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Something that will lead to a slow, steady increase in our blood sugar levels.
It’s important to remember at all times (while fighting with your spouse, getting frustrated by traffic, overworking, etc) that stress is the biggest enemy of an efficient digestive system and of the fat burning processes of the body.
Going hungry in the morning is a disaster for anybody who dreams of a sexy body.
So the foundation to a great body is laid by what you eat and drink (or not) within the first 10 to 15 minutes of waking up.
Eating right is about getting in touch with your body and sharpening your awareness of it. Eating immediately on rising puts us in touch with our body’s hunger signals.
‘Prabhate mal darshanam’: witness, or see, your shit every morning.
Eating first thing in the morning lays the foundation for us to efficiently receive hunger signals from our body.
Which means that sitting and reading in the morning is a bigger calorie burner than sitting and reading in the evenings.
Mornings lead to higher calorie burning in the body because nature designed us that way. It’s nature’s way of getting us ready.
The body cannot absorb nutrients on an overloaded stomach (post meal) or when it is slowing down (post sunset).
no food is fattening. You have to just be smart enough to choose the right time to eat it.
Just like khali pet pe neend nahi aati, overloaded stomach pe disturbed sleep aati hai.
A good quality, restful and peaceful sleep is the backbone to losing fat.
Eating the last meal 2 hours before bedtime is crucial for long term health, change in body composition (increase in muscle and bone weight, decrease in fat weight), that glowing complexion (Acne free. Ever visited a skin doctor? The first thing they want to know is if your stomach is clear.) and a restful sleep.
When you sleep just right (the ideal time to sleep is between 10 and 10:30 pm to 5 am and you should stick as close to this as you can), it will show on your body, face and health.
So switch off that TV (including what you watch on DVD) and laptop at least an hour before bedtime. Yes, a book is alright. Just get the lighting right.
My advice to my editor was maximise calorie burning and have sex before dinner!
Prabhate mal darshanam,
Get out of the vicious cycle of caffeine and nicotine kicks in the morning, straining on the toilet seat, skipping lunch, not feeling hungry till evening, overeating in the night, getting disturbed sleep at night, and waking up dull and tired in the morning.
visit your dentist regularly
And yeah, do the Indian thing: gargle after every meal. Water will not just hydrate your mouth, but will also act as an cleansing agent in your mouth.
Awareness is the first step towards health and weight loss.
Prayers are comforting. When you are already feeling happy with yourself you can do away with ‘comfort food’.
Eating food for entertainment is a sure shot way of getting fat. It’s a much better idea to take part in some activity that is comforting. Praying, exercising, painting, singing, anything that suits your temperament. It doesn’t just help you burn calories, it keeps you away from ingesting too many calories.
Exercise is not meant as punishment for the body. Not for getting fat or overeating or anything else. Exercise is a way to improve fitness, blood circulation, and to love the body. If it’s used for anything else, or if it’s abused, it stops working.
Mangoes are eaten as if they are a sweet dish, instead of a fruit. Mango juice is eaten with puris and chapatis. And because we all love the way chapati and aamras tastes, we have an extra chapati. It’s this eating pattern which makes us fat, not the fruit. And anyways, it’s always a better idea to eat the whole fruit instead of its juice. Would you ever have puri with watermelon juice? No. Then stop having it with mango juice.
The only way to stay lean and healthy for life is to develop a strong understanding about your nutrient needs, and to stay connected with your gut at all times. In fact ‘gut feeling’ is what I wanted to call my book.
Low iron levels come with their own issues of low energy levels, poor immunity and sugar cravings during PMS.
the problem lies in the way we learn nutrition right from school. Orange is taught as a source of vitamin C in the land of amlas, carrot is a source of vitamin A and not ghee, protein comes from only dal, pulses, milk and meat and not from rajgeera chiki or panjiri. So the same thing carries on even when one ‘specializes’ in nutrition education, there is no understanding or value of traditional food wisdom. Anyway a 3- or even a 30-year degree cannot be an alternative to the rich food wisdom that is easily accessible in our homes.
Now, vitamins A, E, D and K are all fat-soluble, which means that in the absence of dietary fat, no amount of sunbathing, injections or megadoses of vitamin D will help you assimilate vitamin D.
In 2013, Sweden was the first developed country to say that its dietary guidelines of reducing fat intake were wrong. The US FDA has done the same now. Ayurveda, on the other hand, has for thousands of years guided us to eat wholesome meals based on the season and not based on carbs, proteins and fats.
In my opinion, we should be grateful for the many recipes that have been handed down to us,
Rice is a complete meal by itself, a good source of amino acids, specially the branched chain amino acids, which are linked to increasing fat metabolism and to giving the mind a sense of calm.
India has more than 1000 varieties of rice and all of them are medium in GI, which means that they lead to a slow, steady rise in the blood sugar.
eating rice with dahi, ghee, milk, pulses, veggies, the way Indians consume rice, makes it safe for diabetics and overweight people to consume it.
A cousin of placebo, nocebo means that you believe that something is working for you even while it may be harming you.
Let’s acknowledge that ours is the culture of yoga and Ayurveda, with a legacy of food wisdom that made human life more meaningful and joyful and didn’t reduce the goal of human existence to weight loss and a six pack.
So either filtered groundnut oil or mustard oil or coconut oil, based on the region you come from.
deep-frying, the only cooking medium which deserves that honour is desi ghee and that’s thanks to its high smoking point. So ghee, or nei as it’s known in Chennai, is an undervalued champion and it is currently on the high streets of NYC for its fat-burning and anti-ageing properties.
you understand that fitness is not some statistical or mathematical measurement but an experience of freedom and joy within the body.
Sitting is the new smoking
The unique fatty acid molecules in these two foods make it easier for our body to specifically mobilize fatty acids from stubborn fat areas.
if you work out but are inactive during the day, then the results you get from the workout are limited, slow and compromised.
Sugar has been celebrated as a panch amrit in our culture along with milk, honey, ghee and curd.
Every time you exercise, it should challenge the body’s current fitness levels. This is called ‘the progressive over load’ principle. Which means every day you teach your body a little bit, so that it continues to learn and remain interested in exercise.
