Fitness Mantra "Your Guide to Total Fitness"

Breakfast bytes

~ Breakfasts could include porridge of rice flakes, garden cress seeds or muesli (a popular ready made breakfast cereal that contains cereals, nuts and dry fruits).

~ A savoury preparation of rice flakes (masala poha) also works.

~ A vegetable sandwich made with green chutney (prepared from coriander leaves or mint leaves or curry leaves, coconut or groundnuts along with amla) and slices of tomato and cucumber has lots of iron.

~ Have a glass of citrus juice or a citrus fruit like orange or sweetlime.

Mealtimes

~ Your main meals should contain a green leafy vegetable every alternate day and a salad either at lunch or dinner.

~ Cauliflower leaves are much richer in iron as compared to other green leafy vegetables and should be consumed more often.

~ Eating an amla along with your meal or drinking a glass of fresh lime juice half an hour after the meal is beneficial, as it helps increase the absorption of iron.

~ Non-vegetarians should include fish in one meal, and meat or poultry as a garnish to a vegetable dish in the other.

Snack time

~ Iron rich snack choices include dates, figs (anjeer), jaggery based chikki or garden cress seeds or ahliva ladoos.

~ Tea and coffee contain tannins, which form insoluble complexes with iron, thereby preventing its absorption. Hence, they should not be drunk along with or immediately after a meal.

Practicethese simple tips and you will feel just fit and fine.

Do you feel perennially exhausted ?
Do you sometimes experience breathlessness and palpitations?

Does your skin turn pale often?
It could be due to iron deficiency, a common problem amongst the youth today.

Causes of IRON deficiency

~ A low intake of iron rich foods.

~ Predominance of non-heme iron in the diet, an iron type that is not easily absorbed by the body. The other type is heme iron, which is easily absorbed.

~ The absence of iron absorption enhancing factors like vitamin C, meat, fish or poultry.

~ Prevalence of infections and worm infestations.

Types of dietary iron

~ Non-heme iron, which is the insoluble ferric form, is present in vegetable foods.

Rich sources of this form include rice flakes (poha), green leafy vegetables, sprouts, garden cress seeds or ahliva/ halim, dry fruits and jaggery.

Garden cress seeds, which are reddish brown in colour and resemble falooda seeds, are usually available at most provision stores. Soak a handful in a glass of milk for about 15 minutes and drink up the mixture.

The body can absorb only two to 20 percent of non-heme iron, but its absorption can be enhanced or decreased depending upon the food and drink had at the meal.

~ Heme iron, which is a soluble ferrous form of iron, is present in red meats, fish and poultry.

Milk is a poor source of iron, while egg contains a higher proportion of non-heme iron in the yolk.

On an average, about 15-35 percent of heme iron is absorbed by the body.

Enhance iron absorption

~ The presence of vitamin C rich foods at a meal enhances the absorption of non-heme iron; vitamin C converts the insoluble ferric iron into its soluble ferrous form, which can be easily absorbed.

These include guava, amla and citrus fruits like orange, sweet lemon, grapefruit and lime. Amla can be had as a pickle, murrabba or in its candied form.

~ The consumption of meat, fish or poultry has double benefits -- it provides heme iron as well as increases the absorption of non-heme iron.

~ Fermentation -- which takes place while making the idli-dosa batter -- and sprouting grains destroys some of the iron-inhibiting substances.

~ Raw or lightly steamed sprouts are also rich in vitamin C, which increases the absorption of iron.

Vegetarians versus non-vegetarians

Although vegetarian diets tend to be lower in iron than non-vegetarian diets, vegetarians do not have a greater risk of developing iron deficiency anemia.

Yoga has become a religion, its no more the ancient art of spiritual enlightenment practiced by Hindu yogi. It has become the New Age Mantra for the Modern Man to keep himself most energetic and agile to emerge as a Winner in both his Personal & Professional Life, after all a Healthy Soul become a True Winner in every spear of Life.

So in this high-stress, extremely competitive world every one needs to take care of their health and keeps their mind and body perfectly fit. And YOGA has emerge as the best tool for this supreme fitness. And over these years it has achieved the popularity that nothing else has gain all over the globe. Yoga has become a Brand over these years.

This blog is for those people who wants to make this powerful four lettered term "YOGA" their DNA for a healthy and successful living.

Everyone talks about weight loss, but what about those who are desperate to gain a few kilos?

Before we tackle that, though, let us first understand how do you know you are underweight? Simple, calculate your Body Mass Index. If it is less than 18.5, you are underweight.

Your BMI or Body Mass Index is your weight in kilos divided by the square of your height in meters. (The normal BMI is 18.5 to 24.9).

There are numerous supplements in the weight gain market that might help increase daily caloric intake, yet they have no benefits when compared to smart food choices.

The basic principle of weight gain is simple: You need to consume more calories than you expend. Follow these 10 tips.

This involves some calculation. The approximate normal daily caloric requirement for an average male who performs light activity is 2,200; for a female, it is 1,900.You need to eat around 1,000 extra calories per day to gain less than half a kilo a week.

Do the math. Eat larger portions and eat at least five meals a day.

Your actual caloric requirement can differ depending on your height, weight, activity level and your body's metabolic rate.

Tip No - 2 : Make Smart Food Choices

For example, choose dairy products, fish and meat over bread. Choose eggs over vegetables.

Eat foods with high protein content such as beans, pulses and peas, and foods with high starch content such as potatoes, rice and tapioca.

Increase your protein intake. Your body needs a lot of protein to build new muscle. But since most of the calories for weight gain comes from carbohydrates and fats, do not replace them with protein.

Tip No - 4 : Take High- Calories Snacks a Lot

Consume a lot of high-calorie snacks (not junk food) such as cheese sticks, milk shakes, muffins, dried fruits, yoghurt and breakfast bars.

Drink a lot of fluids that supply nutrients and calories; milk, fresh fruit juices and energy drinks are good examples.

Tip No - 6 : Intensify Your Work-Out

Aerobics are great, right? Not for weight gain!

You need to exercise really hard and intensely to gain muscle mass.

Tip No - 7 : Weights are the Way to GO

Focus on free weight exercises (which do not require machinery) that target your large muscle groups. For example, you need dumbells, not fancy gym machines.

Free weights put the most stress on muscles and stimulate the maximum number of muscle fibres.

The best weight training exercises for building muscle mass are free weight exercises like squats, dead lifts, bench presses, barbell rows, pull ups and bar dips.

These exercises are best done under supervision, but they don't need machinery.

Tip No - 8 : Space Out ur Work-Out

If you have a high basic metabolic rate -- which means you expend a lot of energy even at rest -- you need short intense workouts instead of long periods of low-stress activity.

Tip No - 9 : CREATINE

Creatine supplements can help some athletes gain weight. It is not known if it is because it gives them spurts of energy or because it adds water weight.

More research is needed in this area before Creatine becomes that magic pill. Creatine supplements are available at all major health food stores, but do not take it without consulting your doctor.

Tip No - 10: Be Consistent

It might take a long time, usually a few months, for the weight to actually show. Some people get frustrated and quit when they fail to see drastic results.

Your body will only responds to a consistent schedule. No weight gain programme will work for you if you are not regular.

Heredity does pay a major role in determining your weight. Effective weight training and a smart diet can help you exceed your genetically predetermined weight.

So, Friends don't worry if u have a weak or skinny body now, just follow these tips and remember the key to a healthy body depends on your 3 habits : Eating Habit, Sleeping Habit and Regular Work-Out.

Have an Ageless Body & Timeless Mind.

Thanks,

AJ

Do remember that merely losing weight is not enough.

You need to keep healthy too. In order to do so, you must include cardiovascular exercises -- this means exercising the heart and lungs -- in your fitness regime.

You can opt for walking, jogging, cycling, rowing, swimming, aerobics, cross-training (a movement of akin to cross-country skiing, this is replicated on a machine at the gym) or even go dancing.

Here are some facts you must know about cardiovascular training.

Your basic aim must be to increase your heart rate to a certain level for a certain amount of time. To figure out the heart rate that you should achieve (for a moderate exerciser), just subtract your age from 220 and divide the number you get by 70-75 percent.

For example, if you are 25 years old, 220-25 = 195. And 70-75 percent of 195 is 136-146.

This will give you the range/ level at which you should exercise.

If you are not a mathematics person, simply ensure you can carry on a conversation while doing that particular exercise. If you start puffing or gasping for air, you know you are doing it wrong. At the same time, do not walk or work out at such a slow pace that all you are doing is talking!

Try to sustain your stipulated heart rate for 30 minutes, three times a week initially. Then, gradually increase it to 40 minutes. Walk or jog for a half hour at least to increase your heart rate around three to four times a week.

In the long run, this will increase your stamina/ energy levels and BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate). At the same time, it will decrease your blood pressure and cholesterol levels.

BMR is the rate at which you expend energy at rest. This means you are burning calories even while watching television. The best part is, you will burn fat as well, hence losing weight.

Cardiovascular exercise or endurance training will increase your stroke volume (the amount of blood pumped by the heart in one beat). This will, in turn, reduce your resting heart rate (heart rate when you are not exercising). The normal resting heart rate for adults is between 60-80 beats per minute. If it goes below 60, it is even better. The lower your resting heart rate, the better.

How to check your resting heart rate: Keep your palm facing upwards. Place three fingers (not the thumb) on your wrist, on the side towards your thumb. Slightly press down to feel for a pulse. Count your pulse for 15 seconds and multiply that number by four.

Quick tip: It is better to sustain a moderate heart rate for a longer duration of time than to increase the intensity/ level of exercise for a shorter while.

So Run, Jog, Swim, Cycle or Dance -- just get your heart going and feel great!

Have an Ageless Body & Timeless Mind.

Whenever we saw people having body with solid cuts, we wonder how many hours he must be spending in a gym, and when we saw a person having that kind of body but have the ultimate flexibility we start work in our brain is that really possible. A Body with both Strength and Flexibility what every one wants because that is the sign of a perfect balanced body. But very few people have that idea how to build it. And in getting that most of the people end up spending hours in the gym and as a result if at all they gain strength they have loosened their flexibility.

Any one who have seen the body of Bollywood Superstar Hritik Roshan, he/she doesn't need to explain whats a body with strength & flexibility is. The cuts on the chest, biceps, shoulders shows the ultimate strength while his dance moves may it be from latest Crazy4 or Lakhya or Koi Mil Gaya shows the ultimate flexibility one can have.

As in this section of my blog I am explaining about simple exerises that you can do at your home with few things and can become the owner of a very beautiful body and can become envy of any regular gym guy.

This ultimate balanced body can be built at your own mini Gym with New Age Workout Techniques. You doesn't required high power machines for that only a tube and a ball can give you that strength and flexibility.

There are in total Eight exercises in this New Age Workout Techniques. In this blog I will train you about the first three for which you need a tube only.

New Age Workout : Phase - I

So, my friends never skip this few minutes process of warming-up of your body, because only this can make your body to ready for the next level of physical activities . And when u will build health muscles you will definitely owned the most beautiful body and mind.

Have an Ageless Body and Timeless Mind.

In my next post I will explain about Strength exercises both Traditional & New-Age.


Thanks,

Aj

Health is Wealth….that’s the bottom line…in this fast moving world each one of us on the run to achieve our career dreams, forgot to take rest, forgot to take care of our health and finally most of the people when they are about to reach the pinnacle of their career success, they feel something is aching below their chest… while others find their body is trembling and they can’t take any more stress…while others lose their sleep….and others find no fire in their desire …..and at this moment they land themselves in such a situation they neither reach that professional success which is just steps away or if at all they reach they can’t bear the heat and have to leave with a heavy heart and rest of the life spend with pills, tablets and doctor’s prescription…that’s very moment they feel that if they would have taken care of their health at the right time then they must have conquer many such empires in the corporate worlds.

Thanks,
Aj