FIVE FATS YOU SHOULD LOVE

The term Fat doesn’t always mean that you’ll just gain weight by the intake of it or as few may think even just by mentioning the term. You don’t have to avoid it all from your diet; infact, if chosen wisely and in moderation, fats from lowering cholesterol and helping shed excess weight to giving you shiny and healthy hair & nails; promotes good health.

You just need to know the right kinds and can easily live it up the right way!!!

·      Nuts & Nut Butter, add nuts to vegetables or indulge into a bread slice with peanut butter, or just have a handful of walnuts/almonds as an evening snack, which would keep cholesterol at bay, thereby reducing the risk of heart diseases.Avocados are rich in monounsaturated fatty acids and can be eaten in various forms.

·      Seeds & Seed Oils(Sunflower,Sesame,Pumpkin,Flaxseeds), Being rich in Polyunsaturated fatty acids, they help in managing cholesterol and preventing heart problems.

·      Vegetable Oils(Olive,Peanut,Canola), Being rich in Monounsaturated fatty acids, these are cholesterol friendly and helps prevent heart diseases.

·      Coconut Oil Since it contains Medium chain fatty acids, it not only helps in preventing various heart problems, also is helpful in reducing abdominal obesity in women.

·      Seafood(Salmon,Herring,Sardines,Trout,Cod liver oil,Prawns), Being rich in Omega-3 fatty acids,they help lower blood pressure & decrease the risk of coronary heart diseases.

In addition, one can also keep the following points in mind to help reduce the total amount of fat in the diet:

Ø Choose a diet rich in whole grains, raw vegetables & fruits.

Ø Limit your consumption of highly processed foods, bakery products and fried products, sources of Trans fat, which help increase the bad cholesterol (LDL).

By Aditi Shrishrimal: Health coach at LNF

Sugar Addiction is real find ways to quit

Sugar Sugar on my mind.

I come across so many people who always ask me doc can I eat some sweet post my meal everyday? Or I have a sweet tooth and I cant live without some sweet everyday.

That sounds familiar?

Sugar is addictive and numerous studies have shown it to be very very addictive.

Lot of people argue: but but shouldn't we eat sugar for energy, what do you mean give up sugar, how will we live?

In addition to weight gain, excess sugar can also cause inflammation, have adverse effects on your heart, increase your risk for diabetes and possibly cause kidney damage.

Giving up sugar now or never that's how it works . 

Learn the difference between natural and artificial sugar. 

If you consume large quantities of sugar give it up now. It works like now or never.  I have myself tried to do slow quitting but cravings always comes back.

Go easy in a party don't let one night of fun ruin your sugar quitting, as party will end but cravings will not.

While buying, read food labels carefully (we will be doing a section on that.)

Alcohol also contains sugar. So called empty calories.

Artificial sweeteners as low- calorie replacements have a variety of side effects.


   Contributions also by Aditi Shrishrimal Health Coach at LNF.

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7 Dieting Mistakes You Should Avoid....!!

Ever wondered why you don’t seem to meet up your weekly weight loss goals.... after having followed a not so tasty diet plan and almost draining yourself in those cardio/strength sessions... every Monday morning you still fall short of few hundred grams of the expected weight loss...!!

Here’s how you could identify common glitches... correct them and find yourself more inspired and encouraged towards losing the remaining extra kilos...!!

Keep Eating a “Singular Activity”

Eating in peace with all the focus on your plate helps you sense the feeling of fullness.... or what we call satiety. Watching television, talking over phone and working on laptop while eating..., can lead to improper chewing and eating more than required. Mindful consumption of meals favours sensitization of ‘satiety clues’ and you know exactly where to stop eating.

Don’t Purchase your diet... Prepare it...!!

Often in morning rush hours..., we choose processed/ready to eat foods like corn flakes, oats, whole grain bread, and sometimes even tea and crackers as breakfast options. Although these constitute a handy option and the nutrient content seems to be similar to home cooked foods but eventually they have a higher glycemic index and lower fibre and protein content. Try limiting these to 2-3 times per week and opting for simple home-made recipies that suffice your nutrient requirement.

Distribute your food evenly

The key to weight loss without loss of health lies in creating a balance of nutrients or types of food. The more balanced a meal, the better and steady is release of nutrients into the blood stream. One must include at least one combination of cereal and legume, cereal and pulse or cereal and milk for your main meals while keeping the raw fruit/vegetable portions for in between snacking.

Avoid eating and drinking at the same time

Glugging water and other beverages while eating or immediately after meals reduces the efficacy of digestion and absorption process due to dilution of the digestive juices released in stomach. Digestion becomes prolonged and the absorption is also not that great. Take plenty of fluids all the day round but remember to exempt from them during meals.

Drinking calories v/s eating them

Substituting your meals with a glass of milk or taking fruit juices in place of fruits don’t add much of a benefit to your health. Doing so, you might end up adding almost equal or even extra calories to your diet while going deficient in terms of other nutrients. A glass of 200ml 3% milk gives you almost equal calories as a well balanced meal and no where matches the satiety level of a meal. A glass of orange juice surely gives you higher amount of vitamins and minerals than a whole orange... but it also has sugars (fructose) from 3-4 oranges and absolutely no fibre...!!

Go individual

A universal diet or a diet that works for all is yet to be discovered. The fact that every individual is different and so is its response to any particular practice holds a lot of evidence. Identify your body’s responses and analyse them to understand what suits you the best. Diet and exercise regimes should be tailor-made..., not copied and followed simply because it did benefit your friend or relative.

Set realistic, “health-happy”  goals

After having made one or all of the aforementioned corrections..., most importantly remember that there is a certain amount of weight that one should aim at losing over a period of time. Achieving jaw-dropping weight loss in a short span of time (10-12 weeks) might create a story line for you but the health risks it poses are too many..., plus the ‘yo-yo effect’ that makes you gain weight as quickly and more than you actually lost.

-Do it the right way.., as being slim has become a little outdated. Staying healthy is the new cool...!!

Contributed by Pooja Lakhani Health coach at LNF 

Kid and Teen Obesity: a word for parents

Today I had the pleasure of seeing this vibrant young 13-year-old boy whose mother had sent him for excessive weight gain.

I would like to share my experience how today’s teens are facing Obesity related issues and why are we parents not able to do much about this.

This boy is in 8^th grade has 2-3 tuitions daily, not much sports as he has now become lazy and overweight. He feels best when he is at home on his bed.

When I saw him, his only concern was the tuitions and how he feels overburdened by this issue. I can’t take those decisions for parents but instilling good exercise at early age is very important. A fit body will have a faster mind. I understand that there is lot of academic pressure but if your child has poor health we totally lose all battles.

He also shared how he is so bored with same food at home, so loves to order food when mom is not around.

I had an hour-long discussion, I am no psychiatrist but large part of my obesity practice is counseling patients.

Most people know that eating right and exercising is the right solution. But are we provided with those solutions? It’s easy to make a diet chart and send a patient home, but when they go home they are struggling again.

When I realized that this kid was fond of food I immediately noted down his likes and dislikes and provided him with replacements of whatever foods he loved.

Kids love pastas and noodles and chips etc. They can be easily incorporated into their diets in a healthy way. Mother or caretaker has to be counseled about the changes and then it’s easy and breezy,

Parents can’t be friends but doctors can be. Not appreciating a kid and just loading them with criticism and comparisons is not going to solve anything. Even unknowingly parents put that pressure on kids. Whether it’s a sibling comparison or a peer comparison, it is mentally very stressing for kids.

We as parents are the ones who will instill high self-esteem in our kids.

First we should identify why a teenager is not listening to you. Hormonal changes in these kids are tremendous as they start teens, valuing their efforts is utmost important.

So as we progressed into the eating habits the boy was surprised that I am allowing him to eat pasta, chips and pizza.

But I also stressed that importance of getting vegetables,fruits and salads also if you are in that bargain. This boy went to school at 6 am so no time for breakfast!!! He only had a glass of milk and left for school, how will his brain work, and why didn’t we use the morning fat burning hormones? His next meal would be at 11:30 am that means this kid has been studying for 5 housrs before he ate any energy releasing foods. Shocking as it sounds I felt so sad at hearing this, my heart went out for this kid.

Some parents stop all so called villain foods when they see a child gaining weight and happen more so when they come back from a pediatrician visits.

That weight boggles the parents and same day all butter cheese and fries and chips are taken away.

That is not the way, you take some you give some.

You have to allow these young people to make healthy choices. Teaching them at schools about nutrition is also very important. If we load kids with sugar daily, the will have sugar cravings. Simple Sugar is the single most enemy. Sugar is present mostly in everything we eat. There is no need for kids to have simple sugars like table sugar especially in milk or yogurt, they already have lactose. Sugar eating is a habit and its slow process to bring that craving down. Feeding fibrous vegetable, whole/complex carbohydrates will take away the urge to have sugar because body already has sugar.

Sometimes desserts can be given, as it’s impossible to tell your kid not to eat ice cream when there is so much visual stimulation for such foods all around.

So my advice to parents is to seek proper help if your kid is facing such issues. Let a professional take care of them to start with and then as they grow they will understand.