Fitness Fitness Fitness!!

It is unbelievable for us but that is true - we have been waking up at 5.15am every weekday to go for the Cycling class at the Gym which we joined on June 13, 2008. Let's see till when we can keep up with it!!

Not to mention, our dinner now constitutes of salads only and our dinner time has moved from 9pm to early 7-7.30pm which has given us an excuse to cut down on our evening snacks. It's hard to keep up with this but feels so light! Feels like an achievement at the end of the day! Talk about end of the day - which is like at 10.30-11 pm now - which had never ever been before 12 in the past...
Thanks to Shavi for his will power on this!

Being so health/fitness freak these days, we decided to post some health-related tips here:

1. The hour just before the evening meal is a popular time for exercise. The late afternoon workout provides a welcome change of pace at the end of the work day and helps dissolve the day's worries and tensions.
Another popular time to work out is early morning, before the work day begins. Advocates of the early start say it makes them more alert and energetic on the job.
You should not exercise strenuously during extremely hot, humid weather or within two hours after eating. Heat and/or digestion both make heavy demands on the circulatory system, and in combination with exercise can be an overtaxing double load.

2. Do Cardio. The overall best way to shed fat fast is to do cardio (30 min minimum) right when you wake up. Your body will search for energy to use, when it finds nothing in your stomach, it will go directly to your fat storage for energy and the fat will burn up so fast!

3. Keep your metabolism revived all day by eating a small meal, with a mix of protein, fat and carbs every four hours.

4. Stretching is not a warm up. In fact, studies show that excessive stretching prior to exercise may lead to injuries.

5. Exercise before eating. Even a ten minute walk can decrease your appetite and prevent you from over eating.

6. To cut bad fat, cook with olive oil and not vegetable oil. Or, saute or stir-fry using cooking wine or vegetable broth.

7. No carbs after 9 p.m. Eat no breads, cereals, or pasta until morning. During sleep, carbs in your stomach turn into fat.

8. For a midnight snack, eat a small amount of protein and no carbs or sugar. Mix protein powder in water or eat a bar.

9. Never eat food which contains Corn Syrup. Corn Syrup/High Fructose Corn Syrup(HFCS)/Corn Starch are poisons if you care to reduce. Be Careful - almost all eatables in US have corn syrup! Even Breads and Tomato Ketchup! You cant stop eating them but look for those which do not contain these. For details on HFCS, check out my comment on this blog post.

10. Instead of frying, prepare foods by dry roasting, grilling, oven cooking, or steaming.

11. Keep a track of whatever you eat - seems difficult initially but it really really works and teaches you to control your diet. I found it foolish at first but it is really worth the effort!