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.

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.