Saturday, January 12, 2008

Hi guys....Here is a helpful article on weightloss ...from Prevention.com




35 One-Minute Weight Loss Secrets

Sneaky ways to slim down

By Linda Mooney , Linda Mooney is Prevention's former beauty editor. She's currently on hiatus from her Manhattan home so she can write her first novel from Topsail Island in North Carolina.


All you need is a minute to start shedding pounds! Here are dozens of successful strategies to cut calories and burn fat that take 60 seconds or less. With about 1,000 waking minutes in everyday, you'll find plenty of opportunities to slip these weigh loss tips into your routine and watch the scale go down. If you've already begun your weight loss, these can maximize your efforts and speed results.



1. Mix a juice spritzer. Combine your favorite juice (half of your usual amount) with plain or sparkling water. You can cut up to 85 calories per glass--and lose 5 pounds or more a year.


2. Pick up the cordless. Burn calories while you talk: Do the laundry (68 calories), set the table (85 calories), or water plants (102 calories). (Values based on a 150-pound person and half an hour of activity.)


3. Pop a piece of gum. Researchers recently discovered that chewing sugar-free gum all day increases your metabolic rate by about 20 percent. That could burn off more than 10 pounds a year.


4. Pay cash for treats. Anytime someone offers you goodies--and you accept--put $1.00 aside. Then give the money to your kids. When you literally pay for treats, you're more likely to say "No thanks."
5. Study the wrapper. At a quick glance, that candy bar appears to contain 220 calories. But a closer look may reveal that it (or a bottle of juice, bag of crackers, or bag of nuts) provides two or more servings--which more than doubles those calories.


6. Sip green tea before you walk. The caffeine frees fatty acids so that you burn fat more easily. And the polyphenols (antioxidant compounds) in green tea appear to work with caffeine to increase calorie burn. (If you have high blood pressure, skip this tip.)


7. Ditch diet shakes. The cut calories are only temporary; you just eat more later.


8. Pack a lunch. Dining out more than five times a week may make you eat more--nearly 300 calories a day--than if you dine out less frequently.


9. Dip your bread. Use olive oil in place of butter. It's healthier and may also help you eat less. In a recent study, dippers ate a total of 52 fewer calories on average than those who used butter.


10. Sprinkle flax on your cereal. High-fiber, ground flaxseed can help curb your appetite and eliminate calories. Add it to yogurt or muffin and bread mixes. Available in health food stores.

11. Dress with this:
1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
1/4 tsp olive oil
3/4 tsp dijon mustard
1/4 tsp horseradish Mix together


It makes for a tasty salad dressing with only 20 calories and 1.5 grams of fat.


12. Schedule a blood test. About 1 in every 12 women (most of whom don't know it) has an under active thyroid, which can slow down her metabolism.


13. Supersize your H2O. Buy the big bottle when it comes to good-for-you stuff such as water: You'll drink more.


14. Trick your tastebuds. Sucking on a menthol/eucalyptus cough drop can stop cravings instantly.


15. Spice up your meals. Adding hot chile pepper (or capsaicin) to food may help you stop eating sooner.


16. Pour a white cocktail. Like water, low-fat milk's volume fills your stomach, but it also contains carbohydrates--so you eat less.


17. Chunk your salad. Chop carrots, celery, sweet potatoes, zucchini, or other veggies instead of shredding or slicing. It takes more effort to munch bigger pieces; you'll do more chewing and eat less during the main course.
18. Call a friend. Fill loneliness with talk--not cookies. 19. Log your food. Writing down what you eat can help you cut calories and stay in control because you're more accountable. No need to record it perfectly or review what you wrote: The benefit is in the writing itself.


20. Fidget. You can burn up to 700 calories a day! 21. Retire the remotes. You could easily burn 200 extra calories a day if you stop using the TV/VCR remote, garage door opener, electric can opener, riding mower, car, and other laborsaving devices.


22. Spray--don't drizzle. Use an olive oil sprayer such as MISTO to add flavor to salads, chicken, fish, or pasta--without all the calories. A 2-second spray evenly distributes about 1/2 teaspoon of oil, compared to the 2 or 3 teaspoons you might get when pouring. That'll save you up to 100 calories per use. Available in department stores. 23. Buy small. The bigger the package, the more you're likely to eat--up to 44 percent more, according to one study.


24. Break into a jog. If you already jog, speed up to a sprint. These brief intervals allow you to cover more distance, burn fat and calories--without lengthening your workout. The increased impact will also help make your bones stronger.

25. Measure before cooking. It's easy to overeat pasta, but not if you cook the right amount at the start. For a perfect portion, keep a quarter near your spaghetti. Its diameter is exactly the size of the 2-ounce stack (about 200 calories) that you should serve per person. Or buy a dry-pasta measurer sold in gourmet cooking stores.


26. Rent a spooky movie. You're less likely to eat when you're fearful--but more likely when you're angry or happy. 27. Reflect on your choices. Looking at yourself in a mirror while eating may help you consume 22 to 32 percent less. 28. Drop and do 10. Before you pry open that tub of ice cream, do 10 situps or pushups. Doing something physical can put you back in touch with your body--and your goals. 29. Take a whiff. When you really want those fresh-baked cookies, try this: Indulge in the smell for 30 seconds. Then place a small piece on the tip of your tongue for another 30 seconds. Savoring the smell and taste can help you stop at just one cookie.


30. Have chunky soup. People who ate soup containing large vegetable pieces reported feeling fuller and ate 20 percent less during lunch than those who had a pureed soup made of the same ingredients.
31. Blot the fat. You can dab off about a teaspoon of oil--or 40 calories and 4.5 grams of fat--from two slices of pizza.


32. Skip "light" foods. The weight of food--not just the fat and calories--is what fills you up. Eat less and still feel satisfied with low-calorie heavyweights such as oranges, strawberries, grapefruit, cantaloupe, cooked spinach, collard greens, and broccoli.


33. Order fish. Varieties rich in omega-3 fatty acids--tuna, mackerel, cod, and salmon--may help you drop pounds by improving fat metabolism. Overweight people who ate a reduced-calorie diet that included fish every day lost about 20 percent more weight than those on a fish-free diet.


34. Post inspiration. To keep yourself on track, place quotes in strategic spots where you might need some motivation: on the fridge, TV, dashboard, or computer. Some suggestions: "You've come too far to take orders from a cookie." "Nothing tastes as good as thin feels." 35. Drink, drink, drink. Dehydration can slow your metabolism by 3 percent. At a weight of 150 pounds, that would be about 45 fewer calories burned a day--which could mean 5 extra pounds a year.



Hope to hear some success stories from you. Good luck and good bye.

Friday, September 7, 2007

Taking stock. Sunday September 2-7 (Friday)- 2007.



I must let you guys on to a secret.

1. I do not seem to have lost any weight in the last seven days.

2. I have missed over half my sessions.

How? Sunday was a holiday so 2nd of September was a waste. On Monday, the trainer just did not turn up and later on I learn that he had quit as the gym was shutting down (or so he thought), anyway. So it is goodbye Dharam bhaiyya!

But I did not know all this and when the gym was locked I went to the nearby park which is equipped with a cemented walkway for walkers/joggers. I did 4 rounds of the huge park, so maybe it was 4 to 5 kilometers.
But this was no fun.

Tuesday was Krishna Janmashtami and my daughter wanted to join me. She had tutions and insisted that either I allow her to skip her tuitions to go to the gym or I wait up and then the two of us go to workout at the gym together!

So no appearance at the gym. Later I learned that it had not opened anyway. Wednesday was a waste too as I had an interview with a publishing house in Delhi. The entire day spent in the commute and event, I miss the gym.

So when Thursday 6th September dawned, I was determined to start the sessions again.
So I go to the gym and discover that they are shifting the remaining machines(after many were sold off,to a part of the previous area.A ladies' tailor has rented out the place and only one instructor remains.

There are a few women working out. They are all upset. The instructor now on duty promises to run the place.

So I work on the walker, the cycle, twister, chest push, dumbbells and an inclined plane. I do all barely for 8-10 minutes each.

Now I want to know if I have lost any weight at all. The instructor manipulates the weighing scales a lot till he is satisfied that the zero is on the correct place. Satisfied, he instructs me to stand on it.

I wonder out aloud as to why the previous instructor had not checked the accuracy of the scales, the last time AI weighed myself.

73 kilograms!

I want to cry. But do not. The instructor sees my shocked expression and asks, "How much was it the last time you weighed yourself?"

71 kilos, I tell him.

He tries to soothe my nerves by saying, "There must have been an error. Not set properly, it showed two kilos extra. Now you know what it is the correct weight!

Damn, damn! All my efforts(?) down the drain?

Any doctor on board? Please tell me which is the correct way? Where am I wrong, if at all?

Tuesday, September 4, 2007

Saturday, September 1, 2007. I am still on!





Miracle! I have begun a sport that my in-laws would have at the best called a selfish pursuit and yet shamelessly and without any guilt, I still carry it on. The operation is still under cover.

Today I meet two more ladies. One talks of losing 15 kilograms under the same instructor - Dharam.

"But I looked deathly pale, then. So I allowed the gain back of 5+ kilos," she said. She had 'dieted' unreasonably, she said.

So that must have been it! Any crash and aggressive diet changes are unsustainable and end up being discarded.

I have decided that I am not making any changes in my diet. My diet is not nutritious but is not loaded with oils and fries either. I am not addicted to colas or sweets. So, thanks but no thanks, no Dr. Atkins for me.

I do a repeat of yesterday's exercises. Today light, pink colored dumb-bells join my regimen as I am given weight training. Also, a machine that has me pushing wights laden on a sidebar, that I end up pushing as I push the chest level cushioned handle makes me slog and I feel my abdominals stretching and straining.

That's what I need. That's what I want. My problem areas are the abs. All my 71 kilos seem to be accumulated there.

Tomorrow is Sunday and a holiday.

I request that the gym be opened for me.

Declined. More shocks. The owner seems to have let out the place and soon the new tenant shopkeepers will push all the equipments to a corner. Man, my ill-luck on the gym front refuses to let up.

Tomorrow's another day, though, like Scarlett Hara would have said.

So folks, watch this space.

Monday, September 3, 2007

Friday, 31st August - Day one- 71 kilos?!


I had been asking around a number of days about a respectable gym that is frequented by women and heard of this one that is a unisex gym but with different hours for men and women.

So I walked in on the Friday morning, into this gym and asked the a thousand questions.

I told them that I will be returning to such activity after nearly twelve years now. So I have to start slowly. I got to know that the hours for women will be upto 12 noon.

"Do wear shoes." is all they told me after assuring me that I could come over in my regular north Indian wear of salwar kurta.

So off I went home with a promise to return the next day.

Back at home, I could not imagine waiting upto 'tomorrow'. Last many years, I had wasted many a tomorrows. So in a while after doing some work, I dusted the caked grime from from my winter shoes and tried them on. Perfect for walking!

Grabbed a towel and left the house with in-laws watching TV news of Salman Khan or something like that! Too busy to ask me questions about where I was headed and I slipped away. Within minutes I was back at the gym.

"I though I'd better begin on a Friday, than a Saturday (considered inauspicious by northerners for beginning new missions)!" I offered.

Weighing scales! What? 71 kilos? Oh my God!

There was another lady, Sadhana didi(a way to address a woman with respect)who was walking with ease on the non-automatic treadmill. I walked in and assumed my walk on another.

While a fan cooled the other woman, my side had none. Also, years of abstinence from sports had taken a toll. So in every few minutes, I was off the mill, wiping sweat and huffing and puffing.

Acting brave, I shared notes with the lady.

She was a former Kabaddi (an ethnic and ancient Indian sport)and at one I felt at home.

Cycling, twisters and calisthenics done, I realized that I was a far cry from the girl who had run sprints and won college championships. But the feeling was exhilarating! Like returning to your real love!

"Go slow on the amount you do in a day," said the instructor, making a sign of mock-dying while adding, "or you will be..."

So I returned home after promising to add a few exercises the next day.

Back at home, I was thirsty more than hungry. I forgot to tell you folks that I had only had a cup milk less green tea with basil leaves in the morning. So now I made myself a glass of lime juice with sugar and returned to my bedroom, wondering how many kilos I had shed already?!

Ha ha ha!!!

I know, you know that I was only kidding. Patience man.

More tomorrow.

Saturday, September 1, 2007

Time to begin operation weight loss...sshhhhhSSSSS!


I have just passed that stage when I can sell excuses to myself about my extra pounds.

Frankly, it is not funny.

I cannot see how I allowed almost 15 to 20 kilograms of extra weight to pile up over three to four years and allowed it to go on for years.

Its a long story, but to cut things short- here's the order.

38 summers ago, I was born a thin baby. I even grew up as a thin person, almost 35 kilos at age 17-18 and ashamed of the thinness. I had all the right contours yet, felt that there should have been more meat on my bony frame.

At the swimming pool and at the gym where I went rarer than I hit the sports field (my favorite being Handball and athletics), I was always complimented on my tight and lean body.

Then disaster struck.

I got married. And eventually was expecting. Unfortunately, miscarried but retained the weight. Then after a year and a half had my first child, a girl, by cesarean section surgery!

HELP!

Disaster had just begun.

I gained more pounds and with no help, had little time or energy reserves to go out and exercise.

Had another child, a son this time, and was totally in in-laws' hands who thought- Gym and a daughter-in-law are like chalk and cheese- the twain should not meet.

So now I weigh 71 kilos from the 54 or so I must have been at marriage time.

But I am going to let you on to a secret.

I have started going to the gym on the sly. With my babies aged 10 and 7 yrs conspiring with me, I have told only my husband...and have started sneaking out of home each day, to slog away the pounds at the gym- from yesterday.

I shall write more tomorrow, to let you know what happened on day one and two. But as for now, just pray I stick on our campaign- havtaloseweight.

Cheers.

KP