4 things you are doing to lose weight that are actually making you fat!

When I discuss health and weightloss with people, I am surprised to see that they are indulging in habits that are making them fat ... and they are doing these things thinking they will lose weight.
Following are the top 4 things you think help the weightloss but they actually make you fat.


1) Eating less and fasting

• If you skip meals, you do not get slim!

• Eat smaller meals and regularly
• Have 6-7 meals in the day (or 4-5 if 6-7 is too much)
• Cutting down the amount of the food does not help your metabolism but actually slows it down.. 

2) Being a vegetarian

• If you work out, you need protein grams (number of pounds in your body X 2) A 70 KG guy needs around 300 grams of protein
• Unless you eat chicken, fish, and eggs, this requirement is unlikely to be met
  
• Protein intake aids muscle building in the body.. a pound of muscle in your body consumes 70 calories in a day... while a pound of fat consumes only 8-9
• More muscle  = more calories consumed = less fat = less weight

3) Eating lots of fruits

• Fruits are good for your health but they have sugar
  
• Do not binge on the fruits thinking they will make you lean and slim
• While you are on Diet, be judicious about fruits and have them in moderate quantities

4) Taking no carbs

• Carbohydrates in the food (bread etc) make you fat - so cut down on them 
• But they also provide you energy
• If you take no carbs, you will have no energy and will feel sluggish...that affects your workout as well as day to day work... take some carbs to go through the day and go through your workout
• Sweetpotato is a good source of complex carbs that break down slowly and keep you energetic and full for long
• Brown rice is awesome... 

Enjoy the workout and happy results to you!

Working out with Kris Grethin - half way update - 43rd day

To all those striving hard to lose weight, I have this to say: There is hope. There is hope if you do it right. And this blog post will tell you exactly how to do it right and what results I have achieved by doing it right.

Half way gain: 

• lost 13 pounds
• gained 2.5% muscle 
• looking leaner and more ripped - feeling much better and stronger

I've been following Kris Grethin's 12 week program and I have lost 13 pounds half way and have put on muscle... and started looking much more ripped. If I lose another 10 by the end, I will be a very happy man... which I am already to a large extent.

Who is Kris Grethin?

A celebrity physical trainer- who has trained Hrithik Roshan and John Abraham among others. 

What is Kris Grethin's 12 week program?

A free program with video instructions on 12 week exercise program on exercise, diet, and supplementation. 

How do you use it?

You see the videos and go to the gym to do the exercises. You eat what he suggests. You can take the same supplements also - but I largely gave supplements a miss and am still getting good results. 

If you have a cellphone with 3G, nothing like it. You can view the videos in the gym while you are working out for that day. 

Are there more people who have followed and benefited from this program?

Yes - you can join a group on bodybuilding.com - there are hundreds of people who follow this program religiously... and have benefited far more than anyone has from religion. ;) Read their testimonials and before-after stories (with pics).

What's the program like?

• Work out 2 days and then rest one day (just kardio) - 84 days in total or 12 weeks
• About 1.5 hours of workout a day
• Diet is 70% of the trick  - even if you do not follow it 100% try to follow it as much as you can... otherwise, it doesn't work. Maybe it does without the diet program..if you are 15-30 years old. But for 35+ it certainly doesn't without the diet.

What do I need to get started?

• Some tenacity to continue
• A little prior experience with exercise is desirable but not necessary
• A cell phone with 3G desirable but not necessary - you can even print the PDF schedule for the day and take it along  
• A kitchen and preferably a cook who could make very simple things to order - like brown rice... chicken pasta.... boiled eggs and boiled sweet potato

Get started and feel free to get in touch with me.

Working out regularly and not improving? Here's why!

Context:
Immediate goal - Weightloss around the torso
long term goal - Six pack

The following that you are doing are absolutely the WRONG things to do:

• Work out only abs and not the rest of the body - you thought apart from your torso the rest of your body is fit. You gave a miss to the rest of the exercises.
• Too much of crunches and abs exercises - you have been doing a lot of crunches and abs exercises. Well, this is counter-productive and will never benefit. You are certain to fail to gain anything at all if: you do crunches 7 days a week and 5 hours a day.
• Too slow cardio - you go to the gym and read newspaper on the bicycle. Your heart rate never exceeds 100 beats per minute when you are on the treadmill. Guaranteed to fail. A waste of time. And    BTW, you deserve some credit for getting out of the bed in the early morning though.
• You are seeing that the scale is not showing improvement and are getting disheartened. Well, if you are working out regularly and effectively, you weight may be constant for a while when you are actually transforming your fat into muscle. You are getting fit. Just not lighter. A body composition check can reveal the gains. A scale may or may not. 
• You are exercising as much as you use to 10 years ago. Well, what may have worked 10 years ago for you may not work now. Now, you are older and need to do more to lose weight. Salman khan use to work out 1 hour in his 20s, 2 hours in his 30s, 3 hours in his 40s, and 4 hours in his 50s.. just kidding... he's not 50 yet. But you get the idea.

As learned from Ranjeet Sir of Benefit Gym, Noida.

Why this blog?

Hi Guys,

"Why this blog" is just a euphemism for "What qualifies me to write this blog?"

Well, I am not a qualified fitness professional. But I am in IT and just like you struggling to control the expanse of the middle part of my body.

But I try. I have under my belt experience of having lost 10 or more kilos 3 times. I have found the need to shed the weight at different stages of my life and depending on the age, different things worked.

I talk a lot to the trainers and read up about how one should go about improving his fitness. As I learn the most important things: what to do, how to do, and what I have been doing wrong, I will share them with you.

It will be my endeavour to make it worthwhile for you. So, let's get on with it.