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8 weeks to a slimmer, fitter you

Discussion in 'Keep Fit & Maintain Shape' started by kirti251, Jan 24, 2010.

  1. kirti251

    kirti251 Senior IL'ite

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    Dear Ils,
    Read this & manage ur weight loss diet in this way so i'm sure u certainly achieve ur weight loss.
    There is only one way to lose weight and stay in shape: eat and exercise SENSIBLY.
    Incorporating these two elements in your lifestyle is easier that you may imagine.
    To help steer you towards an overall healthy lifestyle, we bring you an 8-week fitness programme, which recommends a diet and exercise regime for each week.
    At the end of eight weeks, you may lose up to seven kgs. However, this figure would also depend on factors like your metabolism rate and how closely you follow the programme.
    The plan for week eight is what you must sustain after that, failing which your body will go back to being what it was prior to the programme. Remember, maintenance is key.
    Before we get started...
    • This is a basic programme for those of you who do not already follow a rigourous exercise/diet plan.
    • You may feel tempted to give up within the first couple of weeks if you do not see a change in yourselves. Don't!It is important to complete the full programme to see any kind of benefits.
    • This programme does not only help you lose weight, but is a lifestyle guide to help you maintain your weight and good health.
    • Before starting out, consult your doctor to check if you suffer from any medical problems.
    Try to enjoy your weight loss programme. It might be hard to begin with, but once eating sensibly becomes a habit, you'll hate eating otherwise. Exercise too is addictive and if you pick a form that you enjoy you won't ever want to stop.
    Week 1
    We launch this programme today, with a diet/exercise plan for Week One.
    The focus this week is to set the right foundation. You will see no change in yourself this week but will feel good - thanks to the healthy eating and exercise. Now, let's get started!
    Exercise
    Start with a simple cardiovascular activity three to four times a week. Begin with 30 minutes gradually progressing towards 60 minutes over the next few weeks.
    Walking, jogging and swimming are common exercises. If you pick the latter, then swim continuously for 30 minutes.
    Another great option is an aerobics class. Avoid doing aerobic exercises at home by yourself since you will need professional guidance.
    If you are working out on your own, start off slowly with warm up exercises. You should feel your heart rate increase, but make sure you don't get completely out of breath. Cool down with stretches at the end of the exercise.
    Diet
    Streamline your eating timetable
    Your body must get food every three hours (except while you are asleep). Fuelling your body frequently keeps your energy levels and metabolism up.
    Five small meals a day is the formula. This can be divided as:
    • Breakfast
    • Mid morning snack
    • Lunch
    • Evening snack
    • Dinner
    Set specific times for these meals and then stick with it. If you confuse your body by eating at different hours, it will store your food as fat. So if lunchtime is at 1 pm, stick to that everyday.
    Meal plan
    Breakfast
    • 75 per cent carbohydrates: One bowl of cereal or 1-2 wholegrain bread slices or 2 chapattis.
    • 25 per cent mix of protein: Two to three egg whites or low fat cheese spread.
    • Vitamins: One small bowl of fruits (any fruit of your choice though bananas and mangoes are higher in calories).
    • You can have tea or coffee made with skimmed milk.
    Lunch
    • 50 per cent carbohydrates: Two wholegrain bread slices or two to three chapattis or a bowl of rice/pasta.
    • 50 per cent mix of protein: Have one portion of either fish/chicken/dal/lentils/paneer or a combination and two portions of vegetables (include some green leafy vegetable among others as often as you can).
    Dinner
    • 25 per cent carbohydrates: Same options as lunch but with half the quantity.
    • 75 per cent mix of proteins: One or two portions of fish/chicken/dal/lentils/paneer and two to three portions of vegetables.
    Snacks
    You can have ONE of the following:
    • Handful of nuts (almonds/cashews, which must not be roasted or salted)
    • One fruit or a bowl of smaller fruits (grapes, for instance) of your choice
    • One cup of low fat yoghurt
    Cooking tips
    • All food must be cooked in healthy oil like olive oil or from a brand like Saffola.
    • Eat your food slowly, relishing and chewing every bite properly.
    • Take at least 20 minutes and leave the table feeling comfortably full, not stuffed.
    • Try and eat dinner three hours before you hit the sack.
    • Throughout the day drink at least eight big glasses of water.
    • 8 rules for healthy cooking

      November 28, 2005 18:35 IST
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      Food in its natural state contains many nutrients.
      [​IMG]Post-cooking, the food that we eat must not only be palatable, it should also be nutritious. But the process of preparing food for cooking, as well as the actual cooking process, results in a great loss of nutrients.

      Vitamin B and Vitamin C, which are water-soluble, are the most affected as they leach into the water used for soaking and cooking and are affected by exposure to sunlight and air and by prolonged heating.

      Here are some tips by which you can minimise nutrient losses from food.

      i. Eat fresh
      Repeated refrigerating and reheating of food results in the loss of nutrients. Hence, it is best to buy small quantities and cook for a day or two.
      The other option is to cook food once a week and store it in the refrigerator. At mealtimes, remove the desired quantity of food and warm either on the gas or in a microwave.
      ii. Preserve the skin
      The nutrients in vegetables and fruits are mostly concentrated just below the skin; it is important to eat fruits and vegetables unpeeled so that you don't lose out on fibre and vital nutrients.
      ~ The papery peel of carrot, radish and beetroot can be scraped away using a plastic scrubber or knife. Other vegetables should be peeled as thinly as possible.

      ~ Root vegetables like potato, sweet potato, colocasia (arbi), yam, suran, etc, should be boiled with their skins on and then peeled. This helps the nutrients to move to the centre of the vegetable, thereby helping better retention of nutrients.

      ~ Fruits and vegetables should be soaked in water without peeling or cutting to remove any pesticide residues that are present in them. You must remember never to wash, soak or store cut vegetables as it results in the loss of Vitamin B and Vitamin C.

      ~ Fruits should be cut just before eating in order to prevent excessive exposure to air, which results in the destruction of Vitamin C.

      ~ Salads should be prepared just before serving and should be served in closed dishes to avoid excessive exposure to air.

      iii. Soaking

      Soak grains, particularly pulses, in just enough water overnight. Soak dals for half an hour before cooking. Soaking helps soften them, thereby saving on cooking time. It also helps to remove some of the anti-nutritional factors present in pulses (these anti-nutritional factors, which do not allow the protein to be digested properly, are destroyed by soaking, cooking or sprouting).

      iv. Sprouting
      Sprouted grains are more nutritious than unsprouted ones.
      ~ Take any pulse or a mixture of seeds, clean, wash well and soak overnight in water.

      ~ Next morning, drain the water and place the seeds in a strainer basket and cover with a lid.

      ~ Sprinkle a little water twice a day.

      ~ Use when sprouts are about two to three centimetres in length or longer (this takes approximately after about 36-48 hours).

      ~ Instead of placing the seeds in a strainer basket, they can be placed in a wet muslin or cheesecloth and hung up.

      Dampen the cloth twice a day and use the sprouts as mentioned above.

      One kilo of dry seeds = six kilos of sprouts.

      v. Food combinations

      The proteins of cereals and pulses -- except for soyabean and alsande (local bean available in Goa [ Images ]) -- lack certain essential amino acids and are said to be incomplete proteins.

      However, the proteins of cereals and pulses have a natural supplementary effect on each other when eaten together; the lack of amino acids in one is made up by an excess in the other. This provides a protein comparable to animal protein, with respect to the essential amino acid content.

      Our traditional diet consisted of foods like rice and dal, khichdi, dhokla, idli, dosa, curd rice, etc, which provides quality protein, particularly in vegetarian diets.

      Other ways to increase the protein content, particularly in a vegetarian diet, is to add two and a half kilogrammes of roasted soyabean, soya granules or a combination of pulses to five kilogrammes of wheat then grind it to obtain flour.

      Use milk or leftover dal instead of water to knead dough.

      vi. Recycle nutrients

      ~ Do not throw away the excess water drained after boiling rice or vegetables or cottage cheese (while making paneer).
      ~ Use it to knead dough, prepare curry, dal or soup.
      vii. Use the pressure-cooker
      Preferably, use your pressure cooker for cooking or cook foods in covered pans. Pressure cooking food is quicker and helps you save gas; it also leads to greater conserving of nutrients than open boiling or cooking.
      viii. Use less oil
      ~ Season onions and other ingredients with just one teaspoon of oil and keep adding a tablespoon of water at a time until they have cooked.
      ~ The other alternative to preparing low calorie gravies is to use palak puree, tomato puree, bottle gourd puree or onion puree instead of the mava or nuts needed to prepare dishes containing kadai or makhani gravies.
      All you have to do is to grind any of the above into a puree and then fry it in a teaspoon of oil before adding the masala powders and vegetable, chicken or paneer to obtain rich and thick gravy. Add a tablespoon of milk cream for flavour.
      ~ For biryanis, finely slice onions and sundry. Bake in the oven till golden brown and use in place of the traditional fried onions.
      Rohini Cardoso Diniz, a consultant dietician, is based in Goa.
      Illustration: Dominic Xavier
      DON'T MISS!
     
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  2. NAYA

    NAYA Senior IL'ite

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    Thanks kirti251 for sharing and very informative about the diet.
     
  3. Mevitha

    Mevitha New IL'ite

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    Thanks for this informative post.. Looking forward for the upcoming posts!!
     
  4. Ameena

    Ameena New IL'ite

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    Thank u very much for the informative diet tips.. i've a question on how long shuld i walk? is there any procidure to walk?
     
  5. kirti251

    kirti251 Senior IL'ite

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    Dear Ils,
    Start from 30 min walking & increase ur walking time & reach up to 60 mins.It is best to try interval walking then normal walking.Interval walking means walk fast for 10 min then walk slowly for 5 min then again 10 min fast walking.It'll help to raise ur metabolism & burn more calories then normal walking.
     
  6. raosh2

    raosh2 New IL'ite

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    Hi Kirti,

    What about the next 7 weeks? Looking forward to your posts.

    Thanks,
    Vidya
     
  7. tanu khurana

    tanu khurana Bronze IL'ite

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    hello kirti,
    nice scrap.... I want u ask u few things if u can help me out pz.......
    Iam a bf mom age 27, baby is a year old, a school teacher, had a gall bladder operation a year bk.......weigh 66 kg
    since feb iam keen on reducing following diet and go fr walk 4 kms 20 days in feb....
    I dnt tak dinner instead hav soup or salad........dnt tak tea hav toned cow milk twice a day, and yoghurt once in afternoon......
    Pz help me out by having all dis i reduced just 1 kg......in the mnth of feb dis upset me a lot.......
     
  8. kirti251

    kirti251 Senior IL'ite

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    Dear Tanu,
    Here so many Ilites not taking food at night & just simply taking salad & soup.This is wrong.I'm also following same formula before.But after talking with dietician & reading so many articles i decide to take balance food.Of course u have to take very light dinner at 7 to 8 o'clock.I'm also in the same boat & want to lose weight.Try some breathing exerciese.Take ur food on fixed time. Take breakfast,lunch & dinner & 2 snacks.Keep ur calorie intake between 1400 to 1500 calories.& at last go for walking 5 to 6 days/week.I'll post some more article that certainly help u.
     
  9. tanu khurana

    tanu khurana Bronze IL'ite

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    thanks kirti
    actually i am 66kg now and my weight got struck here not getting dwn frm dis point...........does cinnamon and honey drink help?:rotfl
     
  10. kirti251

    kirti251 Senior IL'ite

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    Hi Tanu,
    U can try it but remember add honey at last when u going to drink.
     

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