Stay In Shape Even During Harsh Winter Months

Fitho featured in Mail Today : At Fitho we believe fitness is not a one time thing, its a continuous process. Read the complete article here.

 

Fitho To Get You In Shape

 

Body Toning Success Story:Priya Gupta

I am 34 years old and a  mother of two young daughters. All my life I have been thin. Even pregnancy didn’t add too many inches or kg to my body . But with age, average eating habits and an almost sedentary lifestyle I started putting on bad looking flab on my body. There was a paunch that hung over my jeans. I developed a double chin that made me look terrible in my pictures. Plus there was this perpetual lethargy that hung on me all the time. I knew I wasnt overweight but I didn’t feel like myself.

Gradually I started reading about diet, health, nutrition, exercise online. I came across www.fitho.in and subscribed to it. Over a period of time it became my source of information on health and fitness. With all the information on health I was definitely getting more aware about my lifestyle. But I still needed someone to help me put it in practice. I didn’t need a heavy duty diet but I did need professional guidance to get me on track, especially since I had my basic knowledge on health and nutrition in place.  After deliberating for sometime I decided to finally write to Fitho about their body toning program. Instantly I got a reply from their side and they got me started on the program. The best part of this was that I didnt have to go anywhere and everything was given to my right in the comfort of my house.

The first step was filling an exhaustive questionnaire  about  my lifestyle, food habits, food preferences, fitness levels etc. Based on the information given by me I was delivered my diet chart and exercise chart within one working day, along with a personal health care manager (something similar to a personal relationship manager). My health manger was my mentor and my assistant who was  available for me round the clock, checking on me, monitoring my progress, giving me healthy recipes and just ensuring if I am comfortable with everything. Read more

Health Assessment Tool

General health statistics are dwindling all over the world. The rate of health disorders caused by bad lifestyle is increasing. Diabetes and heart health are the leading causes of deaths around the world. India is on the brink of being called the World Diabetes Capital. People dont have to lose their lives due to them as both these conditions are preventable and reversible provided you adopt a healthy lifestyle.

What is a healthy lifestyle? It is a combination of healthy diet and exercise. There has been an increase in awareness amongst people at large when it comes to adopting a healthier lifestyle.  Result of which can be seen around us where a reasonable amount of people are either eating well or leading an active life.  The biggest catch in this is that if some people are exercising but might not paying attention to their diet and vice a versa. Infact some recent studies have shown that some people put on weight when they start exercising. Mostly its because people assume that now that they are exercising they can eat as much as they want to. In some cases it might have worked but would not sustain good health in the long run. Combination of eating right and exercise is the only valid & successful approach to being healthy.

They say its never too late. Fortunately most of the lifestyle health disorders are reversible if you start watching what you eat and taking some time out for exercise. Eating healthy does not mean reducing your calorie intake. It means being more conscious of the quality of food you are taking in instead of the quantity. Most of us consider ourselves intelligent to differentiate between unhealthy and healthy food habits. Some healthy habits are obvious but there are some habits that are unhealthy but not so obvious to us. These unaccounted for habits might be gradually causing a lot of harm to your system and reversing everything thing else right being done to lead a healthy lifestyle.

There are a million sources that talk about “eat this and not that”. But how many look into your current dietary pattern and understand what is actually good and what is not so good for you. To help you give a brief insight into your daily dietary intake experts at Fitho have created a special health tool called the “Health Assessment Report’ that does exactly that. And it gets better as this tool is completely free of cost. Read more

Eat Vegetables to Lose Weight

According to the recently released food plate the average daily dietary allowance one requires atleast 3 portions of  seasonal vegetables to meet the daily dietary intake. Most of us find it difficult to successfully meet this dietary requirement resulting in poor health, weight gain and nutritional deficiencies. Besides eating vegetables can actually help you lose weight.

There are many excuses for missing the most natural foods in their diet, some of which are eating greens is a task and we purposely skip them, they are tasteless, while some people assure you that they have vegetables in their diet and when asked to review their meals that’s the only thing that’s missing from the diet. Before we get started with the tips let us just give you a quick reminder on why vegetables are good for us:

• The most natural  and easily available food that contains different vitamins, minerals and thousands of other plant chemicals.
• Vegetables are low in fat and calories,
• Good source of dietary fiber and provide us with extra energy. Fiber keeps us fuller for long preventing us from overeating and  frequently eating.
• Vegetables provide more energy to the body in return helping us be active and burn more calories.

Vegetables are not tasteless and infact can have better flavor & texture than most meats if prepared well. Besides we know the health benefits of seasonal vegetables. If you are not use to eating them we can suggest easy ways of slowly  introducing them to your diet them and finally develop a taste for them. Once you have them as part of your diet trust us you will wonder what kept you away from them for so long! Read more

Fitho’s Outdoor Training Program is Your Ideal Fitness Buddy

Have tried joining a gym but paid the entire years fee and barely saw the inside of the gym. What you need are like-minded friends that will motivate you towards sticking to a fitness regime. Fitho’s outdoor training program is just the place that you will find these people that will help you get fitter while you enjoy the workout! Besides a lot of research have been confirming the fact that sweating it out in a group of like-minded people helps you burn more calories — here’s how:

We turn you into a regular

The most difficult part of a fitness routine is being regular. Every day you find a new excuse to skip the workout. Joining a group that is friendly and like-minded makes it easier for you to be accountable and stick to your commitment. It helps you be regular resulting in better attendance meaning higher calories burned!

We ensure you get the most out of the session

When you workout in a group you stop paying attention to the time. Your energy is channelized into focusing and completing the fun group activity at hand. Friendly banter while working out further helps time fly and before you know it the session is over! When you are working out alone most of us find it difficult to even complete 15 minutes before getting bored , giving up and getting on the phone!

We plan the sessions for you

Its difficult to put together a fun workout for yourself. Fitho’s group workouts take that responsibility away from you and in return give you one hour of a super fun and energetic workout session. Group workouts are always fun as every session is planned differently. This ensures that you get a complete body conditioning without making it mundane. Read more

Preventing Osteoporosis

Lately women in the early 30′s are suffering from osteoporosis.The earlier average age was 50 years onwards, around the same time menopause would set in. The reason is with menopause the body experiences a dramatic drops in estrogen production that results in bone loss. This was labeled  as  a growing old diseases since the two big reasons for developing osteoporosis are when the body fails to form enough new bone or when the old bones are reabsorbed by the body, but not anymore.

Calcium and phosphate are two minerals that are essential for normal bone formation. Throughout youth, your body uses these minerals to produce bones. Mineral intake during adolescence and early adulthood lays the foundation of healthy bones for the coming years.  Not getting enough calcium and body not being able to absorb enough calcium from the diet adversely affects the bone production and bone tissues.

Bone is a dynamic living tissue that becomes strong when exercised or used and becomes fragile when unused. Mostly we are advised to eat foods rich in calcium for bone development but equally excluding foods that lead to loss of bone mineral in the body like sugar, sodas, table salt, coffee and alcohol. But are you forgetting nutrients which directly or indirectly benefit the bone health like vitamin D for better absorption of calcium, vitamin K which activates osteocalcin which is a bone protein which bonds calcium, vitamin C which improves bone absorption and other bone minerals like magnesium, phosphorous, boron etc.

Though dairy is the most popular source of calcium but many other nutrients required for prevention and better bone health can be consumed from plant based sources like vegetables and fruits which are rich in various nutrients. Optimum levels of the following nutrients in your diet will improve your bone health as well as overall fitness.

Women are more prone to developing osteoporosis than men due to two reasons first they are genetically born with a lower bone mass than men and secondly estrogen levels. Estrogen plays an important role in keeping bones strong and healthy, in both men and women. Changing levels of estrogen especially in women make them more vulnerable to this disorder.

Foods bad for bone health

Salt: Over consumption of salt than the daily requirement could make you lose calcium. You require 2400 milligram of sodium in a day. Not only you consume sodium through salt in foods but foods naturally contain salt which could create an excess. Eat salt in moderation to avoid loss of calcium.

Soda: Sweetened softdrink and soda drinks cause loss of calcium in the body and has been observed while excreted in urine. The phosphoric acid which is the fizziness in soda drinks could fast loss of calcium.

Caffeine: Caffeine in excess of 100 milligram can cause loss of some calcium in the body. Caffeine is not consumed by the body just through coffee but some iced teas, energy drinks and other drinks contain them.

Alcohol: Alcohol blocks calcium absorption in the body and restricts bone building minerals to be absorbed properly. Bones become weak faster and can cause trouble while healing of bones due to alcohol consumption during fracture.

Some vegetables which immensely improve bone health and maintain them and avoid loss of bone minerals in the body are green peas, cabbage, broccoli, lettuce, spinach, asparagus, oats, parsley, lemons, milk and dairy etc. Though milk and dairy are the best sources but these vegetables have various nutrients to support good bone health and prevent osteoporosis. Exercising, the often most forgotten factor, is critical to bone health as it helps in improvement of bone density and better absorption of nutrients.

Vegetarian Diet for Better Health

Health is a major concern for most people but we only take it seriously when we know someone who is a victim of an unhealthy lifestyle or are affected by health disorders. Indian is the hot seat for two major lifestyle disorders diabetes and heart health. Diabetes is a lifestyle disorder and usually the main reason of people becoming diabetic is due to sedentary lifestyle, lack of exercise and physical activity and eating excess junk and unhealthy foods which affects the pancreatic functions.

Numerous studies on health have quoted that the cure for type II diabetes is removing the very cause of the disease which is a unhealthy lifestyle can reverse the disease. The chief cause of diabetes type 2  is excess weight from unhealthy diet and inactivity.

Chronic diseases not only inflict pain and cause health deterioration but their diagnosis is costly, time consuming and doesn’t provide full recovery at times. Also the stress and burden it adds to your life is less anticipated than the reality. Eating plant based vegetarian food products and eliminating meat and dairy products from the diet will considerably reduce the risk for chronic diseases like  obesity, cancer, heart disease, and diabetes.

According to new dietary guidelines emphasizing vegetarian diet that is nutrient-rich plant foods can enable modern populations to dramatically improve their health, dramatically reduce healthcare costs, while at the same time save millions of needless deaths from heart disease, strokes, cancer and diabetes.

Digging for reasons whether meat products which are considered to be a good source of protein along with dairy products could lead to chronic diseases. Also diabetes, high cholesterol and high blood pressure are pre-cursory to heart diseases and health. Meats and dairy products are high in saturated fat which increases the bad cholesterol and decreases good cholesterol from the body. Consuming excess amounts of these products regularly can lead to accumulation of saturated fat on your visceral and body which increases your cholesterol levels in the body leading to chronic diseases.

Sodium in meats and dairy is high which increases the blood pressure which acts with high cholesterol further decreases the heart health. Overall if you see as the cholesterol and blood pressure keep rising to the danger zones it also effects the metabolism of the body. This slow down in the metabolic rate further aggravates the problem where calories that are not consumed get stored as fat in the body resulting in weight gain and other problems related to it.

Thinking practically one should avoid foods that are not healthy for the body. Switch to more vegetarian diet that has plants based food sources which are natural, healthy and keep you in good shape. Also many plant food sources are low in calories and fat free this helps avoid consuming any useless and saturated fat in the body. And if you are wondering that would a vegetarian diet that has plant food sources meet all your nutritional requirements including protein. The answer is yes, a vegetarian diet can meet your daily nutrition requirement intake that will not only make you lose weight but make your body healthier and stronger.

To get a vegetarian diet plan you can mail us at fitness@fitho.in or call 011-41040070 to speak to a dietitian now.

 

Types of Milk and their Health Benefits

Did you know that all three types of milk (Skimmed, toned, double toned and full cream) contain approximately the same amount of vitamins and minerals:Vitamin A, Vitamin B, Vitamin D, Sodium, Potassium, Phosphorus, Selenium, Zinc. But do you know that different milk tend to vary with their production style and primarily fat content. If you are trying to lose weight then whole milk is not the right option, while low fat milk is as it gets digested slowly and is low in calories, fat and increases better absorption of nutrients.

Commercial milk is usually of two types. Pasteurized and homogenized. Pasteurized milk is heated at high temperature to kill harmful bacteria while maintaining the flavour and nutrition content of the milk. Homogenized milk is identical in fat content to pasteurized milk and other factors but it undergoes a process called homogenization, a process which breaks up the fat globules in the milk which spreads the fat evenly and prevents the formation of creamy layer forming at the top.

Milk is healthy for kids as well as adults because of its high nutritional content which provide energy for work and protein for muscle repair along with calcium and phosphorous for bone development. Some people complain of weight gain by drinking milk which is possible if you are drinking whole milk  that is high in fat content. Adding other ingredients like energy powders to the milk can increase  calorie content of the glass of milk resulting in weight gain.

Here is the nutrition break-up of four  most popular kinds of milk and their fat content

Whole Milk: Whole milk is non-altered milk which is packed with its natural nutrients without adding or removing anything from the milk. Drinking a glass of toned milk will provide approx 150 calories.

Skimmed Milk: Skimmed milk lacks the fat content or has a fat content of 0.3% to 0.1%. It contains nearly half the calories of full cream milk but contains all its nutrients like vitamins and minerals as par other forms of milk.  Consuming skimmed will provide around 80 calories per glass of milk . Read more

Calorie Count for Weight Loss

Do you wish that you could get the mind behind weight loss and lose weight fast? The good news is that you could really get the right approach behind weight loss by managing your calories through diet and exercise. This logic also helps you understand that how foods add on weight and the simple method for weight loss.

Some people doubt the method of calorie count for weight loss because they say how can someone precisely count the calorie intake and how long can we keep counting calories in order to lose weight. Yes counting calories can be a difficult and monotonous task but it actually works or you could make it work for you.

Every food that we eat from potatoes to meats and dairy all food provide calories to the diet. So whatever you are eating you is adding some calories to your diet. Our bodies require only a certain number of calories in a day and for weight loss one has to eat within the daily caloric requirement to lose weight. Also exercising will help you burn the already exiting accumulated calories that have turned into fat in the body. So with a combination of diet and exercise you can effectively manage your calories and lose weight.

Below are different methods to help you count your calories in your diet and help you lose weight.

Cereals: serving size 1 chapatti(bread) or 1/2 cup rice Calories: 70-120 kcal

Vegetables: 80-100g Calories: 70-100 Kcal

Starchy vegetables: medium sized approx 75 g Calories: 70- 120 Kcal

Fruits: 80-100g Calories: 70-100Kcal

Milk: 1 glass approx 250 ml or 50 g paneer(Cottage Cheese) Calories: 150-200 Kcal

Meat: 55 gm or 1 medium egg  Calories: 65-100 g

Sugars: 5 g (1 teaspoon) Calories: 20 kcal

Fats: 5 g Calories: 45

Learning Food Calories: This is difficult in the beginning but you could still manage. Know how many calories are there in a single medium potatoes (70 calories) and same for other food sources, a slice of bread, cheese, glass of milk etc. So this way its easy to know how much calories you are intaking and whats your requirement for the meal. You will get the calorie info across the internet. Also learn how many calories can you burn in a 20 minute session of running, exercise, swimming, walking or any form of physical activity. This will make you understand how much do you need to exercise in order to burn the stored fat in the body. Read more

Lose Weight Without Running & Lifting Weights

Most fitness experts and trainers recommend running or weight training for faster calorie burn, especially for people looking for weight loss and building muscles. Building muscles helps rev up metabolism for effective fat loss and faster burning of calories in the body even while you are resting.

But what if you don’t enjoy running or cant lift weights due to medical condition. Is there still a set of exercises that can help you lose weight? For those desperately seeking an exercise subsitute to help them lose weight then we are glad to introduce Plyometrics to you. Plyometrics are extremely effective to improve flexibility and strengthen muscles. Plyometrics work on the basic principal of  loading the muscles and then contracting them in rapid sequences. This movement adds strength and elasticity of the muscles and the tissues that surround them in order to develop more strength to perform any activity.

If your muscles have become weak and find it diffiult to do your workouts then plyometrics can take you out from this phase and power you for higher performance and athletic movements. Using muscle mechanism like stretching and contracting in rapid sequence allows the muscle to reach maximum force/power. Stretching the muscles just before contracting allows the muscle to increase its power. The muscle must contract within the shortest time to express this power which is the underlying factor of plyometrics. Stretching the muscle while in tension is known as esscentric contraction and concentric contraction is when the muscle shortens in length and develops tension for movement.

There are different forms of exercise that you can do according to your objective of muscle gain, muscle strengthening, weight loss etc. Many people are also stuck in the myth that a bigger body signifies more strength which is untrue. You could have the explosive strength with a lean body without much muscles in your body. Performing plyometric exercises can boost and produce powerful movements and increase performance. Read more

Personal Training Program

Personal Training is a customized fitness routine implemented by a qualified fitness expert/personal trainer that engages you to get fitter with a help of series of exercises and diet. Everyone is looking to get fit. But starting a good personalized fitness routine is not easy. Thats why personal training is recommended. A good personal training program helps you to identify your fitness goal, test your fitness levels, understand your personality and body type and then customize a fitness routine that will help you deliver the best results. Fitho’s Personal Training Program has especially been designed keeping in mind the simple psyche of an individual seeking professional help to get fit.

The personal training works at multiple levels:

It is a Personalized Program: Every individual has different needs. A good personal training program should be able to understand that and cater to a wide range of individual fitness requirements.

It Simplifies fitness: Simplicity of a fitness routine is what separates a good personal training routine from an average routine. Keeping it simple becomes the motivating factor for individuals to keep coming back for more and enjoying every session that has been especially designed for them.

Minimizes Injury: A professional trainer is helping you perform each exercise, supervising every action and posture. Good posture for every exercise is key to showing results. This personal supervision ensures that you are benefiting from the routine and also eliminating every chance of injury by performing the exercise correctly.

Fitho’s personal training is a premium personal training program based on international fitness standards and latest studies.

This program is assured to make you

• Lose weight
• Tone your body
• Build Core Strength
• Whip you in shape

The personal training exercise routine is combined with the right, well-balanced diet to ensure maximum absorption of nutrition to give you the best results. The training program is customized to your lifestyle, eating habits and fitness levels. This service is available at your convenient time and location.

Currently this service is only available in Delhi, NCR & Kolkata. Cal l 011-461-6321 or mail us at fitness@fitho.in to get more information & get started.

List of Healthy Snacks

Are putting on weight due to snacking? We all know that eating at odd hours leads to weight gain. But how do you deal with hunger pangs without starving yourself. To answer one of the most common dilemmas of how to control snacking we have put together a list of healthy snacks alongside some not so healthy snacks. This is done to explain why you should be eating this and not that.

Before we move on to the healthy vs unhealthy snack list you need to understand snacks are just fillers or small bites. Most people eat snacks like a meal and thats where the problem starts. When one samosa becomes two or one sandwich becomes two sandwiches.

To elaborate a little bit more here are some points to note

While snacking eat slowly and enjoy every bite that you eat. Eating slowly makes you chew the food properly and eat less also. This helps you in managing portion and not over eating.

Don’t snack on empty calories even though you can manage the portion because it will add no nutrition and only calories.

You could choose low fat dairy, eggs, seeds and nuts, fruits and veggies as a snacking option.

Lets further explain it with an example on how to control your calories better if you are on a weight loss routine. A man weighing 80 kgs and 175 cms would approximately require 2000 calories in a single day. To break it further he would have a daily quota  of 250 calories for 2 snacks in a day. While a women weighing 50 kg and 5 feet 2 inches would require approximately 1400 calories in a day and 175 calories each for snacking twice in a day. This means you can divide your snack for once during mid morning and once in the routine evening. But remember snacking includes your tea/coffee/coke/lemonade etc! Read more

Best Exercises for Abdominal Fat or Love Handles

After belly, thighs and arms and butt the other common weight gain area is your waist. Over a period of time weight starts to collect on the side of your stomach which is also known as “love handles” or “tyres”. All these terms are nothing but common slang for abdominal obesity.

Eating unhealthy food and no exercise is the most common cause of love handles. These tyres were mostly seen on women in the past but now more and more men seem to develop it in their late twenties & early thirties. Indians are genetically inclined to accumulate fat around their waist which is also linked to Type 2 diabetes and heart health.

The simplest way to check for abdominal fat is to measure your waist. Run a tape measure around your waist at about the level of your navel. Breathe minimally, and make sure not to pull the tape measure so tight that it depresses the skin. The average BMI  (Body mass Index) of an Indian woman ranges from 18-24.9 , a waist circumference greater than 34-35 inches is considered high risk to lifestyle diseases.

Another way to measure abdominal fat is by calculating the waist to hip ratio. This is done through simple calculation of taking the ratio of the waist and hip. The healthy range in women is less than .7 and men is less than 1.

The best way to lose weight is to exercise and watch what you eat. Ensure that your body is getting adqeuate nutrition to improve the metabolism. Do not resort to fad diets as they might show you weight loss in the short term but in the long term you put the weight back on besides depriving your body of important nutrition resulting in multiple deficiencies in future. For healthy weight loss consult a good professional weight loss expert to help you lose weight and get fit. Read more

Best Healthy Energy Drink

These days a lot of people for better health, higher energy, more strength and fitness are adding health drinks in their diet to improve their daily nutrition intake.  We have put together a simple analysis on which are the popular health drinks in the market and which one is the healthiest energy drink of the lot. The three most popular health energy drink brands are horlicks, bournvita and complan. All of them claim to enhance growth, provide added nutrition and even promoted as meal replacement option as they carry sufficient nutrition to compensate for a single meal.

Reading the nutrition label of the best selling health energy drinks we found that the base of all the three health drinks are nearly same when compared to their carbohydrate, fat and sugar value. We require carbohydrates for energy, protein for muscle building, fat for basic functions etc. The health drinks contain a large number of vitamins and minerals which improve the cell functions in the body.

Below are the nutrition content od horlicks, bournvita and complan

Complan: Milk protein – 18 gms; Fat – 11 gms; Carbohydrate – 62 gms of which sucrose is 27 gm.

Bournvita: Protein – 7 gms; Fat – 2 gms; Carbohydtare- 84 gms of which sugar is 70.3 gm.

Horlicks: Fat – 2 gms; Carbohydtare- 79.2 gms of which sugar is 13.5 gm.

The major portion of the health drink is carbohydrates that easily breakdown in our bodies to provide energy. The carbohydrates can be simple sugar like sucrose and glucose which instantly breakdown in our body to produce energy. Bournvita has highest amount of sugar and carbohydrates in total. Though each health drink is fortifies with important vitamins and minerals like iron, b vitamins, vitamin a, d and e which has various functions in the body is is beneficial. Horlicks contains the least sugar as compared to other healthy energy drink and contains fiber of the grain which is healthy for the stomach.

These energy drinks are mostly consumed with milk and carry sufficient amount of fortified nutrition. Even though they highlight the vitamins and minerals on the packaging in reality carbohydrate is the major component of these health drinks. People who are looking to lose weight should avoid health drinks and look for more natural foods like fruits and vegetables which are packed with vitamins and minerals and are low in calories as compared to any other food. Read more

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