Ask Diet Guru

The 3 mantras for someone aspiring weight loss:

1. Movement
2. Multiple miniscule meals instead of one large portion
3. Mind over matter

Quite simply, walk a mile each day, which can mean a hike to the subway, or around the neighborhood, or on the treadmill or up and down the stairs...

A healthy breakfast sets the tone of fulfillment as opposed to deprivation, low fat granola bars, green tea, fruits and eggs are easy and satisfying

Love thyself. Our only real obligation is to breathe, so take a few minutes each day just to focus on your breathing.

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DRINK IF YOU CAN THINK

H₂0, Aqua, water, is free and has an ample supply in most parts of the world. Drink up and watch youself lose pounds! Sip hot green tea, a great way to detox and lose pounds!

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KAPALBHATI

If you have sported a Kegel exercise while driving or waiting, simply tighten and lift your core, breathe in and let out in short spurts until you empty out your lungs completely. In essence, you would be panting like a dog. It is a true and tried yoga exercise that strengthens the core and builds stomach muscles.

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 What is a casserole?  Typically a deep dish with a meadly of edibles, some protein, some veggies binded with some sort of starch with a crusty or chunchy top, baked and served.  The variety of such a dish is only limited by your imagination.  Since our focus is diet, we will pick something savory and low fat.  If you like how it tastes, make sure you give it a fancy name.   

Ingredents:

1. 1 large eggplant diced into square inch cubes
2. 1 can of coconut milk
3. 1 large red bell pepper
4. 1 stalk of asparagus chopped into inch long pieces
6. 1 pack of mushrooms sliced or a can of mushrooms will also do
7. 1 teaspoonful of garlic
8. 1/2 teaspoonful of pepper flakes
9. fresh ginger thinly sliced (optional)
10. 1 cup of ground meat (may be substituted with slivers of pancetta)
11. bread crumbs (optional)

In a  oven proof deep dish, put eggplant cubes lightly brush with olive oil and sprinkle salt and oregano.

Put in a 450 degrees, pre heated oven for about 5 minutes and check for done ness.  When eggplants are soft as butter, which you can test for by driving a fork through it, put the rest of the ingredients EXCEPT coconut milk, stir and put into the oven for another 5 minutes

Add coconut milk, cover with foil tightly and place into the oven for another 2-3  minutes.  Top with bread crumbs (optional)

You can eat this dish just by itself or with bread, rice or pasta.

Staying tuned to your own body is something, most of us begin to forget to do around age 8 or so.  For many of us it is a direct result of pushing food from caring parents who cannot fathom that the young system might be saturated at times and might need a break. We slowly adapt to meal times and forget to understand our own system. No wonder then that so many adults suffer from heart burn, a direct result of over feeding. Instead of fixing the root cause, ie, not stuffing our faces quite to that extent, we pop alka selzers or tums. As we advance in years, our system slows down, our metabolic rate slows down and the body has need for much less food. If we ask ourselves before mealtimes if we are truly responding to hunger, we might be that much closer to a healthier eating habit. So, ask yourself, next time, and don't hesitate to skip a meal if that is what the body is telling you.

Many of us go to the gym, through the motions of the treadmill, hip abductor, chin dip yada, yada yada...we try to amuse ourselves with music or a magazine. But let's face it, it is repetative and we yearn some hand holding as it is not terribly inspiring to embrace the machine that does not embrace you back!

Chances are that your gym offers a number of free classes, or you can get a video and do it at home, but following someone's lead in the process of exercise, forces us to step out of our comfort zone, and shames us into carrying on with movements that under other circumstances, we would long have ditched. We can all use some hand holding sometimes: )

Think yourself thin! Refocus. Strange as it may sound, obsessing less about what to eat or what not to can actually lead to weight gain. In the last 3 weeks or so, life has been rather hectic, but in a good way, this morning when I stepped on the scale after quite sometime now, I noticed that I have lost 5 lbs. Tried thinking if I have been doing anything differently, and this is the one thing I could come up with.

Think constructively, look forward to new things, make new things happen, get involved in something, fall in love, organize a GNO bash, whatever it is, take your mind off food and nutrition for once, and see what happens.

Obviously here we are refering to the edible kind of element! It might be a good idea to take account of it every now and then. So many little morsels make their way through our mouth every so often that we do not keep account of...what if we did keep a log of it?  Try it, if anything it will positively make you more aware of yourself!

 Determine what you truly enjoy eating and make a promise to youself to eat just that, which truly delights you! Think fruits and vegetable, think protiens, add a little cruch and zing to your bite! I will list a few wholesome breakfasts, lunches and dinners, that will take care of your craving and satisfy your hunger. Weight loss will follow if you stop snacking in between.

STREACHING ON AN EXERCISE BALL

Rethink furniture in your television watching room, if not for anyone else, just yourself. Opt to sit on the carpet instead of sinking into the couch. Laying on the carpet or sitting up engaging your core will automatically be more beneficial to your body then slouching on the couch. If you feel ambitious try a few sit ups.

A large exercise ball is fun to sit on, requires you to support your core while you're at it, allows you to lay on it and reach overhead for a deep streach. Try resting your upper back on it and holding a bridge, all while watching TV, chatting and hanging out!

Ladies, if you are going batty and need food therapy, try this:

1. Finish your chores, laundry, cleaning, organizing...
2. Now reward yourself with a cup of oolong tea and a bowl of tortilla chips, do not eat right out of the pack, instead pick a bigger bowl, but fill it JUST ONCE!

Feel free to refill your cup with hot water and sip away. Oolong tea is available in any Asian grocery store. It satiates your appetite like no other diet pill, and what's more, it is completely natural! The cruch of low sodium corn chips are fun and notice if you eat a smaller portion during next meal time. So keep your calories under control, by sipping and munching away, and sticking to your 3 Weight Loss Mantras.

Eating at least 2/3 hours before your bedtime is a good practise. Late meals do not allow you to metabolize the food and gets it to one place only - the gut. Plus, an early dinner opens up other avenues of fun, which you would normally not contemplate on a regular work day. A one pot dish has always been a hit with my family and allows quick clean up.

Cous Cous is a very versatile grain, healthy and low fat. It can be served hot or cold depending on the dish. This one is a very convinient and tasty salad that can be made in a big batch and stored in the refrigerator.

Ingredients:

1. 1 pack of instant couscous, plain
2. 2 tbsp of olive oil
3. your favorite herb which can be mint, parsley, or cilantro
4. 2 medium sized tomatoes
5. 1 can of garbanzo beans, drained
6. 1/2 an onion, chopped (optional)
7. 1 small cucumber, diced (optional)
8. juice of 1 large lemon
9. salt or SHAN brand "chaat masala", about 11/2 tbsp (available in any Indian grocery store)

Heat just a tad less water than recommended on the box of instant couscous, with salt and olive oil

Empty packet of cous cous, remove from heat and sqeeze lemon juice and let the used skin of lemon rest in the pan, keep covered for about 20 minutes or so to let cook

Stir with a fork and add the rest of the ingredients.

Drizzle a touch of olive oil of necessary

Best served at room temperature. Makes a great side dish with any grilled meats!

Who said chilli and pasta do not belong? It is zingy, hearty and low fat!

Ingredients:

1. 2 pounds of ground meat, lean beef, turkey or chicken
2. 1 can of stewed tomatoes or 2 fresh tomatoes, medium size
3. 1 large onion, chopped
4. 1 tbsp of minced garlic
5. 2 can of red kidney bean
6. McCormick chilli seasoning
7. 1 cup of chicken broth (optional)
8. fresh cilantro (optional)

Heat 2 tbsp of cooking oil in a pan, carmelize 1 tbsp of sugar, add onions and cook till transparent

Add ground meat, brown, add beans and seasonings cook for a few minutes

Add the rest of the ingredients, bring to a boil, remove from heat

Serve with boiled pasta or tortilla or steamed rice. Make a big batch and freeze in small portions. Enjoy with your family!

1. Layout a few slices of bacon on a heated non-stick pan. Cook until transparent. Layout a   few sticks of asparagus on the bacon with the bottoms chopped off about an inch...cover...wait

2. Lift bacon with a tong and cover asparagus with it. Wait again.

3. Remove bacon from heat, it will be a bit soft

4. Lift an asparagus and check if it wilts easily from side to side, if it does, they're done. Remove from heat, sprinkle with kosher salt or steak seasoning and a bit of grated parmasean cheese.

5. Cook eggs over easy in the bacon grease serve. Quick trick to making overeasy eggs without having to bother flipping them. Simply cover and cook, remove when yolk turns cloudy.

Now that we have crystals that you can sprinkle on your food that will supposedly quench your appetite...what are they going to think of next...fact is, you tummy does not ask for food, it is the head. So chewing mint leaves clenses your breath and tempers cravings. They are quite easy to grow on your kitchen window sill, unless au natural does not fit your lifestyle in which case, how about mint gum. You can lose upto 11 calories, simply by chewing gum, can you beat that?!

Minty Zingy salads with a bit of cruch might also be another way to satify your cravings. Get ready for some easy to assemble, delicious no fat salads!