My Little Log Book

Here are my Top 5 things to do in the morning for a healthy, happy and fit day. A Black Kite from the window 1. Listen to songs of nature. If you strain your ears in the morning, you will catch the tailorbird, babbler, sparrow, or drongo conversing, if you are lucky. Else there is the pigeon mynah or crow. A few minutes of listening to the titter and tatter sets a tranquil mood for the day. There are are other sounds of nature to catch too like the fall of leaves, rustle of wind or if you are lucky and near the coast, the breaking of the waves. So go ahead and find your songs of nature around you. 2. Sit quietly and reflect. Even a few minutes of absolute solitude helps set the tone for the day as one reaches out to one's core. It helps one figure out what is essential in life and what is not. 3. Observe a creature. This activity again connects us to other beings other than humans. Whether  it is an early bird looking for a worm or a bee looking for honey, a wasp going about buildi...

Why go to the gym when there are plenty of effective weight loss options at home? Doing one's household chores not only saves a lot of money on procuring help but also improves one's feelings of self-worth, gives satisfaction and cleaner looking house. It also improves one's relationship with the spouse/partner I am sure if one is in a relationship! Oh, it saves on the gym costs too.  Here's what you can expect to lose in calories if you start doing some basic chores • Vacuuming : Vacuuming your carpets and floors for an hour can burn roughly  100-200 calories 1. The more rooms you tackle, the more calories you’ll burn. • Laundry : Loading and unloading the washer and dryer, putting away clothes, and transporting loads around the house can burn about  50-100 calories per hour 1. • Mopping : Mopping your floors can burn  100-200 calories  in an hour. • Scrubbing the Bathroom : An hour of scrubbing the bathroom can burn  180-300 calories . • Rearranging F...

Dr. Uma Naidoo, a Harvard-trained psychiatrist and nutrition expert, has shared her top 5 breakfast options that are not only healthy but also beneficial for mental fitness. Here’s a summary of her recommendations: Chia Pudding: A homemade chia seed pudding is one of her go-to breakfasts. It’s high in fiber, which supports a healthy gut microbiome and brain communication, and contains omega-3 fatty acids that have anti-inflammatory effects on the brain ¹ .  Scramble, Omelet, or Baked Frittata: Eggs are a great source of healthy fats, proteins, and vitamins. The yolks are rich in vitamin D and serotonin, which help regulate mood. Dr. Naidoo suggests choosing eggs from pasture-raised, cage-free chickens for the best quality ¹ . Savory Tofu Scramble: For those who prefer a plant-based option, a savory tofu scramble is an excellent choice. Tofu is rich in tryptophan and soy isoflavones, which are associated with reduced symptoms of depression ¹ . Green Smoothie: A blend of leafy greens...

Here are 5 Important things to do Before / After Running a Marathon (Not Training!) Everyone knows there are important stuff to do before you actually run a marathon. A marathon is on many fitness lovers/freaks/fanatics to do list - "in things to do before one dies". So what is the important stuff to do before a marathon other than registering, practising, reaching the venue of the run, etc. #1 to do before the Mumbai Marathon Find your running legs. Ensure that those pair of femur, tibia and fibula muscle bound essentials are in place and not misplaced. Oil them and preserve them till the D-Day when you can unleash them on the usual suspects. That means no overdoing stuff before the run but still having enough miles in the bank. #2 to before cracking the Mumbai Marathon The marathon gear is as important as the actual running. What will you have to show after a 21 or 42 km run? A very sore pair of feet and sorer muscles? Well no. You will be showing selfies holding your timi...

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...

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 :)

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????

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...

Almost half a year gone and I haven't logged anything. I did have a lot of fitness issues the last few months. Will go over them in details later. For now, I have slightly changed my fitness regime. Reading my last posts I realise I was doing a lot of uphill walk on the treadmill. Nowadays I just jog 2-3 kms at a stretch and walk and then jog some more. Around 40 minutes per session. Looking at the skin tone - it looks decidedly unhealthy - I have incorporated some out walks / jogs in my schedule. So I have been walking outdoors at least twice a week. If I can make it to the park - I jog there. Yesterday - Around 5 kms at the park. Jogged for 3.5 kms. Really refreshing. I have a major exam coming up. After it is over - i need to start my uphill / incline training on the treadmill. Really builds up stamina as well as upper body strength. Still a long way to go before my first marathon. Can I make one in December this year...lets see. Just because I havent been logging my efforts doe...