepared to battle questions such as “Oh, you must be on a diet” since you have decided to lose weight. Day in and day out you will be asked this question and you will just not be able to wriggle out of the situation.

As days pass it only gets annoying when people can’t stop staring at your food plate, followed by the responses such as do you only eat salads, do you live off of them? How do you survive? Or are you allowed to eat rice or roti? leave alone desserts.

Does being health conscious mean that you have to be on a diet 24×7 365 days a year?

No, is the answer to the above question but sadly, the perception at large is that to be health conscious one has to go on a diet.

Let us first clearly understand what is diet?

The textbook definition of Diet is that ‘it is a sum of food consumed by a person or organism’. Going by that, diet is anything and everything one eats. So there you go, every single person and every organism on earth are on a diet every single day.

Although today, the word diet implies intake of specific nutrients for health or weight management.

Now the third definition which most people think of when you talk about “Diet” is that you have to eat as little as possible, you have to eat everything raw and the food has to be bland and tasteless.

Does it mean that we have to go on restrictive diets to be health conscious? What is being healthy? Does it mean hitting a particular digit on a weighing scale? Does it mean you have to shrink down to size 0?

What if you have those 8 pack abs and look as if you just walked out of the magazine cover, but have very bad sleep cycles and blood cholesterol shooting right through the roof? Does that term you as being healthy?

According to the WHO, health is, “a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity”.

Our definition of health is not even close to the real meaning. In the clamour of following fads and trying to fit into the picture perfect images created by media and peers, we let go of other aspects that make us healthy. In order to look a particular way, we let our mental and social well-being take a back seat.

Yes, it is important to eat the right food but, do we really have to be so rigid about it?

The most important thing to keep in mind is doing everything in moderation, eat fruits and salads daily but, don’t skip the roti altogether. Go for that piece of cake every once in a way, just don’t overdo it.

The most neglected aspect of being healthy is being mindful. Be present in the moment, especially while you eat. Do not be all over the place, or engrossed in your phone as you shove down the food.

One thumb rule to follow would be to ‘chew your water and drink your food’. Yes, that’s right!! Chew each morsel so well that it is literally liquid before you gulp it down. And when you drink a beverage, take a sip, swivel the liquid in your mouth. Let all your sensory ends of your tongue get activated and experience the flavour of the beverage before it goes down your throat. Believe me, your gut will thank you for it.

Your body already knows what it needs and how much but you need to tune in and give it time to do its job. When you eat with full attention and take your time, the gut sends a signal to your brain when you’ve had enough. This helps you cut down your food intake and yet make you feel more satiated than ever.

Remember it’s not what you eat but how you eat it is what’s more important.

Be active. Do what you most enjoy doing. Go for a run if you like, or just stroll around with a pet. Swim if you have to. Post your exercise you should feel good about yourself, not want to hit the sack and stay there all day.

And most of all do not forget to pay attention to your mind. A sound mind resides in a sound body. But, if you let go of your mind no matter what you do for your body it won’t work quite well enough.

Practising some deep breathing and meditating for a few minutes a day works magically for your mental well-being. If you are not a fan of meditation, then listen to some music to uplift your mood or How about going for a deep tissue massage? All these remedies will help you to calm down your mind and de-stress.

Do not fear to socialise with friends just because you are on a diet. Mingling with like-minded people makes you feel happy and boost your morale. There is no better therapy than sharing a laugh with some good friends.

So, my take on being health conscious is that you should be able to enjoy life to the fullest while feeling good about yourself. Eat healthy unprocessed foods in most of your meals on most days of the week, but don’t shy away from letting go once in a while. And, take care of your mental health along with your physical need.

So what is your take on being health-conscious?

January 11, 2018 By Urvashi Malhotra - GOQii Coach 4 Comments

Vitamin D- The Gift of Sun

“Mrs. Sharma has been prescribed vitamin shots by the doctor”, gossiped my maid. She explained this both with surprise and fantasy with little clue of what the issue was with Mrs. Sharma. All she knew was Mrs. Sharma had been complaining of constant pain in most bones of her body

My 9 year old nephew, Phagun, pesters his mom to give him chocolate flavored supplement in his milk. He loves chocolate flavor, but he claims that adding this supplement to his milk would enhance the “power of milk” – a clear case of impact of television on children. But, is there any truth in what Phagun is claiming? Let’s understand.

The common thread between the 2 stories above is an essential nutrient called Vitamin D. Also known as the sunshine vitamin, it is produced by the body in response to sunlight. Latitude, cultural dress habits, season, sun avoidance, and sunscreen protection can all limit vitamin D production. Hence the sedentary lifestyle of Mrs. Sharma could be the reason of her problems today.Dietary source of Vitamin D comes from fortified foods such as milk, juices,margarines, yogurts, cereals, and soy, animal foods (oily fish, eggs, and liver).Vitamin D is constantly being used for calcium metabolism and bone and hence its connection to calcium absorption in the bodywhich means Phagun was right.

Vitamin D deficiency has been shown to play a role in almost every major disease like Osteoporosis, Osteopenia, osteoarthritis, Rheumatoid arthritis. Research has shown that there is a correlation between low vitamin D levels, insulin resistance, and inflammation, all of which contribute to PCOS and other hormonal disorders

The best and natural way to get vitamin D is to sit in sun for short period of time for about 10 to 15 minutes -one doesn’t need to tan or burn our skin to get vitamin D. The more skin you expose the more vitamin D is produced.Vitamin D supplements is also a good way to get vitamin D particularly if you can’t get enough sunlight for some reason, or if you’re already deficient and is then recommended by physicians.Supplementation with 800 to 1000 IU/day of vitamin D is safe for most people and can ensure levels of vitamin D within the optimal range.

So next time, if you are trying to avoid sun to save yourselves from tanning or to avoid a risk of an additional pimple, think twice. Absorb the sun, its free and can free you from lot of troubles.

January 8, 2018 By Vrushali Athavle Leave a Comment

Gender Specific Workouts- A myth

How often have we asked this question of which work out is the best for me? How many of us have this myth that gyms workouts are specific to genders? Many of us do. Many a myth abounds regarding workouts and what is good for me and what is not?

It was a while before my friend and her husband decided to join the gym. I helped the couple with their Gym shopping such as shoes, water bottle, gym apparels, gym bag etc. And therefore all the more curious to know how was their first day at the Gym?

But, unfortunately, my friend’s first-day experience at the gym was very disappointing as was felt from her facial expressions. She was totally dissatisfied with her workout. Her first question to me was: “Hey I want to get in shape and lose this damn belly. I don’t want to look muscular”.

When did I ask her what had happened and what was the reason for her disappointment? She told me the reason and I burst into a laugh. But, on second thoughts I was not surprised hearing her reason. Most women gym goers are of the impression that they have special needs and that if they trained in a similar way as a man did, then they would start looking muscular like a guy

I calmed her down and explained how this was not true and that there is nothing called gender specific workouts. This whole concept of gender-specific workouts is an inbuilt inhibition of our own self. Physiologically speaking, women don’t need different workout plans. The reason being women do not have testosterone hormone which is responsible for building up massive muscles. Hence lifting heavier weights will not lead to building huge muscles unless you are supplementing it with additional testosterone.

Secondly, women tend to develop muscles at about half the rate at which men do. Therefore women who either altogether avoid lifting weights or only lift very light dumbbells for a high number of repetitions should stop having thoughts about developing huge muscles overnight.

The determination to work out or exercise on a regular basis is not about man vs. woman. It varies from individual to individual and what each person needs to be based on their body type and fitness levels.

One should make sure that you do not let anyone tell you what to do and what not to do. If you ever have a doubt you should speak to your personal trainer or coach. Your determining factor should be whether or not it is for you based on many over factors way beyond that.

The only time when a possible change in workouts may come about is during pre and post pregnancy or due to other medical conditions and advised by the doctor

Thus, safely we can conclude, both men and women need to apply the same general principles of weight training for improved fat burning and body toning, cardio for keeping the heart healthy, proper diet and enough rest to ensure overtraining doesn’t set in.

January 7, 2018 By Fatema Khamgaonwala 4 Comments

You can do so much beyond just salads with ‘Sprouts 6 delicious and healthy recipes

We are all fond of salads and soups. And, if that salad and soup are super nutritious then we can safely conclude that we are eating right. I love sprouts and they are nutritionally very good too. Usually, when people hear the word sprouts they think probably yet another boring veggie salad but, we can make it interesting and tasty. I had made some few advances with sprouts to make it tasty, tangy and healthier too…

Here is my collection of recipes. It’s personally tried and tested special dishes of sprouts. So put on your chef’s hat and exhibit your cooking skills!

Sprout Cutlet/Tikki

Ingredients:

Mixed sprouts [garbanzo bean (Kabuli chana), Green Gram ( moong)] 20 gm
Grated veggies (carrot, potato, pumpkin, lauki, etc.)
Chickpea Flour (Besan) (just for binding) 1tsp
Semolina (Suji/rawa)-for wrapping
Dry masalas-turmeric powder-1/4tsp
Red chilli powder-1/2 tsp
Salt according to taste and tangy spices (chat masala) -pinch

Method:

Boil sprouts and potato. Mash it. Don’t boil other veggies just grate it finely. Mix all the ingredients except semolina (Suji/Rawa). Make flat balls out of the mixture and then wrap it in the semolina and shallow fry it. Finally, serve it with chutney or sauce.

2. Sprout Mix

Ingredients:

Mixed sprouts (garbanzo bean (kabuli chana), Green Gram ( moong) 20 gm
Vegetables such as carrot, onion, tomato, beetroot, cucumber, corn
dry masalas-turmeric powder-1/4tsp
Red chilli powder-1/2 tsp
Salt according to taste and tangy spices (chaat masala) -pinch

Method:

Take mixed sprouts add finely chopped vegetables and all dry spices. Then serve it with coriander and tamarind sauce (chutney).

3. Sprouts and Paneer Schezwan Cigar

Ingredient

Green Gram (Moong) Sprouts – 1 cup
Grated Cottage Cheese (Paneer) – 1 cup
Szechuan Sauce – 3 tbsp
Sweet and Chili sauce – 1 tbsp
Salt to taste
Grated cheese – 1/4 cup
For rolls: wheat flour Indian bread (chapatti) or multigrain flour bread (chapatti).

Method:

In a big mixing bowl, take sprouts, cottage cheese, Szechuan sauce, sweet and chilli sauce, cheese and salt. Mix them well. Keep it aside.
Take one wheat flour or multigrain cooked bread (chapatti). Place a portion of the cottage cheese and sprouts mixture at one corner of the bread. Roll it up tightly starting from the end where the filling is placed to make a cigar. Seal the edges of the bread (Chapattis)
Shallow fry it in the pan.

Paneer and Sprouts Szechuan Cigar is ready. Serve them immediately with spicy sauce.

4. Sprout Sandwich

Ingredients:

Mix sprouts
Multigrain bread
Grated vegetable (carrot, pumpkin etc.)
Raw vegetables cut in slice: onion, tomato, cucumber
Grated paneer-1/4th cube
Dry masalas: Red chilli powder, turmeric, chat masalas

Method:

Except for raw vegetable mix, all the ingredients and your filling are ready.

Now take bread apply coriander chutney on it and place the above mixture, place then the raw sliced vegetables and close it with the other slice of bread on it and grill it. Serve hot with sauce.

5. Mixed Sprouts Dosa

Grind sprouts along with steamed Pancake (Idli-dosa) batter, Cumin seeds, garlic, ginger, green chillies along with a little water.
Don’t add too much water.
Add salt and mix.
For the seasoning, finely chopped onions, green chilli, coriander and curry leaves.
Mix with cumin seeds and set aside.
This is an optional step to use as a topping/stuffing for the steamed flat pancakes (dosa).
Heat a girdle over medium heat.
When it is hot enough, pour a ladle of batter and swirl in a circular motion to spread it.
Drizzle very little oil around the dosa.
Spread some of the seasonings on the top. The wet surface will help it to stick.
Add a few drops of oil over the onions if required or just press with the ladle so that the onions stick to the steamed pancake (dosa) without falling off.
When it is done on that side flip to other side and
Cook for a minute.
Turn it again, fold and remove into a serving plate.
Repeat the process to make the required number of flat pancakes.
For mixed sprout steamed pancake (dosa) with coriander: Now include generous amounts of chopped coriander to the above batter and grind once again.
Make steamed pancakes with this batter following the same process as above.

6. Sprouts Pancake

Ingredients:

Mixed sprouts-20 gm
Ground oats-10 gm or 1 tablespoon
Grated vegetables-carrot, bottle gourd, pumpkin, spinach etc.
Dry spices -red chilli powder, turmeric, salt to taste

Method:

Grind the sprouts.
Take a bowl and pour the ground powder of sprouts and all the ingredients and add water to it and make a thin batter.
Heat a girdle over medium heat.
When it is hot enough, pour a ladle of batter and swirl in a circular motion to spread it.
Drizzle very little oil around the pancake.
Flip it up and cook it from both the sides.