Healthy Salty Snacking

I believe that the key to weight loss is planning. Being unprepared specially when hunger strikes is a sure shot recipe to veer towards quick fixes to satiate the hunger. For example in my office if there is a late evening meeting - samosas from a very tasty samosa vendor are ordered. That is supplemented with hide and seek biscuits and coffee/ tea. In case I do succumb to this I will pile on about 600 unnecessary and seemingly harmless calories from the samosas and mindless biscuit munching.

I carry 2 snacks to office. Usually a fruit for a mid-morning snack . In the evenings, I tend towards some dates and nuts, or a yogurt. But since I am always trying to come down on the carbs and up the protein in my diet, when I found this at my local - Godrej Nature's Basket, I immediately grabbed it to try and share :)

Roasted Channa - high protein and guilt free snacking!

I also got soya nuts (unpictured) and they were very very tasty too. It gives that crunchy, salty, chat-pata satiety which I am usually looking for in a salty snack like chips or other fried savoury like bhujia, mixtures, murukkus, chakli etc.

For about 350 cals in 100 grams & nearly 15 grams of protein, it is a healthy alternate. Rs.60 for just 150 grams is pricey. But these are the tastiest ones I have had in some time, so I am prepared to pay it up!

Ofcourse you can be creative and add to salads. That would a complete winner. But this is how it travelled with me to work today:

Evening snack - healthy and wholesome

I have done a post on healthy snack ideas here in case you might be interested.

Always remember - have at hand things that you can eat when hunger strikes - like fruit that is cut up or an extra roti/ paratha to make a hearty evening snack( a trick I learned from Prachi), some cheese, yogurt, milk etc. That way you can preempt hunger and stick to you desired calorie intake.

Working out while being a mom - part 3 - exercise at home!

I woke up this morning to a severely wheezing child. We barely slept last night, and we all know how frustrating it is to have a sick child at home. I mean yes it does get hard when you have a naughty baby who climbs and jumps and opens and shuts and touches and does all kinds of mischief. But when that baby turns into a moaning, sick child it seems like the whole house is struck by a great grief. I mean I really find it odd to find the whole newspaper together when I pick it  up at about 8.30 in the mornings. Usually Chittu is the one to pick up the paper, then open it to spot and identify all the cars he knows and then fling it across as if there was nothingelse in it worthy of interest. The paper also gets scribbled and sketch penned and sometime also torn and tattered if the mood is really good!

 

With barely any sleep last night I knew that body pump would be out of the question. Its the third class I missed! But not exercising is not an option. My latest find is Ms.Jillian Micheals and I did her Banish Fat boost Metabolism work out today. To say the least I loved the routine and I was a sweaty mess by the time I cooled down! I have only recently discovered the joy of getting a good workout in at home. And my runs and trips to the gym have decresed!

 

There have been so many instances - I woke up late, felt too tired in the morning, was busy over the weekend to get to the gym, had a sick baby etc to have made up a good enough reason not to exercise. But I don't want to not exercise. Exercise gives me a good adrenalin rush, keeps my eating in check, keeps me in the weight loss mind set and simply has wayyyyy too many benefits to offer.

 

Infact of late, being a working mom has been eating up my conscience and I feel I dont give my son enough time. So going to the gym for a 40 minute cardio session ( which takes 60-70 minutes transit time included) is a less attractive proposition than working out at home.

 

I am guilty of downloading those fabulous workouts free of cost from the web. But I will buy them and give the maker her due - and thats a promise. Jillian Micheals' workouts - the 30 day shred, yoga meltdown as well the banish fat boost metabolism are all fantastic. It is a great way to exercise for those who need the option of being able to bring exercise to the doorstep without the use of any expensive machinery or accessories. And thats the reason I decided to write this down - to get fit you dont need to have fancy shoes, or a home treadmill or a gym membership or lots of time. All you need is commitment - enough that drives you to do that run or that burpee even though you struggle to do it and even though the scale shows you no love at all.( I think I have been stuck at my weight for about 6 months now.)

 

It may sound a little selfish to others the way you seem to squish in your workout. Heck it may even hurt you to actually cut down on that baby time/ office time/ family time. But just a little for yourself is totally worth it. Trust me :)

 

Have you exercised today?

 

Working out while being a mom - part 1

Working out while being a mom - part 2

 

 

The quite weekend :)

This weekend was like the lull before the storm. We are planning some good action this coming long weekend. Fingers crossed that we can actually make it!!! Lets see. The hot sun in Bangalore has already made the summer intolerable, and it has barely begun!

I stayed well within calorie range this weekend, and there was no calorie splurge whatsoever. The scale is staying the same and I guess persistence is the only key to my success. While I have been fairly regular on the 30DS- level 2 last week, running took a back seat, primarily because I really have not been feeling upto it. This morning, however, I awoke pretty refreshed and pain free. I might just head out early to run tomorrow. Lets see.

Otherwise we were home, had quality Chittu time and I even made a jar of spiced tomato jam with jaggery instead of sugar. I loved how it turned out and am also finding this new healthy-tasty cooking pretty challenging! Thats big considering I totally hated the act of cooking a couple of years ago.

Well, more about that later! How was your weekend, and how are you planning the long weekend?

PS: I will put up the recipe for my Chinese style whole wheat pasta & the tomato jam soon.  

Friday post - have done vs have to do and my lunch plate pictured

I have been stuck in the 77-79 rut for a long time now ( Since last July, almost) I keep losing and gaining the same 2-3 kgs over and over again. And anything I try to do to get my weight to touch 75 or under - i.e calorie restriction or stepping up work outs is not working.

 

Obviously I needed to change up some things. Here is what I have done/have to do :

 

1. (have done)Rev up metabolism by changing the exercise - splitting my exercise sessions in two. I have been trying to sneak in the Jillian Michael -30 day shred level 2 in the evenings after work. So far, I am enjoying it. Lets see  if the scale actually will move.

 

2. (have to do)Run What started with a severe pain in my right upper thigh had now resulted in sharp pains in my left knee. Obviously I was stressing my left leg because the right was in pain. I have not run all of this week, except Tuesday and decided to miss both my pump sessions. I instead did yoga yesterday and gave my body a stretch and the 30DS work out in the evening!I will still try to get an intense session in the morning.

 

3. (have done) Grain  - and that is where I think I need more change. I have gone off rice. Well almost. I guess I can never fully. Instead I eat whole wheat rotis and pasta, broken wheat - dalia , oats and millet flours. I could replace that with a lentil & soup for dinner, and a fruit later at night if I am hungry. Always easier to say and very difficult to do!

 

4. (have to do) Banish the sugarAlthough I do stay away from sweets - I take sugar in my coffee and tea, a bit of jaggery here and there, hidden sugars like in my yogurt, some craisins or dates at times. I am sure I will do better if I can totally cut out these sweetening additives. Honestly instead of cutting out more food, i'd rather exercise a bit more!

 

5. (have done& have to do) Up the veggies. I don't love raw veggies.I am however trying to make up salads and raitas to bulk up my meal. Still I could probably work on that as well!

 

Anyway, while I work on getting closer to goal weight, I'll share a picture of my lunch plate with you:

thats Chinese style whole wheat fusili pasta with red and yellow peppers, baby corn and soya nuggets with a yogurt

 

Usually the yogurt would be my snack, but I'm PMSing and sugar craving, so I was just being nice to myself! Lemme know if anyone really wants the recipe, I will be glad to share!

 

Finger Millet Banana Cinnamon Pancakes or Crepes?

Do you fantasize about food?

 

I'll admit I do. Sometimes when I see a few ingredients a recipe pops in my head and I cal already visualize how looks and tastes. Many a time, a recipe I envisioned does not look like how I expected it to, but tastes very good.

 

Have youread Enid Blyton novels - secret seven and famous five and how the kids would pack a basket of scones, pound cake, hamburgers and hotdogs? Even though I don't eat ham or any meat, I still used to drool seeing them.

 

Such is my experience with pancakes. Honestly, I don't remember to have eaten them ever. Also remember I don't bring eggs into my home. I do eat them very rarely outside, but am not a huge egg fan! I always had a craving for the perfect pancake.  I had decided that my wait was over and that I was going to try my hand at it, no matter what!

 

I started out with the idea of fluffy pancakes but ended up with soft crepes which were a bit hit in the Sugar household. I'll give you guys the recipe without further ado.

 

Ingredients for Finger Millet Banana Cinnamon Pancakes (Also gluten free)

Overripe bananas - 2 mashed well with a fork
Finger Millet Flour (Ragi flour) 1.5 cups
Flax Meal : 2 tablespoons
Rice Flour 2 tablespoons
Jaggery 2 tablespoons
Cinnamon - a pinch or two for flavouring
Oil for the crepes

I started out by getting all the above ingredients except oil in a widish container. The bananas stayed a bit lumpy here and there but that worked just perfect for me. I then added water to get a consistency of a dosa batter. I let the batter stand for a while to let the jaggery dissolve well. This is how my pancake batter looked:

I then took my regular dosa tava and smeared a bit of oil on it, fearing the batter might have a tendency to stick to the griddle. I was right and it did take me a couple of attempts before I could get a non shredded pan cake.

To get to the step above, smear a ladleful of batter on the griddle. I kept the size smaller tha my usual dosas. Wait patiently till one side cooks and the sides seem to let off from the griddle. Flip over without tearing the pancake. Wait for that side to cook as well.

And enjoy:

 

 

I ate it as it was. There were pieces of warm gooey banana and I loved it. The sweet was just  right for me and as I said all at home liked it. It also kept me pretty filled. Definitely a Sunday morening breakfast!!!As they say - Tasty bhi, healthy bhi!!!

 



Kellog's Cereal, Misleading Advertisements, weight loss and body image

There is this bill board opposite my house, and most of the hoardings on it always awaken the rebel in me. For a reason. First it was some hospital advertising some heart surgery. Then it was as assisted coneption centre and now the kellogs-k wedding season  ad. Have you seen this advertisement about how to look great this wedding season? This particular hoarding encouraging every woman stopping at the signal to take the Kellogs K challenge angered both the feminist in me and also the one who is painstakingly trying to get rid of that extra weight through a healthy diet and exercise.

 

Those of us trying to lose weight, or atleast I  struggle with problem foods (sweet foods and rice), portion control and body image problems. Even though I know I do look far thinner than before the fact that the weighing scale still shows a 78 just kills me. Everyday, I wake up, try to exercise as hard as I can, cook food that is fresh and healthy for my family and me and try to make better choices when I am offered biscuits and samosasat official meetings.

 

Only incidentally I had glanced upon this at the supremarket on Saturday. Please zoom in to get a better look:

On the left in my hand is a box of Organic Millet (ragi) Flakes by a brand called Beginnings. On the right is a box of  Kellog's Oat Bites, a product of the same guys who think weight loss is all about eating two bowls of the cereal two weeks in a row.

 

While I must admit to not being a technical nerd, alayman can see that the Kellog cereal has twice as much sugar and fat and only half the fibre as in the box on my left. The protein content is a bit higher in the Kellog's carton. But all we dieters know how the consumption of sugar leads to the consumption of even more sugar. Ofcourse, I do not advocate to cut out sugar or any other food group, I am only appalled at how these MNCs seem to get their way into the average Indian household and replace the wholesome Kanji Maav with their Sugary Highly Processed nonsense. Infact they even go as much to say that if you only ate their product for breakfast and lunch/ dinner for two weeks you will become attractive.

 

Seriously guys if you had a 200 calorie breakfast and 200 calorie lunch/ dinner along with a maintaining an exercise routine and a calorie restrictive diet to aid weight loss, ofcourse you will lose weight. Infact you will lose weight  no matter what you ate that cost you only 400 calories - breakfast and lunch put together.

On the other hand eating a high sugar cereal like this one is most likely not going to keep your hunger pangs at bay. Eating sugar causes your body to want more sugar and trust me it is very very difficult to control that craving. Instead filling up with healthy proteins, fibre filled veggies and complex carbs is likely to keep you filled up for longer and make your weight loss effort more sustainable.

 

Yes eating a cereal is a matter of convenience for many of us, and I certainly do buy a box or two of the cereal in my left hand in the picture above. I add sliced bananas or any other fruit, some chopped nuts and top it with milk to get a quick but healthy and filling breakfast. I do get hungry in about 2- 2 1/2 hours and I carry a salad like this:

thats grated carrots, fresh pomogranate, roasted peanuts, chopped coriander with a dash of salt, pepper and lime juice tempered with mutard seeds & urad dal


At the end of this post, I'd like to ask you dear reader for how many of you is weight loss as simple as just eating the same food out of a box for two weeks and seeing results at the end of it? Am I over reacting? Or do I have a point?

The opinions in this post are my own and based on my own experience, and not intended in a deragatory matter. No product referred to above paid me to express positive or negative views. Please treat this as without prejudice.

 

My whirlwind weekend in pictures :)

This weekend began on Friday night, with us rushing to the bank for some paperwork for the loan. I missed my Yoga class at the gym, but was ready to drop dead by the time we got home and had dinner.

Even though I had intended to wake up early for a run, I overslept and decided against running because I have been having extreme pain in the muscle connecting my right hip with the knee. I have not able to stand on my feet for too long and I even woke up mid nap yesterday because the pain was a bit on the severe side!

Anyway, not working out was not really an option for me and I did the Jillian Micheal 30 DS (Level 2) I had found the level 1 fairly simple, and decided that level 2 is more for my level of fitness. The many plank movements are truly challenging and it was certainly a 20 minutes well used:

More bank work followed on Saturday morning and I only had time to put this together as a snacky breakfast with yogurt on the side:

thats bananas & pomogranate topped with pecan halves :) yummy goodness!


 

Lunch for the family was amaranth greens in dal, Lady finger subzi & rasam. I replaced the rce with roties.  I did not grab a picture because we were to rush out on some work and I burnt my finger while making my rotis :(

After the super important meeting it was time for grocery shopping and I made some important discoveries regarding reading labels, which I will share with you later this week.

Back home we had just enough steam to make dinner, play with the toddler in the park and hit the sack. This was the Husband's second helping of whole wheat fusilli in a tomato-cheese base with olives, carrots and bay corn. The toddler loved it too specially the baby corn:) I totally pat myself on the back when I make stuff the toddler eats too

Sunday morning I was up and out for my early morning run. I only managed 6k thanks to the hurting right leg, which I oil massaged later at night :







 

Back home it was time for some experimentation in the kitchen. Breakfast was Banana Cinnamon Ragi Pancakes (they were more crepes than pan cakes) but the recipe was a hit and all of us loved it (recipe coming soon):

 

No can be more cheerful than on a full tummy and kids are true testament to that. So after a hearty brekfast , it was lego time:

Lunch time - decided I'd eat rice because I wanted to - a simple menu of tomato rice and a raita made with grated carrots, cucumber and pomogranate. Sorry, it was so yummy, we ate it before I remembered to click :(

We had fun in the park in the evening and got home after juice at Booster Juice. The kiwi lassi and carrot juice was so good, we wondered why we did not go there more often!

We hit the bed but not before I laid out work and workout clothes for Monday Morning.

Have a great week ahead, folks!



Palak soup for the soul!

Do you love soups? I do. I am a soup fanatic. If I was cooking only for myself and did not have to care for the carb crazy husband, I will survive only on soup.

On the other hand I am so NOT a salad person. I think I have a strong dislike for anything uncooked (Other than fruit) and cold (other than dessert). Hence it is only unwillingly that I try to eat things like cucumber raita, sprout salad, carrot salad etc. Veggies like carrots, radishes and beets, I make either into a paratha after grating and adding to Chappati dough or into  payathankanji.

I discovered that as much as a soup may sound fancy, it is actually very very easy to prepare and gets done in a jiffy too.

Palak( Spinach greens) soup for the soul:

1 bunch palak - stems and all - chopped roughly
1 large onion
green chillies 2 or more as per heat requirement
garlic (if you like the flavour, I don't)
2 teaspoons all purpose flour (maida)
milk 200 ml
grated cheese (optional)
Oil - 2 teaspoons
Salt to taste
desired garnish

Heat oil in a wok. Add the onions saute until they turn pink. Add salt as well. Now throw in the chopped palak and chillies. Mix well. Add about a cup of water , cover and cook till almost all water is evaporated.

Once evaporated, cool the palak onion mixture unless you want your kitchen walls painted green.

Once well cooled, add the 2 teaspoons of maida and grind into a bright green smooth paste. Transfer back to the wok on a low flame to let the maida thicken the soup. Keep stirring lest the misture gets lumpy. Add about two cups of water ( or less as needed)Fold in the milk to and simmer until the whole house smells of palak soup. When still hot you may add in the grated cheese. ( I used mozzarella which was sitting in the fridge for too darn long)

You can garsh with grated/ crushed garlic/ chilly flakes/ oregano/dried masil/ parsley.

Serve. as is or with whole wheat pasta/ some home baked bread :)

This is the toddlers bowl with rice and a few drops og ghee. He loves it this way:



 

 

 



And here's my lunch:

Thats a salad with moong sprouts, peanuts, pomogranate, grated carrots and cucumber and crumbled paneer sprinkled with salt and pepper. Very healthy and fairly tasty too :)

And oh!! I have updated a picture from the Contours Womens Day Run. Please do go there and be your sweet selves, dear readers :)

and also updated my work out page, after a well deserved prod from Gowri. Thankyou.


 

The Hagen Daaz trip

Last Friday evening, the toddler slept early. The husband was home and I had resisted suggesting we could go out for dinner. Food is still my go to way of celebrating! But I am working pretty hard on delinking food and happiness.

So after we had a simple homecooked dinner of idli sambar we were contemplating what we were to do with the time available.

Me: Shall we go out for a walk?

Scientist: Yes, we'll walk to Hagen Daaz and back.

Me: But I don't want ice cream ok. I won't eat any. You can, if you like.

Scientist: But this has been on our to do list of things for long. This is the perfect time.

Me: Ok lets go.

So as planned we walked the 3.5 kms to the newly opened Hagen daaz (ice -cream/ dessert outlet). Mapmywalk showed that I had burnt a measly 155 calories in the 40 minutes it took us to get there, and I thought we walked pretty fast. The husband ordered a belgian hot chocolate topped with whipped cream and ice cream. I took a look at the fancy menu and decided nothing really excited me.

The hot chocolate with whipped cream - the whipped cream is almost over in this pic :)  and I admit I had a few sips, ok? But I though the 155 calories covered it :P

The Scientist was pretty irritated by the fact that I refused to order anything. Single scoop of ice cream, he asked? No. I resisted. I told him I worked way too hard to lose weight and did not want to spoil it by eating an ice cream which I was not even tempted by. I was just. not.tempted. Period.

And that's a new me, let me tell you. I think the old me would not even think of not ordering. I mean how can you go to an ice cream store and not have ice cream? Nowadays when I look at a food, I wonder how many calories it has and if I have the nutritional information, I almost immediately calculate how hard / long it would be for me to work it off. Honestly, I dont even want to eat the food, and i mean something like a huge serving of dessert when I don't have the calorie stats.

Before anyone thinks I have achieved the likes of a dietary perfection I must admit to have eaten donuts for lunch, constantly sweeten my curd with a bit of sugar and  indulge in my 80 calorie serving of ghirardelli dark chocolate squares on weekends. Even yesterday someone distributed laddoos in office. They had left one on my table while I was in a metting. My intitial thought was to not eat it. But somehow it did find a way inside my tummy!

But I think I have steered clear of eating a whole packet of cream biscuits, large desserts and incessantly eating the chocolates that are lying in my pantry/ cupboard until my supply runs out. I used to do it, you know? Small progress, but progress nonetheless.

While the Scientist understood my thoughts that day even though he started out pretty bugged, I think he also came face to face with the new me. Infact I did too:

One year at the gym - 10 reason why joining the gym is a smart choice!

I will be completing one year at my Gym this coming Saturday.

Sometime in early January 2012, my elliptical broke. I had a basic manual elliptical to kick start weight loss for me when I had just delivered Chittu and weighed a ton! One morning when I pushed the pedal hard and felt something break under me. A part of the welding had come off and I was grateful I did not have  abad accident.

In mid-January, I joined the gym after a great deal of should I/ shouldn't I? But it was only in mid-march that I got an annual gym membership. The decision made sense financially. But the huge question was - Will I go?

I remember joining the gym, being newly wed. I took an annual package. This must have been in August. August is monsoon time in Bangalore. I remember to have woken up a couple of mornings to find it drizzling outside. Oh what a great excuse and I went back to sleep. In return for that annual membership, I only went two days if I remember right!

Fast forward to this or rather 2012 when I began to take fitness seriously. I began to push weights, joined the aerobics class, was hooked on to yoga, also became a body pump fan and basically became used to exercise. Did I forget to mention running?? Oh yes, I began to run hauling my big fat behind with me. What a journey it has been!

So quickly, can I tell you why joining a gym could be a smart choice?

1. Options. Plenty. Cardio today? Recumbent bike or elliptical or treadmill? Pilates today? Sounds like fun. Body pump? what is that? So yes I love the options I get at my gym in terms of exercising

2. Inspiration - like the grandmother I know who does the pump class with me and pushes more weights than I do. WOW!

3. Routine. A gym enables a routine. Like having a class at 7 on Tuesdays and Thursdays means I only need to figure out how to work out the other 5 days of the week. 

4. No excuses. Rainy or hot or cold. The gym is there and so is the ambient temperature thanks to the AC.

5. Safety. Oh yes especially being a woman.

6. Flexibility. I know I said routine. But look at it if my son wakes up crying in the morning, I trade my morning run for evening gym cardio! And also if I oversleep on weekends, I can always run on the treadmill right? Yayyy!!!

7. Hot men. Ya ya, I'm married and all. But still who will miss an opprtunity to oggle at those hot guys?No?

8. Motivation. Yes many fellow weight loss attempters who I have seen losing weight in front of my eyes. Really, nothing is more motivating than a weight loss success stiry!

9. Music. Yea man I love some of those workout songs, and can you believe it? The body pump squat track is The Summer of 69!

10. Cute work out wear. And shoes!!!! Yes, don't you think?

So yes, while it could be an expensive affair and I know good gyms are, I'd still like to believe that I'm actually investing some amount back into myself. And yes its totally worth it because it helps you break barriers that you rhought were impossible to break.

I know many people say they will instead run or walk a mile a day. Yes I do admit that should be good enough too. And I've had my fair share of being there and finding stupid excuses to not walk. But something changed for me this time and I am really glad!

 

Weekends are for rest and other updates :)

The weekend was much needed. Oflate I have been feeling extremely tired and simply out of steam. Different parts of my body are hurting - specially my hip bones. And I'm not even 30. I used this weekend to catch divine afternoon naps and not really accomplish much other than spend time with the toddler.

 

My readers will know that I have a help- namely Maami who lives with us. Her main role is to take of Chittu like feed and bathe him in the mornings, pick him up from school,feed him lunch and basically take of him until I get home in the evenings. She also helps me with chopping vegetables, cleaning up after meal times and acts as a top up for the maid who comes to sweep the house and wash the vessles.

 

Oflate, I have been finding myself at my temper's end with Maami - more because she has literally made herself one of family. She does not respect our privacy or our need to spend time with Chittu. Also the toddler is very fond of her and does demand her attention even when I send her into the kitchen to do something like prepare Chappati dough. He even speaks more like her than us and his Tamil and English accents  are downright annoying at times. I have begun to actually question why I work and am seriously contemplating sitting at home and mean the whole world to my child - literally!

 

For some reason, post run, my weight shot up by 2kgs and I have been hovering around that. I must tell you that when I stepped on the scale this morning, I had tears in my eyes.

 

That apart - I started Saturday with a treadmill 6k after I fixed breakfast for the family:

I indulged in some unhurried stretches and headed back home for lunch - Rasam, Keerai-kootu & brinjal curry. The toddler and I hit the bed for an afternoon nap and we headed out to dinner. I barely ate beyond a cople of bites of paneer subji . But I also had a sweet lassi and split an orange flavoured ice cream with the husband and toddler. But I fit into a top that I bought last year. Yayy for disappearing poochie :)

 

Sunday, I was supposed to run outside but overslept. I instead did the Jillian Micheals - 30DS and the pilates video that PK linked to. I found certain movements pretty hard in the pilates thing, but did my simplified variations.

 

I made breakfast and then it was lunch time. I made a nice vegetable korma to go with Chappatis. Not exactly low calorie, but definitely healthy:

 

Again the toddler and I bonked off for nap time and the husband joined in too.

 

On waking the toddler and I took a walk to the park and also went to check out the swimming pool close by inspired by you know who.

 

I came back and made a batch of home made granola using this versatile recipe. This batch contains - toasted almonds, pecans, craisins and deeseded dates along with flax seeds and black sesame seeds. I also threw in a handful of ragi flakes, only to suit my fancy.

Dinner was basically leftovers. I had some marsh melon just to cool my system a bit. The heat has really been getting to me!!!

 

I woke uo before the alarm rang and had the Scientist's tiffin ready before I hit the 7am body combat class at the gym.

 

Overall a weekend with plenty of rest. I just cant figure out why my body decided to gain weight. Well I'm not going to change anything except drinking more water and just keep going on. The scale should catch up soon, no?

 

 

 

 

Comparing with other women - feel good or feel bad?

Last evening I visited a neighbor who has just given birth to their second child. It has been under a month and I think she may have lost almost all her pregnancy weight. Can I admit I was immediately so jealous of her. I mean - look at me - here I am who gained nearly 20 kgs of weight during pregnancy and post partum, broke my feet and lost control of life. I had to wake up and work my ass off (literally) to lose the weight! I am still struggling to get to a normal weight - even after calorie counting and fairly regular exercise. I was ASHAMED. I felt like a loser. Hell, I am a LOSER. I really felt awful for the way I am. And this went beyond my body image. I found myself losing confidence and the little respect I managed to build up for myself. I was a mess. Ofcourse I complimented her and came back home and told the husband all about it.

Thankfully I had the mind to eat my planned dinner of two chappatis, chole and curd. I made myself a cup of hot chocolate before we went to bed and woke up without an alarm. I think even though I am really mad at myself for having spent most of my adult life pretty obsessed about food, I am working on setting that right. Yes I do indulge in a creamy dessert once in a while. But I am working onfixing my totally warped relationship with food.

And then I remembered, I signed up for a half marathon just earlier in the day. Gulp! Yes I did:

Sweet Friday. Even though I aim for a yoga class, I have been missing evening classes and so hit the gym early this morning:

I got 30 minutes on the arc trainer and 0.8 kms on the treadmill before my shoe laces came off. I had intended to run a mile. While I stopped the treadmill to tie them up and pressed restart, the machine refused. I hopped off and held some planks, attempted halasana and badhakonasana. I love me some unhurried gym time.

 Hope to get some long runs over the weekend, lets see :)

So do you guys compare yourself to others? Do you think its healthy?

Food journalling and other rambles!

Its been only 4 days since I ran the 10k and my feet are itching to run, literally. I have only managed 2 body pump classes this week, after taking off both Monday and Wednesday. Having a class with good instructors really cuts the deal in terms of motivating me to actually get my butt in the class. The other options I have with the 7-8am group class is Sh'Bam ( a form of western dance, I feel is highly intimidating) and body combat (which I never really warmed up to). All yoga classes are in the 8-9 batch and I cannot do that because then I will run late to office!

 

Hence I take pump twice a week, try to squish in 2 runs, a yoga class and on highly productive weeks also a different cardio session. Mostly I end up exercising only 5 days and convince myself that doing about 2.5 surya namaskars is enough exercise for the day. One day is rest day. Yayy!

 

The scale has shot up by atleast 1kg post womens day run. I was guessing that was water retention. But even though the bloat from my carbo loading in terms of dinner and dessert outside + rice based meals at home post run is almost gone, I still think there is a weight gain. Sigh!!! When will I ever learn not to reward myself with food? I was thinking I'd be able to get closer to the 75 mark by the end of this month. But losing and gaining the same kilo or so is quite annoying, honestly.

 

Seriously why does is take forever to lose one kg, but only 2 days of bad eating to gain it back? Did I mention life is unfair???

 

Did I tell you, journalling is going good. I am able to stay under 1500 calories most days.

I find journalling very useful. because I know what exactly I am eating. There is no mindless eating or eating when not hungry. And I know what I eat and thats its good for me. Back in my college days, I remember I joined a gym. I took a weight loss package of losing 5 kg in a month. I was given a little notebook in which I was to write down what I ate. Usually I filled in the book what I ideally should have eaten. I literally starved myself. Yes I did lose some weight. But towards the end I think I actually ate food and saw the scale show a nearly 2 kg gain. Must have been water retention after starving myself for so many days. But I got so annoyed, I threw my hands in the air and quit! I am glad I am not so irrational nowadays. But still there are many days the scale does not budge even though I have been working out and eating perfectly. I want to cry. I do too. I curse and complain to the husband. And he tells me I'm looking so good -even better than when I married him. I know it can't be too true, but it works like ointment and I get my act back together!

 

Right now I plan to continue running and also try to conquer that 75 kg mark. I feel like I've stayed in the later 70s for ever now.

 

That's all from me guys. Do you journal? What method works best for you?

 

The contours womens day 10k race recap 2013

Did I do the run only daybefore yesterday? Well, it feels like eons since I ran.

 

Well, this race lacked drama of any kind, except the fact  that I nearly did not sleep at all before the race.  The race venue was a 5 minute walk from my home. Flag off was at 6.30 a.m and we were expected to be in the holding area by 6.I woke up at 5. Made myself some chai had a couple of biscuits, brushed and got dressed and left home at 5.55 a.m. Since the Scientist and toddler had already left to Chennai, I locked the house and left. Nobody to take pretty pictures of me :(

 

 Someone who was also driving to the race, recognised I was a participant by the t-shirt I was wearing and offered to drop me. I joined in.

 

The holding area was well lit. The festive mood was hanging in the air and people were stretching and warming up. Announcements were on and there was a zumba warm up at 6.15. The warm up session was pretty lively - considering that Contours is a female gym it is to be expected :)

 

Flag off was at 6.30 sharp. And that's when I realised its different to run in these publicity events than hard core runners events. The run into cubbon park involved crossing an important signal. Some of the volunteers were hurrying us up because they were not able to  hold the traffic. The reason the crowd was slow moving was because there were only two narrow gates to enter the park, people were choking the gate and had to slow down. Some even considered jumping the gate.

 

I saw a water station there, but decided to move on because I was feeling pretty good then. The run was on tarred road inside the cubbon park. It was scenic -the greenery, cool air, pigeons and walkers made the morning a collection of pleasant sights. I did not stop to take pictures, because I was focussing on the run.

 

And then we just kept running. There were no mile markers. So those without a garmin or a running app on their phone did not know the distance. The water stations were only two, which I felt were inconveniently placed. So I just kept running, until I came across a water station. I sipped some water and electrolyte and continued. I saw many people who walked- ran. I don't do that. I run-run-run, not fast, but I don't walk either. That may even make me slower than the run-walk guys but still I feel if I walk, I should not be in a running event. Sorry convoluted logic, but that's me.

 

And then abruptly, at around 8 a.m. I realised I had finished the designated two loops.  No finish line. No one to clap for the finishers. No medal either. They said to go back to the ground to collect the certificate, but the waiting queue was pretty long and I had a flight to catch. So I walked back home, showered, had a banana peanut butter milk shake and climbed into a taxi, quite dazed, honestly. I was also a bit nauseaous the whole way till the airport. I checked in and got myself a plate pongal chutney. Wow! the salt really brought back life into me, and I felt good.

 

My right knee was hurting me - the effect of running on the tar.  Anyway, I had had a good run. The race organisation was pretty unprofessional as compared to how perfectly RFL organises their events.

 

That evening I spent watching a movie with the Husband - Kai po che which we both totally did not like. And there was dinner with family :) and the best part - dessert which I had been waiting and planning for. We went to a place I love - Sandy's. My peanut-butter-chocolate dessert may have contained 15000 calories. But I ate it, and felt good.

 

I also ate well during the wedding yesterday. My weigh today was not a happy number - but I went to body pump and am ready to rock again :)

 

Sorry guys no pictures, cos I ran alone. If I find some taken by the organisers, I will put them up for you :)

Updated with a picture from the run. I am not as fat as I look :(

Running is difficult. But I can do this :)

 

Before the race in images :)

I will be running in less than 12 hours from now.

The Scientist and Chittu have taken off to Chennai for a wedding. I will finish up my race and then join them. After packing them both into an auto to the railway station, I got back home and did some packing for the wedding. I chose the sarees, I might want to wear. Always better to have a choice, you know:

I only recently got my saree blouses tailored. I have been waiting for ever to lose weight and then stitch. I am pretty excited for an opportunity to wear them :)

And then I was ruminating through some photographs from the past - like the baby shower ceremony during my 7th month pf pregnancy. I looked hideous. Huge. Humungous. I really wonder, if I never looked into the mirror or something. I am so glad I look this way now:

It has been worth every effort I put in, really.

And then I ate some reeses buter cups - 2 for my evening snack.

The Scientist called the say they were doing good :). Relief:

And then I took a long long walk. To ease the stiffness I had been feeling. My running clothes are ready:

I will drink enough water, set the alarm and hit the bed.

Wish me luck guys, I should be back with an race recap on Tuesday!!!

A healthified "kheer" during weight loss

At the end of every body pump class I take on Tuesdays and Thursdays the instructor yells  a " Have a good day guys and don't forget to have a protein rich breakfast!"

 

Yes specially when one is weight training, it is important that one eat sufficient protein so that the body can repair any tissue damage and strengthen muscles. Being a vegetarian I don't cook eggs at home. Also I don't prefer to eat "soya"/"soy" products too regularly as I have a thyroid condition and soy is not highly recommended.

 

So that leaves me to use lentils/ dals as the primary source of protein.

 

I give you here a recipe that you can make many variations of. Originally inspired from a dish called "payathankanji" meaning kanji of Moong dal, here is the way I make it:

 

Ingredients:

 

moong dal - one cup uncooked

milk - 2 cups

turmeric - a pinch

jaggery: half cup

 

Method : pressure cook moong dal for 4-5 whistles in the cooker adding sifficient water and turmeric. After the pressure cools off, open the cooker and mash the cooked dal. Turn on the gas on medium flame, add milk and jaggery to taste. Stir until the jaggery dissolves. You can season with some nuts and add a pinch of elaichi powder for flavour.

 

Finished.  Thats all!!!

 

Method 2:

 

delhi carrots/ ooty carrots : 3-4 - peeled and cut into rounds

moong dal

soaked almonds -10

milk - 2 cups

jaggery

 

Pressure cook - carrots, moong dal and soaked almonds. After cooling off well transfer into mixer jar and whirl. Transfer back to cooker on low flame, add milk and jaggery. Season as above if you like. The pretty orange is very attractive.

 

See - you got a vegetable,  milk and dal in a sweet yummy breakfast.

 

My son loves this too. I have experimented with grated beetroot and also lauki. Both have turned out very well.

 

Try it. Will you? You'll love it.

 

Note:

 

1. sorry guys. I don't have a photo. Will try to update with one.

 

2. Jaggery (Velam/ Gud) is a healthier sweetner than white sugar. I'd encourage you to replace jaggery for sugar in your kheers. It gives a beautiful golden colour and also adds a unique flavour.

As someone with a sweet tooth - I am always craving something sweet. Have a good big glass of this kheer makes me feel good and low on guilt even when I am trying to lose weight!