Have a nutritious Navratri!

Navratri means nine nights, where we devote three nights to worship Durga, the Goddess of Valour, three nights to Lakshmi, the Goddess of Wealth, and three nights to Saraswati, the Goddess of Knowledge. Celebrated twice a year, this festival is a time of celebrations, fasting, and feasting. While a small amount of indulgence is good, you can go overboard easily. Thus, giving into your cravings during these nine days can adversely affect your health.

All you have to do is follow some simple steps that will help you enjoy the festivities, without neglecting your diet.

Guidelines during Navratri:

1. Eat small meals at regular intervals every 1 and ½ to 2 hours. By eating at least 7-8 meals in a day, you can maintain a high metabolic rate. This will also help keep your portions under control and control your cravings.

2. Substitute certain ingredients and cooking methods that will make the food more nutritious while retaining the taste and flavour.

• Shallow fry certain food items instead of deep-frying. E.g. Instead of making kuttu atta (buck wheat) puris and pakodas, make kuttu rotis 
• Substitute whole milk with skimmed milk or double toned milk 
• Use boiled potato or sweet potato instead of fried potato 
• Replace sugar with low calorie sweeteners, brown sugar, or jaggery 
• Use rajgira flour (Amaranth flour) to make chapattis instead of kuttu atta, as it is lighter and lower in calories 

3. Ensure you keep yourself hydrated at all times. Drink enough liquids such as coconut water, lemonade (without sugar), buttermilk, low fat smoothies, and milk shakes. You can also eat juicy fruits and vegetables like oranges, sweet lime, cucumber, watermelon etc.

4. Include dry fruits in your diet such as almonds, walnut, and pistachio. Dry fruits serve as an excellent snack between the three main meals.

5. Make sure you eat your heaviest meal in the mornings and lightest meals during dinner.

Following a healthy diet during these nine days of Navratri will help you detox, while you take in the celebrations. So enjoy the first Navratri of the year in a healthy way!

Dieting, dieting, dieting..

Atkin’s diet, 12-week Body for Life diet, Hacker’s diet, Cookie diet, Weight Watchers diet… the list is endless.

Dieting has been around since the 18th Century, spurred by one man’s need to regain the health he had lost due to obesity. But it only gained momentum in the 19th Century, with the introduction of the ‘Banting’ diet, a role model for some of our current diets.

The biggest myth with regard to dieting is that ‘Dieting means skipping meals, eating 1000 kcal or lesser in a day, or simply starving’. The truth is that by skipping meals or starving yourself, your body will be unable to meet the bare minimum calorie requirement of the day. This in turn slows down your metabolism rate and also hampers the functioning of all vital organs. Also, your weight may dip temporarily as you will jump to your original weight the minute you switch back to your original eating pattern.

Dieting should mean eating right and balancing your nutrients intake, instead of starvation. Try and understand your body, especially your metabolism rate, as it can help you tailor a diet to help you lose weight in the right manner. Here are some simple steps you can follow:

1. Eat a heavy breakfast, a light lunch, and a frugal dinner
2. Increase the frequency of your meals. Include three small meals between your main meals
3. Concentrate on low glycemic index foods and ensure that you incorporate sufficient protein in the diet
4. Increase your water intake, as low glycemic index foods require more water to digest well
5. Avoid tea and coffee, as they dehydrators the body

As you would have noticed, the underlying message here is to ‘Not Starve’. When you eat healthy, you lose weight easily while remaining fit.

Time to break it down

Did you know that in India, one in seven individuals is a diabetic or a pre-diabetic?

90 to 95% of all diabetic patients suffer from Type II Diabetes. Once called the non-insulin-dependent diabetes, Type II Diabetes, today, is the most common form of diabetes. In this form of diabetes, the pancreas either produces less insulin or the body cannot use the insulin well enough.

Insulin is the body’s primary energy-generating hormone, and when there isn't enough insulin or it’s not used appropriately, sugar is not broken down into energy and does not reach the cells. As a result, sugar in the blood increases, leaving the body cells hungry for energy. Over time, high sugar levels in the blood can damage nerves and small blood vessels in the eyes, kidneys, and heart.

Who all have a higher risk of getting Type II Diabetes?

• People over the age of 30-35 years 
• People who suffer from obesity problems 
• People who have an history of Gestational Diabetes 
• People who have a strong family history of type 2 diabetes 
• People who have been pre-diabetic for a long time 
• People who lead a sedentary life style 
• People who have erratic food patterns 
• People who suffer from high blood pressure or high lipid profiling 

If not controlled, diabetes can become a silent killer. However, there are some simple tips to help keep your blood sugar levels in check. They are:

• Avoid high GI foods like rice and substitute it with roti 
• Avoid foods high on fat like red meat, cheese, cream, butter etc. 
• Eat small portions of food frequently 
• Eat insulin-sensitive fruits like apple, grape fruit or jamun fruit 
• Reduce intake of salt and processed foods 
• Keep your weight under check 
• Exercise regularly 

Being diagnosed with diabetes is not the end of the world because with a few simple precautionary measures and much-needed lifestyle changes, you can continue to lead a normal life.

Who moved my BMR?

Losing weight is easy, balancing that weight loss and health – not so much!

In today’s sedentary lifestyle, people are easily piling on the pounds and as a result, need to consciously try to lose weight and become fit. The most obvious choices are either going to the gym or dieting. But guess what? You need both! Yes, unless you find the right balance between maintaining a regular workout routine and following a good diet, your success will be very limited.

A key step in losing those pounds and staying healthy is to understand your body. And one of the most important parameters to help you to understand your body is the Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR). Basal Metabolic Rate is the bare minimum amount of calories the body requires to perform vital functions while at rest.

A high metabolic rate means the ability to burn excess calories more efficiently, because muscles burn calories faster than fat. The more muscle you have in relation to your body fat, the higher your metabolism will be. In simple words, metabolic rate is the reason behind your friend’s ability to eat anything while remaining slim and trim.

There are many reasons behind the slowdown of your metabolic rate, the most important one being age. In women, the metabolic rate begins to slow down by the age of 30, while for men it’s 40. In addition, for women, certain medical conditions such as hypothyroidism and hormonal imbalance (PCOD/PCOS) can also slow down the metabolic rate. But there’s no need to start shaking your head in dismay yet, because, for every con, there’s a pro. High fibre foods like fresh fruits and vegetables, wheat, ragi, jowar, bajra, meat, milk, etc., help sustain your metabolism rate along with providing good nutrition. Most importantly, exercise will help you maintain your metabolism and aid in losing or maintaining weight.