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Weighty Issues Of Corona

Discussion in 'Snippets of Life (Non-Fiction)' started by sln, Sep 7, 2021.

  1. sln

    sln Platinum IL'ite

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    Weighty issues of Corona

    Two days back, my good friend Ganesan[75] was not his normal self and appeared preoccupied. After our customary seniors’ meeting he wanted to have a word with me in private. With a guilty look he told me that he had put on weight during the pandemic with an increase of eight kilos. Even under normal circumstances, he sways from one side to another side like a typical Tanjore doll and he is prone to twisting his ankles . Fifteen days of regular walking did not bring even a semblance of relief to the weighty issue . Thank God that only a week back I had checked my weight. It had gone up by 800 grams. I took this as an early warning signal and switched over to continental breakfast minus egg and definitely I feel lighter these days.

    Ganesan is a fine gentleman and I wanted to help him to get the weight off his mind. After consulting my brother a Sidda enthusiast I suggested that that he should boil 1.5 liters of water with 2 teaspoons of Jeera and 2.5 teaspoons of Horsegram and start drinking this, instead of normal water. I was reassured after what I confirmed after googling. Still, the prefix Horse before gram made me nervous about possible reactions and I made sure that Ganesan indemnified me in the presence of a witness. He has also switched over to continental breakfast in the place of AKKI ROTI and MYSORE MASALA DOSA. Obviously his face has become pale and the prescription is under trial.

    After this episode I started observing people on the jogging track [almost two kms] and spotted quite a few Tupmans[PiICKWICK PAPERS] and Sancho Panzas[DON QUIXOTE] sauntering around but fortunately face masks saved them from being identified. As for the middle aged women, suffice to say that many have switched over from jeans/T shirts to Salwar Kameez for obvious reasons. They are in a hurry to avoid any conversation.

    One more dimension to this weighty problem is the increase in the waistline demanding fresh set of clothes particularly trousers. While there is space and extra cloth in the joints for normal trousers stingy jeans makers don’t give scope for alteration. That is the American concept of use and throw unlike Indians who believe in giving waist room. The system of rotating used trousers among brothers in our family [in practice for the last sixty years] is not possible because they are also facing the same problem of the battle of the bulge.

    Our maid Manjula came to work after forty five days. She has been with us for five years. With a fully paid holiday during the Corona days she had added inches all over. After customary greeting she loaded the dish washer obviously daunted by the vessels greeting her in the kitchen sink. The fridge which resembled a ware house had to be emptied to create space for fresh arrivals. My daughter told me that Manjula was panting and puffing while on the job. Maids are the most affected during this period.

    Viji, a girl in her mid forties and our neighbour complained that her husband was asking for fried items like vada,bonda with evening tea. Obviously he had been pampered this way in the office canteen. She also found a secret that her husband must have a sweet after lunch, what you call dessert. Viji is naturally tempted to partake in the culinary delicacies. While her husband gets rid of the effect of excesses, by a regular work out on the tread mill, she was unable to do so by being occupied with dishing out varieties of eatables day after day.


    While we have discussed ad nauseum ,the impact of corona on our personal life,economic impact etc, the issue of battle of the bulge has not been given enough weight and how we are going to get rid of the problem .A healthy range of BMI is between 20 and 25 .[body mass index calculated with reference to the height] If we want to lose 1 kg we have to burn around 7000 calories .My fitbit watch tells me that I burn around 100 calories after walking for 45 minutes at 4.2 kms per hour. Simultaneously I have to reduce my intake. My daughter gets irritated when I have a nutritional chart with calories and Glycemic index with me on the dining table. All our efforts go waste when Saibaba prasadam is offered every Thursday and a jealous friends manage to produce Tirupathi laddus on a regular basis.

    The threat of impending festivals following one after other is real. We don’t follow the old system of viradham before virundhu ,a system designed to balance our intake. Thiruvalluvar has beautifully explained the concept of what is being bandied about now as intermittent fasting.

    We as a family are weighing all options open to us and we will pull our weight to get out of the jam. The question however is whether to start straight away or wait for the festivals to be over, as after all Navrathiri and Deepavali are celebrated only once a year. What is your advice?
     
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  2. Needtobestrong

    Needtobestrong Platinum IL'ite

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    Very entertaining and relevant post Sir..
    This pandemic is very tough time for home makers as all family members would demand for special dishes to be made..kids, elders, spouse everyone would have their own preference for food.
    No outdoor activities, staying indoors, no social life , fluctuating weather conditions, staying glued to TV, laptop, smart phone and etc all make people eat out of boredom..
    Everyday in my apartment complex I see Zomato, Swiggy etc being delivered.
    Eating new and tasty dishes seems to be entertainment for most people.
    Very easy to gain weight and become overweight.
    I myself have been guilty of craving for hot tea and Pakodas/Chats/pizzas when it rained.
    Also I have felt irritation when in laws would keep changing menu to include special dishes out of boredom of eating same dishes again and again as that would mean more works for me.
    The flip side of the story -
    unavailability and absence of maid during Covid situation especially lockdown has made lot of people to forcibly stretch their muscles and do their chores themselves , resulting in losing a lot of unwanted fat. Sweeping and mopping of home is a pretty hectic workout and even a person indulging in high calorie food can stay very slim by doing house cleaning everyday without fail.
     
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  3. sln

    sln Platinum IL'ite

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    you have a made a realistic portrayal of the scene and I felt that I was also enjoying the pakkoras and tea on the rainy day. When we do sweeping and mopping as a means of exercise we enjoy but hate it when we do it out of compulsion. As for seniors osteoporosis prevents them bending and stretching leading to shocking development of the belly. Most of the seniors demand varieties as they have been pampered by their wives for whom cooking was an art and passion. For my friend with eight kilos increase in weight it is going to take 650 days of walking for an hour a day unless the Horse gram water comes to his rescue. In my case, hope that some good samaritan in IL will suggest that I should enjoy the festivals and to hell with the diet regimen.SLN
     
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  4. Viswamitra

    Viswamitra IL Hall of Fame

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    Dear SLN Sir,

    I blame it on weighing scale when I see more weight than what I like to see! One thing I know is waiting for festival to be over only makes the problem stronger to solve. The moderation in food, liberal water intake, decent level of activities in the form of exercise, mental stability, etc. play a major role in weight management. Sometimes, depression, anxiety, etc. play a major role in gaining weight as well especially one is taking medication.
     
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  5. Gauri03

    Gauri03 Moderator Staff Member IL Hall of Fame

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    If only all things in life were as easy as gaining weight is! As you said, the festivals are celebrated just once a year. Perhaps they are worth the weight? : ) I think the pandemic triggered one of two responses amongst the work-from-home/stay-at-home folks — one group slammed the brakes and took to the couch, and the other felt unshackled and threw itself headlong into self-improvement. I was in the first category unfortunately. Took the early months of the lockdown easy and the pounds seemed to materialize out of thin air. Mercifully I wised up to it in time and curbed the mindless munchies. The slog back to a less embarrassing BMI is on!
     
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  6. sln

    sln Platinum IL'ite

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    The possibility of defective weighing scale did not occur to me though the excuse may not be valid as we are using the same weighing scale. Restlessness leads to munching to divert and this definitely causes problems. Dry eyes and stupid and repetitive coverage of depressing news make it still worse. To some extent deep breathing and meditation keep depressing thoughts at bay.
    Regards
    SLN
     
  7. sln

    sln Platinum IL'ite

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    Thanks for the FB. You have done the right thing my making a mid course correction. No problem is unsurmountable as long as we are aware of the problem, do periodical introspection and take up committed mid course correction. Every kilo added physically adds two kilos mentally.
    SLN
     
  8. Srama

    Srama Finest Post Winner

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    Dear @sln sir,

    a lovely write up and I enjoyed reading it. All of us fall into certain categories and my personality is such that with work routine, I tend to overeat or fall of eating and workout routines. I was one of those people who lost weight during the lockdown - perhaps I felt better in control of my day and work didnot dictate what I ate or when! Back to school now, I am already eating a little more! I know I don't need it for energy but that emotional element of the day seems to dictate that.

    Talking of pants, suspenders sir suspenders - I was infact surprised to see quite a few older men with suspenders in the recent past - perhaps the waistline problem you speak of must be bringing the trend back :) If you can only take the horse to water, the horsegram might actually get me to drink water :) Your horsegram water recipe seems very interseting but then you speak of masala dosa and akki rotti making my mouth water immediately and plan the menu! I cannot say no to akki rotti.

    I am with your daughter on keeping track of what we do - growinig up my mom and grandmother always scolded when we counted how much we ate! They said the body will not absorb well if we keep track - it sounds much better in Kannada! And again two categories of people here also no? those who like these gadgets and those who don't! I fall into the second category - I cannot for the life of me deal with a watch on my hand asking me to breathe, count my steps, count my calories and what not! I will feel miserable. So it is a running joke in our family - DH buys these contracptions for my birthday and ends up using them! Things bought in my name ....phew I can write a stroy!

    About prasadams, thank goodness they are prasadams - only to be eaten so much and not more, to be shared and spread. As for intermittent fasting, I am big follower of that. My grandmother would be smiling down on me - an ayurvedic doctor herself, she has spent years telling us grand kids to start following some kind of fasting or reduce dinner intake ....all fell on deaf years! She passed away a couple of years ago at a ripe age of 94 or 96, fairly independent, all faculties intact and here we are suddenly realizing the value of her advice and following deligently! The other advice she gave was never to starve during festivals - it was rule that all her dils didn't fast on festival days and ate well. So I vote for wait for the joyous season and start after that. If fasting is a normal routine, feasting can truly be enjoyed for what it is!
     
  9. sln

    sln Platinum IL'ite

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    Dear Rama,
    There is Navarasam in your FB sprinkled with temptation, remorse and reconciliation. That I have survived two major heart attacks followed by bypass surgery in 1995 and angioplasty in 2019 is attributedto my healthy life style. It is a matter of pride that I am an elite member of 1% of the Indian population and enjoy extra IT benefit, and whiz through security check in Airports etc. Now what I look for, is a peaceful exit and divine grace will see me through the final security check.
    I like what you say "I cannot for the life of me deal with a watch on my hand asking me to breathe, count my steps, count my calories". I see a lady exactly doing this with the gadget, in my morning walk but results don' t appear to be encouraging. I felt that she needs counselling more than the gadget.
    Research has shown that both stress and lazy mind result in over eating. There is nothing to match polishing off a bowl of snacks watching Family Man in the web series. The less we think about it and concentrate on how to make amends, life will become better. After all actions speak louder than words.
    I thoroughly enjoyed the FB straight from the heart. My blessings.
    SLN
     
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