Sandra Bullock - Gravity and Age Defying Fitness

I just read the review of Gravity in which Sandra Bullock plays a lost in space astronaut. At 50, Bullock is getting rave reviews for her yummy appearance.

Bullock was always one my favorite people on screen. With this performance (which I will be sure to watch) my admiration for her has gone up a notch or two. Just one generation back - 50 was considered to be irretrievably old. Male actors have transcended the 50 years barrier with meaty roles for sometime. Women havent been so lucky. Good roles yes - but "gravity" defining roles at 50 - cant remember any!

Bullock's role which must have demanded a load of stamina is a tribute to her fitness. Sandra trained specifically for her "weightlessness" in the movie. She admits she pushed her body to the extreme during training.

Read about how Sandra trained for Gravity here.

Bullock's fitness regime is apparently a combination of dance routines for cardio, yoga and pilates. She revealed on Today Show to Jay Leno recently that she does kick boxing and rides a bike whenever she can and runs when she is in Austin.

Sandra Bullock Workout Regime

Sandra's workout by as prescribed by her trainer Eden Paul includes
Squats
Reverse Lunges
Push ups
Dumbbell Workouts
Scissor Kicks for those killer abs
Side Lunges

Sandra reportedly has been working recently with Simone De La Rue at the Body by Simone Dance Studio on
Yoga, Pilates and Dance Cardio. She apparently puts in one hour every day six days a week with Simone to get her killer looks.

The number 1 in DVD workouts at Amazon


Best of Fitness DVDs

Sandra Bullock Diet

What diet does Sandra follow? Sandra apparently maintain her looks and fitness by a healthy eating habit. She has revealed at times that she doesnt have a specific diet plan as such but avoids junk food. She apparently cheats a day a week.

Jillian Michaels 30 day Shred

Such an example of health and fitness coupled with true beauty and acting skill - deserves a shout.

Keep it up Sandra!

Weight Loss - Working Tricks and Tips - FREE

Let me be clear. Running one marathon doesnt ensure weight loss (other than temporarily). Weight Loss is a function of just one thing...well two actually.

• Proper diet
• Consistent exercise

Nothing earthbreaking about it - is it?

Proper diet could be a 1600 cal diet per day. If one is above 70 kgs and leads a moderately active life, the body expends near about 1800 - 2000 calories. So following a 1600 calories diet per day regularly should ensure that one loses weight.

Another factor that I have discovered that ensures weight loss is consistent exercise. I have discovered (yes it is a discovery because otherwise there wont be so many health fads) that people who regularly walk in the park while chatting are healthy and lose weight eventually. I include chatting because that gives the right impetus to walk. And consistent walking for one hour daily ensures weight loss.

The above is versus people who go on sporadic diets, take on gym membership and go may once a week for some hardcore training and change and follow various fitness fads. Result - for every kg of weight loss they put on weight.

Another thing going for the walk in the park is that it is an activity that can be done daily right onto old age or the eighties. It will be very difficult to walk on the incline or run backwards on a treadmill during the sixties unless one is abysmally fit.

A Simple Diet Plan

WHAT is a proper diet? A proper diet means eating a good breakfast, a regular everyday lunch with colours, less oil with loads of vegetable and a gluten free dinner before 8 in the evening. Simple, right?

A 1600 calorie diet  could be divided up into four 400 cals diets in a day. Or it could be measured        (1600 * 7) in a week. If you decide to fast on a single day or just take maybe 400-500 one day of the week - you can have a bit of fun other days!

So if you have like me tried all weight loss tricks and your weight goes up and down like a yoyo, you are well into your forties - STOP EXPERIMENTING and just take a stroll in the park.

Way to Diet

Reading about all these diet plans has made me terribly hungry!

I have zeroed down on two options after some initial research. Taking a weight loss supplement like amway  / herbalife, etc or going on a lemonade diet.

Diet supplements are apparently high protein low carb products which supplement your meal plan. Let me check out more on the exact content fibre content and price of the products.

A lemonade diet seems to be a much cheaper option - only needs harder work. Drink fresh lemonade every day with cayenne pepper and maple syrup. However I have to see whether maple syrup and cayenne pepper are available on the shelf in my town! While internet may have wiped out the distances between continents and you get as much information in New York as in Nuaghat - there's still a long way to go in getting physical products conveniently...sigh. What could be the Indian and locally available substitutes for maple syrup and cayenne pepper?

Weight Loss Through Wuyi Tea - A Magic Diet!

Is Wuyi tea truly a magic diet weight loss formula? Looking for slimming plans (as I usually do at least once a month :-) I came across what is being claimed as a magic weight loss plan, the Wu Yi diet tea. The plan is simple. Just two cups of Wuyi tea a day, 30 minutes of walking, normal balanced diet.

What exactly is Wuyi tea? It’s the tea grown in the volcanic Wuyi mountain region. Wuyi Mountain is located in Southeast China. It is a Unesco heritage site and the cradle of neoconfucianism. The setting of Wuyi mountains, the nutrient rich trapped soil, the high humidity and provide the perfect environment for tea from that region. Tea from the Wuyi Mountains is being exported for centuries. The Chinese take their tea seriously. Drinking tea is almost a spiritual act. The tea is savoured and taken in small clay thimbles with both hands in the traditional Chinese way. The ancient Chinese believed this tea to be a cure for many ailments.

The most famous Wuyi Tea, Da Hong Pao is grown in only three bushes which accounts for its exhorbitant price (if its available!) Xing Hong Pao is grown from the branches of the smaller red robe trees which are descents of the original three red robe trees.

So why is the Wuyi tea believed to be a diet tea? Possibly because the caffeine in the tea raises the body’s metabolic rate? The tea in itself contains very little calories and should be taken in lukewarm water. Wuyi tea, in addition contains higher levels of polyphenols and thus has high antioxidant properties which are attributed to protect from a variety of diseases (the ancient Chinese medics prescribed them often). It also is supposed to be responsible for increasing body metabolism, which may account for the weight loss properties.

There are many resources on Wuyi tea on the Net. Here is one.