Friday, November 26, 2010

Is Weight Training Good For Women?

Weight Training is absolutely good for women, knowing that as a woman grows older, physiological changes that occur with post menopause, the bones of a woman loses density and becomes fragile. This is the reason why women suffer from osteoporosis more than the men. But why do a majority of women do not like to weight train? The answer is simple; they are scared of getting muscles like man. They are worried of looking manly. But let me tell this to all the women around the world, you won’t get bigger, muscular and manly, unless the weight training program is really extreme like that of a bodybuilder and unless your testosterone levels are high like that of a man. It is the high levels of testosterone in man that causes bigger muscles and higher strength gains. 

So how does weight training help a woman?
Weight training puts stress on the bones which causes it to strengthen. So a well designed weight training workout and a balanced diet can help women stay stronger throughout her life and avoid osteoporosis that usually accompanies physiological changes and age.

To conclude I would advice all women to do weight training at least 2–3 times a week. A certified/professional Personal Trainer would design the right kind of weight training workout for you. And remember a proper designed weight training program “won’t make your body like that of a man, it will only make you physically stronger like a man”.

Stay Healthy!


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Friday, November 19, 2010

The Caloric Values Of India Food

Because I am a health conscious person, I am always interested in knowing the caloric value of the food that I eat. This helps me to keep a track of my caloric intake, which further helps me avoid the excessive eating. And since I am an Indian who indulges in Indian food, I started researching on internet to know about Indian food and their caloric values, however I found out that there are not many websites that give a clear idea of the caloric values of our Indian food. The internet is loaded with the Western and European food items and their caloric values. I don’t deny that we eat western and European food but I would like to make a point that the majority of Indians actually don’t indulge in foreign cuisine. For all those health conscious Indians, there isn't much on the internet that can help them figure out how many calories they eat every day. So I have put together a detailed list of most popular food items that we eat on daily basis and their caloric values to give you an idea about the amount of calories that are in the food items that we eat several times.

ITEM
QUANTITY
CALORIES
Bread
1 slice (20g)
50
Boiled egg
50 g
87
Skimmed milk
100 ml
50
Cow’s milk
100 ml
70
Idlis
2 No. (100 g)
130
Butter
1 tsp (5g)
36
Sambar
1 cup (60ml)
80
Dosa
1 No. (50 g)
135
Coconut chutney
2 tbsp
100
Coffee with sugar
1 cup (120 ml)
54
Tea with sugar
1 cup (120 ml)
37
Upma
1 cup
220
Stuffed parata
2 Nos.
160
Curd (1 cup)
1 Cup (120 ml)
80
Poories
2 Nos.
100
Vada pav
1 No. (30g)
260
Kachori
2 No.(150 g)
190
Khakras
2 Nos. (30 g)
180
Cooked rice
200 g
200
Veg Sabji
1 cup (125 g)
104
Salad – Tomato, Onion, Cucumber
50 g
15
Chapathi with little oil
2 Nos.
100
Thick Dal
1 Cup (100 g)
165
Cauliflower with green peas
¾ cup (75 g)
125
Phulka
4 (70 g)
200
Tomato rice/ lime rice
100 g
180
Roasted papad
10 g
30
Tandoor roti
1 No.
140
Mutton curry
100 g
150
Mutton kofta curry
130 g
250
Chicken vindaloo
½ cup (80 g)
170
Vegetable stew
¾ cup (115 g)
75
Vegetable pulav
1 cup (150 g)
190
Chicken soup
1 cup (230 g)
465
Lentil soup
1 cup (210 g)
70
Tomato soup
1 Cup (145 g)
45
Puliogere/ Bisi bele bath
190 g
280
Mutton biryani
245 g
635
Navarathan Pulav
200 g
325
Vegetable pulav
200 g
375
Jowar roti
1 No. (80 g)
120
Batura
1 No. (70 g)
325
Naan
1 No. (40 g)
125
Noodles (vegetable)
1 cup (230 g)
230
Channa masala
150 g
230
Baingan bartha
170 g
325
Palak paneer
150 g
150
Pav + Bhaji
2 Nos. + 1 cup
270
Shahi paneer
100 g
250



DESSERT ITEMS


Gulab jamun
2 Nos. (70g)
360
Cake with icing
1 No. (60 g)
300
Fruit salad without ice-cream
100 g
80
Rasagulla
30 g
100
Badam Halva
50 g
280
Mysore Pak
50 g
170
Burfi
50 g
170
Jalebi
80 g
350


Note: Near calories values have been given. Variations in household measure and cooking methods may alter the values; therefore the above values are approximate.

It takes an hour for a person running on a treadmill to burn 300 – 500 calories approximately, depending on the intensity. So the next time you want to eat a box full of Gulam jamun, think twice…

Stay Healthy!