Category Archives: Nutrition

Higher self, Nutrition

Ganesh Chaturthi – Faith, Fat, Fanatics and Facts

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Ganesh Chaturthi is widely celebrated around India. It marks the arrival of Lord Ganesh, the God of wisdom, prosperity and new beginnings, to Earth from Mount Kailash.  It is pretty strange then to see people missing basic wisdom to understand the significance of this deity and often using this festival to indulge in unhealthy and imbalanced practice for self and others.

Ganesh Chaturthi is a Classical case of faith meeting business. Shops taking advantage of blind devotion. People justifying their unhealthy indulgences based on self serving interpretation of religion.

Here are some bitter sweet realities.

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So keeping the above information in mind spend Ganesh Chaturthi with inner sweetness rather than outer one. Make better connections with yourself first, then share it and restore faith but avoid getting lead away with all the brands and shops selling you items. It is easy to get blinded by faith and disturb oneself and others on the pretext of worship. The rate race of being the best God pleaser wont get you anywhere.

Also remember that God, the energy that governs the cosmos, is with you and within you for all 365 days, so you can look at elongating your sense of disciplehood of Ganesh Chaturthi to the entire year.

We can’t please God by over sacrificing for few days and then expect the energy to take care of us for the entire year, so many people start creating a havoc on the final day of Ganesh Chaturthi and get back to malpractices and intentions immediately as they bid farewell to Ganesh.

This gives the idea that Ganesh Chaturthi is nothing more than a business investment for them, whereas actually faith is much beyond this give and take.

Nutrition

Spirit and Science – 9 Navaratri Fasting Tips

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The idea of writing an article of Navaratri Fasting Tips sprang up as most of my clients asked me for suggestions. I thought it would be better to help others with these navaratri fasting tips too.

This religiously significant phase in the Hindu Calendar also has deep science behind it. Due to lack of proper interpretation people tend to ignore best practices during the fast as they don’t comprehend the reason behind it.

Sharad Navratri marks the end of monsoon and is a time of  drastic climatic change which tends to effect your immune system.  This is the reason many people shift to lighter food, less on fat and sugars, so as to protect themselves from illnesses.

The fasting is relatively relaxed based on the allowed foods, which itself is an indication that, it is not a religious sacrifice which you will be rewarded for, but the reward lies in ensuring good health by managing your food choices.

Navaratri Fasting Tips

First of all try finding the balance between religious fanaticism  and lifestyle benefits of the moderated diet, through proper interpretation.

It is foolish to imagine that you can spend 300  days of unhealthy eating,drinking and other lifestyle choices  and detoxify and purify your sins in the remaining ones.

ou are fooling your God and yourself if you think that just by fasting for 9 days you will be able to elevate beyond the imbalance of thought and action in the remaining 356 days.

Try to use this phase to instill a sustainable approach towards life and food choices.

Here are some Navaratri Fasting Tips which will help you maximise your fasts:

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  1. TREAT SUGAR LIKE MEAT –When it comes to balancing your appetite sugar is worse than meat, so people quitting meat and overdosing on sugar wont be able to detoxify themselves at all.
  2. STAY HYDRATED WITH EVERYTHING EXCEPT JUICES – Use water, coconut water, green tea, buttermilk, milk to stay hydrated .
  3. MAKE HEALTHY SNACKS INHOUSE RATHER THAN BUYING PROCESSED ONES – Get raw snacks and roast them at home with minimal salt as processed goods have high salt and chemical content which will dehydrate and have a toxic effect on your body.
  4. HAVE FREQUENT SERVINGS IN SMALL SIZES – Distribute fruit or allowed food serving throughout the day rather than having too much of it at one time.
  5. HAVE SEASONAL FRUIT AND VEGETABLES, DON’T OVEREAT THEM – A fast doesn’t imply that you have the freedom of overindulging in fruits, take small servings and avoid them after dark.
  6. DON’T IGNORE PROTEIN RESOURCES – Protein is the most ignored macro nutrient during fasts,  your body needs anywhere between 15-25% of its nutrient needs to be satisfied with protein, due to the low absorptive capacities of vegetarian proteins try to have buttermilk, low fat paneer, greek yoghurt and whey protein.
  7. DON’T FAST FROM EXERCISING – Moderate your exercise don’t stop it.
  8. HAVE YOUR DAILY MEAL POST WORKOUT – The heaviest meal of your day can be placed post your workout for best absorption.
  9. CARE ABOUT YOUR GUT HEALTH – As  this phase is primarily important for detoxification, you need to use it to improve your gut health, don’t indulge in fatty and sugary snacks, have more curd and water to ensure your digestive tract is healthy.

The most important element of the  Navaratri is to detoxify the mind, body and soul. Only sacrificing meat wont do that, you have to rid yourself from worries, indulge in compassionate thinking and use this time to  mold your mind and body to its best version.

The Navaratri fasting tips will help you take care of your food choices while doing all the above.

Nutrition

Improving Food Relations – Fat Loss Done Right

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Fat loss has become such an integral aspect of health and fitness mostly because of lifestyle related issues. This accumulation of multiple bad habits leads to the accumulation of thick layers of fat all over the body, which leads to many adverse outcomes.

65% of the worlds population live in countries where overweight and obesity kills more people than underweight. At the global level, excess body weight is the sixth most important risk factor for ill health. Obesity and overweight were the 5th leading risk for global deaths back in 2014, imagine now.

In India 1 in every 5 men and 1 in every 6 women are overweight.  Strangely in a country where the Global Health Index Indicates half of all children being malnourished, many of the Urban Indians now seek treatment for overweight. The benefits of fat loss are plentiful but it should be done right in order to sustain it.

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FAD DIETS 

These treatments, most often are worse than the lifestyle disorders which lead people to their obese-situation.

Trying to overcompensate with a restrictive curative diet is never sustainable for someone who couldn’t resist temptation in the fist place which lead them to there weight troubles.

These sacrificial and restrictive diets never work because they demand too much from those who have previously shown a lack of self control. Although the temptation of LOSE 10 KGS IN 28 DAYS and LOSE 6 INCHES FAST is immense for someone desperate. But you fail to understand, that something(FAT) which took years and years of bad habits to build wont go away for good this easy. (even if it does, it will lead to weakness and come back as soon as you are off your diet)

The problem in the body is always because of the problem in the mind. All lifestyle changes which ensures sustainable fat loss and good health starts with modifying your approach and habits, before changing what you eat.

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There is no hack, no magic pill or balm which will help you in your fight against your fat. Shortcuts will lead to some weight loss but there short nature will lead to a reversal in the weight loss once you get off the diet, and eventually lead to a fatter you,. Worst of all you will be left with a sense of helplessness at your failed attempt.

Improving Food Relations

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So rather than blindly jumping on to a trending fad diet,  or signing up for a lose weight fast program, you need to start understanding  and developing good food relations.

Food Relations implies developing an understanding of taste and nourishment. For you to understand this a little backdrop of common energy requirements is important.

Our body needs a certain number of calories to sustain itself (in specific amounts of carbs, proteins and fats) if we eat more than this we accumulate weight, if we eat less we lose weight and the third option is balance.

All your daily activities, your age, your current weight and height contribute to the amount of calories you need to maintain your current state.  So for weight loss you will have to eat lesser calories than this but the major question is to what extent?

A person is said to have good food relations if she can identify foods which are nourishing for the body and consumes them in higher proportions as compared to food items which are  only consumed for taste.

Tasty food usually has higher calories in smaller quantities, it is calorie dense, whereas you have to choose to majorly consume food which is nutrient rich, more nutrients in lesser calories.

Food relations will help you create a balance between nutrition and taste so that you consume healthy food without sacrificing on taste. It will help you understand that you shouldn’t stuff yourself with tasty things and you shouldn’t ignore nutritious foods.

When you are eating for the neck up, a little amount is enough to satisfy the taste buds. One piece of chocolate will give you the same taste as 10 pieces, but overeating it will lead to unwanted calories.  When you are eating for the neck down, you will need to eat enough to sustain your bodies nutritive requirements.

Change your Life by Changing your Mind

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Developing healthy food relations is about taking control of your mind.  Its a habit and will take  time to develop. So before forcing yourself into a restrictive diet, use the most powerful part of your body, your mind.

Create a new nutritive perspective, change the way you look at your food, learn how to measure the calories in it, use a scale before you can learn to visibly identify these.  Develop recipes which are balanced in terms of taste and nutrition. Sustainable programs are controlled but don’t involve sacrifice. Slow  sustainable changes are better than fast ones which wont last.

No dietitian or nutritionist can  help you if you are not willing to help yourself. Sustainable fat loss requires a holistic lifestyle change. You should invest in learning more about developing health food relations through a lifestyle coach. A lifestyle coach will  not only customize your food choices as per your lifestyle but also educate and empower you with tools and tricks to develop good food relations.

12 weeks of realigning your mindset and accountability with the right coach(theoretically and practically experienced) will set you up to be your own nutritionist for the rest of your life.  It would not only ensure fat loss in the short term but good holistic health for your entire life.  As movement is a key to fat loss, a goof life coach will carefully assess your current levels and prescribe a progressive fitness program to compliment the change in your eating habits.

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Contact info@swasthyafc.com to apply for the  12 week education and empowerment program now.

 

 

 

Nutrition

Importance of Antioxidants : Vitamin ACE

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Antioxidants safeguard your body by removing free radicals which develop at the end of metabolic reactions inside your body. Antioxidants either prevent them from forming or act as scavengers for these free radicals.

Usually your body does a good job at getting rid of these active radicals by itself. But at certain times, due to fatigue, illness, environmental factors, it fails,  this leads to a condition called Oxidative stress.

“The term is used to describe the condition of oxidative damage resulting when the critical balance between free radical generation and antioxidant defenses is unfavorable.”

This means that there is a mismatch between the number of free radicals being produced and your bodies natural ability to remove them. Oxidative stress leads to a umber of consequent diseases.

“A role of oxidative stress has been postulated in many conditions, including anthersclerosis, inflammatory condition, certain cancers, and the process of aging.”

To prevent this harmful condition and keep the free radicals in check, it is always advised to a have Antioxidants through the your diet.

Antioxidants in Food: Vitamins ACE

Although your body has several enzyme systems which help scavenge free radicals but essential micronutrient(Vitamin) sources which help eliminate them have to be taken through your diet.

Vitamins A( Beta Carotene, which is a precursor to vitamin A), C and E are prime antioxidants which help get rid of free radicals. Food sources which are rich in them should be an integral part of any diet plan as these cant be produced by the body.

VITAMIN A-  It is the first of the antioxidants vitamins triumvirate. This fat soluble vitamin is also good for eyes, skin, bones and immunity. It supports normal functioning of major body organs as well. Here are some common food sources.

Antioxidants

VITAMIN C- The second of the antioxidants vitamins triumvirate of Vitamins A, C and E, vitamin C has many other important uses like enhancing immunity. This water soluble vitamin also helps the body form and repair connective tissues, including bones, blood vessels and skin. Here are some common food sources of the same.

Antioxidants

VITAMIN E- This fat soluble vitamin is really useful in skin, eye and hair problems. It is also useful in protection against neurological diseases like alzheimers other than being one of the most powerful antioxidants. Here are some food sources.

Antioxidants

Antioxidants and India 

The Indian style of cooking includes many natural occurring antioxidants. Vegetables and vegetables and even spices contain vital antioxidants. It is very beneficial to derive your antioxidants from natural sources as far as possible so that there is less risk of commercial adulteration.

The concept of functional foods is gaining prominence because of changing lifestyles and diseases.

“Functional food enters the concept of considering food not only necessary for living but also as a source of mental and physical well-being, contributing to the prevention and reduction of risk factors for several diseases or enhancing certain physiological functions”

So be mindful of what you eat and try to focus more on eating for your body beyond the tongue.

Have a Good Day

Reference: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3249911/

 

Nutrition

10 steps to make your own diet plan

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A customized diet plan along with specific training and proper rest forms the basis of all health regimes. People usually get caught up with a number of fancy things on offer in the market which assure them super fast results, but in reality, weight loss or any healthy endeavor is a gradual process requiring sustained effort.

A modern day diet plan

A modern world diet plan is too mechanized, too complex and involves too many sacrifices.  I always stay away from generalized diet plans. Here are some of the reasons why:

  1. A lot of sacrifices are involved making them impossible to sustain.
  2. People lose interest because of lack of choices.
  3. Its impossible to recondition an individual so suddenly and get them off what they have been eating since they were born.
  4. As soon as you go off the diet plan you come back to your original form.

When I recommend someone what to eat it is in accordance with the following points:

  1. Their lifestyle, which includes preferences of cuisine and taste and their day to day activity.
  2. Their goal, everyone has different ones, some want to lose weight others to gain lean muscle.
  3. Their responsiveness to change. Some people are flexible and can accept and sustain major changes  while for others the transformation takes place in a step by step manner, where we make one change at a time.

How to design your own diet plan

Here are 10 to guide you to design your diet plan:

  • The basic fundamental behind all diet plans is the arrangement of macro nutrients. (Carbohydrates, Fats and Proteins).
  • If someone wishes to lose weight he has to eat less and work(train)more, if someones wishes to gain healthy weight (in form of muscle) they have to eat more and work(train)more.
  • Divide your meals into smaller parts which is spread throughout the day. How much you eat in a single sitting should decrease as the day progresses. (The  chart will give you an idea)

diet plan

The composition of your meal should vary as per the time of the day. Composition of Carbohydrates, Fats and Proteins in your meal cant be the same throughout the day. Refer to the pie charts for example.diet planMornings should comprise of meals which have a higher carb ratio. Being the first meal of the day your body has spent more time in starvation and has the rest of the day to digest and utilize this meal. 
diet plan

Your afternoon meals should have a ration wherein proteins replace some of the carbohydrate ratio. With a considerable higher portion of proteins and significantly lower amount of carbs.

diet plan

In the evenings your carbohydrate intake should be replaced by more fat intake. Therefore the ration of carbohydrates dwarfs to under 10%.

  • Try to find out food items rich in the specific nutrient from what is cooked at your house and arrange them according the points provided, before moving on to the specific check list of food items which are mentioned below.
  • What you eat is as important as when you eat(click here to see the checklist of healthy carbs, proteins and fats).
  • The days that you train more than usual(heavy muscle groups like legs) you are expected to eat more carbohydrates than the days you train lesser.
  • Water is an integral part of every diet plan.
  • Every 7-10 days try to include one meal which you enjoy the most.
  • Avoid simple sugars (even in form of fruits) after the sun sets. (Personally try to avoid white poison(sugar and salt) as much as you can.)
  • Green vegetables are to be considered calorie less and can be freely consumed throughout the day.

Use these ideas to adjust whatever you eat a little bit at first. Once you stick to the changes for a week or two, try to make more changes. As you start seeing results and feeling healthier you will automatically make more changes.  Don’t make it too hard for yourself that you quit altogether, hit the right balance and progress slowly.

Just remember all good diet plans have to keep evolving. Otherwise you get bored with them and quit. If you ever want personalized help in designing your diet plan drop in a mail at info@dinkrit.com

Making a diet plan is not as difficult as the world makes it to be. So start today.

Have a good day.