Marketing manager Kalpana Sridhar is on a guilt trip. She starved to fit into her favourite outfit for the pre-Diwali bash in her office and after she finally managed to do that, she could resist no more. ?I ate all I could manage to ? things that I liked and strangely also things that I don?t,? she says. Needless to add, the pointer on the weighing scale shifted further right.
Festive binging is definitely a dieter?s nightmare. Despite the fact that most experts would tell Sridhar that her methodology for losing weight was wrong. ?There?s little point in feeling guilty. Aren?t festivals meant for indulgences? Moreover, dieting alone rarely succeeds. Chances are that the lost weight will relapse back in near future. The rules are simple but people often tend to get them wrong,? says Dr Kajal Pandya, Chief Nutritionist, Sitaram Bhartia Institute of Science & Research. So, if your input has been larger than your output in the past, it?s time to increase the latter. In a nutshell, it pays to count your calories right. Don?t underestimate the calories that you eat and overestimate the calories that you burn. ?You will soon realise that the equation is fairly simple. The discipline needs to become a part of your routine ? it needs to come as self-realisation, as self-enlightenment,? asserts Pandya.
Focus on the output
So, about time we shift the focus to ?output?! Don?t worry; all you need is a little extra effort. Don?t fret if you have no time to join the gym. ?Simple activities like taking the stairs, gardening, and walking instead of driving, are as effective as structured gym workouts,? says Dr Anju Ghei, VP Fitness, VLCC. ?To begin with, squeeze in two or three bouts of 15 or 20 minutes of activity in a day. It is just as effective as doing it all at once ,? says Rajbir Bhati, fitness trainer with Power Plate and also with the gym at the Taj hotel. Apart from weight loss, just half an hour a day is all you need to reap the health and disease-fighting benefits of exercise, according to Ghei. But if you are looking at long-term weight loss you will require intensive exercise. Also, if you are looking to burn fat at a particular spot, say around the waist, you will have to adopt a separate strategy.
?Countless sit-ups and twists in an effort to rid the tummy of its fat stores serves only to work the muscles that are underneath the fat layer. Fat is burned off from the entire body. It cannot be stretched out or burned off in a specific area,? says Ghei. It?s equally important to choose an activity that serves your purpose. ?If you cover one mile by walking or by jogging, you lose almost same calories in both cases. Because in both cases you are moving the same weight the same distance. But if you jog rather than walk for 30 minutes, you?ll cover more distance and consequently burn more calories.?
Innovation is the key
Ever tried finding out how Interval Training would work for you? More and more people are adopting the concept and are gratified with the results. ?Interval training, packs high intensity in short spurts,? says fitness trainer Vesna Jacob. But what is it that makes it superior to slow-and-steady workouts? ?It burns more calories, increases cardio capacity faster and activates fast-twitch and slow-twitch muscle fibres,? explains Jacob. Those looking for something radically new, need to wait a little.
Jacob is planning to bring to India Parkour and Gymsticks very soon. For starters, Parkour is basically an ?urban gymnastics? that uses the body to move between two given points in the most efficient way, it spans running, hurdling, vaulting, climbing, balance and agility.
Gymstick, on the other hand, is a long plastic tube with a resistance band attached to it. ?In the right hands it is a fitness tool that strengthens, tones and defines every muscle in your body and core. It works all the major muscle groups as well as the small supporting muscle groups which are used for balance and coordination. You can replicate any free weights exercise including squats, presses, lunges and curls, cleans snatches etc,? adds Jacob.
While Jacob launches that, pack the punch in your workout with some music. Studies show that blaring music enhances workout results. ?A song?s tempo should fall between 120 and 140 beats per minute ? that?s roughly the range of most rock and dance tracks. Cue up songs that ramp up your energy level like rock, rap and 80s dance remixes and then cool down with 10 minutes of soothing songs to catch your breath,? advises Jacob.
That?s quite a few tips there to get your body back. About time you start working out to get back into that sexy dress again for New year parties.
Find the right diet
A study published in the August issue of The New England Journal of Medicine, tried to compare three types of diets to find the best one: a diet with about 30% fat, based on American Heart Association guidelines; a Mediterranean diet; and a low-carbohydrate diet based on the Atkins diet plan. The study followed 322 dieters and concluded that most diets do not work well. The subjects registered the biggest weight loss in the first five months of the diet ? low-fat and Mediterranean dieters lost about 10 pounds, and low-carbohydrate dieters lost 14 pounds. Men did better on the low-carbohydrate diets, losing 11 pounds compared with about nine pounds for the Mediterranean diet. Women fared best on the Mediterranean diet, losing about 14 pounds compared with about five pounds on the low-carbohydrate plan. By the end of two years, all the dieters had regained some, but not all, of the lost weight. Low-fat dieters showed a net loss of six pounds, and the Mediterranean and low-carbohydrate dieters both lost about 10 pounds. Researchers ?avoided extreme diet protocols.? ?More dramatic diet protocols could probably reduce more weight for the short term, but participants would have dropped out,? explained Iris Shai, the study?s lead author and a registered dietitian at the S Daniel Abraham International Centre for Health and Nutrition in Israel.