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) Delay the Breakfast - Workout on an empty stomach delay the breakfast. If you end up eating breakfast let it be composed of quality proteins, Eggs, meat etc. No sugary juices of any kind, and please not that cereal, granola bats or Oats are food in my world. Pasture raised eggs, with meats and veggies is the best.
2) Limit Carbs - One absolutely needs carbs for proper functioning, put portion your meals with protein as the primary focus, little bit of carbs and veggies.
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. Sugar kills gains.
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. Meat protein the best form of protein, eat your steaks. Meat is not an option it is a necessity. 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. Eat when Hungry, as simple as that. But make sure you go to bed on an nearly empty stomach. That way the body works on recovering when at rest rather than fighting to digest the food we ate.
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.
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) Delay the Breakfast - Workout on an empty stomach delay the breakfast. If you end up eating breakfast let it be composed of quality proteins, Eggs, meat etc. No sugary juices of any kind, and please not that cereal, granola bats or Oats are food in my world. Pasture raised eggs, with meats and veggies is the best.
2) Limit Carbs - One absolutely needs carbs for proper functioning, put portion your meals with protein as the primary focus, little bit of carbs and veggies.
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. Sugar kills gains.
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. Meat protein the best form of protein, eat your steaks. Meat is not an option it is a necessity. 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. Eat when Hungry, as simple as that. But make sure you go to bed on an nearly empty stomach. That way the body works on recovering when at rest rather than fighting to digest the food we ate.
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.
No comments:
Post a Comment