BMI Calculator

A BMI calculator is just one way to keep a track of a healthy body weight. Though there have been many criticisms of the BMI - for example it doesnt take into account muscle weight vs fat weight - its a good way to keep a check on whether one remains in the healthy zone by normal people.

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Why Its Easier To gain Weight Than to Lose Weight?

I have heard this refrain hundreds of times - "I have only got to breathe air to gain weight" or "I go to the gym but havent lost any weight" or just simply "Why dont I lose weight?"

Let me tell you why.

No this is not going to be a brutal dissemination of your terrible eating habits. Just some plain fact about calories and how we gain them and lose them.

How much calorie to lose/gain 1 kg

It takes approximately 7700 calories to lose 1 kg of fat.

Suppose one goes about one's normal work eating normal everyday food. A 65-68 kgs person would need approximately 1800 calories in a day. The regular food we consume will total upto more or less that. By regular food I mean a bowl of cereal for breakfast with juice, some carbohydrates, protein and vegetables for lunch, some snacks and a regular supper. Nothing  high carbohydrate or junk included.

How we consume extra food without knowing

Suppose one consumes a pastry or a bag of chips extra - that would easily make 250 cal extra daily. Having an extra something and most often more than an extra something like one rich meal (atleast 500 cal extra), a couple of extra beer (again +500) calories - one would easily rack up a total of 7500 in a matter of 30 days.


People gradually put on weight forgetting about the little somethings they eat. They think "Ok, I will exercise it off" - and never get around to it. And what about the exercise?

Does a little exercise help? Lets do some calculations.

Lets say I have had a 4-5 beers in the week, had biriyani twice, consumed some crunchies with my drinks - and havent counted my calories. Lets count the extra calories.
4-5 beers - 1000 cal at least
Biriyani (or something equally rich) - 1000 cal at least - and more if Mutton Biriyani
Cunchies - 300 cal - lets say

I have not included any sweets here and already I am overcaloried by 2300!

Does the above calculations of overindulging sound plausible? I would say so. If its not the drink - then its the pastries or sweetened juice or fried wantons or something.

How periodic, unplanned exercise is not enough

So I plan to work it off on the weekend.

I walk /jog 5 kms twice a week. At approximately 60 calories per km (unless one is walking uphill) - I manage to lose around 600 calories. With more exertion I manage to shed 1000 calories. Believe me, if one is not a fitness freak and goes overboard - that is what one is likely to shed with diligent exercise twice or thrice a week.

Lets go back to the calculations again.

I have taken 2300 calories and lost 1000 calories in a week. I have an extra of 1300 calories. No heavy obvious bingeing, no drinking spree, no living off junk food - and I have gained 1300 calories extra in a week. In 6 weeks I will likely put on 1 kg, in one year 8 kgs or more. (52 wks X 1300 cal/7700cal = 8.8 kgs).

And it goes on for years. One puts on weight kg by kg, pound by pound, relentlessly, and before one knows it one is overweight!

I still dont know how I am gaining weight. I feel I am an occasional drinker. I dont party or overeat all the time, I do regular exercise in my opinion. But I am still gaining weight!

So do you see how its so much easier to gain weight than to lose weight!

What does one do about it?

You have diagnosed the problem. In my opinion - knowing why one is gaining weight is the biggest step in the direction of weightloss and an eventual healthy life.

How to shed that weight? Now that will be another article. Or a long process!

Workout - 19/10/2013

My Workout Regime for the day

Feeling positively awash with goodwill today. Had another great workout yesterday.

Here's how it went

Stretching

Round 1 

•  5 mins on the elliptical (read - 65 cal)

• A set of legs and arms workout on the home gym (Leg press, Leg Extension, Shoulder press), 100 twists on the spinner

Round 2 

• 11 mins on the treadmill (read - 100 cal)

• 2nd set of muscles workout

Round 3 

•  54 Mins on the treadmill (Read - 612 cal)

Maximum intensity - Incline 12, Speed - 6.7 km/hr

Check out the stats here

Finally did some post exercise lounging around, watching TV, listening to songs loud and cooling down :)

Workout - 17/10/2013

Today's Workout Log

7 Rounds around the campus

Time - 50 mins: Distance - 4 kms approx. I have to set my pedometer properly. It gets disconnected with too much movement of my arms!

Intensity - Not too high. Considerably hampered by gossiping

Feeling - Great

Gym - 3 rounds of leg press, leg extension, twister, arms crunch followed by a 5 mins on the vibration plate

Today's Food Log

Breakfast - 4 pooris and alu sabzi from Ganguram :-)
Lunch - Normal with saag, karela, mixed veg, daal and a little rice
Bsicuits - 4 Maries
Sweets - 1 Nalen gurer sandesh
1 bowl Papaya
Dinner - 1 plate homemade mattar chat (with farsan/chips on top)

Now how do I sum up these calories????

Retirement Bollwood Ishtylee

An Icon Retires - Not In Shtyle???

One can't help wondering about this conversation...BCCI - "Retire before South Africa - your 200th test will be in Mumbai"
The build up is like its the final test before apocalypse!!!

Some private thoughts...How credible will that final Test be? How far will cricket's premier body and its confederates go to boost its viewership, rating, TRP, earnings?


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(Meme by mylittlelogbook.blogspot.com)

Yesterday's Workout!

Finally got around to doing some real kicka.. workout yesterday. In fact two days in a row.

14th October - 6 rounds around the campus (I estimate a distance of 650 or so mts per round) after my last workout on 5th October. It was a relief to get out of the house with a friend and move around after awating a major Hurricane (Phailin), antcipating, preparing and then tiding over it - over the weekend. Not much damage around the campus except a few broken limbs (from trees, silly) and lots of leaves and twigs.

15th Oct - 8 rounds including some slow jogging  (again with above friend) which felt truly satisfying. Continued onto the gym. Did 3 rounds of weights for legs and arms and then the blessed relief of the vibration plates.

I know these variety of exercise will help better eventually - but there is nothing more adrenaline busting than watching the calorie count going up up on a treadmill!

Here's to more exercise!

Did I spoil it all with a beer tonight? Cannot be helped - sigh. i do so wish I can avoid those mixtures and ...

10 Benefits of a Bowl of Papaya for Breakfast

It is a well known fact that papaya has a huge cache of benefits asociated with it. Together with green tea - papaya is the most revered of food that nutritionists and dieticians recommend. And with good reason.

The 10 Benefits of Papaya

 Reason # 1 to eat papaya

Unlike many other healthy food - a rich ripe papaya tastes like heaven. Its sweet and slightly sour taste provides just the required kickstart to a glorious feeling throughout the day. For a sustained diet of any food - it has to taste good - papaya has that going for it in loads!

# 2 - The fruit is available throughout the year. So it can form a part of any dietary plan in any season.

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 # 3 - Its health benefits are myriad. It contains an enzyme Papain that helps in natural digestion.

# 4 - A bowl of Papaya can provide about 10% of our daily requirement of natural dietary fibre and helps in clear bowel movement.

# 5 - It is a rich natural source of Vitamins A, C, E and flavonoids like Beta carotine  and thus a rich source of anti-oxidant nutrients. These vitamins strengthen the body immune system and what better way to get them then from a natural and easily available source? Papaya similarly has anti-inflammatory properties because of the presence of its unique enzymes.

Check out the Papaya Nutrition content here

Papaya Nutriton Content

# 6 - Lower Sugar (than Mango) - A small bowl of papaya (100 g) contains about 43 calories and 8 g of sugar. Compare it with Mangoes. A 100g intake of ripe mango will have about 14 g of sugar and 60 calories. (all nutrition facts from google search results ) Thankfully mangoes are a seasonal fruit! It is advisable not to take more than 20-22 g sugar in a day. Am not sure if natural sugar is ncluded in that, though.


# 7 -  Beauty Benefits - Papaya is a good source of natural food for a healthy skin. While a dab of mashed papaya can make a good skin pack and skin lightener, the vitamin A in papaya ensures a clear skin tone and good eye sight.

# 8 - Low Sodium, Potassium Rich - The low sodium content of Papaya is a major boon as it prevents water retention. Potassium in the fruit helps control hypertension.

# 9 - Unripe papaya is frequently used as a meat tenderizer while cooking meat dishes - like mutton and lamb. The enzyme papain breaks down the tough meat fibres and makes cooking easier. However the unripe papaya should be eat cooked as direct intake of the enzyme could have adverse effects.

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# 10 - Eating the bowl of papaya has other periphery benefits like healthy hair, good eye sight, clear skin; papain is extracted from papaya for dietary supplements, raw papaya is used everywhere from a face to a hair mask, to a wound soother.

I am really however not sure how many of those periphery benefits are supported by science and facts. Papaya has been touted as a great weight loss enabler. The only way I can see papaya helping to lose weight is because it makes a filling zero cholesterol meal. Be sure to continue counting your sugar when you eat a load of ripe papaya based diet.

I have been having papaya for breakfast for the last so many years and i like to believe it has helped me be a healthy person. It makes a wonerful and healthier filler when you want to nibble on chocolates or chips.

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Papaya definitely needs it be added to one's diet.