28 best age to start dieting

Want to shed those extra pounds? Then startdieting when you're 28, suggests a new study.

According to a new research, the most successful dieters are those who start slimming at the age of 28.

Women in their late twenties shed flab faster because they have more time and willpower than those of other ages, says the study of 3,000 women aged over 30.

Twenty-somethings are also more concerned about their weight and so remain focused on their weight loss goals.

On the other hand, those in their thirties are often too busy to watch their weight while many in their forties and fifties have simply 'lost interest' in getting the perfect body.

"With women getting married later than ever, many 28-year-old females will be single, on the dating scene and leading an active social life, which may explain why they are so successful at healthy eating and maintaining a good figure," the Daily Mail quoted Sue Beck, of Lambrini Light, which carried out the research, as saying.

"Many will also be at the peak of their career, leading fast-paced lives which will help shift any excess weight alongside a diet," Beck added.

Benefits of coriander

Commonly used in our daily cooking, corianderhas many health benefits. It is known for building the stomach and promoting digestion.

Adding one or two teaspoons of coriander juice to fresh buttermilk is ideal for treating nausea and dysentery. Dry coriander treats diarrhoea.

- It is also beneficial for women especially those suffering from a heavy menstrual flow. Six grams of coriander seeds should be boiled in 500 ml water and after adding sugar, it can be consumed while warm.

- For those with arthritis problems, coriander has many anti-inflammatory properties. Boil ground coriander seeds with water and drink the concoction.

- Coriander is known to lower blood sugar by stimulating the secretion of insulin. It has also been called as an 'anti-diabetic' plant. It helps the heart by lowering bad cholesterol and raising good cholesterol.

- This herb is also great for the skin. Its juice mixed with turmeric powder can help treat pimples and blackheads.

Eat flour, almonds to satisfy hunger pains

Want to know the trick to control hunger pangs? Here is the clue.

Eating wheat flour and almonds increases the feeling of fullness, leading to reduced food intake and preventing overeating.

"Although it may affect people at different times throughout the day, reducing or satisfying those hunger pains is a common concern for those either trying to lose weight or maintain a certain weight," said the study's author, Linda Milo Ohr.

"Satiety, or the feeling of being full, is a hot topic addressed by the food industry in recent years," added Milo Ohr.

Satiety-increasing foods include:

- Whole grains , such as oats, barley, rye and corn. According to the research, the high-volume, low-energy density and the relatively lower palatability of whole-grain foods may promote satiation.

- Fiber , such as resistant starch and oligosaccharides. Resistant starch escapes digestion in the small intestine of healthy individuals and delivers the benefits of both soluble and insoluble fiber. The research found that the quantity of resistant starch in foods correlates with blood glucose response and reduced food intake after two hours. Oligosaccharides are complex carbohydrates that are found in beans and legumes, and they help maintain stable blood glucose levels when eaten as part of a meal. Like resistant starch, they are not digested by the small intestine and end up being metabolized and expelled from the large intestine.

- Protein . The author cited a study by Solae of St. Louis that found consumers understand the important role protein plays in helping to manage hunger, and they are interested in protein-enhanced versions of everyday foods such as soup, yogurt and breakfast cereal. Protein choices for satiety include soy, which animal studies have shown stimulates the release of cholecystokinin (CCK), a hormone that plays a role in appetite suppression; whey, which stimulates several gastrointestinal hormones that are thought to regulate appetite control in the brain; egg, which provides protein in the form of readily available, essential amino acids; and potato protein extract, which has shown promise for optimal satiety by enabling the release of CCK.

- Almonds . An ounce of almonds contains 6 grams of protein and are often suggested as snacks by popular weight loss programs because of their role in satiety.

Health benefits of corn

With bhuttawalas putting up makeshift stalls at almost every corner in the neighbourhood during the rains, most people love to have this healthy snack.

Corn is high in nutrients, which are extremely beneficial for you. Rich in Vitamin B1, which is used in the metabolism of carbohydrates, Vitamin B5, which helps with physiological functions, folate, that helps generating new cells and Vitamin C, which helps fight diseases, corn should be a must in your diet.

Corn is also high in fibre, which helps you fight digestive problems like constipation. Fibre also helps lower cholesterol levels, reduces the risk of colon cancer and is also useful in helping to lower blood sugar levels in diabetics. Folic acid present in corn is known to prevent neural-tube birth defects. Experts also recommend corn for people who suffer from Anaemia. Make a delicious and easy side dish — corn sauteed with green chillies and onions not only tastes good but is healthy, too!

The slim forever diet!

Followed every diet in the book, but love handles still giving you nightmares? Well, celeb dietician Anita Bean has come to your rescue with her new no-nonsense strategy for a proper diet that can help you shun fat forever.

Anita, 46, has published Slim Secrets , which gives a safe diet based on scientific facts from her 18 years of experience. "Many diets make wild promises but the usual rule of thumb is that the wilder the claim the less likely it is to work. Any diet is going to work in the short term because you are going to eat fewer calories but often the proposed eating plan is not sustainable," the Daily Express quoted her, as saying.

Slim Secrets , addresses the psychology and emotions behind dieting which she feels is the main barrier to long term weight loss. "Before you begin working out whether you are going to have broccoli or a chocolate cookie, the starting point of any diet has to be sorting out your emotions. You have to start taking control, not only of your eating but also your whole lifestyle," she says.

She admits this "all sounds a bit serious," but adds "the reason why many women have weight issues is because they haven't got control over what they are eating. Food becomes tangled up with negative beliefs about yourself and your past. It's got to be a long-term process. If as a child you were hurt or upset and given sweets you might associate food as a reward or use it to hide emotions. I am not talking about heavy-duty psychology here, it's about getting people to be honest with themselves and face up to what they are doing," she added.

Anita offers simple techniques to help you decide which foods to eat and which should be treats. She says there is no need to cut out major food groups such as dairy or carbohydrates if you pay attention to the calorie density of what you eat.

Anita's simple tips for a slimmer future are:

Keep a food mood diary - Write down everything you eat and drink for a week and how you felt before and after you ate. Soon you'll see a pattern and identify what makes you eat when you're not hungry.

De-stress - Emotional eating doesn't actually reduce stress levels. Although you may experience the initial enjoyment of the food, your negative feelings don't go away. The best way to deal with stress is to exercise. Go for a walk, swim or enjoy a yoga session.

Don't buy it - One of the best things you can do is not buy the foods you binge on. Don't bring them into your house. If snacks aren't available you will automatically discover something else to do to change the way you're feeling.

Plan ahead - If you know you've got a stressful time coming up then plan your food strategy to help you cope better. Plan what healthy meals and snacks you're going to eat and keep all others out of sight.

Healthy snacks in a jiffy

Eating out, eating junk, eating at odd hours and skipping meals due to lack of time are the major reasons for posing health risks amongst people today. And let's face it, working people do not have the luxury of time to spend hours in the kitchen to prepare a proper meal for themselves.

Period
So what are you hardworking people who are constantly on the move supposed to do? We tell you how you both women and men too, can prepare simple nutritious snacks that one can prepare in jiffy and most importantly they are very healthy.

Smoothies
Fruit smoothies are not only healthy and delicious but are quite filling and are a good alternative to having a snack. Just toss some fruits like apples, bananas, chikoo, strawberries, etc. in your blender. Add some milk. You need to just a little bit of sugar because fruits are already sweet. But if you must, its better to add some honey and give the ingredients of your smoothie a quick spin. Having smoothies will provide you fibre, vitamins, minerals that are important for the optimum functioning of the body. Also, drinking a fruit smoothie will give you a boost of energy.

Corn Salad
Corn is available all throughout the year, at grocery stores. Corn is fun to eat because it tastes sweet and its texture is crunchy. It is a good source of vitamin B especially thiamine and niacin. Yellow corn is a good source of beta carotene, which generates vitamin A in the body. In a bowl, add a handful of corn nibblets, add some chopped olives, tomatoes, capsicum and a little onion. Add the juice of half a lime, a pinch of sugar and salt. Toss the salad well. You can also add a drizzle of olive oil or some french vinaigrette dressing.

Baked beans sandwich
This is one of the easiest sandwiches to prepare. Toast two slices of whole wheat or multi-grain bread. Scoop out some spoonfuls of baked beans from the canned variety that is very easily available in the market. Spread it over your toast and voila! You are ready to eat it. Beans are an excellent source of protein and whole wheat bread provides healthy carbohydrates and fibre that will satisfy your hunger for hours. Also, baked beans contain tomatoes that contain lycopene, and anti-oxidant which help in fighting against cancerous cell formation in the body.

Fruit and yogurt
Roughly chop up some fruits, remember the more the merrier. However, if you have only one variety of fruit available in your kitchen, don't fret as this recipe will still taste yummy nonetheless. In a bowl, mix a cup of yogurt with a little bit of honey. Add your chopped fruits and mix well. Sprinkle a handful of dried fruits like almonds, cashews, walnuts or even dried figs, apricots, or dates over it. This snack will provide you ample of energy that will last for hours. Yogurt is a good source of calcium that is necessary for the strengthening of bones. Also, it contains useful bacteria that aids in better digestion and boosts the body's immunity.

From fat to fit with a health diary

Did you know that penning down your daily intake of food along with your exercise routine can help you shed those extra kilos?

Maintaining a 'health diary' and keeping a tab on the eating habits, has helped many loose weight.Fitness expert Anuradha Inamdar gives the details.

How it works
It's simple! When you write every minute detail of what's going into your stomach (unhealthy and the unhealthy) and how much you have been working out, you will get to know when you fall pray to the temptation and when you get lazy and skip the exercise routine. When you perform well, it will act as a motivating factor.

Things you should write in your diary
1. List of healthy and unhealthy food items
2. Importance of different food items
3. A food pyramid according to your needs (loose weight, gain weight, or maintain it).
4. The routine you plan to follow- the food you will eat, the exercise pattern and how much water you will drink etc.
5. A page on seasonal diet as your eating pattern should change according to the seasons.

After you are done with the preliminary work, start working on the main diary. Here you have to note down you initial weight, and target to be achieved by the end of a particular week.

What next
Analyse your schedule and keep making changes as per your body requirements. Each week set a new target and you will definitely see the positive change in your body.

I'm too lazy to write!
If you find it tedious to write, then there are many websites that have an online diary. This healthdiary also calculates your calorie intake and analyses how healthy your routine is for you.

5 Tips for outdoor exercises this summer

Some of us love our morning runs, or our evening walks. Some of us need our quick game of tennis before the end of the week comes around. Some of us may have grown tired of our old indoor routine and may want to try a hand at stepping outdoors this summer. But the summer heat can sap us of energy and make us feel dehydrated and even worse, lethargic! Before you lose all hope, here are 5 tips to stay cool and motivated for outdoorexercises this summer.

Go shopping: Before you think we've lost the plot, I'm talking about workout clothes here. There is a whole range of cooling clothing out there in the market that absorbs sweat quickly and has perforations to ensure that you remain cool on the inside. It's time to save your old cotton t-shirts for a more appropriate season, and get some 'Cool' new workout clothes. And you know what? Sometimes it even works as a motivator to get out there and show off your new great fitting wardrobe!

Lots of fluid: This goes without saying. But sometimes in the quest to stay hydrated we end up drinking sugar rich sports and energy drink. Instead drink natural energy drinks and lots and lots of water. Sometimes if you've sweated more than usual, you may find that you have a headache or feel nauseous later in the day. This is nothing but dehydration and the only answer is fluids and more fluids.

Go out earlier or later than normal: Make the effort to wake up 20 minutes earlier than normal, or go 45 minutes later than normal in the evenings for your run. Try and make sure you are out there before sunrise or after sunset. This is probably more mental than physical, but it will make you feel cooler and less sapped of energy.

Take it slow: You may need to slow down your pace or reduce the number of kms you usually run. The fact of the matter is that it is hot out there, and your body will not be able to perform as well as it could during the cooler months. So listen to your body, and take it slow.

Carry ice with you: If you run long distances you can wrap ice in a cloth or a rag and wrap it around your neck. If you don't want to carry ice then splash your face and head with cool water every now and then. This may seem like a scene from the movies, but its well worth it as it goes a long way in keeping you cool.

The point is that whether it's summer, winter, or the monsoons, there are ways you can find to ensure that you have a great workout, so no excuses work this summer. Yes it is hot, but that's how most summers have always been ever since anyone can remember.

Adopt these healthy office habits

You spend approximately 6 to 8 waking hours in your office. But are you aware of the fact that for most of us, the office is a hub of bad diet decisions accompanied with a sedentary lifestyle. Bid farewell to these unhealthy office foods with these healthy office habits from Ms. Divya Choudhary, Senior Nutritionist at Fortis Hospital, New Delhi.

Eat breakfast to keep hunger pangs at bay.Office life can wreck your diet decisions if you are are not careful. One of the most common reasons behind our urge to overeat at work is the lack of an adequate breakfast. Skipping breakfast leads to an erratic lifestyle pattern. It's the most important meal of the day, and we end up neglecting it. Come lunch, and we are so hungry that we hog on almost anything and everything. Click here for a few healthy breakfast ideas.

Be friendly with your coffee machine. Caffeine stimulates the heart and respiratory systems. But don't be too friendly. Limit your coffee consumption to just two cups a day. Make sure that for every coffee you drink, you drink two full glasses of water, to help your system replenish what the caffeine takes out.

Try and replace normal water intake with lukewarm water. Warm water has many health advantages, such as:
- It flushes out toxins from our system, which if accumulated can lead to aches, pains and headaches.
- Warm water helps our digestive system work more efficiently, while keeping gastro and colon related - diseases at bay.
- Warm water keeps our skin hydrated. Drinking enough water can combat skin problems like eczema, psoriasis, dry skin, wrinkles etc.

Carry healthy meals from home. If possible, one should always carry home food because it has all the advantages of being infection free, and hygienic. Canteen or restauran food, when eaten too often, can also lead to all sorts of problems that arise from lack of essential nutrients since most cooking methods in fast food kill the nutrient value of food.

If you must exist in a cubicle, at least make it a healthy one . Eat your meals on time and preferably in a relaxed environment. Drink lots of water through the day. Always carry fruits (excellent snack without making you gain weight). Look at other snacks like roasted chana and 100% whole grain crackers instead of biscuits. Keep them in your desk drawer. You can also try unsalted almonds, walnuts or unsweetened figs.

Health Me Up's Tip for eating healthy in the office: Maintain a well-stocked office box or bag that contains healthy snacks and foods like yogurt, low fat cottage cheese, low fat string cheese, your favourite fruits, hummus, and raw veggies and put them in your office refrigerator. Don't forget to seal and mark it with your name. This will give you a great excuse to get off that chair every couple of hours, and will also serve your need to eat healthy at work. And yes, don't be too food-friendly when it comes to enjoying colleagues' birthdays, baby showers and receiving high calorie gifts from clients. Respect your limits!

Motivational

Everything happens for good...either one should firmly belief in that or else try hard to get d things work...Nothing falls on place itself. One has to try harder & harder to carry out the same…agreed destiny plays very imperative role but it’s you who crafts it…so don’t ever downcast yourself & curse your luck for whatever happens to you…it’s better to be pragmatic n belief in yourself as others perceive you by that.

How to Zero in on Your Dream Job

Choosing the right job is like trying to hit bull’s eye! Are you feeling like a misfit in your current workplace? Do you often come back home stressed and frustrated? Then chances are that your dart is at quite a distance from the bull’s eye! Read on to find out how you can find your dream job

Understand your aspirations
It’s the first thing that you must look at before you head for your dream job. Swati Salunkhe, iDiva’s career expert and career consultant says, “You must have realistic aspirations. If you want to do Hotel Management, but you’re not ready to work for 14 hours then it doesn’t make any sense. Also, you must understand your worth before you expect your company to give you benefits or whatever it is that you are looking for.”

Understand your field
If you are looking for a job in the IT sector, you must understand its current trend and happenings as it’s a very fluctuating industry. For example, a case like the Satyam scam weakened the IT sector. Also with so many fresh engineers joining the market every year, you must understand how feasible your chances of employment and advancement in the field are.

Swati says, “Everybody likes glamourised job titles, but they refuse to work at the grassroot level. If you are a person who hates coding, and wants to be the manager of a big engineering firm, it won’t happen unless you’re ready to work on coding for the initial years in your career.”

Do a SWOT analysis
You must know your strengths and weaknesses in the context of the job that you are looking for. Once you understand this, you must also work on turning your weaknesses into strengths or minimising them. Also, understand the opportunities and threats that you are bound to face on the job. Once done, analyse them again and see if the job that you are looking for is actually meant or you. The key is to be realistic!

Proper qualification
You must ensure that you have proper qualifications for the job title that you are applying for. If you find that a particular qualification can ensure you better success in your career, go get it! That will ensure a better chance of promotion and will also give you an edge over the other employees with basic educational requirements.

Know the firm
When you finally step out for an interview, ensure that you know everything that you need to about the company. The financial and non-financial perks that it offers, pension plans, work environment, job security, and the scope for your promotion and advancement further in the company.

Swati Salunkhe adds, “You need to be realistic about this. If you are hoping for a 10% incentive from your company, ask yourself if you are actually providing your company with your 100% to be worth the incentive.”

Stay focused
Swati Salunkhe further explains, “Once you are sure about all of the above, walk into your dream job with a positive attitude. Stay focused on your objectives and goals and build good relationships with your colleagues. You never know when you might need their help.”

"Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work.” So just make sure that you do what you love and you’ll love what you do!

Lousy Drivers: Women or Men?

Women are generally ridiculed for their lousy driving skills, but here’s a reality check! A survey in Britain has found that men are worse drivers and twice more likely to have an accident than women since they get distracted while driving. The common distractions that were listed were adjusting the car stereo, eating or having a soft drink, talking on hand-held mobile phones, texting and map-reading while driving, and also shaving, applying make-up and even reading a book! So we asked a few of our readers to tell us who they think is better behind the wheel - men or women.

5 Workouts that don't feel like workouts

For most of us, the word 'workout' conjures up images of sweat soaked t-shirts, bulging muscles, agym trainer, or running shoes. This image may not be entirely real because there are a few things you can do in your daily life, or maybe weekly life, which have the ingredients of a good workout without necessarily being one. Many of these chores are left entirely up to domestic help, but there is no reason for us not to make them part of our weekly routines, if only just to ingrain more activity into our busy schedules.

However, we are not suggesting that you replace regimented strength and cardio workouts with the following five activities. This post is meant to encourage daily chores or activities that offer variations in your body's activity levels, and not offer any alternatives to real workouts.

1. Clean your house: Start with your bedroom. Re-arrange furniture, pick things up, bend, squat, lift heavy things. Cleaning your house and re-arranging furniture has all the elements of a good gym session though you may not even know it. This may not be a weekly routine, but it can certainly be made part of something you do on a regular basis, when you have time to yourself at home. Not to mention, this one is truly therapeutic with good music to keep you moving.

2. Play with your kids: Anything goes. Your kids will truly love it and there will be no dearth of action. Pillow fights, go to a park and throw a ball around, go to a pool and have races, and of course ask the kids for more ideas. Physical playtime is a great workout and also an unparalleled family bonding time.

3. Bathe your dog: Even better, bathe your cat. If you have a larger dog, or a cat, you will know what a great exercise it is. First the battle to hold on firm, the usage of your body weight to get the upper hand, the scrubbing, the rinsing, and then the drying. All the while holding on to dear life. If this isn't a workout, then we don't know what is!

4. Walk in a mall: Ladies, the ideal workout! For the men, a nice way to spend time in a mall while your better half disappears. Of course the idea is to walk, climb stairs, and keep a decent pace.Walking is a good exercise to stay active and to stay on your feet more.

5. Go on a hike: This one's clearly not for people well encased within miles and miles of metro city traffic. But perhaps even city dwellers can find some park, nearby town, or natural feature to visit over weekends? Try and incorporate hiking into your weekend activity. Sunday's are a great day to take off outside the city and spend time hiking, climbing a hill. Take a picnic basket and soak in all the vitamin D that you have missed out on during the week.

So here they are, 5 completely innocent workouts that you can try and incorporate in your schedule that will ultimately lead to a fitter and more active you.

8 Yoga asanas for the office

Are you chained to your office desk for long hours at a stretch with little to no daily exercise? Does your life circle around your laptop? Is typing while hunched over a tiny desk how you spend each day? If the answer is yes, then you need to get proactive about your mental and physical state of being. To help you achieve just that, here are eight yoga asanas for the office that will help you combat mental and physical stress by increasing your concentration levels and relaxing any muscle tensions. Read and practise right away!

Office Yoga Asana 1: Wrist Stretches- Perform these simple stretches as a warm up exercise before starting your work and you'll never complain of wrist pain. (1) Extend and stretch both wrist and fingers acutely as if they are in a hand stand position and hold them up for a count of 5. (2) Make a tight fist with both hands and then bend wrist down while keeping the fist and hold it for a count of 5.

Office Yoga Asana 2: Neck Asana- Breathe in as you bend your head in the right direction. Try and aim at a point where your shoulder touches the ear. Exhale as you bring your back to the normal position. Make sure you keep your neck and spine long. Now do the asana on the left side. Perform fivebreathing cycles on each side.

Office Yoga Asana 3: Reversed Shoulder Rotation and Thoracic Wave- Inhale as you move your shoulders in an upward and backward direction. Exhale as you move them in a downward and frontward direction. Pay key attention to the breathing cycle and keep your neck and spine comfortably straight. Perform eight to ten rotations on each side.

Office Yoga Asana 4: Cow Face Pose for your upper back- Take both your hands and clasp your hands behind your back. If you are unable to clasp, don't try too hard, comfortably stretch your fingers towards one another. Release with an exhalation. Now shake your arms for about 30 seconds and repeat.

Office Yoga Asana 5: Cat Asana for the lower back- While exhaling, bend your back in a backward direction creating a sharp curve in your spine. Now bend in a forward direction with the point between the shoulder blades and inhale. Do it for 5 breathing cycles to relieve your body of long hours at the desk.

Office Yoga Asana 6: Konasana for toned arms- Stand straight with legs wide apart. Now bend forward from your waist. Try and touch the ground with the tips of your fingers, if possible place both your hands on the ground while standing. Your upper body should be in a straight line. Look ahead by about 3 inches. Perform konasana for 10 to 30 seconds and breathe normally throughout the asana.

Office Yoga Asana 7: Bhastrika for your abdomen- Sit in a comfortable position with your back straight. Close your eyes and start exhaling and inhaling via nose by focusing on the abdominal muscles. As soon as you release your abdominal muscles you'll realize that your diaphragm contracts before you start to inhale. Hear the sound of your breath and perform this asana 5 times at a stretch. Give it a pause. Breathe normally. And start again. Complete one to two rounds on a daily basis and increase the number of your breaths by 5, each week.

Office Yoga Asana 8: Leg Extension Asana- Sit in a comfortable position with one leg bent and placed on a chair or desk in front of you. Place both your hands on your feet. Keeping your spine straight, inhale and extend your leg outward while holding it with your hands. Stay in this position for 3 to 5 breaths. Exhale as you come back to the normal position, while moving your hands and placing them on your waist. Stay in this position for 3 to 5 breaths. Relax. Perform 5 to 10 rounds like this.