General exercise routine apps 

Endomondo [Android, iOS, Windows; Free]

Endomondo is a multi-fitness app that can be used for many forms of exercise including biking, hiking, kayaking, aerobics, cricket, polo, etc. It allows you to set goals on the distance or calories you want to burn. You can also compete with your friends by posting your updates online.  
Pros: Endomondo has an audio feature that gives feedback after every mile or km. It also has a modern and clean interface which makes it great to use while doing high-intensity work-outs.

Cons: Despite several user complaints, a problem with the app prevents users from posting to Facebook. A similar problem also exists with its GPS map, and it loses some major points in our book.

Noom Cardio Trainer [Android; Free]

This is a simple app that tracks all your physical activity, from biking, walking, skating or running on a treadmill! It checks how far you’ve run, your stride length, offers workout playlists, etc. The app also offers advanced GPS, pedometer tools and an interactive heart rate monitor.
Pros: You can set workout schedules in advance. An interesting feature is a color code that informs whether you’ve completed a workout day, missed a workout day, or had an unscheduled exercise.

Cons: The biggest drawback of the app, however, is that it stores all the information on your phone; occupying a lot of space. Also there have been multiple reports from users of the GPS that stops to work after a few days.

Yoga apps

Yoga Studio [iOS; Free]: This is a simple app that brings to you 30 ready-made yoga classes and a library of over 280 positions to learn from. You can set your skill level from beginner, intermediate or expert yoga. The workouts are well put together with 15 to 60 minutes practice. Another useful feature is the ability to create a yoga schedule which helps develop a routine.

Pros: The creators of the app – Modern Lotus – really thought of the customer when they decided to compress the size of the videos so that they don’t fill up your phone.

Cons: We couldn’t find any yet!

Office Yoga [Android, iOS; Free]

Office Yoga suggests ways to rid yourself of stiffness from sitting in your cubical with the help of nine sets of yoga movements. The app opens up an e-deck of cards that come with instructions for yoga poses tailored for desk-workers looking to stretch on the job.

Pros: You only have to tap to sort and create your own sequence or use only your favourites.

Cons: A major glitch is that even after the app has been closed, the background music doesn’t stop for a long time.

Running

RunKeeper [Android, iOS; Free]

This popular app created by FitnessKeeper, Inc. keeps a track of your pace, distance, time calories burned and more, helping you store and analyse your running session. It also syncs your music library and allows you to create jogging play lists.

Pros: The coaching feature constantly chimes out encouragement by announcing your pace, distance run, calories burned, etc. and also posts to your social networks for you.

Cons: RunKeeper is as near to being a perfect app as we’ve encountered so far.

 Nike+ Running [Android, iOS; Free]

Nike+ Runnin has a special feature – the accelerometer that helps collecting information on your runs. The Powermusic feature allows the app to sync with your music library. It also automatically uploads to nikeplus.com where you can see your runs, including your route and elevation. 

Pros: Hit a mental wall? The app allows you to activate a Powersong to helps blast you toward a new record. There is also positive feedback from some of Nike’s top athletes. Imagine being cheered on by the likes of Kobe Bryant or Cristiano Ronaldo!

Cons: Some of its features such as Share Run and Cheer Me On require users to be connected to a wireless network for full functionality which hampers its outdoor experience.

Weight Training Apps

VirtuaGym [Android, iOS; Free]

Want to start weight training but don’t know how? This app allows you to carry a virtual gym trainer in your pocket. Demo exercises are performed with 3D animation. The app offers three options of morning, home and gym workouts.  Morning workouts of 7 -15 minutes are to get your day started. If you don’t have a gym membership, you can try the home workout.

Pros: The exercises are well planned, working all of your muscles and starting off with warm ups and ending with cool downs.  

Cons: There are 8 only workouts, there is no logbook and you cannot customize your workouts.

Gym Hero [OS: iOS; Free]

 This app allows you to create workout plans; allowing you to customize routines and helping you stick to them. You can plan a multiple set of activities and the number of time of that activity to make your workout plan.

Pros: A statistics feature compresses all the data collect and even shows which muscles you are working.

Cons: It’s not for beginners and seems to be for the more advanced gym routines only.

So try out these amazing apps and do let us know if they help you take it to the next level!

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Fish oils could minimize the effects that junk food can have on the brain, a review by researchers at the University of Liverpool has shown.

The team at the University’s Institute of Ageing and Chronic Disease reviewed research from around the world to see whether there was sufficient data available to suggest that omega-3s had a role to play in aiding weight loss.

Research over the past 10 years has indicated that high-fat diets could disrupt neurogenesis, a process that generates new nerve cells, but diets rich in omega-3s could prevent these negative effects by stimulating the area of the brain that control feeding, learning and memory.

Data from 185 research papers revealed, however, that fish oils do not have a direct impact on this process in these areas of the brain, but are likely to play a significant role in stalling refined sugars and saturated fats’ ability to inhibit the brain’s control on the body’s intake of food.

Research papers showed that on high-fat diets hormones that are secreted from body tissues into the circulation after eating, and which normally protect neurons and stimulate their growth, are prevented from passing into the brain by increased circulation of inflammatory molecules and a type of fat called triglycerides.

Molecules that stimulate nerve growth are also reduced, but it appears, in studies with animal models, that omega-3s restore normal function by interfering with the production of these inflammatory molecules, suppressing triglycerides, and returning these nerve growth factors to normal.

‘Fish oils don’t appear to have a direct impact on weight loss, but they may take the brakes off the detrimental effects of some of the processes triggered in the brain by high-fat diets. They seem to mimic the effects of calorie restrictive diets and including more oily fish or fish oil supplements in our diets could certainly be a positive step forward for those wanting to improve their general health,’ explained Dr Lucy Pickavance, from the University’s Institute of Ageing and Chronic Disease/

The research has been published in the British Journal of Nutrition.

However, they reduced the portion sizes for some of the participants, and then counted their calories over the rest of the day to see if it had any impact on their eating habits. They found that the difference in size did not affect the amount of food the participants ate over the rest of the day, The Telegraph reported.

Breakfast portion size was reduced by up to 40 per cent in the study by the Medical Research Council (MRC) Human Nutrition Research Unit, resulting in up to 269 fewer calories consumed over the course of the day.

Dr Jebb (Head of Diet & Population Health at the MRC Human Nutrition Research Unit) who supervised the study, said that results may not be borne out in everyday life, where there are far more opportunities to snack between breakfast, lunch and dinner.

‘This research was done with people in a controlled laboratory environment and more work is required to determine if the effect remains in real life where there are more opportunities to eat,’ he said.

Silent heart attacks are the same as any other attack, but the person just doesn’t feel it. This is usually because  of  possible nerve damage or neuropathy around the heart due to long term diseases or narrowing of the coronary arteries (the main arteries of the heart) which impedes blood flow to the heart. Ironically, people who are at high risk for heart attack are most susceptible to suffer from a silent heart attack.

Risk factors include:

• Diabetes
• High blood pressure
• Smoking
• Family history of heart trouble
• High cholesterol

Symptoms:

A silent heart attack is when the person does not experience the usual chest pain, chest discomfort or shortness of breath, etc. and the person who experiences it may not realise he’s suffering from a heart attack. 

Some of the most common tell-tale signs are — feeling increased fatigue after normal activities, shortness of breath and sleep disturbances, persistent feeling of indigestion, burping, bloating of  the stomach with no history of gastric disorders.

Because a patient may not be able to identify the exact reason for the discomfort, most doctors cannot treat the patient within the ‘golden hour’ or golden 90 minutes’ (a term used to describe the crucial 90 minutes after the attack during which the patient is most likely to make a full recover), leading to a lower heart pumping rate. Another risk these patients face is the fact that they are susceptible to recurrent episodes which could lead to heart failure, pump failure and congestive heart failure.

Diagnosis:

In most cases a silent heart attack is not diagnosed until after it happens. Here are the tests that a doctor would use to diagnose this condition:

• An electrocardiogram (ECG),
•  2 -D ECHO-color Doppler ,
• The presence of cardiac enzymes (proteins which are released by the dead heart muscle) which are usually elevated in case of a heart attack.

Treatment:

• Medications that thin the blood and make it easier for blood to travel through the arteries.
• Anti-arrhythmics (medicines that keep a check on heart rhythm) help to decrease the formation of blood clots.
• Managing high blood pressure helps to reduce the risk of further damage to the heart and other major organs.
• Modifying lifestyle
• Control of diabetes
• Controlling  high cholesterol and triglyceride levels
• Eating a heart healthy diet of fruits, vegetables, nuts and lean meats
• Getting the proper rest and exercise

While most people don’t think they are likely to have a serious condition like a heart attack, there are a few who have a  higher risk than other people. People who have a family history of the disease, are overweight, have diabetes or  have high blood pressure tend to suffer from silent heart attacks. Doctors advice that people with heart disease should go in for early definitive test like a coronary angiography and if required an angioplasty or by-pass surgery. Multiple aggressive counselling sessions are required for a person to get convinced for definitive management. In addition to this the fear of surgery pushes people to try out short-cuts which in turn can be more dangerous.

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The risk factors included in this study were high waist circumference, high blood pressure, high levels of triglycerides and fasting glucose and low levels of high density lipoprotein or HDL ‘good’ cholesterol. For five weeks, the men followed a standard North American diet which is high in fats, carbohydrates, refined sugar and red meat. For a second five weeks, they ate a Mediterranean-style diet, which is high in fruits, vegetables and whole grains, and low in red meat. It also included olive oil and moderate wine drinking.

The men then went on a 20-week weight-loss regime, then another five weeks of Mediterranean eating. Regardless of whether patients lost weight, following the Mediterranean-style diet resulted in a 9 percent decrease in levels of low density lipoprotein (LDL) known as ‘bad’ cholesterol.

Similarly, blood concentrations of the protein part of the lipoprotein, called apolipoproteinB, dropped 9 per cent after eating Mediterranean-style. Apolipoprotein plays an important role in lipid transport and metabolism.

‘The Mediterranean-style diet, or MedDiet, may be recommended for effective management of the metabolic syndrome and its related risk of cardiovascular disease,’ Caroline Richard, M.Sc., study lead author and a registered dietician and Ph.D. candidate in nutrition under the mentorship of Benoit Lamarche, Ph.D. at Laval University in Quebec, Canada said. Read more about the common queries related to cholesterol here. 

Weight loss is a topic of concern for nearly 36 percent of Americans who are considered obese. There are many barriers that can interfere with weight loss. For those attending face-to-face weight loss programmes, barriers can include travel, conflict with work and home, need for child care, and loss of anonymity.

In a study released in the new issue of the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, investigators from the University of Kansas Medical Center continue to explore alternative weight management delivery methods to eliminate some of these barriers. Debra Sullivan, lead investigator, says: ‘Although we found weight loss was significantly greater for face-to-face compared to virtual reality, weight maintenance was significantly better for virtual reality.’

The virtual reality weight maintenance programme was conducted using Second Life, a web-based virtual reality environment available to the public. Participants in Second Life create virtual representations of themselves, called ‘avatars’, which can interact with other ‘avatars’ and navigate through the virtual world of Second Life.

Voice communication is accomplished via headset, which allows for person-to-person and group interaction. Education and training takes place on an ‘island’, which is purchased from Second Life and provides restricted group access to the nutrition education and training area.

Source: IANS

Now it’s not hard to fall for these scams and I have been taken in once or twice myself when I was an obese adolescent. When you’re fat, you are willing to do anything and everything to lose weight except eat right and exercise. Unsurprisingly, none of them worked and I didn’t lose any weight until I underwent a hard year of dieting and exercising and managed to shave off 37 kg in nine months.

So how do you spot a bogus weight loss product/service/treatment?

It’s not hard to spot these conniving products and services. All of them will have most of the following features:

• They will promise to get rid of a lot of weight in a short duration of time without any effort or hard work on your part.
• They will have shady-looking before-and-after pictures where the after pictures will have no resemblance to the before ones or look like the works of a photo-editor.
• They will promise to give back your money if the products don’t work.
• They will claim their products have been scientifically proven to be efficient but will fail to explain exactly how.
• While their websites or advertisements will have thousands of testimonials of how these products changed their lives, you’d be hard pressed to find anyone in real life or neutral internet forums who will claim the same.
• They will have people featuring as doctors (or people in white coats) claiming that these products work.
• If you ever ask them exactly how their products work, they will be at a loss for words.

If you ever do a Google search for these products and check the comments on sites other than the ones selling them,  you will come across thousands of comments from consumers who had been taken in by their tall claims and have lost a great deal of time and money without any noticeable benefit. Just take a look at the consumer complaints various weight loss products receive.

Now these products pop up in various forms. Here are the different varieties of weight loss products or services that you will come across:

Weight loss pills

Most weight loss pills work on the principle of appetite suppression. They affect a region of the brain called hypothalamus which regulates your appetite. Another type is those that are prescription fat blockers which inhibit an enzyme called lipase. Normally, when we eat food with fat in them, the lipase breaks down the fat when it enters the intestinal tract, but with the inhibitor, a per cent of the fat is removed from the body through bowel movements instead of being absorbed. Other fat loss pills are simply loaded with a lot of caffeine which gives you an impetus to burn fat by working out for longer periods (I’ve tried them myself and you can work out for three hours straight without feeling tired, however they are harmful in the long run and very addictive).

Why they don’t work: Most fat loss pills don’t work because their effects wear out the moment you stop taking them. Also, they need to be supplemented with regular diet and exercise (the supplements need to be supplemented, the irony isn’t lost here), in a sense they’re catalysts rather than miracle pills, and unless you watch what you eat and workout, they won’t work. In the long run, people who use them, develop tolerance and the drug stops being of any effect.

Dangerous side-effects:  Side-effects vary from person to person and the drug used. Expert nutritionist Shilpa Mittal has seen many clients scammed into using these products, ‘Most pills are either suppressants or stimulants that hinder the absorption of fat into your body. Subsequently, they can also hinder the absorption of other essential nutrients and vitamins. They’ve also been known to increase the heart rate, blood pressure and cause other gastrointestinal side-effects like constipation,’ she said. They can also cause heavy sweating, insomnia, mood swings, headaches and anxiety.

Update:  DNP or 2, 4 Dinitrophenol has been the news recently for causing two deaths in the UK. In the last two months we have come across news about two youngsters in the UK who passed away after taking DNP – a popular weight loss drug among bodybuilders. The first was an 18-year-old Indian student who was an avid bodybuilder and the second a 23-year-old medical student who was suffering from bulimia – an eating disorder. 

Despite being banned in the 1938 the yellow pills are available widely on the internet and very popular with the bodybuilding community. The drug is yellow and odourless and was earlier used as a herbicide and fungicide. It was launched as a slimming aid in the 1930s but was promptly banned due to side-effects.  Depending on the amount consumed, symptoms vary from nausea, vomiting, restlessness, flushed skin, sweating, dizziness, headaches, palpitations and could even lead to coma and death.

These two deaths show how dangerous weight loss pills can be and why you shouldn’t consume them in the hope to shed weight quickly. 

Meal replacement shakes

Now I am not talking about whey protein shakes here that are usually consumed by gym-goers but shakes that will claim to help you lose weight and that you should consume in place of a regular meal. They work on the premise that they’re providing you with all the vital nutrients your body needs and cuts down the fat intake and unhealthy calories.  I tried the Herbal Life Meal Replacement shakes, seven years ago and while I did initially lose a couple of kilos in the first month, I soon found that I couldn’t sustain myself on shakes instead of meals.

Do they work?

Eating is a physical and psychological activity. It’s a ritual, a social activity and not just about getting the amount of nutrients you need. There’s the physical act of actually taking the food into your mouth and chewing on it and tasting those food items. Most normal people would find it very hard to survive on these shakes for a long period of time and their original weight would return the moment they go back to their old eating habits. Of course, meal replacement shakes can be used in certain circumstances when you don’t have the time or facilities to prepare a meal but they’re in general not a long-term solution for weight loss.

Side-effects: Going on a drastic diet of meal replacements could be dangerous for various reasons. You would be suddenly starving yourself, which could lead to fatigue and feeling of general tiredness. It could affect your digestive health by cutting down on fibre intake (they don’t have enough of the green stuff) and you could also be adding too much protein (meal replacement shakes are usually high in protein) in your diet which would be bad for your kidney and other internal organs.

Sauna belts

If you’ve ever seen late night television, you’ve seen blonde Caucasian women exclaiming vehemently in Hindi about this ‘amazing’ product.  It looks something like a WWE (erstwhile WWF) belt that you wear over your abdomen where it vibrates like crazy and heats up the abdomen area (I actually had one of these). The logic behind it is that this vibration will help burn fat in your abdomen area and you simply sweat out the fat.

Do they work?

Of all the different weight loss products in the market, this one has to be the most useless and ludicrous. While you will lose a certain amount of water in that area, various studies have shown that it doesn’t really cause any weight loss in the long run. Also, it’s like believing that simply sitting in a steam room will help you lose weight. The only thing that will happen is you will get rid of the some of the water from your body, which will return the moment you eat and drink normally.

Side-effects: Wearing the belt for long periods can lead to dehydration which is bad for your body and causes nausea. Some users have also reported skin burns, rashes and stomach pain.

Slimming Centres

Another mode of weight loss which has taken urban India by storm is slimming centres. These are different from gyms and look to help people lose weight simply by dieting and other forms of exercise-free weight loss procedures. These are different from bariatric or weight loss surgeries or procedures like liposuction which can be only be done by professional surgeons and are suggested for grossly-obese individuals.

These slimming centres usually employ two methods of operation. They ask their clients to follow a low calorie, crash diet and employ procedures like lipolysis to get rid of fat from stubborn areas. Lipolysis is an aesthetic procedure and still viewed with suspicion by many people in the medical community and various health warnings against the procedure have been given by authorities in the US and the UK. However, they continue to be offered in India.  They also charge a humungous amount. One session of lipolysis could cause anywhere between Rs 10,000 to Rs 20,000, and you would need at least 3-5 sessions to lose 5-6 inches. That means you will spend over Rs 60,000 for a procedure that has been castigated by the leading medical professionals around the world.

Do they work?

While lipolysis may work in the short term to destroy fat that has accumulated in areas like the buttocks, abdomen and thighs, it’s not a solution for obesity. Also the crazy diets that these slimming centres hand out are impossible to follow in the long run and all the weight you’ve lost will come back when you return to your normal eating habits.

Side effects: Lipolysis can lead to discomfort after the initial treatment. Some people also experience light swelling, redness, a burning sensation and some light bruises. The crash diet might lead to fatigue, tiredness and other unhealthy consequences like a weaker immune system because your body won’t be getting the nutrients it needs to function properly. For other harmful effects of crash diets, read this article by expert nutritionist Dr Richa Shrivastava.

Herbal products

You will find various other weight loss products which label themselves ‘herbal’ or ‘Ayurvedic’ and claim that they based on ancient weight loss techniques either from India or China. The truth is that western medicine doesn’t quite understand how herbs facilitate weight loss and some of them might actually work. In India, everyday ingredients like flaxseed, green tea, cinnamon, black pepper and other herbs are used for weight loss procedures and a lot of products will claim to have these ingredients. The problem is ascertaining whether they actually have these products and whether they will be helpful.

Do they work?

Now enough research hasn’t been carried out to ascertain how exactly they help you lose weight. For example, imagine that you replace your daily latte or cappuccino with green tea. You will be cutting down the calorie intake and still get your caffeine kick but does that make green tea a weight loss product? Additionally, green tea does contain antioxidants which enhance your metabolism but you won’t lose weight just by drinking that stuff. Adds nutritionist Shilpa Mittal, ‘Herbal products can certainly increase the metabolic rate but it’s important to keep in mind that alone they won’t help and you need a proper diet and exercise to get the maximum results.’

Side effects: The first problem with these products is finding out whether they actually contain the herbs, many of them don’t.  Also, several herbs have been found to have dangerous side effects. For example, herbal laxatives such as senna and aloe can lead to constipation. Ephedra (also called ma huang in Chinese) has been linked to various heart-related conditions like palpitations, stroke, chest pain, etc. and has been banned by the US FDA. One could make a case for marijuana for weight loss too actually (all my pothead friends were reed thin) but then there’s the side-effect of being constantly zoned out, slightly elevated intellectual capacity and wanting things like world peace!

PS – I am just kidding.

To take or not to take?

Now the question to whether one should use these products and treatment methods should best be left to the user. One thing I can assure is most of them are useless products and not much more effective than placebo. They are mostly sold by companies which look to prey on the insecurities of people suffering from body image issues. There’s no alternative to hard work, if you want to lose weight all you have to do is eat right and exercise – it’s that simple. Believe me, there’s nothing more exhilarating than peeking into the mirror and seeing a completely different, thin and fit stranger staring back at you.  

Losing weight is not just about sweating it out for hours in the gym, but also about what you eat. Many people may work out regularly but not see any results as they do not eat the right food. Having junk or unhealthy food can ruin the hard work you put in in the gym in no time. Our expert Shilpa Mittal, a renowned dietician, gives tips and a sample diet for those who want to lose weight.

According to me, if one wants to lose weight, their diet should be as close to their normal diet as possible; only then will they be able to stick to it. Otherwise one tends to discontinue the diet or does not follow it regularly. So, if you are a south Indian who enjoys his dosas and idlis, the diet should include these but in a low-fat form.

Here are a few tips before I share the sample diet for weight loss:

For weight loss, a healthy and balanced diet is a must as it helps maintain your metabolic rate, gives you energy, maintains the shine and lustre of your hair and skin and if a person has any medical issue, the diet helps to prevent it or at least lowers the medicine dosage.

Diet for weight loss involves a healthy lifestyle change – you do not need to follow a particular diet to lose weight but you need to eat healthy. It should be based on your likes, dislikes, culture, schedule, and a pattern that you are willing to accept and follow in your daily life.

Apart from diet, one needs to engage themselves in some kind of physical exercise like walking, cycling, swimming, dancing, jogging, etc. This is essential to burn fat and keep the metabolic rate in control. Here is sample diet plan for weight loss that I have been promising you:

Breakfast: Start your day with milk and cornflakes, or milk and poha/upma. If you are from northern India, and are into eating parathas, you can still have them but make them healthy. Instead of just aloo paratha have potato mixed with other vegetables and use less of oil/ghee/butter. Similarly, if you are from southern India, you can have idlis, dosa, uttappa but avoid medu wada since that is fried. You can even opt for egg omelette or sandwiches.

Lunch: This can consist of a proper meal like rotis/ bhakri with vegetables, salads and a source of protein from dal/curd/ sprouts/ non-veg dishes like eggs, fish, chicken plus a small helping of rice. Avoid pickles and papads.  

Snacks: This can be mixed dry fruits, seasonal fruits or any fruit you like or a handful of roasted channa or kurmuras.

Dinner: Preferably opt for an early dinner and it can be just like lunch or it can be a single wholesome meal like khicdhi, pulav, briyani.

Other important things to keep in mind:

Have small frequent meals. Do not keep long gaps between your meals as it reduces the metabolic rate. Do not skip breakfast, have a healthy wholesome breakfast. Do some kind of physical activity at least for 30minutes, 4-6 times a week. Eat 2 fruits and 3 servings of veggies to get good amount of fibre which will help you lose weight. Stay hydrated by drinking good amount of water. Avoid junk foods, sweets, too much of biscuits, fried and bakery products. Avoid fried foods, jams and instead fruit juices have raw fruits.

Follow these simple tips to lose weight and maintain a healthy lifestyle to keep fit for the rest of your life. 

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The ‘America’s Got Talent’ judge thinks it is important to stay in shape for the sake of her own self-esteem. ‘Having been in the fashion industry for many years it is important for me to stay in shape, plus with my busy schedule it helps me to stay energised throughout the day.  ‘And like any woman, I want to feel attractive and confident so I can wear hot dresses and heels,’ said the 39-year-old who has four children.

Source: IANS

The survey, which was conducted by diet supplement company Forza on 750 people, found that about 65 per cent people said that they were more likely to hit the junk food after a bad day at work, while 28 per cent said that they tended to comfort eat between 3 pm and 5 pm, the Daily Express reported.

The company’s chief executive Lee Smith said that ‘Fat o’clock’ was a nightmare for all dieters. He said that one is especially vulnerable during these time slots, adding that it would be useful to know the times of those danger spots so people can eat more sensibly on those days.