Low Calorie Lunch Options

Eating meals timely is important to maintain the metabolism. Untimely meals, delayed meals or even skipping meals slows down the metabolism. What happens when the metabolism gets disturbed? Simple, you start putting weight. Everyone tries to start healthy by keeping breakfast options minimal and healthy. But by the time we reach lunch all the work or a busy day takes a toll over our lunch choices. We dont realize eating unhealthy food will only make things worse both in terms of being bad to the body but also adding stress to our lives. Eating processed and junk food leads to high cholesterol, disturbed sugar levels resulting in high blood pressure, hyper-tension and Type 2 Diabetes.

We suggest why develop bad habits when its as easy to develop good habits. This doesnt mean you have to punish yourself and live only on raw food and water. It means that if you start planning  in advance you can be more conscious while packing lunch at home or eating out.   Here are some healthy lunch options that you could carry it from your home or buy.

Vegetable besan cheela with low fat curd: This chick pea-flour pancake are packed with protein. It can be prepared in no time and at the same time its tasty as well as nutritious. Chick pea is said to be a good source of fiber and many other nutrients and low in fat. One best thing about this Besan Chilla is that it can be pretty much toyed around with to suit different tastes. You can change the veggies you add to it:  mushrooms, green peppers, onions, tomatoes, zucchini, carrots, or spinach. One vegetable chilla gives aroun 120-140 calories.

Paneer/Chicken wheat flour Kathi Roll: Kathi Rolls are hot crispy rotis served with a choice of fillings. Use any combination of vegetables like  paneer, mushroom, soya, corn or green peas to make these vegetarian rolls. For non veg fillings you could use chicken. These rolls are ideal for packed lunches as these are quite easy to prepare, pick and eat.The calories varies according to type of filling, But on an average 1 vegetable kathi roll provides around 195 calories. Read more

Get a Lean and Muscular Body with Vegetables

Gone are the days of bulking up and looking like Arnold schwarzenegger. Now Edward Pattison’s (Star of the twilight Series) body is the new rage. Getting lean and having the definition is still not as easy as it sounds. In fact  it is still more difficult to get lean than bulk up. People and bodybuilders usally eat meats as protein sources to bulk up. Unfortunately there are very few natural ways of getting lean. One which is often forgotten due to the quest for a bigger body is the importance of vegetables in the diet. Vegetables are low in calories and full of vitamins and minerals and fiber for better digestion . Besides this they also help develop leaner and strong muscles due to the high quality nutrients present in them.

Vegetables have very little fat in them which is crtical for reducing body fat to achieve the lean muscular look. Vegetables like cabbage, spinach and parsley are rich source of glutamine which is an amino acid which is the building block of protein and helps build more muscle mass, promoting digestion and tissue repair. The vitamins and minerals with antioxidants reduce inflammation in the body and boost immunity.

Vegetables also boosts muscle growth in older men also as the mitocondria activity in the cells provide more energy to the muscle to perform longer and with power. Doing adeqate resistance exercise with healthy diet will keep them stronger and in better shape reducing chances of injury.

A new study in the February issue of Cell Metabolism traces that improved performance to increased efficiency of the mitochondria that power our cells. The study suggests that foods that contain nitrates make your mitochondria work better and are known as power plants of the cells. Green vegetables are rich in nitrates that boost mitochondria activity giving us more energy during workouts for building leaner and bigger muscles. Good sources for green vegetables are spinach, parsley, kale, asparagus or other green leafy vegetables.

Add a bowl or two of vegetables for better metabolism of nutrients and higher level of energy for building lean muscles. Vegetables are fat free and low in calories reduce the fat percentage in the body giving you a ripped body. Fiber in vegetables keeps you fuller so that you don’t indulge in munching in between meals and avoiding eating extra calories for any storage.

Diet for Diabetics

Dealing with a therapeutic condition can be difficult. Managing the diet is of utmost important but it mostly comes at a cost of either following a very difficult routine or being given options that are unappetizing making it difficult to manage the condition through diet.

Diabetes is one such therapeutic condition where managing the diet is critical to ensuring that the insulin levels are in control. Diabetes is relatively easy to control with a help of correct diet and exercise program.

The rise in blood sugar is seen due to eating unhealthy, not exercising and consuming fattening foods. This can be managed or controlled by eating foods that slowly breakdown in the body and slowly release the glucose in the body preventing the blood sugar levels to rise quickly. These particular kind of foods are also known to have a low-glycemic index. Every diet program also needs to be customized your body type and physical needs. People that are more active require different calorie intake versus people who are not so active.

Some of the foods highly recommended for diabetic patients are vegetables like green peas, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, bitter gourd, garlic etc are some of the healthy options. Eat beans, green vegetables, chickpeas, dals etc which will keep you fuller and maintain blood sugar levels. Include fengureek, Basel leaves and some quantity of lean meat and fish.

Diet alone will not be as effective. Exercise fit for your physical ability and body type is essential to show results. If you find it difficult to get started then condition your self slowly to set a routine. Tell yourself everyday in the evening you will go for a walk, water your plants or just engage in mid intensity household chores. Slowly increase the intensity and explore activities that will keep this routine going. Better still you can even get together with your friends or family to play a light sport or go for a walk /jog in the evenings or early mornings.

Lastly maintain a strict routine for your meal timings. Even if you watch what you eat and exercise regularly but don’t care about your meal timings it can completely harm the momentum. Make sure you dont skip your meals and eat them at recommended intervals so that the body is able to function normally.

In case you find it difficult to get started on your own then you can get professional help. This can help you atleast get started on a routine and get you on track before you can independently take charge of your health  and adopt a healthy lifestyle for good.

How to Control In-between Meal Snacking

We ensure that most of our meals are healthy. The problem comes when we crave food in between meals. If you feel hungry so often then you certainly need to watch out as eating more  food whether healthy or junk leads to weight gain.

The biggest trouble with in between snacking is that one craves something that is satisfying and ready to eat. Unfortunately we dont find having salads or fruits as snacks satisfying enough. While junk food or fattening foods manage to hit the spot, instantly satisfying the hunger pang. Gradually these small food breaks stop having the same satiating effect. After sometime the portion size increases  giving way to more food cravings and constant need to eat something Most of the times this snacking is psychological, as in we condition ourselves to feeling hungry even after having proper meals. Here are some reasons and tips to keep the hunger pangs in control, making you eat less.

Untimely Meals: Not having meals on time is a big factor in making you feel hungry at odd times . The body follows no patterns and gets used to giving a call at random times which pushes us to eat more than a usual meal. Time your meals and eat food with high fiber and protein to keep you feeling fuller.

Breakfast: People who don’t have a balanced and satisfying breakfast often find themselves bingeing on odd time. The unsatisfaction of the previous meal  makes the mind want for more and eating unhealthy. Have a good nutritious breakfast with satisfying food. Read more

Healthy Options When You Eat Outside

Celebrations and gatherings often take you out for lunches and dinners. Parties, marriages and office meeting wire you up all the time and you probably eat out most of the time. You get variety of food that confuses your mind and makes you indulge in eating all your favorite food laden with butter, cream, sweets, hydrogenated flour, oil, alcohol and of course no one to stop you for the portion control. You need to realize that it is not healthy to eat everything fattening because when you eat more than your caloric requirement the body starts to store the extra calories which eventually show up on your back, hips, thighs, hands and chin. You  would not like that, would you ?

Usually you find fattening, rich and oily food served across all restaurants and food chains. The reason why these foods dominate the menu is that they are cheaper to prepare and are delicious to taste.  But this shouldn’t let you get distracted from making healthy decisions and still enjoy eating out.

Here are few handy tips that will keep you stay on track. Drink a glass of water before you pick the plate up. Know some of the options that you can choose from when you eat out. Read more

5 Meal ideas to Stay Fuller

Eating nutritious food is important, but how much and when to eat is vital too. Staying fit is easier than its perceived to be. Eating the right food at the right time will not only meet your daily nutrition requirement but keep you fuller through out the day keeping you away from all the junk and empty calories we binge on otherwise.

Research shows than men who ate meals with higher amounts of protein than the average meal, when they were trying to lose weight felt fuller throughout the day; they also experienced a reduction in late-night desire to eat and had fewer thoughts of food. This is especially important with regard to the Indian vegetarian diet that can be extremely carbohydrate heavy, with little high quality protein, to ensure long term satiety that protein provides.

Proteins can make you feel fuller for a longer time but this doesn’t mean that you only consume protein. The body requires a balance of protein, carbohydrate and fats.

Few sources of protein for your diet:

Eggs: Eggs are highly satiable and makes you fuller for a longer time and proving vital minerals and vitamins with fat and provides the energy for basic functioning. It takes care of the calorie intake and is healthy for the body.

Fish: It is not only rich in omega fatty acids but provide ample amount of protein to make you feel longer. Some salmon in lunch or dinner or your desired meals will help you stay away from hunger and nourish the body as well.

Sprouts or Beans: For veggie lovers sprouts and beans can be a part of your diet. Eating sprouts in your diet will fill you up and keep irregular food cravings away.

Soy Products: Soy milk offers outstanding nutrition, along with their health benefits. They provide balanced nutrition of high-quality protein and carbohydrates, low in fat with no cholesterol and very low in saturated fat.

Dairy Products: Dairy Product vary to milk, cheese, cottage cheese, butter, cream, yogurt, buttermilk etc. Dairy products tend to be good sources of calcium, protein and healthy carbohydrates.

Meat & Poultry: Meat and poultry products rank one of the highest for proteins. They contain ample amount of protein and help keeping you feel fuller for a longer period of time.

Add some protein to your diet to keep you feeling a little fuller for a longer time. But ensure that you eat a balanced meal.

Eat Beans for Weight Loss & Muscle Building

Beans are a great source of nutrition containing essential vitamins and minerals important for healthy living. Beans can be eaten to lose weight as well as build muscles. Beans contain protein, healthy carbohydrate and is low fat and low sodium making it a healthy choice to add to your diet.

Beans are also high in Read more

Weight Loss Tip: PreLoading

Latest research is showing that you could lose up to 6 kg of weight in 2 weeks & improve cholesterol just by drinking unsweetened grapefruit juice, grape fruit or water 20 minutes before your meal! Read on to find out…

A study conducted shows that people who ate 128 gm of medium sized grapefruit or unsweetened grape juices or the same amount of water, will reduce the average calorie intake by Read more