Showing posts with label lifestyle. Show all posts
Showing posts with label lifestyle. Show all posts

Monday, September 11, 2017

What happens when you skip meals?



A shapely sexy figure and flat abs is a dream that every girl sees. They work out, give up junk and follow healthy diet. Do all girls do that? No, they don’t. In an attempt to lose weight or inches quickly, often many people are seen fasting. Little did they know that skipping meals is no time saver and can pose bigger problems than they imagined. When skipping meals becomes a habit or a part of a dieting plan, it has serious long-term implications on the body like development of some chronic conditions or even gaining weight instead of losing.

Here are scary things that might happen if you skip meals regularly:

Low glucose level: Your blood glucose level rise after meals. It remains constant if you don’t exercise (hence recommended to work out if you want to control the level). A long gap of fasting causes your blood glucose level to fall, leaving you feel sleepytired and exhausted. Mind you, glucose is the source of energy for blood.


Low metabolism: Low glucose means low metabolism. Its simple. A low metabolism leads to dip in energy, imbalance in body and metal activity and improper eating patterns as you tend to eat more the next time.

Poor performance. As scary as low metabolism sounds, equally scary is poor performance. Not only you become physically slow but also mentally you are unable to concentrate and make quick decisions. Hampers your professional and personal life majorly!



Overweight:  Those who skip meals to reduce weight, rather tend to gain weight. If you eat less number of times you typically should, your brain signals you to eat more when you get food loading your body with calories which are not required at that moment. This leads to slow digestion and bloating of stomach. Ouch!






May lead to diabetes or excess calories: Ignoring the hunger pangs of your body will drain all glucose of your body leading to low level of energy and high stress. It’s your body’s natural tendency to hog sweets or junk food to replenish the loss of glucose. This also happens when stress level is hgh. So, this leads to excess of sugar or calories in your blood. So much for skipping meals yeah?

Acidity: You may experience acid reflux or nausea if your stomach is empty for too long. An old long habit of staying hungry may cause heartburn, acidity or dry cough. Skipping meals gets scarier hence.

Brain drain. The brain’s exclusive fuel, glucose, is compromised within four to six hours if you have not eaten. That’s because the glucose stored in the liver as glycogen, runs out during this time period. The liver is like a traffic cop for blood sugar. When blood glucose dips too low, the liver converts glycogen into glucose and releases it into the blood. But if its glycogen has been depleted, the body turns to less efficient fuelling methods resulting which you start to feel anxiety, depression, have mood swings or always hungry.

Bad breath: Your tongue produces saliva as you chew food. Long breaks of skipping meals make your tongue dry and create a breeding ground for bacteria, hence causing bad breath. Remember, the same happens when you fall ill?

 

Few tips to stay healthy and lose weight without skipping meals.


      












  1. Eat small frequent meals instead of one large meal. Recommended to eat in an interval of every 2-3 hours
  2. Include fruits, veggies and whole grains in your food. Chuck junk for good. Replace refined/processed sweets with natural sweeteners like dates or fruits.
  3. Water intake should be 8-10 glasses every day.
  4. Drink water before meals, not during meals. Avoid drinking water immediately after meals.
  5. Exercise daily for atleast 30 minutes. Hitting the gym is not possible we understand. So go for brisk walk, ditch the elevators and take stairs or exercise indoors.
Image courtesy- Pixabay

Saturday, May 21, 2016

Cafe Hi5



Café Hi5 reopened this year and buzzed the market with a new menu and expanded place. The interiors are quite cool with funky graffiti on walls and ceiling. The cafe has separate space dedicated for private parties, match screenings, DJ and usual diners. Music was excellent. Credit to the DJ who did not stick to the usual Punjabi songs but played kicky foot tapping numbers.

Chicken Lollipop


We started with paneer tikka, chicken lollipop and fish tikka. Paneer was fresh and not greased with oil. The good thing about the whole experience was that management was open to feedback and ready to improvise. The manager sat with us and tasted paneer tikka when I told him about high salt content. Chicken lollipop and fish tikka were well marinated and soft, juicy from inside. The nice smoky flavor was appealing. Papad & Mint chutney accompanied the dishes. The spread had a great presentation.







The manager showed us the whole place. The showstopper was the bar and they claim that to be the only one in India with tap bar! Take a look at the picture!
Tap bar- The only of this kind in India

Italian Smooch
Juicy Jullian



Chef's own innovation -Juicy Jullian came to us when we asked for a non-aerated mocktail. It was a mix of crushed pineapples, orange juice, mint leaves and sweet lime slice. Mind you, there was no added sugar in the drink. It felt extremely good and refreshing. Italian Smooch is another refreshing mocktail to watch out for. Peachy, minty and no sugar, the drink is a perfect summer cooler. I highly recommend the drinks to all mocktail and non-alcohol consumers.








We scanned the whole menu for something interesting and ordered thin crust veg pizza on manager's recommendation. I sipped Nutella Hazelnut Shake in the meanwhile which was filling and good. Loved the perfect crispy thin base of pizza.  Unlike the usual pizza, this was not overloaded with cheese!  Cheese topping on pizza was fresh and it was not high on salt either.





The manager insisted us to try a dish named “Dal chawal beyond imagination”. The dish lives up to its name and gets a standing ovation from us. Now who would have imagined spotting daal chawal in a hip hop café menu? With the first bite of it, our appetite multiplied and our curios minds jumped out again asking about the masala of it. A simple yet delicious arhar daal and steamed rice with crispy fried potato balls and papad was an out of the box experience! So we now know where to find good healthy home cooked food in Hauz Khas.

The concept behind designing such a dish is to provide economical meal for a single person or twin sharing basis, since it is difficult to find home cooked traditional simple food in cafes.



Brownie
With tummy almost full and guilt tugging at health consciousness within ourselves, made us try the ceasar salad which was a mix of assorted veggie leaves, lettuce, olives topped with mayonnaise. It turned out to be a bad choice as we left more than half of it uneaten. It wasn’t good. Anyway, the last thing we tried was brownie. It was no different than a piece of overtly sweet black forest cake. I was a little disappointed since a brownie is light and non creamy that melts in mouth. But the presentation was nice. It was a compensation for the ceasar salad.

Saturday, April 23, 2016

SENS wellness clinic media launch

A new sensation in town- SENS CLINIC, launched in New Delhi.


A high stressed and imbalanced life that we humans live is the root cause to many
diseases and illness, most of which happen at a young age. Hormonal imbalance, anxiety, pollution and wrong lifestyle just add some more flavors to it, leading to irrational brainstorming on the treatment of such diseases. While surgeries or allopathy may have the cure, they certainly don’t come without side effects. Also, without appropriate root cause analysis, you may have the disease come back or in worse case never go. So there is a need of treating human body holistically and that’s where SENS fit in the picture.

An initiative of Primal MD and Wave group, SENS comes as a sure winner with a vision to spearhead the current healthcare model, realigning the tropical researches in medicine along with the ancient learning of Ayurveda. They focus on 360 degree approach of healing through mind, body and soul.

A panel of like-minded doctors and healthcare professionals who recognize the gap in our current healthcare model have come together to address the true needs of people. SENS anti ageing and wellness clinic is bringing together the best Indian and international practices, medical practitioners and latest technologies for holistic wellness.

The occasion had a panel of eminent speakers- Dr. Graham Simpson, Founder & Medical Director Primal MD, Dr. Debjani Chakraborty, Aesthetic Physician, Shanum Chaddha, Director Wave Group, Dr. Kalpana Shekhawat, Nutrition Expert and Mr. Sanjay Sachdeva, Executive Director, SENS clinic.
Dr. Simpson stressed upon preventive measures to keep healthy. Two of his most highlighted points were- To control blood sugar and to avoid frozen/preserved food. Diabetes is the root cause of evil which may even lead to death if not treated on time. In a shocking statement he revealed that India is the diabetic capital of the world! SENS targets to treat such diseases and take preventive measures as well.

Located in New Delhi’s South Ex-2, SENS has a fully equipped state of art clinic with 9 treatment rooms and best of industry doctors offering newest treatments.  They have programs as follows to choose from-
  1. Weight Loss Program (WLP)
  2. Bioidentical Hormone Replacement Program (BHRT)
  3. WellMan/ WellWoman Program (WMP/ WWP)
  4. Ultimate Anti-Ageing Program (UAP)
  5. Reversing Diabetes Program (RDP)
  6. Specialised Cardio-Metabolic Programs (Program 3 + Specialised Tests)
Under the art of aesthetics, SENS offers skincare, body sculpting and hair care that include skin rejuvenation, lifting and firming skin, weight management, hair restoration, transplant and many more customized services. The makeover clinic offers programs like hair & eyelash extension and makeup studio.
High time we take our wellness seriously, before it becomes irreversible.
Visit www.sensclinic.com or visit the clinic at M-10, 2nd floor, South Ex-II, New Delhi-49

Friday, August 28, 2015

FitBit Bloggers Meet

Blogger meets by Indiblogger are always fun, well organized and substantial. We eagerly look forward to such brand engagement activities because of the knowledge we are enlightened with, networking with great bloggers and take a break from hectic schedules. Post successful meets like Wordup, AmbiPur, Nokia, Dove and many more, FitBit anticipated a successful bloggers meet and joined hands with Indiblogger.

For beginners, FitBit is a San Francisco based company that makes wearable fitness bands which monitor your fitness. On 25th August, the Oberoi ballroom bustled with fitness experts, physical trainers, media and bloggers waiting for the event to begin at 11 am. Thankfully I made it in a nick of time with fellow blogger Ruchi. Show host Archana Vijaya savored all attention as she hosted the show in her smart blue dress. Importance of fitness and ways to keep fit was then introduced by Jamal Shaikh, editor Men’s Health Magazine. (He is cute :-)

Woody Scal
With Jamaal and Ruchi
FitBit Chief Revenue Officer Woody Scal then spoke about the company and the products they have launched in India. His presentation opened with a concern on growing obesity in the United States. Also, health reports have shown a trend of weight gain among many Indians, making them obese and pushing them towards various health risks, including cardiac arrest. That’s where FitBit fits in with their tagline “Discover a whole new world of fitness” where they bring a range of wearable bands. The slim wrist bands track the number of steps you take, number of active minutes, counts the calorie you burnt. Not only that, it also tracks your sleep hours, quality of sleep and wakes you up with silent alarm without disturbing your partner. You can sync your stats to your mobile, see real time progress and help you challenge your buddies to achieve fitness goals. Fitness routine turns absolutely fun with these FitBit bands.

The bands are categorized as
–Zip, One, Flex and Charge- For everyday fitness- Ranged between 4000 to 12999 (With basic features catering to daily activities like walking or light jogging, people like me who don’t do strenuous exercise)

-Charge HR- for active fitness- Priced at Rs.13,000  (Suits people who workout daily or are active in gym or running)

-Surge- for performance fitness - Priced at Rs. 20,000 (basically suits professionals or sportsmen) A detailed comparison of features is present in - https://www.fitbit.com/in/compare

Selfie with tech Guru Raiv Makhni

Post Woody’s detailed presentation, Tech Guru Rajiv Makhni took over the show. Any gadget launch is incomplete without the expert’s words. He infused energy among the audience with his wit and questions to all. Jamal and Rajiv together engaged the audience quite well. They invited two FitBit promoters on stage with their Fitbit bands asking them to workout. Real time stats was displayed on screen for us. The session was thorough fun and enjoyable. It ended with questions from audience to Woody followed by networking lunch. No Indian food in lunch disappointed many like me. We settled for cakes, spring rolls, pastries, cookies, sandwich and juice.
Photo-bombed Shwetabh
Got to meet many wonderful people during that time. Its always nice to catch up with old friends Dipali SharmaShwetabh Mathur,  Dr Manoj DubeyRahul PrabhakarYogita Agarwal, Judy . Photobombed Shwetabh and I promise I will do that every time! Was introduced to the lovely Dr Mandira Adhikari and Dr Preeti Chauhan. Dr. Mandira had recognized me through my photos and met me like an old friend. A good observation she has!
Had I stayed back a little longer, I would have met Shraddha Kapoor and Tiger Shroff who were invited during the press meet of FitBit in the second half. 

The Fitbit brand launch was overall exciting and the products too are of my interest. I exercise moderately every day. So I feel, the bands are a good way to keep a check on fitness level. If only they were a little discounted for the Indian market. Another limitation of the bands is they aren’t water proof. A little disappointing for swimmers here.

We happily headed home with Fitbit Tshirts, dreaming to own one band soon. The products are available on Amazon.in for now. Go find  your fit!

Sunday, April 26, 2015

#CelebrateLifeAtIvy

#CelebrateLifeAtIvy by owning a dream home atIvy estate, an 85 acre estate with 34 acres of greenery and open spaces. Join the 1600 happy families already living here. Check out this walkthrough video and decide for yourself

The simple things that bring smile to many faces, are present around us in every shape and form. All we need is a knack to recognize them and let those simple things flow. Why wait for special occasions? We humans tend to make things complicated as we have forgotten those little wonders. What makes me happy in such Byzantine? Oh, I love bringing in back those simple things to life. In other words making others happy makes me happy!
Happiness is a whole family eating and watching a movie together. Our life seems to run on a fast track, that the joy of togetherness is long lost. A warm meal while watching a good humorous film or chatting, not only bonds the family but also brings cheer to everyone. What’s better than seeing a happy family sharing the simple moments of joy? How does one wait for a special time? This is my inspiration for a happy life.

We keep waiting for summer vacations or weekends or family weddings to break our monotonous routine and spend a happy time. My thought is little different. Why wait for a weekend. You may feel at peace in a spa even on a weekday after work. I quote my example to everybody who crib on job and no-time-for-hobby. I loved writing, so I turned my hobby into a career. I draw happiness from the work that I enjoy the most. Writing. My hobby was my passion, and now a career. So why not live in the moment and feel the everyday joys? My mother does the same. She loves plants and the terrace garden that she has maintained.  She spends time with the plants, literally talks to them and the happiness that she gets is priceless! Mom does not wait for special events to happen. She draws joys from her present! Yay! Like mom like daughter!

When I had moved to Delhi and started working, I started volunteering at animal NGOs and shelter houses. My deep concern for strays almost made me an animal activist. (‘Almost’ because my full time job barely left me with time for such service during weekdays). I started to feed the strays of my colony. In no time, I befriended all dogs. Feeding them, playing and spending time with them became my daily routine. I loved to see the dogs welcome me by wagging their tails and rushing to me for their daily treat as I returned from work. I took the sick ones to vet, medicated the injured ones and spent most of my free time with 11 dogs of my colony. I was named “The dog girl” by my neighbors. Soon they too joined me in looking after the strays. Those dogs taught us harmony, love & care. Nothing could have made me happier then. I was able to bring happiness and refreshment to the life of those innocent dogs. A mutual love and learning it was! The simple gesture of kindness always spreads joys and makes you happy. Everyday became a special day. Even today as I moved to Gurgaon post marriage, I befriended a stray and named him Bruno. A furry, brown Bruno has all the capacity to lift my mood after a bad day. As I was upset yesterday over a household issue, Bruno came running to me as I stepped out of the house. He rubbed his head against my knee, raised his paw as a gesture of hello and wagged his tail. I forgot my worries instantly. Happiness come in small packages. Big events are not required you see.

Happiness is seeing calmness and smile on your husband’s face as he enters the house. And the reason behind that smile? You got a Sandalwood incense stick, fresh flowers in the vase, changed the linens and put on soft music. He leaves his office worries outside the house and stands by you, relaxed, rejuvenated and happy. Who said simple things don’t make people smile? Add joys in little doses and make the world happy!
Donate your old books and clothes to orphanages or shelter homes. You would notice how you added cheer & joys to their life. Those who were deprived of these basic necessities, would bless you whole heartedly. Simple and satisfactory, isn’t it?

Tuesday, March 18, 2014

DALCOSO: Health Book :Day 77

Ok, before you get any ideas, lemme tell you DALCOSO is a dish. This is my experiment in the kitchen and the dish name has of course been christened by me. At last, after a long break from blogging, I am back to usual business. This is the 77th day of the year, so the 77th post of my YEAR HEALTH BOOK.

Daliya (oatmeal) can be really boring, yeah? Why not add fun to it and make it interesting? I returned home from work after a busy day. While looking at the jars in the kitchen, I felt like skipping dinner for today. So much is the ordeal to cook for a single person! However, daliya came to my rescue and a new dish was born. Dalcoso is a mix of Daliya, Corns and Soya bean :-)

Ingredients- Daliya (oats), A cup of sweet corns, a handful or cup of soya beans, 2 tomatoes& onions, a spoonful of oil and sesame seeds
Optional- Coriander leaves, green/red chillies, pepper

Prep time- 15 minutes

Method-
1. Pressure cook daliya, corns and soya beans for 8-10 minutes.
Meanwhile chop onions and tomatoes.

2. Heat oil in pan. Add sesame seeds to crackle. Fry onions and tomatoes.

3. Add daliya, corns and soya beans to the pan. Add a little water if you want to have it like soup. Add salt, pepper, green chillies to taste. Stir for few minutes.

4. Add coriander leaves to garnish. Serve hot.

A simple and healthy meal ready within no time. Needless to mention the nutrient value of this priceless dish, yet let me revise for the sake of all readers. Daliya is high in dietary fiberproteins  and very low on fat or calories.
Corn is rich in fiber, antioxidants and minerals.
Soya bean acts a source of protein, carbohydrates and healthy fat.
Lets make food interesting and life healthy.

Stay healthy stay blessed!

Thursday, January 30, 2014

Missed the gym? Health book- Day 30


Following a daily gym routine is not easy. However when you get used to it, then missing a day is not easy either!  I have had loads of work in office and hence been returning home quite late from past two days. I regret missing out on my exercise schedule like this. For those who face this on and off ,here are few easy tips to follow and move towards a healthier you.

-Take the stairs
. Avoid getting onto elevators or lifts. Some physical activity will keep your heart healthy.


-Walk- Walk some distance and walk briskly. The days I miss my exercise regime, I brisk walk from the main road till home. Almost a kilometer. At least that satisfies me that I did some physical movement! Jokes apart, this activity keeps your blood circulation in good form, tones your legs muscles and controls body weight.


-Stretch- Take short breaks from your work between your schedule to stretch your arms and legs. This awakens your sleeping inactive muscles and regulates the right amount of oxygen in your body. Stretching also relieves you of stress and tension besides shaking off the slumber from your eyes.

-Sweep the floor- This is the best exercise for home that gives you twin benefits. Cleans your house and burns calories too! The best way to do it is mopping the floor while bent on your knees. This shapes your lower abdomen and keeps your calorie count under control.

-Don't shy away from office sports- Participate in sports day or team games whenever you get a chance to. Sports is the best alternative to gym. I am not talking about carom or video games please!

-Dance it away- During the Diwali party in my office, I knew that I would miss my gym routine that day. I stepped on the dance floor and danced away my calories! Sounds cool isn't it? Do the same in wedding and parties when you know that you wont be able to exercise! Dancing will improve digestion, burn calories, warm up all muscles of the body and makes you look friendly & confident! That's a tried and tested method :-)

Be healthy be happy! Follow one healthy activity each day and make a positive difference in your life!

Monday, January 20, 2014

For your eye only- Day 20





Got tired eyes after a long day at work? Getting puffy eyes or dark circles?  Pain in eyes or head post working on laptops/computers for more than 10 hours? Ah these are our modern day curse created by our own self. Blame it on lifestyle, blame it on working environment, it is taking a toll on everybody. Here are some tips to help you relax your eyes-


  • Rub your palms in the morning when you wake up, and place them on your eyes. The palms should feel the eyes’ socket. Make sure there is no pressure on the eyes. This activity can be done several other times during the day to rest your eyes.
  • Blink your eyes as many times as you can. Don’t keep staring at your computer screens.
  • Take short breaks from your laptop/computer screen time to time. If on a break, don’t look at your workstations or phones.
  • Sleep well, sleep on time. Lack of sleep causes dark circles and puffiness. Keep your mobile phones away for god sake! That is one of the reasons I was so reluctant to install chat applications in my phone.And now when I have committed the sin, I keep staring at the screen in dark, hence straining my eyes and exhausting them. Continuous exposure to mobile/laptop screen only dries your eyes.
  • Use general eye drops that suit your eyes. Something that gives a cooling effect will be more beneficial.  Put few drops in your eyes, close your eyes and relax. The irritants or dirt in your eyes gets washed out by the drops and hydrates them.
  • Use aloe gel or orange eyes mask. Easily available in the market. Tie it for 10 minutes and let your eyes sooth.
Home remedy for puffiness-

  • Soak tea bags in warm water and let them cool. Close your eyes and place the cooled bags on your eyes. See a noticeable difference within a month.


  • Dip 2 cotton pads in chilled milk and place on your eyelids for about 25-30 minutes. This helps in water retention of your eyes and cool them off.
  • Place 2 slices of cucumber on eyes and relax. Cucumber’s cooling properties relaxes and hydrates your eye area.
  • Peel, wash dry a potato and grate it. Tie the grated potato in a thin cloth and place it on your eyes. Alternatively, press the grated pulp to squeeze the juice out of it, soak cotton in the juice and place them over your eyes. Potato starch acts as an anti-inflammatory agent to ease irritation in eyes.
  • Bye eye cream or gel to reduce dark circles. I recently got one from Avon. The NATURAL’S hydra cool eye mask can be applied on eyelids and under eyes for 10 minutes and washed off. It really helps to combat eye puffiness and dark circles! Available on https://www.avon.co.in/avon-in/skincare/masks.html   and Flipkart as well.
Other brands like Vichy have medicated eye roll-on for the same purpose at a little higher price.




First image from: Pixabay.com 

Monday, February 15, 2010

My name is Khan

Friday,12th Feb'10 experienced a massive crowd towards the multiplexes for the awaited KHAN and KAJOL starrer 'My name is Khan'. The movie was given a five star rating by the leading dailies and media went crazy publicising the movie.Surprisingly my sis was able to e-book tickets for Sunday, so I watched it yesterday.
Frankly speaking,I dont think the movie deserves a 5- star. Infact I believe that it was over-rated. Undoubtedly the message which was conveyed was good and valuable.Characters portrayed the real incidents so well that I found 50 percent people sobbing.

The story was well woven around the plot of 9/11 and the strong consequences on the lives of the people with specially the Muslims being racially discriminated and abused. SRK has delivered a powerful performance as a autism patient.I am sure this message has been conveyed to all that an autistic is different from an abnormal and also has desires to fulfil,a life to live,a right to be well treated. Kajol, needless to say was remarkable again. The trauma,the fright, the anxiety post 9/11 was very well played by the actors. 'My name is khan and I am not a terrorist' was the theme of the movie.However the second half of the film was stronger than the first half. The first half seemed to be a fairy tale cum merry go round story. Music by Shankar, Ehsaan,Loy was good ,so was the cinematography.

I felt the movie was a little above average.If I had to rate it,i'd give it a three star or genoursouly a 3.5.  A five star was over publicity I guess. If there are SRK fans who read my blog,please don't kill me.I am rating the movie ,not SRK.

King Khan has done a great job. Karan Johar ,I think,had consulted some astrologist,so for the first time, the name of his movie doesn't begin with  K. But the title does have 'K'han in it,his lucky charm ....Hehe..