LCHF Journal - Introduction

Well, for all the people who knows what LCHF is very good. For the newbies to this concept; let me take you through it. 

LCHF a.k.a Banting, Ketogenic or Paleo lifestyle simply translates to Low Carbohydrates High Fat Diet. Yes! You heard it right, High FAT. 

In other words, quoting from http://www.dietdoctor.com/lchf  

"An LCHF diet means you eat fewer carbohydrates and a higher proportion of fat. Most importantly you minimize your intake of sugar and starches. You can eat other delicious foods until you are satisfied – and still lose weight.

A number of recent high-quality scientific studies shows that LCHF makes it easier both to lose weight and to control your blood sugar. And that’s just the beginning."

It is called Banting because it was re-discovered by a Mr.William Banting, an obese undertaker who gave up all the Carbs & Grains in his diet and lost a lot of weight and cured his obesity, diabetes & hypertension. It is called Keto, because it breaks your healthy fatty acids converting into ketone bodies which used as fuel in your body substituting glucose.

After all my research and a lot of reading, I decided to convert to this lifestyle. Living in India where 80% of your food consists of carbohydrates in the form of Rice, Rotis, Dosa, Upma, Dhokla et al, it seems really difficult to go on Low Carbs & High Healthy Fat. Difficult but not Impossible. Especially, all my folks have been reacting & saying things like "You will die of heart disease, if you eat fat" etcetera. Well, these people need to do some research and then come & tell me that. All evidence pointing to contrary there. 

It is my Day two on this diet where at the moment i am on roughly this ratio 60% Fat, 25% Protein &15% Carbohydrates. I have constant energy throughout the day, unlike the topsy turvy sugar rushes that i used to have. Will share Diet Plans for all Indian LCHF enthusiasts soon.

Ciao! 

Of Travel & Trains!

I love trains. Especially that feeling you get when you are in between places. I think that feeling comes with one constantly on the move. 

I am sitting at the window of the train and just letting it sink in. The detachment from the world, the feeling of a constant flux. Of being every where and of being no where. The eerie calm. I cannot express that into words but i am sure everyone experiences it when they travel. 

A lonely star, actually a planet is visible through my window while I try to slumber. I  would like to think its Venus. I wish i had a camera which could capture the beauty of it all. My eyes do. Its there most of the times, bright & fiery looking at me but sometimes it hides in the clouds making me get up to search for it. 

There was a friend of mine who was going away; and cheesy as it was we made a pact. Its one of the perks of being kids; one doesn't have to feel ashamed of all the cheesiness & corniness of things one does. I told her to always look at Venus whenever we think of each other. Because it will be there, always. This reminds me of that. But what's ironical is I fail remember which friend it was. 

Life is so like Life sometimes. 

Rain & Melancholy!

Its raining right now. Makes me think of this.


“There are a hundred things she has tried to chase away the things she won't remember and that she can't even let herself think about because that's when the birds scream and the worms crawl and somewhere in her mind it's always raining a slow and endless drizzle.

You will hear that she has left the country, that there was a gift she wanted you to have, but it is lost before it reaches you. Late one night the telephone will sign, and a voice that might be hers will say something that you cannot interpret before the connection crackles and is broken.
Several years later, from a taxi, you will see someone in a doorway who looks like her, but she will be gone by the time you persuade the driver to stop. You will never see her again. 
Whenever it rains you will think of her. ” 



Its a quote by Neil Gaiman. Rain does that to you. Makes you nostalgic about a million things that have happened while still making you eerily calm.

And whenever it rains I think of this. This quote. Thats all. 

Book Review - Americanah

Americanah by Chimamnda Ngozi Adichie 

I came to know about this book while flipping through goodreads recommendations, looking at the cover I thought 'Hmmm... I might like this book.' And I was not wrong. 

This is a book about Ifemlu; a girl growing up in Nigeria, where one struggles for basic needs like running water, electricity, et al. She has friends who keep going abroad mostly America and eventually have plans to move out of their homeland, And then she falls in love with Obinze. And their struggles growing up, moving to different countries, identity issues, diaspora. racism & longing for a home. Its witty, funny, heart wrenching at times and very very realistic. 

I never like books based in developing or underdeveloped countries, it reminds me of the struggles and the plight of people living in India. And usually, these novels are overly exaggerated versions of the reality and mostly cater to the white audience. Whereas this novel is totally different, it appeals to one & all the same. Nothing hyped up or exaggerated. You come to know the nuances of the African culture and small things which make the people there different from the others.

Some noteworthy quotes in Americanah:

"Why did people ask "What is it about?" as if a novel had to be about only one thing.” 

"But of course it makes sense because we are Third Worlders and Third Worlders are forward-looking, we like things to be new, because our best is still ahead, while in the West their best is already past and so they have to make a fetish of that past.Remember this is our newly middle-class world. We haven’t completed the first cycle of prosperity, before going back to the beginning again, to drink milk from the cow’s udder.” 

 

My Ratings: 4 out of 5

Do I recommend it? Yes, Of course.

Will I re-read it? I don't think so. 

 

Driving in to the Ironical

I just finished reading a book about the struggles of migrating from a third world country to a first world country and was pondering when Mr. D called and we started talking about Driving. 

Driving a car in India is very difficult. You have to look forward, keep checking the rear-view mirror, keep correcting the side view mirror angles as the bikers somehow keep banging into them, try keeping your car at a safe distance in traffic, avoid driving close to Autorickshaws and Buses and many such judgement calls. There are just three rules to drive; Stop at Traffic Signals, Try not to use cellphones while driving & Don't Park in a no parking zone. For me it is like meditation, because when i am driving i cant allow any thoughts in my head else will end up with a huge dent on the doors of my car. Its also a good anxiety buster, I always tell my friends that whenever one is feeling anxious; one should just go for a drive. It sure will distract you enough to ease your worrisome feelings about an important meeting the next day or about your job interview results. 

The most ironic part about driving in India is the driving test. I was just asked to make an '8' in a an already made track without any traffic or trucks & buses to dodge. It almost made me laugh. I passed and made an '8' and got my driving license in three working days.

Whereas, in a first world country driving is so easy. There are so many rules but still driving feels like a piece of cake that does get monotonous after a while. There are no potholes to look for, no judgement calls about Autorickshaw that would take a sharp turn out of the blue or the holy Cow that will decide to sprawl on half of the road. Adrenaline free driving. Almost boring from my paradigm. 

But the driving tests, OMG! There are theory classes, practical classes, theoretical tests, Night driving classes, practical tests. It takes almost a month to obtain a license to drive. They make it so damn difficult. I wonder why the test is so easy here and driving so difficult & the other way around in a developed country????

Its Ironical is what it is. Sigh!

30 day calendar of Healthy Eating Part Uno!

Finally i decided its time to take up a project as my readers' block is here to stay! So it was time for me to now take my health into my hands (which somehow always was; and i never bothered).

The first thing i concentrated was on what I am eating. I wondered is there something like eating right for being fit? All the books and articles about the topic lead me to eating food for weight loss or starving for weight loss. The idea of weight loss repels me, I am happy with what I am. I want to eat to be fit. As 'D' says "fitness is not a trend; its a lifestyle".

After a lot of research on nutrition, minerals & vitamins needed for the body to function well, I decided to change following habbits of mine:

•  Eating three heavy meals a day
• Loading up on Carbohydrate rich food like Rice, Bread
• Avoid processed food. Actually throw them out of the house.
• Mid afternoon heavy duty snacks & tea in office with some gossip.
• Midnight snacks. 

Instead I started implementing these ones:

• Eating five small meals a day
• Restricting Carbohydrates to 30 gms per day.
• Increasing the good 'fat' intake. Yes! you heard it right. I said increasing fat intake. 
• Increase intake of vegetables, fruits, nuts & seeds. 
• Green Tea/ Infused Tea/ Kashmiri Kehwa thrice a day
• Keeping a food diary & tracking my meals. 

After 30 days of rigorously following this i felt a huge difference. I was more active, happier, slept better. Actually slept around 8 hrs a day; which was impossible seeing how I have always been an insomniac. I no longer feel anxious, angry or sad. My mood swings have reduced a lot and Guess what! Even 'D' has noticed the change in me. 

Only by implementing this i gained around 1 kg. Wait!!! Hear the rest; I also lost around 1.5 inches all around. Just by eating right. Almost Magical. :) 

A Blessing! Ceralip Lip Repair Cream

How Ceralip helped when no other lip balm did the trick.

What La Roche Posay says about this product:

CERALIP LIPID-REPLENISHING LIP CREAM

FRAGRANCE-FREE, PARABEN-FREE

Reconstitutes severely dry, chapped lips, and can be used after medical treatments. Restores skin comfort. Fragrance-free, preservative-free, CERALIP minimises the risks of intolerance.

Ingredients:

CAPRYLIC/CAPRIC TRIGLYCERIDE

PPG-5 PENTAERYTHRITYL ETHER

PEG-5 PENTAERYTHRITYL ETHER

BUTYROSPERMUM PARKII / SHEA BUTTER FRUIT

CERA ALBA / BEESWAX

HYDROGENATED VEGETABLE OIL

SILICA DIMETHYL SILYLATE

GLYCINE SOJA / SOYBEAN STEROL

CITRIC ACID

BHT My Views:  I suffer from severe chapped, dry & cracked lips which are extremely sensitive to sun. Plus had a bad lip allergy after my trial & error with Faces Lipsticks and had to visit the dermatologist. That's when i was introduced to Ceralip with certain other medications. I am strictly against using any kind of topical steroids, so i skipped the medication and just used ceralip for around 2 days and WHOOPIE my lips became fuller, dermatitis vanished and lips were super hydrated. That was last year! I have finished three tubes of Ceralip Lip Repair Cream since then.  The Lipids in the cream promotes cell regeneration and maintains it. I do not have to worry about finding the best lip balm in the world any more, since i have found ceralip already. It is a translucent formula which looks exactly like Petroleum Jelly and is non-sticky, Fragrance, Paraben & preservative free. I never leave home without Ceralip in my bag! The only drawback is that it is a bit on the expensive side and can be pocket pinching most of the times.  Cost: INR 590/- Availability: Mor Medicals (Hyderabad), Oliva Skin Clinics (Hyderabad) & online (Amazon & Junglee) Ratings: 4.5/5