Nutrition timing is key to muscle building

Before most of the women stop reading this article, we have to tell you that this article is as important for you as it is for guys. Building muscle is key to looking good and being healthy for both men and women. Losing fat is good, but if you don’t have muscle, how will you get those toned arms, that flat midriff, the shapely butt, and those hot legs. All these body parts have muscle supporting them. And if the muscle is in good shape, then it looks good

Coming back to the topic- timing of nutrition. For ease of explanation, I will break the day up into 3 parts, pre workout, post workout and regular.

Pre-workout nutrition is important because this is the fuel for your workout. Sure, you might be eating through the day- remember that your body was probably using up what you ate. So, before your workout, eat a snack which is low in fat, and has a carboydrate:protein ratio of 1:1. So, if it has 25 gms of carbohydrates, then it should also have 25 gms of protein. This ratio is suggested, since the carbohydrates will help to fuel your workout and the protein will be used to supply to the muscles during your workout. Note, that it should be a low fat snack/meal. Fat slows down the absorption of nutrients into the body, so if your pre workout snack is high fat, then it won’t be absorbed quick enough by your body to really fuel your workout. Ensure that the carbs are not all simple carbohydrates, since that will give you instant energy, but will also create an energy crash, which affects motivation. A good protein shake should provide you with this mix of nutrients (Note, protein shake mixes vary, so note their contents). If you don’t have access to protein shake, then a chicken/turkey sandwich, with some cheese and wheat bread should do. If you’re vegetarian, then try the protein shake, or some lightly spiced chole (since they have both complex carbs and protein in them)

Post workout nutrition is key since after your workout, your muscles are sore and all the glycogen from your muscles in completely depleted. Your muscles are in a repair mode, and you want to supply it with nutrition to ensure that they repair themselves and build further on the existing muscle. Your post workout snack should be eaten within 30 minutes of completing your workout. It should again be a low fat snack, with a carb:protein ratio of 2:1. Low fat because it will speeden up the absorption process. This snack needs a higher carbohydrate content because your muscles’ glycogen stores are depleted and to repair them, to supply them with nutrients your body needs fast dissolving carbohydrates. So, this is the time you want to eat simple carbohydrates (carbs with high Glycemic Index). The protein should be preferably whey protein since it is absorbed faster by your body. For this snack, high nutrient absorption rate is key. If your snack is liquid, all the better. An ideal post workout shake is low fat chocolate milk. Or a protein shake with honey, or other simple carbs. Another simple snack is low fat yoghurt with sugar- yoghurt has a combination of whey (fast absorbing protein) and casein (slow absorbing protein), and the sugar/yoghurt will give you fast absorbing carbohydrates. At this time, you can also pop in a multivitamin with your snack. The vitamins and minerals are micronutrients that help perform body functions and help with building muscle.

Rest of the day: Through the rest of the day, feed yourself every 2-3 hours. Your muscles need food for maintenance, so you need to keep supplying them with it. Ensure you get healthy fats, from sources like nuts, fish, olive oil. Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables to ensure you get all the nutrients.

Time your nutrition correctly, and you’re all set to get that hot body!

3 bite rule to lose inches

Are you one of those people who can’t avoid high calorie, fattening food even though you’re trying to lose that blubber around your midsection? Well, then you’re in the same boat as most people who are trying to lose the inches!

Don’t despair. We have hope for you. An idea where you can have the cake and still lose weight. I know sounds unbelievable, but its true.

Its called the 3-bite rule: When you’re really craving something that you shouldn’t be eating, like sinful chocolate cake, bring out a spoon! ..  Now, take one bite and slowly experience the sensation of that chocolate cake melting in your mouth, while your senses get overwhelmed with the cream, sugar and cocoa. The idea is to do this slowly, so you savour the experience of that chocolate cake. Take a second bite and slowly enjoy the flavour.

By eating slow, you’ll maximize your experience. Now, have a third bite to satisfy yourself. Again slow, and put the spoon away

Over the 3 bites, you would’ve experienced, enjoyed and satisfied yourself.

Try the 3 bite rule- with this you get to enjoy your indulgence and minimize the calorie damage to your diet or to your waistline!

Corn Flakes Calories, Nutrition- Are they healthy or fattening?

Traditionally, when people think of breakfast cereal, they think of corn flakes and milk. Yes, breakfast is good for you. But what is odd, is the association of corn flakes with healthy food. Many people eat corn flakes to lose weight or reduce harmful belly fat.

The base ingredient is corn, but along with that the other major ingredient are sugar, malt flavouring, and high fructose corn syrup. All these ingredients have a high content of high GI carbohydrates. In fact, there is a huge controversy linked to the excessive use of High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) in food- it has been linked to obesity, since it promotes excessive food consumption and insulin resistance in the body. As Indians, we already have the ‘belly gene’, and are prone to diabetes. Consumption of high GI carbohydrates only increases that risk.

Besides the health effects of HFCS, corn flakes has a high content of high GI carbohydrates, which promote fat storage in your body. Besides the fat storage, high GI carbohydrates increase your blood sugar drastically. This high blood sugar level promotes fat storage in the body. This is the ‘sugar rush’ or ‘energy rush’ that you experience after eating sweets. Your brain’s job in the body is to balance all processes. So to counteract this increased blood sugar level, your body over produces Insulin. (Insulin is a hormone which regulated blood sugar levels. For more, know more about Insulin). With extra insulin in your system, your blood sugar level reduces drastically. Your brain assumes this low blood sugar is a signal of less energy, and you experience that laziness post a carbohydrate heavy meal (rice, white bread, etc). Your brain also signals you to eat, since it misinterprets these low sugar levels for lack of energy in the body.

Calories and Nutrition in Corn Flakes: Each cup of corn flakes (approx 25 grams) contains, 21.7 gms of carbohydrates and only 1.7 grams of protein and low fiber content if any. Due to its low protein content, it will not keep you full for long. Each cup of corn flakes has approx 95 calories.

Some breakfast cereal ads might show that corn flakes help you lose weight, but they only expect to eat limited corn flakes for your meals. The irony of corn flakes is that its low in fat, but the high sugar content promotes fat storage!

If you really enjoy corn flakes, then have it with some low fat milk, and add a dose of vitamins, fiber and antioxidants with fruits like berries, apples or bananas. It’ll make a delicious and healthy breakfast and great post workout snack. If you’re diabetic, watch your diet- we have the complete list of foods that diabetics should avoid.

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..

Bikram Hot Yoga- Benefits, Myths

I’m sure you’ve heard that Bikram Yoga is all the rage. We’ve all seen pictures of half naked people sweating their bodies away in super heated rooms while holding all those difficult yoga positions! So, here’s a little bit about Bikram Yoga- it was developed by Bikram Choudhury- born in Calcutta; but currently lives in Beverly Hills, California.

Bikram Yoga is ideally practiced in a room heated to 40.5 Celcius (105 Farenheit) .There are 26 postures and 2 breathing exercises. [In India, we don't need those heated rooms- it gets that hot in summer without any special heating equipment ]

Since your body sweats a lot performing those positions in the heated rooms, Bikram Yoga claims to help rid your body of toxins and promotes blood circulation.

People claim to lose a lot of weight after performing these classes, but this weight is primarily water weight. Since the body sweats so profusely in those heated rooms, that losing a half a kg of weight (1 lb) should not be surprising. This is temporary weight loss, since it is water weight and once you consume the water, your body weight will return to normal. From a calorie bruning point of view, Bikram Yoga probably burns a reasonable amount of calories, but running for the same amount of time or playing a strenuous sport for that long will probably burn more calories.

Beginners can feel dizzy and nauseous during and after the first few classes. The Bikram Yoga School of India recommends drinking 64-80 oz (about 2 litres) of extra water when you perform Bikram Yoga.

There is controversy around Bikram Yoga in India, since Yoga traditionalists don’t approve of certain practices. Either way, if decide to try Bikram Yoga, ensure to hydrate yourself before, during and after your session.

We are yet to come across any Bikram yoga classes in Delhi. There might be some bikram yoga centers in Mumbai. If you know of them, please share with us!

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..

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