Month: March 2016

“Keep calm and avoid junk food”- Delna Pooniwala.

We don’t always eat simply to satisfy hunger. We also turn to food for comfort & stress to feel relieved & reward. Emotional eating is using food to make you feel better. It is eating to fill your emotional needs, rather than filling your nutritional requirement.

However, it is necessary to recognise this emotional hunger & break free from food cravings and compulsive overeating, and change these habits that ruin your diet. If your first thought is food when you are upset, angry, lonely, stressed, exhausted, or bored, you need to seriously control it by developing positive thoughts or doing something else. Go to the gym and let out the steam or dance, paint or write. And believe me –your writing would bleed out your heart.

Divert into healthier ways to deal with your emotions or else you would have a hard time controlling your weight, and you would feel even more frustrated. It would be a complete downward spiral whirlpool.

So next time you feel low, Just Calm yourself and think of something nice you would want to do. Moments & phases all keep changing in life and you just need to be strong till this phase passes off.

Tomorrow’s Preview: Dedicated to young brides to be, who want to reduce weight and maintain a great skin glow to look Fabulous for their special day.

“Be happy for this moment.. This moment is our life”.- Delna Pooniwala.

No matter what we do in life- be it your Work, hobbies, sport we need to b positive at all times and enjoy every moment.

The first and biggest step to happiness is being grateful. Realise that u are lucky and more gifted than others in this world.
U were born in a comfortable household with good people around and practically had whatever u ever wanted. Be grateful to yr parents and upbringing and the success u have achieved in life. Be grateful that you are intelligent and physically complete.

Once u are grateful, u would be more capable of enjoying the moment and every moment that constructs your life.

“Walk on the path of health & Fitness. Even if the road is lonely” – Delna Pooniwala.

Every time I feel I have put on weight or a few inches, It seems my parents see me through a shrinking lens. They would forever feel I am losing weight, looking pathetically thin and should load myself with traditional “Margi na Farcha and parsee cutlets”. At gym, when I discuss myself with ladies, they shut me up saying I am ‘perfect’ and should not bother.

And there I find myself lonely on my road to fitness, to achieve a daily goal that only I can see.

Most times in life people would not understand you or your goal or struggle and it is a rather lonely path. It gets especially tough when ladies want to stay on track with their own diet regime but need to cook for family and feed the baby or when you socialise a lot. Temptations are many and it is serious self control that fructifies into success.

So walk on and don’t look back or wait for anyone to accompany you. Finally it’s your health & Fitness and you are the only one responsible for it.

“Cortisol use in Body Building” – Delna Pooniwala.

Cortisol is a steroid based hormone and is synthesized from cholesterol. It is made in the adrenal cortex of the adrenal gland.
Cortisol affects many different body systems like Metabolism of fats, carbohydrates, and protein. When your cortisol levels are high, the body actually resists weight loss and hence, some aspiring body builders choose to use this catabolic steroid to bulk their bodies.

To increase muscle size and correspondingly reduce body fat, one needs to ensure that all aspects of the bodybuilding lifestyle are adhered to, with a complex balancing act of “Diet and training” which are the two variables most often discussed concerning muscle building and fat loss. Although diet and training are fundamentally important variables for any bodybuilding program there are many other factors at play.

Nutrition is important at all times of the day for bodybuilders but to control cortisol release eating first thing in the morning and directly after a workout are optimum times. This is because in these most stressful times, insulin does not have the nullifying effect it normally has on cortisol and diet must facilitate an insulin release directly. Both carbohydrates and protein are extremely important at these times.
In addition, Vitamin C and Glutamine are an absolute must. Then the Cortisol will not have to breakdown the muscle to obtain it.

Since Cortisol is at its lowest and growth hormone is at its highest during slow wave sleep (deep sleep), It is necessary to ensure that this stage of sleep is attained every night.

Although this is something used by body builders, it is not medically advised as elevated cortisol levels interfere with memory, lowers immune systems and bone density, increases weight gain, blood pressure, cholesterol, heart disease and could be hazardous to the organs. A high Cortisol level converts the good peripheral fats of the body into unhealthy visceral fat (the fat in your abdomen that surrounds your organs).

Our bodies were never made to take in certain substances and we require respecting it and working on our physique with a lot of hard healthy work and diet.

“Proteins make you pretty”- Delna Pooniwala.

Along the years, some of my friends used to go on a drastic fruit and salad diet to lose weight and get a ‘size zero figure’ that was considered to be the wow thing a few years back.

Little did they realise the importance of proteins in their diet, or the impact the lack of it causes on the skin. With a lack of sufficient Proteins, the skin starts sagging and fine wrinkles may soon appear beyond what would be normal for the chronological age.

Elastic supple skin is a sign that a person has ample ‘Collagen’ which is the strong cement-like material that binds together the cells of your body. Collagen is a structural tissue that gets replaced very slowly and is made of fibrous protein.

Collagen comprises 30 percent of the total body protein. Its strong white fibers are stronger than steel wire of the same size, and a yellow elastic networks, called ‘elastin’, forms the connective tissue that holds our body together.

Collagen strengthens our blood vessels, bones, hair, teeth & brings youthfulness to the skin so it is essential to fuel it with a daily supply of proteins so that you look younger.

Tomorrow’s Preview: Sunday Special – Use of Cortisol in Body Building.

“Medical benefits of regular exercise”- Delna Pooniwala.

As we age, a few lifestyle choices like a regular physical activity, has as large an impact on our health.

Moderate-intensity aerobic activity, like brisk walking, is generally safe for most people.
Although if you have a chronic health condition such as arthritis, diabetes, or heart disease, you may need to consult your doctor to find out if your condition limits you in any way.

In most cases, regular physical activity helps with arthritis and other conditions affecting the joints too besides reducing the risk of developing coronary heart disease, type-2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome.

Physically active people have a lower risk of colon cancer & breast cancer than do people who are not active. It can help keep your thinking, learning, and judgment skills sharp as you age so keeps Alzheimer’s far away.

When the body is constantly mobile, you have a lower risk of functional limitations than people who are inactive.

Always remember – Everyone can gain the health benefits of physical activity – age, ethnicity, shape or size do not matter. So get started!

‘A healthy and regular regime gives you a strong body” – Delna Pooniwala.

There are people who follow a seasonal workout routine and there are some who follow it as a daily routine.

Research shows that doing aerobic, muscle-strengthening and bone-strengthening physical activity of at least a moderately-intense level makes your physical appearance strong.

Often people feel that strength is the same as toughness. However, people who may be strong and can lift weights may not be tough & people who are tough and can adapt to situations and circumstances, may not be strong. Hence, a combination of an aerobic activity, muscular strengthening load bearing weight training as well as functional training is required to achieve an overall fitness level.
Muscle-strengthening activities can help you increase or maintain your muscle mass and strength.

A person tends to gain weight when the calories burnt, including those burned during physical activity, are less than the calories he eats or drinks. An aerobic activity helps you burn calories and create a weight loss as while increasing your stamina. It also lowers your fat percentage to give your body a more chiseled look.

So when you follow a regular routine, your body looks strong and has the right definitions too.

Tomorrow’s Preview: Learn about the medical benefits of regular activity.

“Meet your friends for a healthy lunch”- Delna Pooniwala.

We meet our various groups of friends off and on and that’s when we usually go off course. So why not select a restaurant that serves great salads rather than heavy cheese loaded risotto, lasagna.

It may also not be necessary to go through a complete heavy meal with a main course. You may just opt for an ‘apéritif’. Nibble on the ‘hors d’oeuvre’ and load yourself with a salad or soup.

Even when you do not have a choice and end up at a restaurant specializing in Pizza, you needn’t stuff yourself with the entire pizza. Have a thin sliced portion of the pizza and try their ‘entrée’. You will be amazed at the variety they may have. Soups, Salads, Mini Chicken and veggie bread rolls, bbq chicken strips & tossed veggies.

So enjoy the company of your friends with a healthier choice.

“Improvements begin “WITH ME”. So take every day as a challenge”- Delna Pooniwala.

We humans are designed in a peculiar way where we are extremely bias to our actions. We justify what we do and can come up with multiple reasons why the situation was not conducive for us to do what we should.

When I ask clients why they went off course from their diet, the general reasons are “Shadi mein gayee thee” or “I had to go out for a meeting to a Chinese restaurant” or “I got talked into over eating”. People never say “I lost control & got tempted into wrong eating & finally overate all the wrong things”.

Fact is that even when we go out, we have loads of choices and we require using the appropriate one. If we go to a Chinese restaurant, ask for steamed vegetables or a steamed fish or steamed chicken prepared without monosodium glutamate. You could have ‘Siu Mai’ or ‘Jiaozi’. You needn’t really binge on fried rice and noodles with Fatty Pork Ribs.

Even when we are at a buffet or at a Shadi, understand the options first and then fill your plate with salads, raita, dry sabji or paneer that you may pick out from the dish or have a feast with the dal. Try and avoid huge quantities of rice, paratha & sweets.

Every day is a separate challenge and we need to constantly work on improving ourselves in every way.