Fatigue the Mental Roadblock

It was Friday, the most beautiful day of the week. After a peaceful workday, picked up kids from school and had a fun ride back home singing, shouting "PUMPKINSSSSS" as we passed every pumpkin patch that was on the way, waving to the sun, the birds. Kids weren't too much into eating that evening so it was time to hit the park. Changed into something more comfortable and drove to the park wondering how kids have so much energy. Ran around kicking the soccer ball for a bit then the swing, the slide and trust me with a little assistance to hold monkey bars my 2 yr olds can hang from there and hold their weight with their own hands. Time just flies what feels like 2 minutes is probably an hour or even more sometimes. 

A tiring day for the kids so putting them to sleep was a piece of cake. Usually I start my run not before 9.30 pm but on Friday I was all set by 8.30 pm. So set myself up for a long run. I normally love to listen to the sound of the breeze, the sound of my shoes kissing the trail as I run but this time I felt like listening to some music. So turned the music on and started running towards east, its just me I guess, always love to start my run towards east, no particular reason :-). 

Wanted to take a longer course so skipped all my turns and kept running straight for a while and after about 30 minutes may be more took a right turn into a community and lost my way inside just kept running in circles for a while before I figured out the way and started my run back. By the time I reached my car, I had run for an hour and 45 minutes. and very good speed, felt awesome. I felt like I could just keep running may be for another hour or so. I had probably slept just for 3 or 4 hours the previous night but did not feel a thing. 

A little retrospect put things into perspective. I kinda realized that why they say its all in the mind. It sure is. This mind of ours is the reason for all the fatigue and tiredness, I swear. So I thought what we can do to have our control over it rather trick it and stop it from fucking up our efforts. The basic idea is to give your mind something to ponder when you do what you wanna do, provided you do not want its involvement there. 

• Music is a very good distraction. 

• Running a new course every time is a very good way to keep your mind guessing on whats to come. If not I at least make sure I run in a place that's lively, it helps too.

• I set myself higher targets. Every time I say to myself I am gonna run 15 miles before I start. I know it  does not matter if I stop at 5 miles or even less but I know I would have done those miles with ease. 

• I have also learnt to enjoy the beauty of your surrounding the sunshine, the creek, the breeze hitting my face, the moon, the stars when I don't listen to music I even talk to the sun and the trees just to keep mind occupied.
• Give yourself a day off just for your mind to recuperate and to let it look forward to your next run.

But in general there are a few things I do to conserve my energy over a longer period of time and sustain the momentum.

1) I make sure I exert minimum energy during a down hill and it is easy to try and accelerate and find yourself in trouble at the next uphill. So always conserve as much energy as possible during downhills. I lean backwards to stay balanced and to exert as less as possible. And avoid any exaggerated movement of my arms.

2) During an uphill, I accelerate, shorter and quicker steps help me keep up the momentum.

I try stay as low as possible and lean forward as I push myself uphill. I do these things even when I run against the wind.  I always remind myself that the next downhill is right around the corner. 

3) Running shoes, a good pair of running shoes make a lot of difference.

I also completed my first 15 mile run last night. Feels so awesome. The key I thought was I never let my mind dictate terms, just kept talking to myself saying things like I will do it etc.

I set myself very small targets the next block, or the next traffic light or intersection etc and tried to ignore all thoughts about how long I have left.

Before I started my run I made sure I emptied my bladder and had a couple of salted crackers as the sodium helps you with cramps. I did not carry water with me which I should have. But would have had more than a couple of sips anyway, so was able to manage.

If knew I was going to be running for a long time so I thought it would be better to avoid running smaller laps, I did not want to see the same things over and over again. I chose my trail such a way that I see something fresh and new with every step, helped a lot. 

Last but not least I just kept pushing myself. Having done so many things to get on the road for a run, I thought I should make the best of it and I am so glad I did.

I would like to wrap this up with a small quote "When you are lazy, getting out of the couch feels like an activity" so don't be, get out there and enjoy a good run my friends.

A Conversation - Worthy of a Post

After a busy morning at work and a quick lunch at my favorite Deli place I was able to find sometime to log in to facebook and check what was goin on with everyone. The new paranormal activity movie has the hit the screens and was happy to hear that it is scarier than ever, cant wait to get a glimpse.

And as I was gazing thro some photographs I like to see everyday, I had a message pop up from my brother from another mother. As always the conversation started when he said "thala" "implicitly means big brother" and I replied saying "yo smarty" the way we all used to call him in college.

This guy was my junior in college amazing personality and attitude. Fun loving person and a great human being. After general small talk he mentioned that he was going to land in the US soon for a project, I was thrilled and kinda looking forward to see him after may be 15 years or so.

I never expected the conversation to go down a seriously interesting course. After a brief pause "may be the smart guy was chatting with one of his girl friends on the other side" he mentioned that he had showed my transformation pictures and the blog to one of his friends and that his friend was very inspired. I was happy and said that I keep working out everyday and said that I had run little over 10 k in around 45 mins the previous night. He said he was really impressed and what not.

May be he was building up to ask me what he did, but little was I aware of what was to come. 

He said "I am happy that you are able to do all this and it is very inspiring but what is the whole point of doing all this". 

He added saying he understands that  its all about self respect and personality development but he mentioned that he feels something was missing.

He also said he would've liked if I put so much effort and be able to do something at a much higher level. And he said he thought all my hard work was being wasted.

I was surprised and thought about it for a second before I gave him any reply.

I gave a very simplistic reply, I said that it was the way I liked to treat myself. Instead of a drink or a fancy dinner I simply like to treat myself by giving my body and mind an intense workout. I also mentioned I liked to take my emotions to my workouts. 

Then as I was typing this response I thought a little deeper and I understood where it all started and why I was doing this. 

I then said I did all this to build a better next generation. I belive every change has to start from you. If me having seen my father skipping ropes every morning and doing some push ups could get the interest to do this, may be my girls will do something bigger when its their time. 

So I said I would keep pushing myself as long as I can and hope someday someone from my next generation takes it to the highest level and does something really big and noticeable.

I was so happy that he made me realize the whole perspective behind all this and I felt there could no bigger purpose. 

He then said he that it was the best thing he had heard anyone say and that he loved the perspective. It was one of the best conversations I've had and thought it was worthy writing about. Thanks a lot my brother Harish looking forward to see you soon. And thanks a lot my sweety who suggested I should be writing about this.

Lets all build a healthier tomorrow. Have a great day peeps !!!

Workouts 101

Before we start doing a certain activity there are so many questions that linger in our minds. I firmly believe that the answers to those questions will go a long way in helping us perform the activity better.

"INFORMATION IS WEALTH"

When it comes Workouts here are some things that I learnt, found  them to be interesting and thought they are worth writing about.

Workouts in general are categorized into 2 types. 

Aerobic :Workouts that are performed over a longer duration of time to build your endurance are basically Aerobic Exercise.E.g., Running, Skipping, Climbing Stairs, Swimming etc., When you do an aerobic

activity as the name suggests, you tend to inhale more air which obviously means more oxygen. This oxygen in turn goes to the heart and then to the muscles thereafter. Oxygen in muscles help burn fats and carbohydrates in them, making the muscles leaner. 

More oxygen to muscles = More fat burnt = More fitter you get

Well the benefits of Aerobic exercises do not end here. Technically, aerobic exercises can be termed as Cardio, which obviously mean strengthening  the heart. Heart is a muscular organ too and gets bigger and performs better with prolonged aerobic exercises. They pump in more blood per beat hence improving the blood circulation. If you have  a good circulation, all your organs are supplied with more nutrients and hence they become stronger too. Do Aerobic Exercises 2 to 3 times a week. Playing a sport is the easiest and the most enjoyable way to achieve this. 

Anaerobic : As the name suggests, it is opposed to aerobic activity. A high intensity - lesser timed workout does not consume air. Anaerobic exercises are activities done with for not more than 3 minutes to may be 5 minutes. These help in working out a specific muscle in the body to strengthen and build it. Quick Sprints, Lifting Weights, 3 minute crunches etc are some of the examples. Here you surely gasp for breath cos there is not enough oxygen as the workouts are intense. 

Now, Irrespective of the kind of workout, there are some things that are key to an effective workout session.

The most important aspects are 

• Posture - Maintaining the proper posture meaning holding the right position from start to finish
• Breathing - Breathing through the nose all the time (Unless you are swimming)
• Pace - Doing the workouts at good pace while holding onto the posture.
• Stretching - Do some basic stretches before any workout even before you go on a run do some stretching so you are able to hit the mark right away.
• Keep pushing yourself. When you are tired and feel like quitting, "FINISH STRONG".

Ultimately if you are not doing all of these you are cheating yourself. 

Sodium - Lower the Better

Sodium or Salt is a very essential component of your diet which helps maintain the water levels in the body. We might have seen people adding drinking Salt Water when they get muscular cramps. Reason, Salt helps hydrate your body and cramps obviously are the effect of dehydration.

But the questions that I kept asking myself was "How much salt do I really need?" and "When should I have more Salt". Some googling and talking to friends helped me figure out (to a certain extent) what is that I would need to do when it comes to Sodium intake. Most of the stuff here on this post are available on multiple sites in google but having done a lot of research thought I would post my experience anyway. And again these are the little things that worked wonders for me in my quest.

Some information ...

A pinch of salt here and there can quickly add up to unhealthy levels of sodium since just one teaspoon of table salt has 2,325 milligrams (mg) of sodium. Again with Indian style of cooking where salt and spice play a major role, sodium levels could get out of proportion pretty soon.

How much do I need? 

As per what I have learnt I understood that I don't need much but :) but if you really wanted a number I would say it ranges between 1500 and 2000 mg unless you have been advised otherwise but your physician.

So why do I need to cut down on Sodium, I learnt lower Sodium means stronger muscles so I low

Where does the Sodium come from apart from the salt I use?

Processed and prepared foods. The vast majority of sodium in the typical American diet comes from foods that are processed and prepared. These foods are typically high in salt, which is a combination of sodium and chloride, and in additives that contain sodium. Processed foods include bread, prepared dinners like pasta, meat and egg dishes, pizza, cold cuts and bacon, cheese, soups, and fast foods.

Natural sources. Some foods naturally contain sodium. These include all vegetables and dairy products such as milk, meat. While they don't have an abundance of sodium, eating these foods does add to your overall sodium intake. For example, 1 cup (237 milliliters) of low-fat milk has about 107 mg of sodium.

What did I do and Why?

So when I cooked I made sure I used just less than enough salt and chose fresh ingredients over processed meat n vegetables. Started checking the nutritional value behind every stuff that I bought and started buying stuff that had lower sodium for snacking.

The reason why I reduced sodium is because more the sodium intake the longer its gonna take to develop muscles. Sodium I feel keeps the body loose and does not help gain strong muscles. So reduced it and it worked like a charm.

Disciplined Diet - The Key Ingredient

I was glad that things were working out pretty good with my workout routine and I was starting to feel good about myself. The fact that I could workout anytime of the day and be able to get my workouts done at home eased out so much pressure that I was starting to enjoy my workouts.

So for cardio I would just do some jump sit ups, skipping ropes and some basic stretches at good pace. Then some push ups, cycling crunches, stand up crunches, lunges etc. All of this maintaining the right posture and pace. I had so many options that I was not letting my body to get used to a routine or a pattern. That way things were more interesting and fun.

Cricket over the weekends was an added bonus. I started looking at sport in a whole new perspective. I started telling my self now is the time to burn some calories while enjoying the sport that we all love to play. So I used to keep running around chasing the ball like a mad dog exerting myself to the extreme. At the end of the day you don't realize you have burnt more than 500 calories and you enjoyed playing cricket. The game wasn't just about winning anymore it was about being active. I still do that and feels crazy good.

With everything going in my way with the workouts I thought that was the time to get in some discipline into my diet. When it comes to dieting it is not about starving its about satisfying your hunger with the right stuff. So some more reading and I slowly started to move in the direction of disciplined eating.

Below are some of the things I started to do

1) Eat Breakfast - I never skip breakfast for anything. Breakfast became my most important meal. Reason when you eat a good heavy breakfast you have the whole day of activities to burn it. So I would eat a good breakfast. I would eat omelettes/scrambles with all the veggies may be some ham/chorizo, couple of dry wheat toasts and a big cup of OJ. Any of our Indian dishes are also fine. Just cereal or Oat meal is not breakfast in my books.

2) No White Rice - White Rice to me is basically rice with all the good stuff removed from it. So I started eating brown rice. This is rich in fiber and is rich in B Vitamins and Iron. I am not a dietitian but some googling and talking to people helped me. Now a days I have come to a point where I substitute Oats (cooked in Water) or Quinoa (amazingly tasty and rich in protein) for brown rice and it has helped me gain good muscular definition. White rice again is rich in sugar which is a major NOOOO.

3) No Sugar - Sugar is a major culprit I would prefer to eat a fatty item over eating sweets. The reason is that sugar does not fill you up it keeps you craving for more and you end up eating more than you should and would. A fatty dish on the other hand fills you up and can be burnt by some cardio but not sugar.

4) Drink a lot of Water - Drink up to a gallon of water everyday, eat watery fruits and vegetables. Because of the water content it fills your stomach and helps you reduce the portions of your meal.

5) Eat meats - Meats are a good source of protein so never stop / cut down on your meats. If you can, may be reduce the intake of red meat and substitute it with sea foods n chicken. The key is how we cook the meat . If you fried it or made it so cheesy / buttery it makes no sense. Eat a lot of vegetables again how we cook them matters. I kept the cooking simple and prepared my vegetables to taste how they were supposed to taste, naturally.

6) Lower the Sodium/Salt  intake - This is one of the key things that helped me a lot. Sodium is needed in the body to keep the water levels right but not too much. In Indian cooking we get more Sodium than is needed for the body result it becomes even tougher to get your muscular. Whenever I felt I had a little more Sodium then I'd sweat it out the same day.

Then I had some Big No's to Ice Creams (Eat Fat free Frozen Yogurt Instead) , Cakes, Chocolates (Dark ones with more cocoa are ok but still not more than a small piece or 2), No Fried food, No Sweets of any kind. NO SMOKING and I stopped drinking (but drinking responsibly wouldn't hurt)

One more trick. Works like a charm for me. Once in a while, Once in 2 weeks initially and once a month now I go and get crazy and eat all would want to. How this helps ? So when you do that your body assumes that its gonna get the same amount of food everyday and the next day you start your regular diet routine, it would start burning the fat it had saved. This way you can trick your body to burn all the saved up fat as well.

Another important but easily ignored fact was the timing of my meals. I realized that discipline is not only in what you eat but a major contributor is the "WHEN" part. So I started my days early, early enough to get my breakfast, then an early lunch. By 12.00 max 12.30 my lunch is done. A healthy snack (granola bar, or low sodium, low fat no sugar snack at 3.00 - fruits fit best here cos you get the sugar your body needs from the fruit). Early and lite dinner (earliest by 5.30 latest by 6.30). So you have enough time to digest your food. If I was awake for a long time I would probably be hungry so that's when I eat my desert yes Oatmeal (cooked in water) + raisins. Fills me up and feels good too.

While doing all this, the one thing I said myself I have had all these fried and sugary stuff for may be 25 years in my life. So let me put a stop to them when I can and not push myself to stage when my doctor tells me I have to stop and I cannot.