7 Zen steps for digital fitness

Let me begin by admitting outright that I'm a geek and lazy and probably have medium-to-extreme attention   deficit disorder. I can pretty much do anything, I set my mind to, as long as I feel like doing it (usually way past when most sane people would move on) but can't even so much as finger curl a remote button without solid motivation. In short I have zero will power (zilch).


For the past fifteen years I've been spending 8-12 hours a day in front of some screen of some type. My work alone involves 6-8 hours sitting in front of a computer (coupled with approximately about  3-6 hours daily entertainment and infotainment screen time).


Its this digital life coupled with my flawed to begin with personality that almost made me hopelessly fat, slow and sloppy. It couldn't go on, I didn't like what I saw in the mirror and more importantly couldn't afford the ballooning insurance premiums. (the final straw was when my Doc told me to give up sweets, cheese and alcohol) 


I also started feeling (almost) that all this tech was some how constricting me.


Since I couldn't give it all up I decided to figure out ways to make all this "connected" time and technology work to get me fit.


I call this the "Zen of Digital fitness"

'Zen' because most of it is a collection of really simple ideas but it helps shed stress, burns calories and makes you feel a lot better about yourself while you are at it.


Note: It has worked for me (I’ve shed inches, regained stamina, fixed my cholesterol and had loads of fun and can eat and drink what I want :D) but you may need to tweak it to suit your own pace and lifestyle. Also be smart and ask a professional if you have medical conditions or special needs etc.


Now finally presenting; 


The 7 Steps to the Zen of Digital fitness:

1. Get some pumping Music
2. Change the way you watch TV
3. Kit up with the latest tech in sports and exercise gear
4. Find great tips and techniques online
5. Use your smartphone as a personal trainer 
6. Use your body to play video games
7. Go social with your  effort and progress 

A truly scrumptious noon

I don't usually write about food but my meal this afternoon was good enough to change that.

I believe that being vegetarian in Singapore is harder than being vegetarian anywhere else. Not because there aren't enough options for vegetarians (far from it) but rather because there are too many alternatives.  In fact, Singapore is the foodie capital of the world with a mind boggling array of food choices for any palate.

This afternoon after a long and tiring meeting at the Central Business District I headed out to hunt for a quick bite. (technically, being vegetarian, I should say I headed out to 'gather' rather than 'hunt'). Deciding to try something new I eliminated all the joints I frequent whenever I near the CBD  at meal time.(in one fell stroke :p)  

Today I was rewarded (for my effort and patience) with a delightful meal that was quick, delicious, economical and refreshingly healthy.

I proudly present to you Vegan Berg: http://www.veganburg.com/

I had a Grilled Satay Burger with Seaweed fries and the spinach and potato balls and a apple & passion fruit cooler. (It was simply gorgeous what more can I say... I am writing this blog post aren't I)

After the meal, completely obscenely stuffed I decided I couldn't eat another savoury bite and began to look for desserts (sheepish grin)

The CBD of Singapore, being the centre of the foodie capital of the world, as I was saying in this self same post a few paras ago, didn't disappoint by delivering a second gastronomical gem in the same afternoon.

http://latteemiele.com.sg/

Latte E Emiele is a Gelato place truly run by Artisans of the Gelato making craft. I had the Orange blossom and Honey flavoured Gelato in waffle cone and it was sooooo good that it made my knees weak. I tried a bunch of the other flavours and would recommend any one of them without reservations.

Since I have no idea how one gracefully ends a blog post so obviously about gluttony 'bye!'  

 

Belly Button

The navel is the center of gravity of the body, and given two runners or swimmers of the same height, one black and one white, "what matters is not total height but the position of the belly-button, or center of gravity," Duke University professor Andre Bejan

"Locomotion is essentially a continual process of falling forward, and mass that falls from a higher altitude, falls faster," Bejan explained.
The navel is the center of gravity of the human body and since the West African-origin runners have longer legs and therefore higher navels than their European counterparts they enjoy almost a 3% hidden height advantage while sprinting
.


In the pool, meanwhile, whites have the advantage because they have longer torsos, making their belly-buttons lower in the general scheme of body architecture.

"Swimming is the art of surfing the wave created by the swimmer," said Bejan.

"The swimmer who makes the bigger wave is the faster swimmer, and a longer torso makes a bigger wave. Europeans have a three-percent longer torso than West Africans, which gives them a 1.5-percent speed advantage in the pool," he said.

Pre-race nerves

Unlike most of my other posts in this section this one concerns the mind more than it does the body.

I've been training off-again, on-again for a marathon and have had a injury ridden ride so far. Between nearly busting my knee and twisting my ankle on the same leg (two separate incidents) I would have had the race sewed in the bag if not for a sorely overused and abuse calf on the other leg.

The short of the story is that I've been forced to rest and heal in this final month leading up to my big race when I should have been out there pounding that road. So, now, with the race just three days away I've got a massive case of nerves.

There are three major factions in my mind as of now:

1. I'm done and I'd be glad just to finish the race
2. I'm rested and should be able to blaze a trail
3. I should stop worrying about the outcome and just enjoy the experience of my first race.

No big money on guessing the right answer here but how do I stop the tug between wanting to win and wanting to survive?

What happens when we exercise?

Mostly the accepted thinking that pain is part and parcel of working out and one must learn to live with it.  There are many causes for pain, soreness, discomfort during exercise in order to identify them lets look at what happens when  we exercise:

Any type of exercise uses your muscles. As you use your muscles, they begin to make demands on the rest of the body. In strenuous exercise, just about every system in your body either focuses its efforts on helping the muscles do their work, or it shuts down.

For example, your heart beats faster during strenuous exercise so that it can pump more blood to the muscles, and your stomach shuts down during strenuous exercise so that it does not waste energy that the muscles can use.

When you exercise, your muscles take in a source of energy and they use it to generate force. Your muscles are like biochemical motors, and they use a chemical called adenosine triphosphate (ATP) for their energy source. During the process of "burning" ATP, your muscles need three things:

• They need oxygen, because chemical reactions require ATP and oxygen is consumed to produce ATP.
• They need to eliminate metabolic wastes (carbon dioxide, lactic acid) that the chemical reactions generate.
• They need to get rid of heat. Just like an electric motor, a working muscle generates heat that it needs to get rid of.

In order to continue exercising, your muscles must continuously make ATP. To make this happen, your body must supply oxygen to the muscles and eliminate the waste products and heat. The more strenuous the exercise, the greater the demands of working muscle. If these needs are not met, then exercise will cease (that is, you become exhausted and you won't be able to keep going).

To meet the needs of working muscle, the body has an orchestrated response involving the heart, blood vessels, nervous system, lungs, liver and skin.

Let's examine each need and how it is met by the various systems of the body.

• The muscle cells burn off the ATP (Adenosine triphosphate) they have floating around in about 3 seconds. (Think of this simplistically as sugar)
• The phosphagen system kicks in and supplies energy for 8 to 10 seconds. This would be the major energy system used by the muscles of a 100-meter sprinter or weight lifter, where rapid acceleration, short-duration exercise occurs.
• If exercise continues longer, then the glycogen-lactic acid system kicks in. This would be true for short-distance exercises such as a 200- or 400-meter dash or 100-meter swim.
• Finally, if exercise continues, then aerobic respiration takes over. This would occur in endurance events such as an 800-meter dash, marathon run, rowing and distance skating.

In the first 10 seconds of exercise we'd have used up almost all the easily assessable ATP.

Muscles also have big reserves of a complex carbohydrate called glycogen. A cell splits glycogen into glucose. Then the cell uses anaerobic metabolism (anaerobic means "without oxygen") to make ATP and a byproduct called lactic acid from the glucose.

About 12 chemical reactions take place to make ATP under this process, so it supplies ATP at a slower rate than the phosphagen system. The system can still act rapidly and produce enough ATP to last about 90 seconds. This system does not need oxygen, which is handy because it takes the heart and lungs some time to get their act together. It is also handy because the rapidly contracting muscle squeezes off its own blood vessels, depriving itself of oxygen-rich blood.

There is a definite limit to anerobic respiration because of the lactic acid. The acid is what makes your muscles hurt. Lactic acid builds up in the muscle tissue and causes the fatigue and soreness you feel in your exercising muscles.

Now that you know what is happening it'll help you plan your exercise regimen and gear to best utilize the above systems.

I know this sounds brutal but for people trying to lose weight here also lies the answer for successful weight loss. Longer slower exercise. I've covered this before and will probably do a more detailed post on this later.

Compression and you

In our quest to be healthy we often overtrain. This is a fact evidenced by all the sore and aches in the various parts of the body. This happens to people trying to lose weight and also happens to athletes training for events.

So what's this got to do with compression?

The positive effect of wearing the compression clothing may arise due to an enhancement of the motion pattern by increasing proprioception (awareness of own self) and muscle coordination.

Wearing a lower-body compressive garment may reduce muscle fatigue by supporting more active muscles and applying pressure in such a way as to support muscle fibres in their contraction direction.

The favourable effects of compression clothing on the muscle pumping action of the cardiovascular system have led scientists to speculate whether increases in venous return could assist in the removal of blood lactate from exercising muscles. The investigators concluded that the compression stockings were increasing the lactate retained in the muscles, thereby reducing the amount released into the blood.

The small opposing torque may reduce injury by assisting the eccentric action of the hamstrings, eg at the end of the recovery phase whilst running. Further injury prevention may be afforded by compression clothing via the reported reduction in muscle oscillation such as on landing from a jump.

In addition to the above, there is evidence to suggest that compression clothing may improve exercise performance by reducing the impact of hot and/or humid conditions on the body’s thermoregulatory system. It is well documented that heat strain as a result of an elevated core body temperature can cause a reduction in exercise performance. It has been suggested that compression clothing assists the rate of evaporation by facilitating a faster transfer of sweat from the skin to the fabric.

Once there, the sweat can be transported through the fabric and dispersed more quickly and evenly over a larger area allowing evaporation to be maximised. If this is the case then athletes would feel cooler during exercise and perceive the activity as being less difficult.

Conclusion

I'm a through convert and now have several professional grade compression suits in my wardrobe for exercising. Though they are obviously good to use I must caution you guys that good suits like the ZOOT I use can cost upwards USD 150/-.

Hope this article helps you to decide on using a compression suit and prevents a lot of pain and fatigue.

Tips on weight loss (3)

Part 3: Why exercise?

When we are consciously working out we do not risk injury and also improve our muscle strength and posture more rapidly than when we simply have a more active lifestyle. So you may e fit but you will carry yourself better and look better when you are making time to exercise.

• You will need a Cardio exercise you like to form your mainstay. Running, Cycling, Swimming are all good. The trick is that you need to reach a point where you are doing 1 hour 30 minutes worth of exercise 5 times a week.
• Don't be daunted by the amount of time I recommend. It is better to do long periods of low intensity workouts than short periods of high intensity workouts.
• The reason for this is that in a short sharp work out our body burns mostly sugar and carbs but in a slow low intensity workout it burns fats.
• The next thing you need to do is to spend another 15-30 minutes everyday to increase your muscle strength. This is done by skipping, pull ups, chin ups and push ups.
• Don't feel discouraged if you are not good with these exercises initially and keep at it you will get better.
  

When I started working out in October '08 I was not even able to do one pull up, would huff and puff after just five push ups and could at best do 10 skips in a go.

Now I can do 1000 skips without stopping, 7 pull ups and chin ups each with just a gap of one minute between the two exercises and 20 push ups. I've lost a total of 45 Kgs since last year and can now run 15 kilometers in a single stretch and frequently cycle 80 km stretches on weekends.

Remember its not so much about how much you can achieve in one session and much more about whether you can keep at it over a long enough time to see the results.

When the results do come they will be well worth it. You will be healthier and look better. I myself feel better and get a load of more compliments on my looks as well.

Hope the above information is as useful for you as it has been for me. Don't hesitate to comment here if you want more information or input from me about your particular situation. I'd be glad to help.

Tips on weight loss (2)

Part 2: Eating right

Our bodies need a balance of food of all types and fad diets create deficiencies which the body fights by giving us cravings or by slowing down the burn rate (It will preferentially burn sugars and carbs rather than fat which it tries to hoard for future use). Therefore, its not about eating less but more about eating healthy.

• In terms of calories sugar burns the fastest (providing an almost immediate boost) followed by carbohydrates and then fats burn the slowest. Therefore a lower fat diet is generally recommended but a no fat diet is not. Also we needn't feel guilty about a little carb or sugar indulgence especially around the time we are exercising.
  
• Good fats are in dried nuts (almonds and walnuts are the best in these), Avocado, Natural cheese (not processed cheese) and olive oil etc.For Indian people, I would recommend you stop ghee and butter altogether, avoid fried foods (buhijaya, namkeens, mithais etc) and also switch to toned or double toned milk if you can.
• Also try to give up processed and junk foods (So McDonalds, Pizza and Wafers, Chips and cream based biscuits and confectioneries etc. are a big NO)in favor of fresh foods (Salads, Fruits, Roti, Dal and Subji etc) .
• Decrease the level of caffeine and alcohol intake which are diuretic and cause loss of body fluids. Though there is research that links caffeine with better athletic performance the linkage is with caffeine capsules and not necessarily you daily cuppa.
  
• Staying better hydrated will allow you to be more energetic and go through with your exercise regimen so make sure you drink lots of water and fresh juice (without added sugar) throughout your day.
• Remember to keep isotonic drinks handy while you exercise to make good the loss of essential salts through perspiration. While choosing an isotonic drink pick one which does not have a too high sugar content. Fresh Tender Coconut water is a good natural isotonic drink (though you should avoid the meat of the coconut because of its much higher calorie content.)
  

Tips on weight loss (1)

Trying to lose weight and not getting anywhere or simply wanting to improve your fitness level. Either way the following info might be useful. I've broken the article up into a few easily digestible snippets.

Part 1: The Basics

We burn calories all the time even when we are sleeping or thinking albeit the rate of calorie burn is highest when we are exercising. You can calculate your BMR (basal metabolic rate) which is how much you burn on an average day based on your height, weight and age. If you increase the time you exercise you can increase your BMR over time.

• 1 KG of fat is equal to about 7000 calories. So to lose 1/2 KG week we need to burn 3500 calories more than we eat in that week.
• Also remember that the muscles in our body burn more energy than fat (which may also become like an organ, surprisingly, and this is why fatter people are likely to feel hungry more of the time) So as we get fitter and have more muscles we will improve our weight loss program's effectiveness because we want less and burn more.
  
• It is important to remember that we need calories to exercise otherwise we would feel lethargic or worse if we starve too long the body would start burning muscle instead of fat or fuel from food which will in turn leave us weaker.

Rowing

I've thoroughly enjoyed reading David Gemmel's Troy trilogy. My imagination was able to paint a very vivid picture of ancient Greeks.

One thing I noticed while in ancient Greece was that there were very few men of wide girth. Now, it may just be my Hollywood fueled imagination, but they all seemed to have six packs like I want to develop.

It got me thinking about their daily lives. The books mention that they all took turns at the oars. Sails were not as in vogue then and all the boats even the massive ones had to be propelled by sheer muscle power alone.

Thinking further about it I gathered the following points:

1. Its one of the few exercises that exercises all the major muscle groups
   
2. its a great core exercise and very good for cardiovascular endurance (i.e. its good for the heart)
3. Its specially effective for the stomach and back muscles (which is great for me cause I don't like to do crunches)
   
4. its a strengthening exercise and greatly improves muscle strength
   
5. it increases BMR and therefore accelerates weight loss in the long term
6. As you ave to regulate consciously your breathing in order to do rowing for any significant amount of time its a great torso expansion exercise too entirely as a fringe benefit.
   

I therefore nowadays start my day with a 20 minute session of rowing and have already started to feel my shoulders and chest expand.

Whiskey

I've had severely cut down on my beer and wine intake. While I don't think I am an alcoholic,I rarely drink more than twice a week and that too always socially,but I do love my drinks.

I used to be an avid beer enthusiast and made full use of the fact that there are a few micro-breweries in Singapore that craft some pretty passable beers. Beer was like a main dish for an evening meal that needed little else to accompany it. The problem is that it is really high calorie and goes right to the waist. (beer belly is an accurate description to that rotund protrusion below your midriff) So beer was nixed because it was in direct contravention of my stated goals.

It took me some more time to uncover how nefariously wine was working on my physiology.

I love wines too and would drink it in large quantities over long slow evenings. Nothing goes better with a leisurely Mughali meal than some Shiraz or Merlot, and you have to pair pasta with Chianti, we regularly open either champagne or rose' with cake at our office to celebrate launched products, this weather is perfect for Semllion Sauvignon Blanc and cheese and Muscat is my heaven with dessert.

If you didn't already get it from the above confession I tend to pair wine with food and then drink it slowly over a long evening. Triples my calorie intake while bringing my output down to negligible.

I'm not a huge fan of Vodka, Rum or Tequila and most other sorts of alcohol either arn't so easy to come by or its too hot here to enjoy them.

Whiskey is my answer and its perfect. There is enough variety to keep me from getting tired and I drink it when I am out dancing. I have it neat and don't need to pair it with any food.

So in general lesser calories consumed and more expended the best kind of diet alcohol.

;)

Hard Core

Most people find toning their abdomens challenging and I am no exception. Often the better known exercises such as sit-ups and crunches don't seem to have any benefit despite how tiresome they seem.

I find both the aforementioned exercises so boring that I have banished them from my routine. However, this dosn't mean that I've resigned myself to flabby abs.

I've been having a bit of luck with losing inches around my midriff and can also feel the hereto missing firmness in my muscles there.

I concede that the primary reasons are my regular cardiovascular routine and skipping. Skipping is probably a bit more effective than cardio there, being as it is, a well known way to tone all the core muscles.

I've found a few other exercises that seem to be helping me greatly. These are:

Bicycle: lay down with your back on the floor and pedal an imaginary bicycle in the air. for best results imagine the pedal at a point lower than your pelvis and about one and a half feet in the air.

Plank: Put you elbow on the floor below your shoulders at right angles with your chest. Make the rest of your body taut with your toes holding up the other end.

Swiss ball roll: You need a exercise ball for this one. get into the push up position with your shins on the ball. Pull your knees up to your chest till your feet are on the ball. Roll back gently and then repeat.

Weight loss (Updated)

Starting this post off with a before and after pic for reference. (its me both times in the pic with more hair and weight in one than the other)

Since my last post on the topic of Weight loss I've dropped a further 10 lbs and am at 198 lbs which is closer to my target of 187 lbs. Still working towards my six pack before my birthday coming in march.

Due to some work pressures I have less time to workout now days and consequently my new daily schedule is leaner and meaner.

Skipping lucid details of my everyday schedule to talk only about food and exercise

1. 1000 calories on the cross trainer in the morning (takes me about 50 minutes as I use very high resistance)

2. light upper body workout including a bit of weights and push-ups ('weights' is actually just a solitary 35lbs dumbbell)

3. Fruit bowl (mostly berries) followed by regular breakfast (cereal, toast and cheese with low fat chocolate milk)

4. Half an hour of skipping before lunch (8 sets of 250 skips each with breathers in between sets)

5. Buddhist Chinese vegetarian food for lunch with fresh fruit juice/Tender coconut water followed by papaya.

6. Short 15 minute walk in the evening after office

7. Regular Indian dinner followed by chocolate and/or flavored yogurt

8. 500 calories on the cross trainer and off to bed after a shower.

Cycling

A few weeks ago I was introduced to a bike path that snakes along a series of splendid beach side parks (Pasir Ris Park, Changi Coast and ECP) and have since ridden along it on a few weekends.

Sigh... like almost everything else I write about here this is something I used to love doing. Back in Delhi, in those glorious free spirited days of youth, I used to ride along the banks of the river Yamuna. Setting off from home at a time that can only be described as late at night and watching the dawn break over the river after several hours of cycling. (Quite morbidly my favorite spot for watching the dawn break was on a pier jutting out from the compound of a cremation ground)

Back in the day (as this was before the time of MP3 players) the audio experience of the ride used to be intense with the song of the cicadas overlaying the babbling of the river in an otherwise completely silent night. The stirring of the birds before the dawn used to be a welcome relief and I would feel a smile on my face every morning, as if to greet the birds.

Cycling by the sea is even more exhilarating than on a river bank with wide sweeping views and a whole lot more wind. The mildly salty air even smells better. With my IPod now I get to set the mood of my own ride and can choose whether I want to feel soulful by the sea or pumped by the exertion.

It cannot get simpler to start cycling here with several bike rentals right by the beach that offer excellent rates and bikes of all sizes.

Psychology > physiology

Psychology trumps physiology and I don’t mean it in the ‘David and Goliath’ way. A variation in the psyche can bring about tremendous change in our ability to perform physical activities.

We can jump further, run faster and hit harder, than we normally can, simply by beginning to believe that we can. Sports coaches have known this for ages and I found a lot of resources on the internet about sports psychology including some cool sounding ones such as ‘self-hypnosis and better performance’.

My own interest in this topic got piqued over this last long weekend (weekend + extra two days for Chinese new year). I found that because I had more time in the mornings it was almost 11 am before I would finish my morning exercises for the first two days. I was taking almost 3-3.5 hour to finish my exercise quota because the breaks were too frequent and too long. Even though I remember consciously trying to speed up I just felt too tired to perform faster and had to really struggle hard simply to continue.

I decided that I could not afford so much time once the work week started and I may have to lighten my exercise load to accommodate the demands of my body. This was a new sensation for me, for those who know me it would be very evident, I hate to give ground or give up in general.

However, I figured that since my performance was suffering maybe I had something such as sleep debt or maybe something more sinister such as heavy muscle fatigue and had better pay heed to my body.

Come Monday morning (also a holiday) I decided that I would only exercise as much as I comfortably could in an hour without worrying so much about my quota. The defeatist attitude with which I started my session had a genuine unpleasantness. Even though I kept telling myself that I would take it easy I kept trying to meet my original exercise goals and by the end of the hour was so near where I should have been that I continued for a few more minutes and completed my set.

I was simply ecstatic, this meant that I did not have to alter my original program and would be able to adhere to the timeline for my long term goals. In fact I felt so good about completing Monday’s program that I was still pepped on Tuesday morning and actually finished my program 3 minutes before time.

This made me wonder why I had so much trouble in the first place. My guess is that when my mind went into holiday mode it somehow weakened its resolve to workout and this got my body feeling vary even though it had plenty of energy. What got me out of the situation was the tussle between my conscious and sub-conscious mind. (though I can’t exactly figure which one wanted what)

Tender Coconut

Only for a few months a year Delhi imports tender coconuts but during these months there are many street side vendors that do brisk business. I have great memories of times stopping our car on the curb and everyone tanking on cool and sweet coconut water mmm… and let me not forget to mention honorably the refreshing milky white tender flesh you get to eat as a bonus after draining the nut.

It should be only natural that since I find tender coconuts such a treat I would indulge myself often especially since I now live near the equator in a tropical country where we can get tender coconut all year round… but sadly that’s not what has been happening for the past 5 years I have been here.

It was just today when while trying to decide which drink should accompany my lunch that I realized tender coconut was an option (and only because it was advertised in large fonts on the menu) and then it suddenly occurred to me that it has been an option all along. An option that I’d prefer and have been overlooking out of sheer lack of awareness, observation and total tunnel vision.

I enjoyed my repast today so thoroughly due to the presence of my favorite drink that I’ve promised myself that I’m going to make up for the past five years. (To begin with I had two coconuts today rather than just one)

There is a lot of benefit to be derived from drinking the water of tender coconuts (I’m listing here a few that I find most important to note):

1. Regular intake of Tender coconut water lowers total cholesterol, VLDL + LDL– cholesterol and HDL cholesterol as well as Triglycerides and phospholipids
2. Tender coconut water also contains sugar, fiber, proteins, antioxidants, vitamins and minerals
3. Coconut water also provides an isotonic electrolyte balance and can be used as a refreshing drink and as an isotonic sports drinks.

I advocate eating the tender flesh inside too but here’s a small note on the flesh; although coconut meat contains less fat than other dry nuts such as almonds, it is noted for its high amount of saturated fat. (there’s about 33g of fat for every 100g of coconut flesh of which approx 90% is saturated) There has been some debate as to whether or not the saturated fat in coconuts is healthier than the saturated fat found in other foods.

However, coconut meat also contains less sugar and more protein than popular fruits such as bananas, apples and oranges, and it is relatively high in minerals such as iron, phosphorus and zinc.

Not surprisingly The name for the coconut palm in Sanskrit is kalpa vriksha, which translates as "the tree which provides all the necessities of life". In Malay, the coconut is known as pokok seribu guna, "the tree of a thousand uses". In the Philippines, the coconut is commonly given the title "Tree of Life"

Skipping

I was recently reintroduced to skipping. Though I had done some skipping as one of many pastimes as a kid I have never before tried to do it as a form of strength and endurance training. Happily I’ve quickly taken to it and recently have been routinely skipping before lunch daily. (it’s a lot better than skipping lunch and still helps me lose weight)

Surprisingly, unlike most other cardiovascular exercise regimens, skipping as a form of training is anaerobic but only requires a rope to perform.
Two things to note: firstly; though it is done mostly in short intense sessions with breaks in between it does not burn many calories directly. Secondly; though the equipment required (rope)is very portable a fair bit of clear space is needed for it and therefore it cannot be done indoors in most places.

I’ve made some simple changes to my routine (and wardrobe) which has made it very easy for me to skip. I still wear my all black to office which has been modified to be tracks replacing jeans and a sleeveless exercise vest beneath my office polo tee (an extra vest in my bag, a towel and my good rope)

I did have a bit of a hard time trying to find a place to skip because I felt rather conscious of skipping in the open in the middle of an office complex (I’m too lazy to walk too far away from office to skip in a near perfect oxymoron). Finally found a place in a shaded disused sidewalk where only a very few people come make funny faces at me. I skip for about a rigorous half an hour which is enough to give me a great workout and a good guiltless appetite for lunch.

It’s very good for core strengthening and is used by a lot of wrestlers and boxers. The main benefit for people like me trying to lose weight is that it increases the metabolic rate and you burn more calories overall during the day.

The Basics -How To Skip

1. Stand tall but relaxed – breathing naturally
2. Elbows remain at waist level with arms extended sideways at about a 90 degree angle
3. Use a circular wrist motion to turn the rope
4. Hold the rope loosely, using thumb and index finder for control
5. Jump on the balls of the feet landing softly (make sure not to straighten your knees fully to avoid impact)
6. Jump just high enough for the rope to pass under the feet

Weight loss

Lately a lot of people have been asking me for my weight loss regimen. I’ve had a lot of success with weight loss in this past year with some spectacular results this last few months. I started the year with a medical review certifying me obese at 300 pounds with my BMI at a depressing 40+ (AIG wanted a 50% loading on my health insurance premium) and have managed to bring it down to 210 pounds with my BMI at a respectable 27.

Before I go into the details of what I do everyday let me put down here the information I found that has helped me greatly with my quest:

1) Your basal metabolic rate (BMR) is the amount of energy your body needs to function at rest
a. Adult male: 66 + (6.3 x body weight in lbs.) + (12.9 x height in inches) - (6.8 x age in years)
b. Adult female: 655 + (4.3 x weight in lbs.) + (4.7 x height in inches) - (4.7 x age in years)
2) How many calories you burn with various activities http://primusweb.com/fitnesspartner/jumpsite/calculat.htm
3) How many calories you consume http://www.weightlossforall.com/calories-vegetable.htm
4) 1 pound of fat = approx 3500 calories

Therefore to take off 1 pound per week, you need to create a "deficit" of 500 calories per day.

This is how I did it:

1. Cutting back portions but eating everything including cheese, ice creams and chocolates
2. Walking home from work about three times a week approx 10 Km which I do in an hour and fifteen minutes
3. Doing a bit of muscle building (mainly push-ups, sit-ups and stretching on my exercise ball)
4. An hour’s workout on my cross-trainer every evening (started with burning 300 calories but now burning 700 calories each session)
5. Taking a quick 10 minute walk in the afternoon before and after lunch
6. Eating papaya after every meal and having more fruits in general (blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, star fruits, bananas, grapes, pears and apples usually)
7. Drinking a glass of milk with a spoonful of sugar every morning and about 3.5 leters of water every day.
8. Eating my dinner earlier (before 8pm)
9. Snacking on nuts such as roasted and unsalted walnuts, pistachio nuts and almonds when I drink alcohol rather than peanuts or chips etc. (I end up drinking about 2 times a week and mainly have either whiskey or wine)

Finally and most importantly I got me an Ipod with a lot of peppy exercise music which is on me all the time.

I feel great and have gone down several notches on my belts (had to buy new belts even) dropped 8 inches on my pant size from size 42” to size 34”

My current target is trying to give myself a 6 pack of abs for my birthday in March.

Savoring

I’ve always been late for everything. I have a uncanny ability to get up from bed almost exactly 15 minutes later than I need to and it carries on like that the whole day with me glancing at my watch just a tad too late every time.

In my family the importance of breakfast as an anchor meal of the day was very pronounced to us three siblings by my mother. As I almost always reached the kitchen when my brother and sister were midway into theirs I had to rush through mine to make it to school on time. (cause according to my mom I would have grown up wrong if I had even missed or not completed even one breakfast meal)

The product of that early life ritual is that I eat really fast (like some crazy food Olympic style sprint eating fast). I usually finish my meal in less than half the time others take. There is a humorous side to it though; a lot of people I go out eating with are not able to have their fill out of politeness because the huge man across the table from them suddenly stops eating even when they are about getting started (wicked).

Despite that small mischievous satisfaction eating fast is actually a habit I’m trying to get rid of.

I’ve discovered that if I take smaller bites of my food and chew it thoroughly, not only do I savor the taste of what I am eating more completely but I also eat less (which helps me with my weight loss quest).

Taking your time to eat not only lets you recognize the obvious primary tastes of the seasoning but also lets you relish the more subtle tastes and textures behind the preparation that you would quite easily miss in a hurry.

Even cut fruits and salads really come into their own when you give them time to interact with your mouth before you push them down for processing.

Give it a try the next time you are scooping a spoonful.

Papaya

I always thought that if I had to put a fruit in prose it would the succulent mango or the aromatic pineapple. My own favorite Anona family of fruits with either the tempting Custard apple or the simply delectable Soursop were also close contenders as subjects.
Here I am, writing about the wonder fruit that was the most unlikeliest of candidates but has emerged the surprise winner of the ‘fruit I enjoy the most’ contest.
The Papaya isn’t just refreshing to eat (even more so as it is served here on ice with prune powder) it is packed with a whole host of benefits.
At home we used to eat Papaya after meals as it was considered good for the digestive system. And I recently have again started having a slice of Papaya after every meal which I believe has contributed greatly to my steady weight loss and toning up.
As a fruit it is low on calories and is always easy to eat. It is high in Vitamin A and C and is a great source of fiber and potassium. Papaya contains papain, which is often used to tenderize meat, this helps with digestion and breaks down protein.
Here is a list of things I found its good for in general:

• The mature (ripe) fruit treats ringworm, green fruits treat high blood pressure, and is used as an aphrodisiac.
• The fruit can be directly applied topically to skin sores.
• The juice of the fruit (specifically the enzymes within it) are used to reduce gastrointestinal gas, useful to sufferers of IBS.
• The seeds are anti-inflammatory, anthelmintic, and analgesic, and they are used to treat stomachache and fungal infections.
• The leaves are used as a heart tonic, analgesic, and to treat stomachache. The roots are used as an analgesic.
• Current research is examining the potential for fertility effects due to the strong spermicidal properties of the seeds.