fitness guidlines by Rujuta Diwekar- part 2

Hello! This blog is specially belonging to the ones who really want to change their lifestyle into a happy lifestyle! Happiness comes from health. So, here are few guidelines to lead fitness. Those are not myths and maths; scientific study says it. This blog is the summary of leading dietitian and fitness trainer of India, Rujuta Diwekar’s fitness project 2018.

Chapter Food

Eat wholesome meal between 4 to 6pm 

You must have heard this - have a light dinner to lose weight. But how to make dinner light? Well, by eating something wholesome in the evening.

Eat a wholesome meal between 4-6 pm in the evening. Why? Our hormone cortisol follows a natural cycle; it rises in the morning, allowing you to start fresh, clear bowels, etc., and drops in the evening, to allow for restful sleep in the night. That is why quality of sleep and waking up fresh is one of the health parameters we are tracking in this project. This tells us about your metabolic health, your immune response, your hormonal balance and your response to stress.

When we don’t eat anything in the evening or kill our appetite with chai or coffee, our body works at producing more cortisol instead of reducing it. This will lead to - - Overeating at dinner - Poor sleep - Slow digestion - PCOD/ Thyroid issues - Insulin insensitivity (leading to diabetes and many other lifestyle diseases)

You could eat peanuts and chana, for winters, chapati- jaggery-ghee, poha, upma, idli, dosa, egg toast, khakra, mathri, homemade goond/ besan laddoo. If none of these available, veg cheese grilled sandwich will do.  Protein shakes. Milk, fruit are also good options. Once a week, it's okay to eat chaat items. But chaat can't be your dinner. Eat smaller dinner after this meal.

Most important note – The 4-6 pm meal only happens if it’s planned in advance. Plan for your whole week today itself.

Rice dal for dinner

It is the most ancient grain we have. Take ghee on it.

Why you should eat rice for dinner? - Easy to digest - increases leptin sensitivity and therefore improves sleep quality - it is a prebiotic (food for probiotic) and keeps the gut strong. Bye bye constipation. - The BCAA (branch chain amino acids) in rice have muscle sparing effect (you will see results of workout faster). - Suitable for people of all kinds of constitutions (doshas – vata, pitta and kapha.

Eat pulav, biryani, khichadi, all types of cooked rice. Rice and dal are rich in nutrition. Don't fear rice. Eat white rice, no fear. Eat single type of rice at a time; don't mix the rice species to eat. 

Chapter Exercise

Strength training. 

Good time to start exercise is today. We loose muscle weight as we get older.

If you have diabetes, or any chances of coming genetically, you should surely start strength training. If you have period trouble, breakouts on face, if you are menopausal, weight training will special to you. If you have arthritic pain, depressive thoughts comes in your mind, you should start it. It also gives good sleep. There are many pros of strength training.

Here are some of the benefits from just one session of strength training a week –

• Prevents Diabetes and if you already have it, has the potential to get you on lowered dosages if not totally off medicines.

• Regulates period cycle and leads to pain free periods. Make conception easy if you want a baby.

 • Reduces arthritic pain and uric acid.

• Reduces Blood pressure and resting heart rate.

 • Improves functioning of the brain.

• Increases gait speed (can walk faster).

• Reduces depressive thoughts and improves sleep

Start it with one day in a week. If you are irregular in doing it, start it with two times a week. If you do it 3 days or more in a week, focus on intensity. 

Chapter Lifestyle

How much to eat. 

Sick people don't feel hungry. We feel hungry. Appetite is moving entity. With seasons, company, your hunger varies. Eat with all your senses to understand when to stop. Use the mental meal map as a tool to help you eat the right quantity.

Following steps explains the simple steps of the mental meal map.

Step 1 - Visualize how much you would like to eat.

Step 2 - Serve yourself half of that portion

Step 3 - Take double the time to eat the meal

Step 4 - If still hungry, start again from step 1.

Along with the Mental Meal Map, follow this eating etiquette –

• Fix a place where you will eat and as often as possible eat at the same place

• No phones, TV or any gadget during meals – you already know that

• Sit down in Sukhasana (if possible) and eat with your hands

• Drink a glass of water before your meal finishes.

If you want to watch the video based on this blog, link is-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IOTOfA8a5QY

Keep Blogging, Keep Reading

- Sayali Darakh Rathi