Browse > Home / Archive by category 'Fats'

Keep a count on your calories

June 30, 2008

New dietary guidelines issued recently blame excess calories, not carbohydrates, for expanding waistlines. Be sure most of your carbs are from whole grains or fruits and vegetables, which supply energy, nutrients, and fibre. Aim for 6 servings of whole grains, 4 servings of fruit, and 5 servings of veggies per day.

Your body needs all three food energy sources to function properly: carbohydrates, protein, and fats. Diets that restrict certain food groups to less than recommended amounts may deprive you of important vitamins and nutrients. For example, diets that strictly limit carbohydrate intake may rob you of the important B vitamins, selenium, magnesium, and fibre found in whole-grain foods or the disease-fighting carotenoids and flavonoids found in fruits and vegetables. For optimum health, stick to carbohydrates that raise blood sugar levels slowly, such as oatmeal, brown rice, barley, and whole-grain breads and cereals. Steer clear of highglycemic index carbs, such as white rice, and cookies, cakes, bread, and pasta made from white flour, which tend to cause unsteady spikes in blood sugar levels.

Written by James · Filed Under Fats 

Eating Behaviour to lose weight and fats

June 20, 2008

People on diets often find themselves on a rebound — a perfectly good diet goes for a toss. You don’t actually need a diet plan — what you need is an eating behaviour insight.

What is eating behaviour?

• Eating behaviour is all about the way we relate to food. Another popular work life related behaviour is “I have no time to eat’ — what with the pressure of work”. An eating behaviour develops and arises from subconscious thoughts that precede or accompany the eating occasion. We try to define our eating behaviour relating it to the way we are.

How do I recognise eating behaviours?

• Eating behaviours are thoughts and feelings that bring about an emotional payoff. They are deeply embedded in our minds and the act of eating certain foods, or events trigger these in a subconscious way. For example people with weight issues display periods of great control along with periods of indulgence as a way of dieting. Others set themselves up for an evening time ‘good food’ after a hard day’s work. Yet another way is to make the weekends count. It’s the typical fasting–feasting way of eating. Another demonstration of an eating behaviour is when food is used to bond. How can I say ‘no’. Quite often emotions of anger, fear, anxiety, shame and sadness, trigger a compelling desire to eat. Most eating behaviours create a self perpetuating cycle leading to weight rebound. We shouldn’t blame ourselves for failed diets – it’s a feedback to us that food requires a more sensitive approach.

How do these behaviours lead to weight gain?

• If we accept emotions have an influential role in what and how we eat – we should accept that this is where weight gain begins. During a day at office we drink 3-4 cups of tea or coffee — subconscious reasoning is either busting, courtesy, or bonding with workmates —while at home it’s just the breakfast cup. So we eat when hungry and when we are not. A full milk cup of coffee or tea packs about 120 calories so you can calculate your calorie intake from 3-4 cups – and 5 days a week. If we look into daily routines we would find many such ‘nonhungry episodes’.

How can Kaya life help me in my eating behaviours?

• Kaya life makes the complete shift from mere diet plans to focusing on eating behaviour. In a sense it moves away from the commonsensical way of doing – which is why it is a new approach. Every client gets a life coach and dietician who take an inventory of foods and eating behaviours. Through several sessions your coach motivates you to see the mindbody split that pleases the mind but distresses the body. Simple changes in the way we think can change behaviour. For example shifting the mind from ‘why am I fat’ to ‘how did I get so fat’ moves our thinking to new possibilities instead of resigned acceptance. Kaya life invites you to look at new behaviours in a warm and sensitive partnership - new eating behaviours that settle comfortably with the mind – this is the keystone for sustainable .

Written by James · Filed Under Fats 

Novel Weight Loss Strategy

June 18, 2008

Here’s a novel weight-loss strategy. Before you take one single bite, think about your last meal — every detail.

It may sound silly, but there’s science behind the idea. People in a study who thought about their last meal before snacking munched less. So before your next nibble, picture your lunch plate.

Mind over matter
It made no difference of how tempting the treat was. When people were asked to remember what they had for lunch that day prior to eating a popcorn snack, they ate less of the munchy stuff — regardless of whether it was seasoned or served plain. All of which suggests that appetite may be linked to food memory cues.

Daily strength for the dieter
Give yourself some superhuman willpower with these tricks for resisting dietary temptations: Scrap the three squares . . . and eat smaller, more frequent meals. Gorge on whole-grain bread with olive oil before a meal. Eating some healthy fat first quells the urge to splurge. Take a nap. If you are sleep deprived it can damage a diet. Are you eating smart? Find out for yourself!

Written by James · Filed Under Fats 

Benefits of Ultrasonic Lipolysis

June 16, 2008

Ultrasonic Lipolysis is a non-surgical procedure that helps you to get rid of unwanted fat from your abdomen, thighs and hips. It is similar to the Lithotripsy treatment which is used to break kidney stones. Ultrasound waves are focused on the fat cells through a transducer. These High Intensity Focalised Ultrasound (HIFU) waves target fat cells up to 1.5 cm below the . All claims in this article are made by Dr Anne Hawkins, MBBS, MD. She is a Poland returned obesity consultant who claims to have introduced instant slimming technology from France. She answers a few questions.

How long does it take?
Dr Anne: A typical Ultrasonic Lipolysis session takes one hour.

So is there any surgery involved?
Ultrasonic Lipolysis is a completely non-surgical procedure. It requires neither cuts nor stitches, no anaesthesia, or injections. All you need to do is lie down and read, watch television or chat. It’s completely painless with no burns, scars or redness. And you can walk out immediately after the treatment and carry on with your daily routine.

How safe is it?
Dr Anne: Ultrasonic Lipolysis is completely safe. Only fat cells are targeted without affecting other organs. There are absolutely no side effects. And you can expect to lose 1 to 3 inches permanently around your abdomen, hips or thighs, whichever area the patient chooses to target.

Is the fat loss permanent?
Dr Anne: Yes, it is. Unlike dieting and exercising which only reduces the size of the fat cells, this procedure actually reduces the number of fat cells in your body. Fat cells do not increase in number after maturity, so the loss is permanent.

Like trimming body fat?
Dr Anne: It’s called ‘Precise Body Contouring’. You can target any area of your body and precisely lose those inches.

Written by James · Filed Under Fats 

Importance of flat abs for women

June 15, 2008

The relationship betweem women and a set of taut abs goes back a long way. And in the Indian context, the midriff-baring sari is a testament to that fact. Think Dil Se and who can forget the sexy image of Malaika Arora-Khan’s gyrations in the runaway hit Chaiya Chaiya.

And you’ll see the female midriff bared to sexy effect in many Bollywood songs as well as on gymtoned physiques. But any expert will tell you that the abdominals are among the hardest muscles to exercise. Add to that a combination of factors — poor diet and lack of exercise — and getting a healthy and flat set of abs becomes that much harder. So then how important is it for women to work out this section of muscles? Is it for purely cosmetic reasons? For hardcore health reasons or a combination of both?

For those like college student Rima Tellis, looking good goes beyond the face. It means looking good all over, and that includes the abdominals as well. “I don’t mind it when guys check out my abs, and I quite like the compliments I get. I don’t follow a strict exercise regimen but I work out my abdominals when I do cardio,” she says.

And for others, looking sexy and feeling healthy goes along with the profession. Like Ayesha Shroff, who is a journalist as well as a dancer. “I like to stay in shape because I am a dancer. I work out my abs three times a week. I do cardio for overall toning. I do crunches, that includes the normal, cross-leg, bent knee and straight leg crunches to keep my abdominals in shape. Because I have a good metabolism and because I have been doing this for years, It didnt take me very long to get results,” says Ayesha. And yet, women can attain that lean look without fearing that if they do stomach crunches, their abs will look ‘un-feminine’. Says holistic health guru Mickey Mehta, “It’s important for women to work their abdominal muscles too but they needn’t get the ‘ripped’ look, as it is unhealthy. For women (and indeed for men as well) yoga and pilates can help them exercise their core muscles and achieve the desired results. The idea is not to look ripped and a six pack actually isn’t all there is to abdominal muscles. They are the ‘show’ muscles of the abdominals. The idea is to keep the muscles firm.”

For most women, the rigours and rhythms of daily life leaves them little time to exercise. But yet, strong abs can actually increase one’s productivity by by making your lower back stronger and less prone to injury. That means you save on medical bills and visits to the doctor.

Celebrity fitness instructor Deanne Panday elaborates, “It is very important for women to have strong abdominal muscles as apart from looking sexy, it also keeps women from getting lower back pain and other incidental aches. A strong set of abdominal muscles helps maintain the posture as well. Stabilising core abdominal muscles stabilise the spine, which is involved in every movement that you do. In fact, if you core
abdominal muscles are weak, you can get a jerk even if you’re sitting in a bumpy rickshaw!”

Actor Teejay Sidhu is no stranger to a good workout. “Women are always trying to look good and feel good. And working your lower body, be it for your butt, abs or thighs, also has great health benefits. For women tend to put on weight around those areas as they grow older and their metabolism slows down. I have been part of football teams and apart from that I love cycling too,” she says.

While celebrity trainer Leena Mogre feels that flabby abs scream ‘poor fitness’, she maintains that the spine gains the most from good abdominals. “Extra weight around the stomach combined with weak abdominal muscles puts a strain on the back muscles, puts a strain on and leads to an irregular curvature of the spine. And when a woman is wearing a sari, there is nothing sexy about having a flabby belly. Looking sexy is healthy too!”
So, there you have it, ladies. Need any more reason to get ‘crunching’?

Written by James · Filed Under Fats 

Next Page »