Application of Spirituality for Healthy Lifestyle

Spirituality is a practice of soul consciousness. 

Many will wonder why or how come a dietitian / fitness coach is talking about spirituality.

Many feel spirituality is for retired stage of life. Also it's misunderstood as religious practice. 

After studying yog philosophy, reading and listening to spiritual coaches; I have started understanding that to improve health and to reverse diseases, knowledge of spirituality (Gyan Yog) is very important.

I have tried to explain here notes / points taken from books and videos of spiritual coaches like BK Shivani Didi, Sadhguruji, Gaur Gopal Dasji. A year back I did Raj Yog Meditation course. 

I want to say here that this topic was most difficult and took time for me to pen it down.  

Read it not as expert's blog but as someone is telling you to go and learn yourself what has been benefiting to her. 

Concepts that I found beneficial for developing healthy lifestyle.

1. We are soul. Happiness is our original virtue. 

Unhealthy eating is outcome of emotional dependency on external factors. For both joy as well as sad feelings, we use food to elevate and ignore respective emotions. 

It's absolutely fine to occasionally indulge on food for joy. But our happiness should not be dependent on food. Food can give temporary "feel good factor". 

Mindful eating is a result when we are happy from inside. Healthy choices becomes our easy habit when we understand the difference between Being Happy vs Doing something for happiness. 

2. Soul has three entities i.e. Intellect (Buddhi), Mind (Manas) and Impression (sanskaar). 

 Mind has a tendency to go behind our sensory needs, while Intellect helps to make decisions. Which one is leading us to make choices is important. Choices we make each time develop our habits and  eventually Sanskaar (impressions) that shapes our  personality. 

This is described in image portraying mahabharat chariot on bhagawatgeeta. 

E.g. Today my intellect reads blog on importance of sleeping early at night. But my mind is going behind watching something on OTT. 

- My mind gave reason it's ok one day. Mind overpowered intellect. Made choice not to sleep on time. This gets repeated for some more days. And now even if there is nothing to watch, I will simply scroll the screen or find something to keep me busy till late night. My personality becomes like Owl and I'm lousy, sleepy during work. 

- My intellect ignores mind and decides to sleep early. It tells mind to postpone the time to watch OTT during day time on weekend. 

With repeating couple of days more, sleeping early become easy. 

My personality is early to bed and early to rise. Energetic throughout day.

         Intellect needs to be powerful to take control of mind and thereby our senses. 

3. We are a composition of 5 koshas/ layers i.e. 

Outer layer, the first layer is annamay kosha (physical body), second layer is manomay kosha (mental body) , third layer is pranmay kosha (energy/emotional body) , fourth one is gyanmay kosha (spiritual body) and fifth one the innermost anandmay kosha (bliss body). Here we can understand that these layers are interconnected and energy flows through them. What happens at inner layers gets reaction or response at outer layers and what happens at outer layers gets reaction or response at inner layers. 

Effect of our thoughts, emotions (mental & emotional body) appears on physical body. Therefore to prevent unhealthy mind and body, as well as to improve healthy mind and body; working on our believes is very  important. 

Our believes, our emotions, our thoughts have energy. Blockages at physical and mental body don't get resolved, unless energy is healthy and freely flowing. 

Healthy/ positive thoughts & believes create healthy emotions and healthy emotions means healthy energy flow. 

4. Body Consciousness and Soul Consciousness

Spirituality is about awareness of self as soul, a spiritual being. Being soul, we already are peaceful being, happy being, pure being. 

When we get aware of these qualities, we feel contented and satisfied. We accept and respect our body and want to take care of it with healthy lifestyle.

We learn to accept challenges and learn to "respond". External stimulation is not required.

    

But when we are unaware about our identity as soul, we are body conscious. We constantly seek sensory/body pleasures from external factors.
It leads to attachment to external factors like body image, people and food. This attachment is then a cause of hurt, guilt, stress, anxiety.  We  "react" to problems. Ignorance of problem / challenge is one of the way of Reaction. Eg. Processed food, alcohol, smoking are generally taken for feeling that kick/ stimulation to ignore the challenges.

       Body consciousness also leads to low self-esteem towards body that cause desperation for either gain weight or lose weight which further leading to poor eating patterns.

Self awareness brings mindfulness.

5. Seven Chakraa and Shadripu

There is an energy in universe and as we are also part of universe there is same energy (prana) inside us. There are seventy two thousands of nadis (subtle energy channels) in our body through which prana flows. These nadis meet at seven different junctions, they are seven chakras. To relate this philosophy with modern science consider seven endocrine glands.
Frequency at which energy flows decides our wellbeing and connects us to related energies in universe.

 
Shadripu refers to the six enemies of the mind in Hindu philosophy: Kama (lust), Krodha (anger), Lobha (greed), Moha (delusion/attachment), Mada (pride/arrogance), and Matsar (jealousy/envy). All these emotions trigger further related emotions.  Eg. Jealousy further leads to fear, over consumption of commodities, possesiveness and unhappiness. 

I'm "Feeling stuck" is common word we say. What this mean, these negative emotions don't allow free prana flow. Nadis get blocked and then chakras.

 
Lifestyle diseases are now proven as psychosomatic disturbance. Considering all above points, diseases are first starting at psycho/ mind level. Blocked Chakras affects related gland and then disturbs rhythm of organs system around it. And we feel DisEased.

Spirituality teaches us to get aware of "I being Soul and everyone around is also Soul".
Once we accept this philosophy; Accept, Respect, Gratitude, Love which are powerful tools for unblocking prana/energies becomes easier for us to follow. Dependency on food or any other vices is no more needed.. 

We get mindful to chose content consumption as well as food, because we now know that it will not immediately impact, but my soul will have these impressions that create emotions and further affect mind and body gradually.

Once we understand energies/ prana, we become wise to know why am I not getting disciplined towards healthy eating, why am I not losing weight, why my blood pressure shoots up even if I eat home cooked food, why someone gets heart attack even if he looks fit, why my blood sugar is not under control inspite of medication, why am I falling sick frequently and why for someone sickness becomes a part of their family.

 Healing our energy through meditation, gyanyog, affirmation, breathing can do miracles. 

Once we are humble to understand this, Fit and Healthy life is forever companion.Or if currently anyone has any disease, now knows how to get back on health. 

Take this blog to read, listen, learn more about spirituality from respective coaches mentioned above. 

Self Evaluating Questionnaire to Navigate rightly towards Health.

7 th April is World Health Day.
Here are few...
Self Evaluating Questionnaire to Navigate rightly towards Health.

1.What is your definition of Health? / What are your criterias for feeling Healthy?

2.On scale of 0 to 10, (where 0 being lowest and 10 being highest) , where do you rank your current quality of health?

3.How do you feel about this ranking?

4.According to you, What  your friends and family are talking/ feeling/ experiencing about your current  health?

5.What is Priority ranking you are currently giving to practice healthy habits (Healthy Sleep time, Meal timing, Healthier food choices, Exercise time, self help book reading, pranayam/ meditation practice)
  in comparison to your Profession/ Studies, Family Responsibilities, Socializing?

Now Visualise Yourself  5/ 10 years later, your age will be increasing, your professional/ work as well as family responsibilities will be changing.

6.If you keep the same Dedication, Priority, Discipline towards practicing Healthy Habits, where would be the ranking of your quality of health after 5/10 years?

7.How would you feel about this ranking?

8.What Friends and Family will talk / feel / experience about your health?

9. Do you think the need to modify/ improve your current priority/ dedication and desciplinery level towards healthy habits.

10. Describe Action Plan for the same.

**Write down these questions and answer them periodically whenever required to adopt/ resume/ progress towards Health. **             

Testimonies

Reviews

of Our Clients

Reading testimonies of these clients helps to understand why people took a decision to start a program, how they kept going and what are the benefits they receive.

These case studies help to take right decision.

Mrs. Jyoti Pendharkar

Mrs. Jyoti Pendharkar

Retired - Ex- Banker

I want to thank you from bottom of my heart. When I did my medical blood test, cholesterol and uric acid was detected to some higher range. I took advice from dietician Prachi for two months and followed the healthy and right diet along with right time prescribed by her. Also did exercises and regular walk. It gave me unexpected results with a healthy and relaxed feeling. I now realised that how right food intake makes all the difference for a healthy life than just weight loss. Its you and Ashish who are amazing and doing fantastic job. Thanks for everything and changing me and my lifestyle. To be healthy is very precious. You did a fantastic job by teaching me actually and thanks for everything.

Dr. Kunal Pai

Dr. Kunal Pai

Pediatric Nephrologist

I am Dr.Kunal and I'm 30 years old. As being a endomorph, I used to easily gain a lot of weight. After meeting Prachi, I realised the importance of balanced eating which was much more important than starving to lose weight. I was more energetic during work and exercises and never used to feel hungry except the initial few days when I was adjusting to the new diet. I lost around 1 kg per week which is a healthy weight loss!!and I lost total 7 to 8 kgs in the process. Thanks prachi!!!!

Mr. Rajas Kshirsagar

Mr. Rajas Kshirsagar

NRI Engineering Student

I started working with Prachi to get fitter as I wanted to get healthier before it gets more difficult. I wanted to get toned and have higher stamina and agility. After shifting to USA for higher studies, it was difficult to manage food intake because of various reasons like available food options and cooking time. Prachi helped me with understanding the importance of a diet and how to design simple, practical yet effective one that works for me considering my student lifestyle in foreign country. In addition I also realised the importance of indulging in physical activities/sports to keep myself active and agile. In the process, I lost more than 15kgs excess weight. Counselling helped me to control my food intake without being obsessed over it. Now I'm able to maintain my healthy eating habits although being away from home.

Mr. Shrikant Vispute

Mr. Shrikant Vispute

IAS

During my UPSC exam preparation I gained the weight due to long hours seating. But as soon as I got time, I started consulting by Prachi for better management of diet and exercise. Best part of the Prachi's approach towards diet is balance, which gives slow but steady results. She will never force you to do harsh, extreme options. Her daily monitoring and guidance is personalized, so people like me start becoming mindful during daily food intake. Today is 32nd day of my Bharat tour programme. I am enjoying every cousine of each state of our nation. Still maintaining weight in better manner.

Dr. Shefali Shete

Dr. Shefali Shete

Ayurveda

I started my diet program with Dietician Prachi Managute since Dec 2021 for weight loss and improving my dietary patterns. Reason was i got ankle muscle injury on Nov 2021 due to which my orthopedic surgeon restricted me from doing my workout so i have to focus more on diet part. I had a very awesome expirence because she helped me in improving my diet and main thing she did not gave typical "diet" like soup, salad. she gave indian diet with proper timing which helped me a lot. We had video calls and daily tracking on watsapp. Had a great coaching and counseling with her. I m benefited with weight loss and better diet calculation. ”

Mrs. Kavita Sanghvi

Mrs. Kavita Sanghvi

Homemaker

 I Started my training sessions with Ashish sir since July 2019. I was interested in starting weight and physical training sessions to increase my physical activity for the week. Because of these sessions I have become more active and feel good about it. The best thing about Ashish Sir is that he motivates a lot. When I had sciatica pain and was unable to do our regular exercises, Sir researched and suggested alternative exercises conducive to my situation. Very happy with the sessions. ”

Mrs. Mugdha More

Mrs. Mugdha More

Finance Manager

 I got it touch with Prachi for weight loss and nutrition consulting. After understanding my goal and lifestyle, she provided me a healthy food chart. She is not the person who will advice Chia seeds or quinoa to her clients for weight loss. She emphasizes on home cooked food. She gave me variety of healthy food and snack options.She was very quick to respond to my queries. Her advice helped me a lot and turned out to be lifestyle changing for me. She educated me on food, nutrition. With her guidance, i could lose 5 kgs in span of 3 months. I feel lighter, more active. I have become more aware abt my food choices. Really thanks to Prachi for her guidance!! ”

Dr Nikita Gangurde

Dr Nikita Gangurde

Sports Physiotherapist

 I was really depressed with the fact that I have never been this over weight (71kg) which happened due to this pandemic. So I started to take help from Prachi. Initially it was unable to keep my eyes off sugar and control hunger. But with consistency to keep on following prescribed diet plan, eventually helped to get comfortable with new and healthier lifestyle. Thanks a lot Prachi for your counseling, motivation and your help to achieve my ideal weight i.e 58kg. I have started limiting my food intake, I remained watchful about by food choices and it's quantity, I try to do intermittent fasting in a right way, which helped me a lot to boost my metabolism and combat hunger as well. ”

Dr Manasi Girdhar

Dr Manasi Girdhar

Physiotherapist

 I started diet plan with Prachi for weight loss. I faced some challenges in initial days like it was hard to control on cravings for fast food and follow prescribed timings of eating food. After some days there was counselling session for improvement in diet and that helped me alot. I personally feel really good after taking diet plan from Prachi. I started eating healthy foods like vegetables, fruits which are most important in our daily lives and i felt it after starting diet. I was having flatulence problem which got clear. Eventually, I started loosing my extra body weight and also learnt about how different foods having different effects our weight and health. ”

Ms Jasmeet Kaur Saini

Ms Jasmeet Kaur Saini

Senior consultant, Business Research

 Here is the testimony and i really mean it!! “I contacted Prachi on an impulse to get in better shape and more importantly to lead an active life. And I am very happy that I took that step. Prachi guided me on my diet and understood my taste limitations. She came up with alternatives that best suited and it didn’t feel like a forced choice. Today I am much more active, both physically and mentally. I am so thankul for her guidance and all her help to get me to a place where I can make better food and lifestyle choices and still not feel like I am missing out on something.” Thank you very much once again. ”

Mr Sandeep Walve

Mr Sandeep Walve

IT - System Administrator

 I wanted to reduce my weight for better health, so I approached AM to PM Fitness. In my whole life apart from Walk, I had never done any kind of exercises or diet, so it was really tough task for me to manage both in the initial weeks. But Prachi made it much easier for me to understand my eating habits and tweak the diet plan with right suggestions that helped me a lot. Ashish also saw my response to exercise pattern and according to that he also planned the exercises so I do not feel exhausted. I started Diet and Exercise when my weight was around 87 KG, but now I have come down to 81 to 82 KG. Feels good to wear old favorite t shirts without worry about the body shape ....Thanks AM to PM Fitness. ”

Mr Rahul Gaikwad

Mr Rahul Gaikwad

Business

 This is a small token of saying thanks to you Prachi for your guidance. You have made it a point to change my life style in a healthy way and that brought my weight from 90kgs to 80kgs. I also appreciate, that you customized my diet plan according to my food preferences and needless to say you are quick at responding to the doubts and queries. Keep it up the good work. ”

Ms. Mushfica Masud

Ms. Mushfica Masud

Filmmaker and Picture Editor

 I'm Mushfica, from the United States. Prachi has been my life coach for the past 2 years. She takes her job very seriously. She has been a great friend, a mentor throughout my health journey. She came into my life when I needed to achieve my weight loss goal, stayed throughout my maintenance period, and now when I need to work on my goal again she is helping me every day. She makes my food plan, educates me on food nutrition, encourages me every time I fall off my track. ”

Mr. Balvinder Singh Suri

Mr. Balvinder Singh Suri

Actor

 The kind of lifestyle, food habits and Punjabi background, its seems little difficult, but thanks to Prachi for planning my meals accordingly and having the patience to handle my kind of person. After losing 10 kg, I feel lighter, younger and energetic. ”

Mr. Hrishi Shinde

Mr. Hrishi Shinde

Writer

 Within a month I lost 5kg which boost my confidence & focus. After 2nd month I lost 10kg. Slowly & gradually I lost 12kg & right now my waist is 32inches. Thanks a lot to Prachi giving back my confidence, happiness & energetic healthy days. ”

Ms. Sheetal Panchal

Ms. Sheetal Panchal

Interior Designer

 I lost more than 10kgs. Thank you very much Prachi for changing my personality Thanks for everything. God bless you. ”

Mrs. Vinita Aran

Mrs. Vinita Aran

Dietitian

 I have been taking exercise training with Aashish for the past 3 years. He is knowledgeable and guides you with a lot of patience according to your age and fitness level. Thanks to Aashish for his valuable guidance. ”

Ms. Abhishikta Das

Ms. Abhishikta Das

HR Executive

 The only person I have ever agreed to weight train with is Aashish. The reason is that he makes it look like just another part of life and doesn't make it feel like an arduous task. Aashish speaks less but his knowledge about fitness and close understanding about the fitness level of his clients enables him to customize the exercise requirements exceedingly well. ”

Mr. Kaushal Gandhi

Mr. Kaushal Gandhi

Finance Professional

 We all were put into a sudden lockdown phase in March. Aashish promptly offered his sessions over zoom to see if he can train as usual. The comfort did come over a couple of online sessions. Aashish was very sharp even then to spot if some stance or position wasn't executed rightly and would immediately point that out. ”

Mr. & Mrs. Chandu and Parvathi

Mr. & Mrs. Chandu and Parvathi

Young Married couple & Professionals

 We have a very hectic lifestyle, so decided to stay fit. That's when we came across Aashish's fitness program. As two individuals, we have different fitness needs, goals, pace and stamina. And Aashish very patiently meet all our requirements to the dot. ”

Mrs. Ashwini Devadiga

Mrs. Ashwini Devadiga

Home maker and new born mother

 I was not able to lose my pregnancy weight and was lacking energy. Following Diet and exercise schedule along with managing an infant was not easy. But my dietitian Prachi made sure I was comfortable with meal plan and kept making changes in the diet whenever required. This helped me to reach my healthy weight and started feeling more energetic now. ”

Ms. Debapriya Chatterjee

Ms. Debapriya Chatterjee

Service

 Online sessions work very well for us from a time management perspective, additionally no compromise on the quality of the workout. Great going Ashish! ”

Mr. Navin Gupta

Mr. Navin Gupta

Chartered Accountant

 My journey from fat to fit started on October 2016. Prachi became my guide and motivator on this journey. Thanks to her I now understand the nuances of eating right. I started at 86 kgs and today I am weighing 77 kgs with another 5 kgs to lose. ”

Ms. Mrunmai Shelte

Ms. Mrunmai Shelte

Interior Designer

 I have lost almost 8kgs in 3 months and continue to lose more. Thanks to Prachi for making it possible. Without her, it was impossible to come down to size‘M’ from ‘XL’. Thank you so much Prachi for my complete transformation. ”

Mrs. Gauri Patade

Mrs. Gauri Patade

IT Professional

 Thanks a lot Prachi for guiding me towards right eating and healthy lifestyle. With these guidance I could get precious gift of my life i.e. a good news of being pregnant. Thanks a lot. ”

Mr. Mayank Pant

Mr. Mayank Pant

Risk Management Consultant @MNC

 It used to be an uphill task for me to shed weight and to get fit. Getting discipline in diet and exercise was missing. To be honest, one can't achieve neither of the above unless you have a coach to guide and get the results.. Thanks to Prachi to guide me daily in my diet and giving thoughtful feedback on my weight reduction. Her expertise in weight loss is exceptional and very well researched. Heartiest thanks to her for helping me out in my journey of fat to fit. ”

Mrs. Niti Deherkar

Mrs. Niti Deherkar

IT Professional

 I gained few kgs post-delivery and ended up with a lot of health issues which I had never faced earlier. It was a bit of a shock and I started losing myself. I tried a lot of weight loss tips and lost a couple of kgs but could not lose more and used to gain it back. When I started consulting Prachi, I gradually started losing my weight at a constant pace. Also, as her diet plan was customized specifically for me, I could overcome my health issues quickly. Prachi is very flexible and open to inputs and gives easy alternatives which even a working woman can continue in longer term. With Prachi’s guidance, I am now feeling much more confident in achieving my fitness goals. ”

Mrs. Ujwal Pinto

Mrs. Ujwal Pinto

Homemaker

 Last 9-10 months I have been trying to deal with Urticaria, also known as hives. I did all types of medication. But could not get rid of the same. At last I took diet plan from dietitian Prachi. She suggested a diet plan to balance my blood pH, prakruti balance (vaat-pitta balance). As I followed diet properly, the occurrence of Pitta reduced greatly and I could get some relief from hives. I'm always grateful to you, Prachi.”

Ms. Purva Kshirsagar

Ms. Purva Kshirsagar

Architect

 Tiring and stressful work timings had started taking a toll on my body. I even started having stress headaches. Eating habits were also bad. I put on good 6 kgs in a span of 2-3 months. Then I found Prachi but always in two minds before starting something new, I had my doubts, still ended up meeting Prachi and spent like 2 hours talking about my habits and lifestyle. But then also I was ready to give up in 3 days but Prachi stood by me and kept me going. 6kgs thinner today, I cannot thank Prachi enough to get me through this. I used to be irritated with the slow results but trust me the end result is superb after you start receiving all the compliments. ”

Mr. Binay Swain

Mr. Binay Swain

DGM strategic procurement at corporate group

 It was Jan 2020..my diabetes doctor was finding it hard to deal my case..my weight had risen and sugar and cholesterol completely out of control. That is when she roped in dietitian Prachi. With Prachi's active guidance I have reduced my weight from 83 kg to 68 kg in February 2021. I feel more energetic today than a year back. I am also doing physical fitness exercises with Aashish on zoom. Aashish is very good in training. He makes me very comfortable. Thus, I am able to follow his instructions even better. When I did my full body check up. To my delight, my heart, lungs, kidney, lever, sugar, Cholestrol, BP, everything was found normal. This was my best medical results in twenty years. My diabetes doctor is too happy with the development. I can not thank enough to Prachi and Aashish. Together, they are a deadly combination. ”

Mrs. Sakshi Surve

Mrs. Sakshi Surve

Working Mother

Due to my heath issues and sedentary lifestyle I was advised to get fit as well as lose weight. Hence I enrolled for fitness sessions conducted by Aashish. I have been working with him for 6 weeks now and I see a very positive change in my health, more flexibility in movement, reduced backache and swelling in my feet and joints. Now I am also able to carry weight and move with ease without help (which was a problem earlier). The training is done at a comfortable pace to ensure there is no injury Aashish also explains the purpose of each exercise which helps to understand the benefits of same. ”

Mrs. Abhijita Das

Mrs. Abhijita Das

Working Mother

I have been working out with Aashish for almost one year now.The aches and pains that I used to constantly complain of have gone completely. I can feel a lot of strength in my body especially my arms. Absolutely love his commitment to the profession.”

Ms. Priyanka Verma

Ms. Priyanka Verma

Associate Consultant at MNC

 I was just munching away on snacks and exponentially gaining weight day after day. Being a victim of PCOD, I realized that this unhealthy diet isn't only affecting my outer body but also my mental health, skin & hair. Thats when I decided to consult someone who can help me in understanding the nutrition my body is in desperate need of. Prachi has not only helped my menstrual cycle to synchronized but has made me mindful about all the unhealthy food I used to fed my body with. Listing the meal log, helped me in gaining a conscious and quitting the meals I devoured endlessly. I have been very satisfied with these 2 months of self realizations. Kudos to Prachi for that. ( I wish for more guidance on homemade diet recipes that I can try out to keep this diet fun as well as healthy lifelong ). ”

Ms. Namrata Iyer

Ms. Namrata Iyer

Fashion Designer

 I wanted to get fitter and healthier. I knew good eating habits are a big part of good health, so I wanted to get that in place along with my exercise routine. I started nutrition program with Prachi. It was hard in the beginning because I wasn't used to eating on time or watching what I ate. At some times I used to feel very hungry, but gradually I realised there were many times I felt psychological hunger. Now I am able to differentiate when I needed food over wanted it for comfort. I got my schedule better, eating times in order, my workouts started showing off more, I was feeling fitter and lighter and I lost some weight and inches!”

Ms. Minal Jadhav

Ms. Minal Jadhav

Website Designer & UI Developer

 Yes, I lost 7kgs!! And this couldn't happen if Prachi wasn't there to guide and keep a track of my meals & exercises. I suffered with severe depression and anxiety and was really nervous about going to the gym for the first time - but I had no choice. I went to the gym every day of the week by myself in an effort to sustainably achieve my goal. Maintaining focus, I kept to this workout schedule without fail. All along, throughout the journey, Prachi helped not only perfect a dietary plan to follow but also coached me well on importance of Nutritional Diet & meal when we enter in our 30s. It’s about small continuous improvements. Little by little you get there; you just have to keep going. No matter how hard it is keep going. Yes you're in pain, yes it hurts, but you can't stop. You have to keep going. You have to remember why you started and constantly remind yourself why you're putting yourself through so much. I think that applies for anything in life! When I look back at where I have come from and where I am now, I feel proud above anything. Proud of myself. Losing weight as cliché as it sounds has helped me gain confidence, pride and happiness which all lead to me finding the fitness goals and this has happened only under guidance of Prachi. My life is completely different now, everything is so much easier. I would definitely recommend AM To PM Fitness for Nutrition Coaching & Personal Training. ”

Mrs. Shabina Khatib

Mrs. Shabina Khatib

Homemaker

 Prachi regularly motivated and helped me to understand how to eat the right food and follow the right meal timings. I lost 12 kgs in 2 months and brought me down to 75 kgs. Today, I see myself, fitter, with a lot of positive energy. ”

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RDA of Calcium is 1000mg for moderately active person, in age group 19-50 years. 

RDA means recommended Daily Allowance. 

(And it's not mentioned for specific period.) 

It's better to be taken through food. But on daily basis to get this much amount is little difficult. Plus to get different supporting minerals like vit D, vit C is also logistically impractical to get daily basis. 

Therefore smart way to make sure getting adequate calcium is through right balance of calcium rich foods and calcium supplements. 

Richest source calcium like dairt foods give us around 100mg through 100ml dairy/

1 ragi bhakari /100gm pulses like chana rajma.

So if for any day Or most of days we are unable to take above calcium rich foods , take differentiated amount through elemental calcium. 

 Calcimax Forte:

Calcimax forte has 1 tablet 1000mg calcium carbonate from which 400mg is elemental calcium.

• Experts typically suggest a daily dose of no more than 500 milligrams (mg) of supplemental calcium. 
• A doctor might recommend short-term use of higher dose calcium (up to 1,000 mg).

Advantage of taking supplements. 

As discussed above, it's smart ,sure way to meet daily advisable dose. 

It prevents bone loss. 

With age body's ability to absorb calcium from foods deteriortes. Therefore direct intake of calcium element enables body for its absorption. 

Side effects:

Possible side effect but bot yet scientifically proven. 

Excessive intake of calcium carbonate can lead to health issues such as heart rhythm disturbances, kidney stones, constipation, and digestive problems.

Calcium can also decrease absorption of some medications, including osteoporosis medicines, thyroid medicines, and some antibiotics.

My Suggestions

-Currently you are taking 1 tablet of calcimax forte. 

This comes in RDA range. 

-Possible Health issues mentioned above are individual specific and not proven /reasesrched.

If eaten with food, taking vitamin C along with calcium supplements, drinking enough water, eating enough fruits, vegetables.. We don't need to worry about above digestive related, heart rhythm issue and kidney stones. 

-Another issues mentioned with medicines absorbtion, for this it's always recommended to take calcium supplements separately. 

-You are also doing exercise which helps in regular calcium utilization. 

Prescription:

- you can continue taking 1 tablet daily. 

- on days when there is more consumption of calcium rich foods , that day Or next day you may skip supplement. 

- some weeks you may consider to take alternative days. 

This will ensure to meet RDA as well as can prevent possible side effects/overdose.

Ref- 

https://www.webmd.com/vitamins-and-supplements/calcium

https://health.clevelandclinic.org/too-much-calcium-supplements

https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/expert-answers/calcium-supplements/faq-20058238

World Cancer Awareness Day

4 th Feb World Cancer Awareness Day
Why Nutrition Guidance important During and Post Cancer Treatment.
Both cancer and cancer treatments stop the growth of cancer cells, either by killing the cells or by stopping them from dividing. But this may also kill healthy cells that grow and divide quickly, such as cells in the mouth and digestive tract. This affects person's taste, smell, appetite, and ability to eat enough food or absorb the nutrients from food. This can lead to malnutrition and thereby weakness,  fat and muscle loss, lowers effectiveness of immune system.

Principles of Nutrition Therapy for Cancer Rehab
-Chose foods that are nutrients dense, so that even if a person eats smaller quantity, his nutrition needs can be made.
- Chose foods and food combinations per meal that are simple to digestion and avoid any further indigestion/toxic wastes.
- Hydration is important. Drink Small sips of plain water and rehydrating solution throughout day.
- Chose foods that are pleasing for palate and easy for digestion. Liquids : Cool Drinks like milkshakes (not fruit with milk), fruit juices, warm liquids like soups, haldi milk. semisolid foods : porridge, kheer, khichdi.
- Take care of food borne infection. Avoid raw and outside foods to avoid infection.
- Nutrition supplements especially protein, antioxidants, micronutrients are useful for faster recovery.-

 Avoid use of plastic, aluminium for cooking, serving foods. 

- Avoid consuming any processed foods. 

Lifestyle Modifications:
- Correct Sleep cycle is very important to fasten healing and recovery.
- Emotional wellbeing is most important through this journey.  Counseling sessions with spiritual coach, life coach, psychologist will be very much helpful.
- Learn and Practice Meditation, Pranayam. Read self-help books on spirituality, health, value adding autobiographies.
- Doing suitable exercise under physiotherapist or yoga therapist is recommended. 

- Avoid alcohol, smoking, tobacco consumption. 

- Short Writeup by Prachi A. Managute
Dietitian & Health Coach

DM 9969326096 for consultation

Anti Obesity Awareness Day

Anti Obesity Awareness Day 26th November

Obesity = 

BMI above 30 +.

Women waist measurements 35"+ and

 Men waist measurements 40 "+ . 

Two Types of Obesity - Apple Shape and Pear Shape. 

🔴Potential Risks -

One of the root cause for All metabolic and musculoskeletal Diseases. 

📝Key Points to consider for reversing obesity. 

👉Its Psychosomatic Disorder which requires sustainable lifestyle modification with holistic approach. 

👉Do step by step changes in habits and behaviour than extreme approaches at exercise and diet. 

👉It's going to be a journey of minimum 1 year. Keep patience and dedication. 

👉Following diet plan or exercise is a superficial approach unless we work on emotional, mental, social wellbeing. NLP, meditation, pranayam, spiritual practice therefore very important. 

👉Learning healthy eating principles like food portion, proportion,combination , timetable and nutrition science of macro, micro nutrients is important than blindly following diet plans. Nutrition coaching plays very important role towards this learning. 

👉Calorie balance is a solution. Calories get used in four ways; involuntary functions of body, voluntary activities that we do, fitness exercise and digestion of food. 

Accordingly we need to plan lifestyle modifications. 

👉Quick fixes like fat burning dugs/supplements/ surgeries are temporary solution without lifestyle modifications. We may lose some weight but body, skin still remains out of shape.

Consultation📞 9869418158

Aashish & Prachi Managute

Fitness Coach and Dietitian / Nutritionist

www.amtopmfitness.com

Healthy Attitudes for Healthy Lifestyle

Attitude is Everything even at our Fitness Journey; to start, to continue and to improve in it. 

The way we think, feel, behave or view at something defines our Attitude.

Each one of us has an internal voice, we talk to ourselves. That's the Attitude, that's what we believe. 

Attitude is important because it can impact our success in life, in relationships, and in ability to achieve our goals. 

There is not a single person who will say, he doesn't want to be fit and healthy. 

But when we observe around, 50% people start, 25% people sustain and hardly 5% people progress in healthy habits required for the same. 

Results are different because of difference in attitude of people.

We are the producer, director, script writer of our own mental movie. 

Here are few Attitudes that are essential to start and to remain consistent for fitness journey. 

1.Teachable

Being teachable is about becoming humble and open minded to receive information what is opt right now. 

It's about coming out from our perception, our position and enter into the role of a student and surrender ourself to learning from health coaching process. 

There is clutter of information in digital world, therefore unlearning that clutter and deep learning what process is teaching us to become knowledgeable about subject, about our own body. 

It's a journey from what I don't aware of...to what I know and then to become wise about decisions for whats important for me now.

2. Adaptable/ Willingness to Change

We can not expect new outcome with old method. 

New habits need room to get accommodated, they either come in place of old habits or we need to create space for the same. 

We should be adoptable for making these changes.

3. Focused

When we get laser focused on the process for certain timeline, produces results. Take example of board exams. 

We can not succeed by keeping all options open and keeping oneself available everywhere. Focus can help us to prioritise our options towards reaching our goal.

Some key points are - 

- Focus on process more than results.

- Focus on learning. 

- Focus on thinking about improving Health and not discussing Diseases. 

- Focus is where our energy flows.

- Focus on self and not comparing with others is also very important.

4. Clarity

What we want is important, but more important is what we don't want in life. 

When we start or when we are already following healthy habits, it's important to understand why are we doing it. 

Also a point to note here; what we don't want should be put in affirmative belief.

 E.g. I want to achieve /maintain healthy body weight because I want to live physically, emotionally independent lifelong. (And not to say I want to lose weight, because I don't want to depend on medical treatment). 

Clarity about differentiating between important and urgent tasks is also important. 

E.g. when we need to skip exercise because of some office work. Both are important, but here we need to see whether office work is urgent or can get postponed little.

5. Patience

Everyone's journey is different. We should respect our own process, our body and time it is taking to get adjusted with new habits and produces expected results. 

We should start celebrating habits and process more than results. 

In outside world we see only success but rarely know time and amount of efforts one has put to reach there. And therefore we are programmed to focus on results and get impatient quickly if it gets delayed.

Patience helps to enjoy the process and helps to get desciplined towards that.

6. Dedication:

Focus and Dedication go along hand in hand, but dedication is extra efforts till we get satisfaction about our own efforts. 

E.g. Even if we feel like skipping a day of exercise, we make sure to do it anyhow. 

Dedication comes with purpose /mission / goal. 

It's a willingness to give required time and energy towards that purpose.

7.Visionary

Visionary about goal comes with clarity of mind. Goal can be short term, mid term and long term goal.

 Being visionary for long term goal brings dedication. 

E.g. For me, Achieving healthier body weight is a short term goal. Remaining regular to exercise for improving body toning is a mid term goal. Improving holistic fitness for enjoying life to the fullest like professionally remain active, performing dance, going for trekking, enjoying holidays lifelong is a long term goal. 

Long-term goal matches with a Life Purpose. 

We should be visionary about what is a realistic goal for us and what is sustainable process towards that.

8.Taking Ownership

Every goal comes with responsibility to take up all the work it needs. 

Person can either make excuses or does progress. 

Blaming situation, work, people around for not eating right or not exercising is an attitude of failure. 

We need to take up ownership of our health, and put all efforts to find solutions for developing all required habits.

9. Gratitude

Attitude of Gratitude is a magic.

 Gratitude for being alive today. Gratitude for Mind & Body that we have. Gratitude to ourself for taking care of self. 

Gratitude for food we eat and people who are taking all the efforts to get it available in front us. 

And gratitude for everything that's directly and indirectly contributing to improve our Health and Fitness.

Emotional energy of Gratitude vibrates at 540mhz power, it unblocks energy flow/prana within and around us.

This concludes the list of few attitudes which I am feeling important towards making change for healthier us. 

Never underestimate our power to change ourself. A positive attitude is a person's passport to a better tomorrow. Let's do it. 

 

Mother's Nutrition & Health Care

Nutrition & Fitness Needs for Mothers at Different Stages

🙎🏻‍♀️ Planning Pregnancy

# Goal- Improving cellular health of reproductive organs system. Nutrition care should start at least six to twelve months before pregnancy planning. 

# Key Nutritional Need- Increase in micronutrients especially Iron & Folic Acid, focus on maintain Healthy Body weight. 

# Fitness Need - Core Muscle Strengthening, Structural Exercises should be focused more. Yogasans like Badhakonasan, Malasan and Mulbandha are helpful towards nurturing reproductive organs. 

🤰🏻 Expecting Mothers

# Goal - Healthy growth & development of the fetus. Avoid nutrition deficiency during & post pregnancy. Prevent gestational diabetes, blood pressure, constipation and UTI. 

# Key Nutritional Need- Additional nutrition dense calories & proteins, omega 3 fatty acids, maintain healthy body Weight. Drink enough fluid. Avoid empty calories. Ensure enough intake of Calcium, zinc, chromium and Iron rich food to avoid pregnancy craving. Look for healthier food options to satisfy these cravings if any. 

# Fitness Needs - Low intensity exercises in supine, sitting and standing positions are safe and important to do under expert for maintaining strength and flexibility of muscle. Hip & Pelvic opening asana practice is helpful to ease natural child birth. Calf muscle exercise and restorative asan like resting legs up on the wall is helpful to avoid bloated feet. 

  🤱🏼 Nursing Mothers 

# Goal- Assist breast milk production, maintain the nutrition status of the mother. 

# Key Nutritional Need- Additional nutrition dense calories, fluids & proteins. Including galactogogues in diet. 

# Fitness Needs - Resuming to exercise is dependent on your fitness status and type of delivery. 

  👩‍👧‍👦 Who are Mothers 

# Goal- Prioritizing self nutrition & meal timing. Maintain healthy body weight. Learn to simplified menu planning that takes care of family's nutrition needs in lesser time consumption. 

# Nutrition and Fitness Needs - same like working mothers👇

👩‍💻 Working Mothers 

# Goal- Learn smarter & healthier meal options that take care of increased demands of both mind & body. Learn work life balance. 

# Key Nutritional Need- Healthy, simplified and Balanced meal. Increase calcium, iron, vitamin B complex, proteins intake.  Mental and Emotional wellbeing is most important at this stage than any other time. 

# Fitness Needs - Removing dedicated one hour atleast 3-4 days a week from all responsibility is need of a time for doing exercise. Intelligent Exercise Schedule is important which can improve all fitness components like Strengthening, Flexibility, Endurance by dedicating just 3-4 hours weekly. 

Organic Nutrition Supplements along with food sourses is very important to ensure optimal nutrition intake in today's age. 

Taking time out for Physical Fitness Exercise and Meditation for emotional Fitness is very important at all these stages. 

Mentally, Emotionally and Physically Fit Mother is sowing the seed of wellbeing for her next two generations. 

(**This is general information, customization required as per individuals health status) 

Short write-up by Dietitian & Health Coach Prachi A. Managute

www.amtopmfitness.com/nutrition

📞8433770411 for consultation

Kidney Diet

Kidney Diet

March - National Kidney Health Awareness Month

Functions of Kidneys-

- Kidneys are filters of body that remove waste, toxins & extra water through urine.

- regulate blood pressure

- converts vit D into its active form & control production of RBCs.

*What Impairs Kidney Functions- (CKD, Renal Stones, Gout)*

- High Blood Sugar

- Hight blood Pressure

- Obesity

- Acidic Blood pH 

&

Lifestyle factors like

- Overusing painkillers

- Inadequate water intake

- Alcohol & Smoking Binge

- Sedentary Lifestyle

- Over Eating of Processed Meat & Food.

*Preventive Nutrition Therapy for Renal Care Helps to*

- Maintain alkaline blood pH 

- Regulate blood pressure and blood glucose levels.

- Incorporate Healthy Lifestyle

- Achieve Healthy Body weight

- Initiate Healthy cellular cycle 

All these over a period of time improves renal function & reduces metabolic waste burden on it.

*Short note by Prachi A. Managute*

Dietitian & Health Coach

http://www.amtopmfitness.com/nutrition

Nutrition Care for Liver Health

 

              

Know it's Importance

          - Liver is like water filter / purifier of Fats, Hormones & Medicines.

        - It is one of the organ to metabolize Fats, Carbohydrates and Proteins.

Unique Feature

👉Good news is Liver repairs & regenerates it's tissue. Therefore unlike kidney, liver disease of earlier stage can be reversible if we address its care in a holistic way.

👉But with age as well as with increasing pollution and unhealthy lifestyle, it's regeneration efficiency deteriorates.

👉Few metabolic issues when we forget to look into Liver Care. But if we focus on liver tissue repair & regeneration, we can reverse these problems :

E.g.

 1. High Cholesterol

As liver loses its efficiency to metabolize fats, cholesterol remains unfiltered showing high level in blood lipid profile.

We try to manage cholesterol with medicines and by reducing cholesterol food. But it remains either temporary or unresolving solution.

 2. Vit.D Deficiency

Liver plays important role in vitamin D synthesis into its active form. Therefore only vit. D dosage is not useful unless liver is able convert it into its functionally active form. 

 3. Indigestion Issues like Bloating, Constipation

 Liver takes care of all Macronutrients & most of Micronutrients metabolism, activates digestive enzymes. Functional inefficiency of liver may leads to digestive tract imbalances.

 Key Lifestyle Care for Liver is therefore important when we experience these metabolic problems or rather Prevent them to occur

# Take Liver detox or nourishing herbs like turmeric, milk thistle. They are tonic to liver cells. They can reset it's functions.

# Correct Sleep timetable accelerates cell repair. 

# Reducing processed / packed food that have some or other artificial chemical.

# Avoid Alcohol.

# Avoid OTC Drugs usage without physician's prescription.

# Maintain Healthy Body Weight.

# Practice Yogasan like backward bending, twisting.

- Short Write-up By Prachi A. Managute

  Dietitian and Health Coach

Making Mind our Friend and not Foe for Health

               Spirituality guides that our outer world is mirror of our inner world.

               The WHO constitution states:"Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity."

            Ayurveda talks about Aachar (Behaviour), Vichar (Thoughts) before Ahaaar (Food) & Vihaar (Exercise, Sleep) as pillars of Holistic Health.

 
                 Yama (moral discipline),

Niyama (observances) are first two limbs from the Eight Limbs of Yog. 

So by putting all principles together here is a writeup that tries to explain how the state of mind and state of body are reasons and results of each other. 

Every Thought has Emotions and Emotions vibrate Energy. Reflection of thinking thereby our Emotions towards Money (we earn & spend), towards People (inner circle as well as outer circle), towards Work (As a student, as a homemaker as well as a professional) and towards self is seen on Our Physical Health. 

Unhealthy Emotions like....Having Jealousy, Insecurity, Fear, Pain, Comparison, Competition, Anger, Possesiveness, Untruthful, Ego with people around. 

Being Stingy, Geedy, Mindless towards Money. 

Having lack of confidence, Greed, Doubt, Unhappiness, Indesciplined towards Work we do. And unhealthy relationships with self like low self-esteem, guilt, painful past memories... 

These emotions create an unhealthy energy flow inside (prana through nadis) and outside our body (aura) . These energy blockages, blocks Energy Chakra (seven chakras where nadis meet). 

In modern medicine they are our endocrine system, which controls all our body systems like Digestive, Excretory, Reproductive, Cardiovascular, Musculoskeletal, Nervous and Immunity. 

Energy blocks at chakras therefore also responsible for dysfunctioning one or more of these system functions. 

In yogic philosophy from texts like PatanjaliPatanjali Yogsutra, Psychosomatic Disorders concept is explained on the same note where Mind Body Yog given prominence.  

My Blog on same-  https://www.amtopmfitness.com/stress-and-its-impact-on-body

                    When we see disturbances at any of Somatic (Body) level ranging from even a smallest signs like acne to major signs like Hypothyroid, type 2 Diabetes, Obesity, PCOD, Arthritis....Also when we are unable to sleep on time, tend to wake up late, unable to control food cravings, having hunger pangs, feeling laziness that skips exercise...fear / inhibitions to adopt new healthy habits, having addictions like smoking, alcohol intake...Then, Only Diet & Exercise don't help. 

We feel it's hereditary or nowadays it's common to have these ailments and think that they are the reason for getting other related dysfunctions as well as emotional imbalances. 

E.g. Because of PCOD I have mood swings, because of hypothyroidism I'm short tempered, because of Diabetes I get anxious, etc. 

And unaware to see them as results of emotional distress and then get caught into its vicious cycle of Psychosomatic Disorder / Syndrome. 

Spiritual guidance through spiritual coaches, practicing meditation & pranayam, life coach counseling will be helpful to recognize hidden emotional baggage. And then releasing them through supreme knowledge guidance &  counseling will start improving our emotional wellbeing and we feel healthy inside out. 

There are different practices like Neuro Linguistic Program Techniques, Psychological Counseling, Spiritual Practices like Rajyog meditation, Inner engineering, Sudarshan kriya, etc. developed through spiritual coaches, reading their books, videos have shown remarkable changes towards Resourceful Emotion, Behavioral Modifications, Healthy Thinking and even Reversing Metabolic Disturbances by mass population including us. 

This shift then helpful to follow lifestyle modifications like correct sleeping cycle, healthy eating and exercise discipline in an easier, sustainable way. 

This writeup is summary from our recent learning through courses like NLP, Mind Body Partnership with Disease, Yogic Philosophy and readings books of spiritual coaches like BK Shivani, Gaur Gopal Das & Sadguriji.

Build a Fitness Legacy for your Family #FathersDay

Men's health is generally less talked about by awareness programs and by themselves than women's health. This is the observation from my professional experience of 16 + years. 

In this short write-up, I have tried to explain about-

Mistakes and Misconceptions men have about healthy habits and lifestyle modifications, especially in the context of fathers and prospective fathers. 

# Exercise:

- There is a proverb in the Marathi language "Khaeen tar tupashi nahi tar upashi". This Means either I'll have food cooked in ghee Or I'll better stay hungry. 

What does this mean here, men feel either they' 'll do Gymming Or do Nothing. So in between paths like yogasan, body-functional workouts are ignored or looked at them as feminine exercise. 

- Few remove some time for walking or swimming or some sports, but as their flexibility and strength were not focused most end up getting injuries. 

- Biggest population of men, just don't do exercise as they have no time for that. But this is the population either sitting 24*7 or are on their toes in field jobs travelling around 8 to 12 hours a day. This stiffness and exhausted body is actually starving for good exercise. 

# Healthy Eating:

- Women's mind is programmed to be body conscious. Also as they start showing hormonal disturbing signs at a younger age, it becomes a need for them to start eating correctly.

             But men on the opposite metabolically have high BMR, don't face any signs of hormonal imbalance, have stronger muscular skeletons and do not so look conscious; don't create a need to eat right. 

- Unless blood profile reports show warning signals or waistlines start increasing after age 40, or when someone from their social circle gets a heart stroke; men don't start focusing on correcting their food habits. 

- Most men don't have cooking skills and families don't expect them to learn. They don't take responsibility to plan or cook their healthy diet; when they need to stay outstation for work. 

# Positive Mindset and Peace of Mind

- To put this straight, as it's been nurtured to say "Mard ko Dard nahi hota", men take their mental health for granted. 

- Today's working fathers are equally vulnerable as working mothers. And this is worst in nuclear families. The stress level of working fathers is an undercurrent reason for stroke, diabetes, etc. 

- But unfortunately, the solution for men to fix this stress is lunch time smoking and (+ or) peg of whiskey (or any alcohol) after dinner or on the weekends. 

Metabolic Health Issues which majorly Men start facing especially when they are Young Fathers:-

Gall bladder or Kidney stones, Gout, Hernia, Fatty Liver, Prediabetes, Diabetes, Hypertension, High Cholesterol, Abdominal Obesity, Irritable Bowel Syndrome. 

Lifestyle Modifications For Working Fathers:-

- Smoking and Alcohol addiction need therapy. Take it before it becomes non-effective. They are a silent killer. 

- Learn and participate in healthy menu planning; if not for family but at least for yours. Learn basic cooking skills that minimize your dependency on outside food. 

- Reduce socializing over food. Excess empty calories every week increase visceral fat and digestion issues. 

- Dedicate weekly at least three hours for holistic fitness (Strength, Endurance, Flexibility). 

- Learn and Practice Meditation and Pranayam for inner calmness and bliss. 

- Simplify life to reduce unnecessary stress. 

         Remember, Alongside being an income earner, father is a role model and emotional support for his family's health. His every health choices make the destiny of his family. Every family deserves a healthy & fit father figure. Father's Health is the true Wealth of his Family. Value it.

Does Exercise Help in Weight Loss?

Exercise helps in Weight Loss. Two sides of a coin. Let's elaborate. 

# Yes.

- It does help. Contributing to around 20% weight loss needs. 

- If our food habits are correct, adding exercise definitely helps in fat loss. 

- If a person is obese with a sedentary lifestyle, adding exercise will be helpful to reduce the first 5 to 10 kgs extra weight. 

- Different intensity of cardio exercise uses 100 to 350 calories while doing exercise. So it demands more calorie usage than our daily routine work. Something is always better than nothing. 

- Weight training increases muscle tissue, muscles are like 24*7 active machinery which increases metabolism (24 hrs after effect calories burning). More muscle means the body is using calories continuously. 

# No. 

- Unless food & rest pattern improves which are contributing to around 80 to 90% weight loss needed, exercise alone can't contribute to sustainable fat loss. 

- Extra Calories output resulting from  exercise can get easily compensated with calories input from even a little incorrect food intake.

         Therefore, those who are doing only  exercise is good for improving their fitness (strength, flexibility, endurance) but without changing other lifestyle essentials one can't achieve belly or hip line fat loss, and over weight or obese person can't reach to their ideal bodyweight.

- Over-cardio exercise for the sake of weight loss leads to muscle & bone loss that in turn reduces metabolism and strength. 

- Weight training exercise increases muscle weight, but if there is no corrected food intake, body fat weight remains the same leading to an increase in body size and weight.

- Exercise without a healthy sleeping timetable and rest results in adrenaline fatigue i.e. increase stress hormones production. Stress hormones for example cortisol reduces metabolism and immunity. Stress hormones increase blood pressure and blood glucose. 

Conclusion:

# One theory of weight loss that is calorie output more than calories input is not a healthy & sustainable choice for weight loss as it may create a mindset of an unscientific exercise schedule (more cardio exercise, everyday weight training, two forms of exercises in a one day, no rest) and inadequate nutrition intake. 

# Another theory of weight loss that equips the body to improve metabolism and digestion that further prevents producing toxic metabolic byproducts, and improves hormonal functionality that synchronizes hormones like insulin - glucagon, ghrelin - leptin, cortisol - serotonin, estrogen - testosterone etc. And this theory is only possible with scientific scheduling of exercise for fitness (endurance, strength, flexibility), healthy sleep patterns, peace of mind and healthy eating habits.

# Exercise should not turn into exertion for the sake of calorie burning.

# Exercise with healthy eating and a healthy lifestyle is like the Cherry on Cake. 

# But exercise doing for weight loss without healthy eating and lifestyle is like a half-baked cake that can't enjoy. 

Therefore,  Do not undervalue or misuse exercise by doing it just for weight loss but do it for optimal fitness to stand, walk, run, dance, play, trek on our feet lifelong. 

 

How Mindprogramming & Media affect our Health

Today we know more about foods, nutrients, supplements, medicines, & their side effects than our own parents and grandparents did. Today we have gadgets, apps, health /exercise studios, and consultants a click away. 

But despite the flood of this information and relative services, millions around the world constantly struggling with minor or major health issues. 

Isn't this contradictory !! 

Growth in Health information/services availability and Growth in Sickness are unfortunately becoming directly proportional. 

When given a thought on this, the Reasons could be: 

1. Limiting Mindset:-(Mind Programming) 

# Ignorance:-  

As this information is easily & freely available in different media. And there is no value put on receiving this information, it just goes through our senses and is not received at conscious and subconscious mind levels. 

# Procrastination:- 

As information and services are there and will be there, some people don't have a sense of urgency. Becoming healthier gets delayed. It's generally opted when health starts deteriorating and not when we are at state of good health and want to take it to optimal. 

Education on health and its application is like insurance. We don't know when and whether we need it, but it's always the best investment decision. 

# Lack of Priority:-

We need to do exercise either by Choice now to improve fitness or at some point in life by Compulsion suggested by an Ortho doctor to repair /rehab the muscular-skeletal system. 

We need to start healthy eating in the discipline either now by choice to improve our body weight composition or at some phase of life by compulsion as part of medical nutrition therapy suggested for controlling metabolic challenges. 

Priority comes with a goal. There is a famous proverb "Pay now & Play later or Play now & Pay later".

# Confusion:- 

With abundant information, we get confused about what's there for us. 

Body science is not like mathematics 1+1=2.

Body's needs & responses change with genetics, gender, age, geography around and also emotional state. Therefore one pattern doesn't suit all and what suits a person at one phase of life may not suit him all time. Which seeks customizations & systematic applications of information. 

# Association:- 

Friends & Family

It is said that our income is an average of five people we mostly associate with. The same applies to our health. Our food and fitness choices are more dependent on the people we associate more. Even though we feel like doing something towards improving health; starting and remaining consistent in healthy eating and fitness habits purely depends on the friends and family we have around. If they prioritize fitness, we also do. If they don't, we also ignore. 

When it's said diabetes runs through family genes, it actually means it runs through our family lifestyle. 

Another point is the identity we built through our habits, is very difficult to break unless we are headstrong or our family and friends support us. When a gentleman decides to reduce going for weekend partying, our association either breaks us or makes us to follow it. 

2. Media

Time consumption in consuming entertainment content on media like television or web series, short video binging, etc takes away our valuable time on planning and executing a healthy lifestyle. 

Binge-watching also adversely affects our mindfulness, mental health and sleep quality. 

At the same time, an advertisement

 pop-ups of packed and junk foods,  influence us to consume unhealthy food options. 

3. One-sided Video Coaching:-

This is to put it as highlight here that although health content is freely and thoroughly available in the media, don't take counsel from videos. They are there for awareness. As we can't learn sports, swimming and car driving, etc. from videos unless there is a coach with us in the field. Same way Exercise and Diet Plans discussed in media are always a piece of general information, the speaker doesn't know your in-depth health and fitness status.  Therefore, taking counselling from it could be injurious to health. 

These short videos are just for our & their dopamine reward and should not be applied without checking with our personal coach and doctor. 

Information, knowledge and wisdom are different levels of learning in any field. 

Wisdom doesn't come with information but it comes with knowledge received from the right source in a continuous and progressive momentum backed by our own actions and applications. 

It's our choice whether & when to receive this wisdom and make wise choices for our and our family's health. 

This is then gradually reprogram our mind towards health. 

Eat Wisely & Don't Avoid Blindly.

Opinions about food is a broad subject that emerged from individual experiences, food industries' narratives, suggesting superficial solutions, passing information from incorrect sources and lack of interest in learning facts about the important subject of life i.e health. 

Here I have tried to explain my views from my educational expertise, personal and professional experience. 

Q. Can I have sugarcane juice/ mango/ banana/grapes/ rice/ potatoes/ dates, etc if I have diabetes/ want to lose weight?

My Answer. Yes, you can.
This question comes into consideration with confusion about sugar content because of its sweeter taste. Type 2 Diabetes or any other health issues comes with a long list of avoid food items.
Agree, it's important to know what's not suitable for certain metabolic challenges. But by just avoiding certain foods, the problem is not going to get solved.
Wisdom comes with learning and experiencing eating all foods more healthily and smartly. And this may help to even reverse the health issue.
Coming back to the question, these foods contain natural sugar. So our body knows how to metabolize it. The glycemic index GI of food is an indicator that determines how fast it increases blood sugar. This index is generally used to make avoid food lists for diabetes or PCOS or weight loss. But again the effect of this value differs with the glycemic load index (it measures by portion sizes of each food that increases blood sugar).
So food having a higher Glycemic Index can be eaten in lesser portions.
         Glycemic Index can be lowered with a combination of food with what we can eat for example fat, fiber and proteins. Menus like dal-rice ghee, rice with vegetables and curd slow down blood glucose release than single rice. And anyways we don't eat only rice as a meal. 

The impact of GI can be reduced by eating them at the right time, i.e. post exercise/ sports, the first meal of the day. Mango eaten as breakfast is the best way to start the day more sweetly and energetically. Mashed cheese Potato is the best snack to eat Pre-exercise or at an early evening meal while grape juice can be considered for post-exercise when glucose gets absorbed into muscles as glycogen storage.
Therefore rather than compromising on any food, it's always better to learn how to eat it.
And it is surprising to know our favourite foods like mango, and banana have medium GI which really doesn't need to worry about if eaten in the right way.
To take this point ahead, what we really need to worry about is glucose injection, modern farming practices do, but we can say it's not in our control. What's in our control is to choose fruits and vegetables seasonally and available locally. Again most important to put in avoid list is artificial sweeteners directly or indirectly available in tablets, solutions form or in foods where it's written sugar-free packets foods. Our body doesn't know how to take care of these chemical molecules. But they trigger insulin response with its sweetness (Biochemical reaction starts with sensory experience). So even if it doesn't have sugar or calories per se, it holds responsibility for sweetness addiction and insulin resistance.

Bottomline is to learn eating natural sugar in the right way and become smart to avoid artificial sugar in any way. 

Q. My cholesterol is on the higher side. Do I need to avoid ghee, egg, curd, paneer, and cheese? 

My Answer. No, you don't need to avoid. Yes, you heard me correctly. Having higher cholesterol or having arterial blockages, first we need to understand the reasons behind these blockages. They are plaques called atherosclerosis i.e. hardening of arteries because of chronic internal inflammation. Causes of any inflammatory diseases are the body's response to an unsuitable environment like mental as well as physical stress, environmental inorganic chemical pollution outside and chemical pollution inside the body through increased consumption of inorganic molecules in foods like artificial sweeteners, preservatives, pesticides, fertilizers, colours, alcohol or smoking. Today inflammation is also caused by excess consumption of refined food, glucose, gluten, and trans fats (processed fats). To put it simply, inflammation is what we see on muscles when we fall or on the skin when we get some skin cut. Above inorganic molecules lead to similar injuries at the internal body parts like arteries and different organ systems. Frequent /overconsumption /

 over-exposure to the above inflammatory triggering factors leads to repeated injuries/swelling which turns into chronic /permanent inflammation. When it's inside the arteries, it gradually builds up into plaques.

          Now let's understand about high blood cholesterol. Cholesterol is a natural fat-like substance already there inside our body cells and is required for different functions like hormone mechanism, protection, and vitamin synthesis. It's synthesized in the liver. So it's necessary and not harmful. It flows through blood vessels like other nutrients.

       But like any other thing excess beyond normal is harmful, the same way cholesterol also. If there is a high blood cholesterol profile, firstly improve liver functioning by planning a diet to rest, heal and nourish liver cells. Include herbs like milk thistle, and turmeric that nourish liver cells. Improved liver functioning will thereby improve cholesterol metabolism. Considering its relation with arterial blockages, as it's wax-like in consistency, its flow gets affected or gets stuck on the plaques we discussed above. By understanding the above theories, we can see the culprit is not cholesterol but atherosclerosis is. If there is high cholesterol, we should first take care of the liver and look for an Anti-inflammatory lifestyle rather than just avoid cholesterol-containing foods. As we need to do servicing of water filters and keep the pipeline clean to avoid soiled water or drainage issues. The same care we need to follow in our body systems. Prevention is better, cost-effective and less stressful than repair/replacement. 

Q. I avoid eating tomatoes and guava. I heard their seeds causes kidney stones.

 
My Answer- Wrong perception about kidney stones. Kidney stones are the result of a metabolic disturbance in the excretory and electrolytes system. Urine has various wastes dissolved in it. When there is too much waste in too little liquid, crystals begin to form. The crystals attract other elements and join together to form a solid that will get larger unless it is passed out of the body with the urine.
The real causes are low levels of water intake and high-level salt and fructose. Obesity, diabetes, either no exercise or excess exercise, and unhealthy drastic weight loss are conditions that also lead to kidney stones. When the dilution of salt decreases, the pH level turns to an acidic level because our diet is more salty, spicy foods, including unhealthy fats, red meat, tea/coffee, carbonated beverages, alcohol and less in fruits, vegetables and water.
Above all reasons lead to concentrated blood that creates crystals of salt, uric acids and combines with minerals like calcium, oxalates, etc. Again that doesn't mean we need to reduce calcium. Because less dietary calcium demands bone calcium loss. And calcium is just a combining factor. So to prevent kidney stones or any other cysts formation we should have a balanced meal which we can name as Sattvik food. More fruits, vegetables, water, and alkaline grains like rice in meals will be more helpful than avoiding seeds containing fruits, vegetables and calcium sources. 

Q. Should I avoid Sour food as I have arthritis?

 

My Answer- There is no evidence to show direct relationships.
But there could be reasons to avoid lime-
1. Calcium needs an acidic medium for its absorption in the stomach. The citric acid in lime juice which turns alkaline after consumption can deteriorate calcium absorption.
But again if we maintain the correct time span between consuming calcium food and lime juice, this reason we can handle. 
2. If having vatta dominating prakriti that causes joint pain sometimes gets aggravated with a strong smell and aroma of lime. But again it's individual responses.
Therefore both reasons to avoid sour foods in arthritic conditions are can be handled. 
But on the other side, reasons to include lime juice/ amla and tomatoes are logically correct such as their antiinflammatory vitamin like C and A respectively.
In short, the conclusion is
-There is no need to completely avoid lime juice.
- Maybe during winter you can avoid it when the vatta is naturally high.
Additional information to consider is
1. Arthritis is an autoimmune disease, caused because of chronic inflammation.
2. Therefore inflammatory factors like foods (like sugar, red meat, gluten, processed food, fizzy drink), Smoking, alcohol, and stress should be considered to avoid.
3. And anti-inflammatory foods like Omega 3 fatty acids, antioxidants, fruit and vegetables should be considered to increase.

Above points are discussed to help us understand that if we learn what, why, when, how and how much to eat particular food, we can enjoy all foods. I don't want to get contradictory to any expert if they say to avoid particular food, but understand and discuss why it's said to avoid. If it's generalized opinion, don't follow. If it's customized prescription, do apply, experience and review.