Eating Right!

I had been invited to a lunch at a hotel and sometimes it is just not possible to avoid such occassions. As I was telling my friend the other day, eating healthy does not mean starving or denying yourself food. Eating healthy means choosing wisely what and how much you eat.

So here I was at the hotel with an elaborate buffet laid out in front. While others went for the usual large helpings of starters, I avoided them completely. I had a bowl of soup, a small piece of grilled fish, steamed rice with aloo mattar. Had two spoons of curd rice (yummy!) and induged in one small piece of chicken. Steered clear of the dessert section. I did not over eat, took small helpings and remained well within my calorie count for the day! Still I enjoyed my food and did not feel guilty in any way.

Just for the record, I do not tak any beverages, hot or cold, just an occasional cup of tea that too not everyday. I am teetotaler and I don't smoke. For 4 months now I have not eaten my favourite samosa. i am off from chaat, gol gappas and all kind of junk food. It is not that I have taken an oath that I will never eat them. What I have told myself is that I willl eat if I make it at home. So a samosa, pakoda, poori, halwa, pizza, burger, ice cream they are all allowed as long as made at home. This has two effects - whatever you make at home is more hygenic and you know what is going in and second such occassions of making and eating at home are few!

Think before picking something to eat and whenever you feel the urge to snack, try drinking water. Drink lots of water during the day, more so during summers.

These are sme of the things I do to eat right. You can develop your own plan whatever works best for you!

Good luck and Healthy Eating & Healthy Living!

My first10 K run - May 20, 2011

Hi! I am back.....ran my first ever 10K on May 20 - two days back. I had been planning it for sometime, my target was mid-May. So I am akmost on track. But more than that its a great boost to my confidence. My eyes are now set on 15 k, which looks do-able!!

But yesterday had been as painful as could be. My day went in applying ice on my legs, knees. The pain was so much especially in my knees when I would sit, squat that I had to so some research on the net. The symptoms indicate runners' knee. Need to rest and ice the painful legs.

Lets see, it has been really good till now. My weight is down to 63 kgs. I was 66 kgs when i started running. Hope to bring it down further as I continue running.

The Story so far.....

On April Fool's Day, year 2011, I decided to take control of my health and life! 

For two months I had been recovering from a leg muscle injury which made me (almost?!) give up my dream of learning tennis. I had been learning since October 2010 and had my husband as coach. In Jan I had just begun to play rallies when I had to take the forced break. My sports doctor's medication and advice were of little use as a week's rest soon turned into 2 months! The only thing I remembered were my Doc's words "playing strenous sports without fitness will lead to injuries again and again."

I realised that the foremost objective of any exercise, physical activity or sports should be FITNESS. And the key to this was patience. I decided to try running/ jogging. I had run before but not for more than 4 kms and only for a month. And my two months of rest had made me lazy, non-commital until i decided to wake up at 6.00 AM on April 1 and decided to stop fooling myself.

I didn't have my running shoes, so made good of my tennis shoes and set out. I did not run but only walked but I chartered my route for the run the following day. Next day I ran a little, walked a lot and before I knew i was running 3.5 kms on day 8! Day 12 I ran my first 5k and that gave me a great sense of achievement. it was highly motivating and I realised I was enjoying running.

Though the journey started well, there have been many ups and downs! And before i share that a little about myself - I am 32 years old (!) without any inclination towards sports / exercise. As a kid basically stayed away from the play ground! At 165 cms my weight stood at 66 kgs (6 kgs over the normal threshold). I am a working woman married to a guy who loves sports/ exercise. A typical day in office is 8-9 hours with work at home too.

Currently, I run 3-4 days a week averaging 20k per week. The longest I hve run is 8k. today I have run 5 k in 35 mins.

About my bumpy road to achieving this, I will continue to write tomorrow.