How sugar makes you fat

Sugar is essentially not bad for your body. It is the excessive consumption of sugar that is unhealthy along with our lack of physical activity, and that it permeates in some form or another in most foods that we eat.

Sugar is basically glucose. So, any food item that contains sugar has glucose. The basic purpose of glucose in our body is to provide immediate energy. Each gm of sugar provides 4 calories of energy.

Read on to know how sugar reacts inside your body, and how your body reacts to it.

When we consume sugary foods, this glucose gets immediately absorbed by our blood to be converted into energy. Since glucose is so quickly absorbed into our blood stream, the glucose levels in our blood shoots up. That’s why you feel a sudden surge of energy right after eating sugary food. When the blood glucose level shoots up and we’re not doing any activity that uses up this glucose, our brain assumes that there is extra energy available and starts to store energy in the form of fat. So, the excess calories (energy) from glucose get converted to fat. Our brain is wired the way our primitive ancestors lived, not knowing when it would get food the next time. Its only in the last few hundred years that we’ve had some surety of food availability.

So, every time you eat something containing glucose and its not consumed by our body (like after dinner or just generally snacking), our brain notes the extra energy in the system and starts storing it as fat.

Next time, you’re going for that Danish pastry or craving those rasgollas after dinner, think about how that’s going to affect your body.

Foods that contain glucose are sugar based foods and refined flour (maida). Foods with high sugar content are also called high glycemic index foods.

Fruits are sweet also, but they aren’t harmful to the body like glucose is.

Note: There are times when your body needs energy, and then glucose is needed- sickness, or long workouts.

To really lose weight, get on a proper weight loss plan. Or see any of our customized fitness plans, like personal training, diabetes management, hypothyroid, pregnancy weight loss, and more..

Healthy paranthas- an oxymoron?

I know ‘healthy parathas’ (paranthas) sounds unbelievable, but there are options to make a paratha healthier. Use less ghee/oil and make it from whole wheat (atta), as opposed to refined wheat (maida).
All these things can be done at home, but when you go out to eat, its always a fight. I love my parathas, but not the lard that comes with them. So, I mostly stick with eating rotis when eating out. The restaurants just don’t seem to understand that food can have flavour without dousing it in a vat of lard.
There is one restaurant that actually understands that, or claims to. Its called ‘Not Just Paranthas’. A chain of restaurants in Delhi, that serves over a 100 types of parathas. The best part is that you can get most of these as healther paranthas called ‘diet paranthas’. I hate the term, but these are basically made from whole grains, roasted instead of fried and served without ghee if you ask for them too. And they are stuffed with all the goodness that you ordered.
The first time I came across this option, I couldn’t believe it. But its true.
Eating the ‘diet parantha’ is much better choice- its got fewer calories, less fat since they skip the ghee, more fiber and protein since its made from whole grains, and does not affect your blood sugar since it does not have refined wheat (maida). Its a no-brainer.

Got belly fat? Unhealthy risk for Indians

With SRK along with a whole chain of others sporting six-pack abs, its become all the rage. Everyone wants to know how to build a six pack! But a six-pack is not all about looking good. It has a lot to do with your health as well.

Belly fat is the major reason why most people don’t have a six pack and it is this extra tyre around your waist that can actually be harmful to your health, besides holding you back from taking off your shirt at the beach! Also belly fat that is the worst kind of fat. Read on to find out..

The fat that settles around your belly secretes substances known as adipokines which raise your risk of heart disease. It also produces:

Resistin- A hormone that leads to high blood sugar

Angiotensin- A hormone that raises blood pressure

Along with this, those love handles also affect your risk of heart attacks and strokes. That should give you reason enough to get up and take action about losing the fat around your waistline.

So, strip away that fat and proudly show off that hot body of yours. And don’t think you can’t have a hot body. To really lose weight, get on a proper weight loss plan. Or see any of our customized fitness plans, like personal training, diabetes management, hypothyroid, pregnancy weight loss, and more..

Egg- Perfect Protein Food

Eggs truly are perfect muscle building material. They contain the highest quality protein. Lets explain that- Protein helps our body make muscle. Now, the quality of protein is measured by the amount of protein that is used to make muscle, for every gram of protein that you consume. Depending on the source of protein, the quality varies. And there are plenty of protein sources- dairy, meat, eggs, soy, vegetables, etc.
Among all the sources, the protien from eggs has the highest rating. Both the yolk and the albumen (the egg white) contains protein.

Besides protein, the egg yolk also contain vitamin b12, which is necessary for fat breakdown and muscle development. Other minerals include riboflavin, folate, vitamins B6, D, and E, and iron, phosphorus, and zinc.

You could probably take a multi-vitamin to get these nutrients, but at Fitho we believe in getting maximum nutrition from natural and unprocessed sources and eggs are high up on our list.

So till next time, egg on and fitho! If you don’t eat eggs, but still want protein- try our health supplements for high quality protein. Just call Fitho and we’ll deliver it to you.

Running at Lodhi Garden- Stay fit in Delhi

If you’re a runner, one of the biggest challenges in most Indian cities is where do you run? Treadmill running is an option, but if you’ve run outside in a nice park, on a trail, on a hill- you know its a feeling that a treadmill will never get to. The open feeling, the breeze and the nature around you- it is exhilarating.

We’ve come across a few running trails in Delhi. One of them is at Lodhi Garden. Lodhi Garden is a nice park spread over 90 acres in the middle of the city, area called of Lutyens’ Delhi. It contains architectural work from the Lodhi dynasty, back in the 16th century.

The running trail is about 2 km long. The trail is a mix of soft and hard. Parts of it are paved. A good part of it is shaded under the huge trees at Lodhi Garden, which really helps in the Delhi heat. Also, you get some spectacular views of the architecture, of the rich foliage of the park- can be very rejuvenating.

Plenty of parking around the area. There are also toilets in the park, so in case you feel the need to go
Its packed in the mornings and evenings – Lodhi Garden is a popular walking destination.

Need a place to run in Delhi? Here’s a list- Siri Fort Sports Complex, Jahanpanah Forest, Hauz Khas Deer Park. These are all running trails in South Delhi and Central Delhi.

Welcome to Fitho!

Hello,

Welcome to Fitho, your resource to staying fit, while keeping up the busy schedules of living in an Indian metro!

Our goal is to arm you with the right knowledge and tools to achieve your fitness goal.

Fit can mean different things to different people. To some it means losing weight, others it means gaining muscle, and believe it or not, to some it means to gain weight.

Most of the advice is either on nutrition or on exercise. But what works is a combination of exercise and the right diet. So, what we do is understand you (your goals, your schedule, likes, dislikes, motivations) and then provide customized advice on nutrition and exercise with the goal of making to fitter than you are.

Living in the city, we realize the issues that people face when trying to stay fit along with keeping up with everything that’s going on. There’s work, friends, family, social events. Who has time to stay healthy. And health takes a back seat.

But do you ever sit back and think, why am I doing all this? To live a better life. But what is a better life without a fit body.

With a fit body and mind, you live a better life. You have more energy. Through multiple research studies, it has been proven that fitter people are more successful in the long run.

Now, there are plenty people who make new years resolutions to get into better shape (I have to lose my love handles, I have to reduce my paunch and I totally have to lose fat on my butt), but without the right knowledge and tools, they don’t get the results and return to their usual lives.

When they ask for advice, they get a one-size-fits-all-approach. Unrealistic diets. Who can just survive on moong dal all day?! What if you’re allergic to moong dal? What if it doesn’t suit your system? Then, I guess you can’t do the diet!

That’s where we come in. We realise that you need a realistic plan. We’ll get you results by incorporating a health plan into your schedule, without affecting your work, social and leisure time.

Feel free to contact us with any queries that you have: fitness@fitho.in