With Kalindi’s arrival into our lives, things have become a bit more special. We feel like celebrating everything – first steps, to first words, complete sentences, and of course birthdays. For Animesh’s birthday this year we decided to head to Goa for a quick getaway. Kalindi loves sun, sand and sea, and we found a new Greek-style property in Morjim Beach. Over the next few days we also dined at two undiscovered cafes in Morjim, Goa that ended up becoming the highlight of our trip.
December was a month of many parties, and numerous pumpkin-spice lattes for me. Come January I promised myself to clean up my diet.
Most of us tend to eat mindlessly unless we consciously decide not to. Dairy and gluten insidiously creep into my plate and down my throat before I can squeak in protest. I try to go gluten & dairy free every once in a while. This time I decided to make all 31 days of January about elimination. I eliminated all food items known to cause inflammation in the body such as gluten and dairy. The body needs 21 days to completely reset, and I decided to test my willpower and continue the diet for the entire month.
The great thing about being active on social media is that you are always connected to like-minded people. I didn’t want to go on a cleanse alone, and within a couple of days I had 14 people who wanted to join me in my cleanse, thanks to the joy that is Instagram.
I.F. (Intermittent Fasting) seems to be all the rage right now. Fitness experts are expounding it and every one (and their moms) are trying it. At the risk of sounding trite, I’d say I.F. has changed people’s lives. It’s helped people shed oodles of weight. It’s reduced the oft present stress around ‘clean eating’, ‘balanced eating’, ‘right eating’ by eliminating eating all together! And in my experience, it’s done a lot that we’re not even talking about.
I’m not one for fitness fads, but I’m also experimental. I’ll always try something, unless it’s too ‘out there’ for me. (And, to be honest, few things really are.)
Intermittent fasting is a system of eating where there is a specified ‘ eating window’, and ‘fasting window’. There are many different styles of Intermittent Fasting depending on these windows. The most common is the 16/8 fast, where you fast for sixteen hours and eat for eight. You can also do a 12/12 fast, where you fast for twelve hours and then have an eating window of 12 hours. You can fast on alternate days, or once in two days…
And to my surprise I found that this system of eating ‘worked’ for me. Below are 5 things it did for me, and which have me now.
I.F. MADE ME A BETTER YOGI
I kid you not. I’ve practiced yoga almost daily for the past decade. In a world where distractions are many and time a rare commodity, the only way I can do this is by waking up at an ungodly hour to get some uninterrupted practice time before the rest of the world awakes. More often than not, I’m sluggish and slow in the morning, sore from the previous day.
Enter I.F. and my body feels clearer. I am experiencing a kind of energy I’ve never experienced before. The kind where your brain might say ‘no’ but your body will move into the first sun salutation with no complaints. By reducing the quantity of food I consume, energy that would otherwise be spent on metabolizing and digesting food is available for morning yoga practice. My asanas are sharper, my body seems to move with no resistance and I am fully present for my practice.
I.F. GOT RID OF MY BRAIN FOG
Yoga is not only a physical practice. However, even the physical practice of yoga (asana practice) is linked to your mind. If your mind isn’t awake, your body is unlikely to act. After practicing I.F. for almost a month now I’ve noticed that my brain doesn’t take too long to wake up. Prior to this I would dilly-dally and procrastinate before finally stepping on my mat. Now I’m on my mat faster, more inspired, energetic and creatively abundant.
I.F. MADE ME APPRECIATE COFFEE MORE
But not because I’m guzzling down any more of it than I was before. In fact, I’m drinking less of it! Part of my dilly-dallying used to include making a cup of strong coffee. The aroma used to wake up my senses and the caffeine used to wake up my groggy cells. Now I don’t need the coffee. An era of coffee enjoyment has started in my Life. I have coffee when I want to and not because I need to. I enjoy a single shot of espresso more than I’ve ever enjoyed it before.
I.F. CONTROLLED MY FOOD CRAVINGS
Along with a decrease in my coffee cravings, my snacking has also reduced. I don’t find the need to constantly munch something. So I’m not putting junk into my system…and that may be contributing to my high energy levels.
I.F. CLEANED ME UP!
I see my waistline more often than not now. I.F. proponents scream weight loss more than anything else. In fact, many say that they have lost weight in spite of eating all the junk in the world! Just to be clear, I haven’t lost any weight, but I still see my waistline because of a reduction in inflammation in the gut. Because I no longer ingest easy snacks, I’ve cut back on bloat-causing preservatives that I was invariably consuming.
Before I end I’d also like to point out that there are numerous different versions of intermittent fasting.
I’ve jumped on to the I.F. bandwagon, and I think everyone should give it a go. Would you try intermittent fasting? Have you tried it already? Share your thoughts!
The key to vibrant health is consistency. The more you practice making healthy choices, the easier it becomes to make them and the easier it becomes to stay healthy. The holidays, though, are a challenge for everyone. The holidays shouldn’t be about deprivation, however, they shouldn’t be about treating yourself like a dustbin either. Here are my top 5 tips to remain healthy during the holidays.
I’ve been gluten and dairy free for a month, and I’ve really started to see the difference. I’m going to continue to avoid gluten through the holidays and there are a few other tips that I follow to stay on track with my fitness during Diwali/end of year festivities. I did an Instagram and Facebook live session on these yesterday, and you can watch it on my YouTube channel.
To begin with it’s important to understand that you must start eating healthy and being regular with your workouts a few weeks before the holiday season hits. That way, even if you end up missing a workout or two, and having one too many drinks – you’re still in the safe zone. I’m usually consistent with my workouts, but eliminating gluten and portion control really worked for me before the holidays.
Without further ado, the top 5 tips that help me stay healthy during the holidays are:
These are tips that actually work for me. They are simple and easy and maybe that’s why they are the most effective. Try and let me know if they work for you.
Healthy and hydrated.
My parents have been visiting with me for the past couple of days and we’ve been going around sight seeing and exploring the Bangalore food scene. Before I leave the house I always double check that I’m carrying my water with me. You’ll never find me carrying those ridiculously small purses which can only hold a chapstick and a Rs. 5 coin. My bag needs to hold a large bottle full of water and stay hydrated.
We don’t know conclusively how long a person can survive without water, but we know that its less than the time without food. You’re are likely to die of thirst before hunger. I’m surprised when I find out that some students haven’t had a full glass of water by the time they show up to class. Which is 8 am!
The thing I see people defaulting on most? It’s the water bottles. It’s simply horrifying to see people chugging water from a ratty old plastic Bisleri bottle to quench their thirst. Bottles that have been sitting in their car for days, with water of questionable integrity. With all you do (or don’t do) for your health, do you really want to drink that?
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need a glass of water.
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