The great thing about home workouts is that you don’t actually have to go anywhere per se and could just end up making the best of this lockdown simply by following a few home workouts that you might have come across.

In order to help make the transition for you easier, we have here a few tips and tricks that could definitely make the whole process much easier. Have a look!

Take your pick

Welcome to the quarantine home workout life! From here on out things will definitely start getting clearer for people who are essentially beginners. So what is the first thing you need to do in order to ensure that you are able to carry through your home workout sincerely? Well, take your pick! There are so many different kinds of workouts that you can indulge in, that it can get quite confusing as to what you should follow.

From yoga and aerobics to dancing and cardio, all you have got to do is to decide what kind of workout suits your style and what you enjoy doing the most! Another amazing thing about this is that even if you tend to get bored with a particular workout routine, you could just rotate and mix and match the different kinds of workouts! Trust us, this might just be the best time for you to start working out!

Choose a space

You would be astonished to know what a huge difference it can make to your home workout routine when you have a particular space that you have allotted to your workouts. When you decide to set up space solely for your workouts, you are ensuring that you lay down a foundation to help you get the best from your home workouts.

When you set up space, you are mentally preparing yourself to make a commitment towards a better and healthier lifestyle, knowing that you would be working out during the time you are home. The best part? This does not have to just have to be established merely until the lockdown is over. You could very well keep working out at home post the lifting of the lockdown too!

Improvise

If you are someone who is used to working out with certain kinds of equipment at that gym of yours, then you might initially find working out at home slightly irritating. This is where you can use your imagination to make the best of your home workouts. Don’t have weights at home to lift? Well, use filled water bottles instead! Trust us, they DO come in extremely handy.

Missing cardio at home? Just use a skipping rope and skip your heart out to get it all pumped up for the exercises that are to follow! Don’t know how to go about those leg presses you used to do in the gym? Well, use the sofa as the weight and lift away! Of course, do ensure that the sofa does not end up slipping from the other end!

Don’t lose muscle

This is more of an advice than a tip per se! You see, when you are sitting in one place during your work from home hours in this lockdown, the chances of you losing muscle mass always arise. This is why it is important to prevent the same. For seasoned gym hitters, make sure that when you do workouts at home, you do so till the time you are close to failure. This will help push your body further, thus helping maintain muscle mass considerably.

When targeting larger muscle groups, a set of anything between 12 and 20 a week will help and a set between 8 and 15 for smaller muscle groups will go a long way in maintaining the health of your muscles in the long run as well.

Always remember, some or the other kind of physical activity is always recommended when it comes to helping speed up your metabolism even when you are not at your most active. This, in turn, will help you healthier both physically and mentally as well during the lockdown!

So everyone, do remember to indulge in some or the other kind of physical activity during the lockdown to make sure that you come out of it healthier than you went in!

The post Tips to keep in mind when working out at home first appeared on Fit Foodies Mantra.

Fret not though, because here we have our top 3 Xmas delicacies that have been made in a healthier manner so as to make sure that the post-indulgence guilt does not weigh you down.

1. Gingerbread Cookies:

Image source: pillsbury

Ingredients:

• 1 cup atta/whole wheat flour
• ¼ tsp baking powder
• 1 heaped teaspoon of allspice powder
• ¼ tsp salt
• 2 tbsp (28g) unsalted butter or coconut oil (kept in room temperature)
• 1 large egg, room temperature or 1/2 tsp baking soda + milk, to make the consistency better
• 1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
• ¼ cup (60mL) molasses or brown sugar or you can add your choice of sweetener
• For the icing (optional)
• 10 tsp stevia
• 2 tbsp nonfat milk

Method:

• Whisk the dry and wet ingredients together, in separate bowls.
• Now stir in the dry ingredients into the wet ones.
• Keep stirring/mixing until the mixture forms a dough.
• Now wrap this dough in a plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for an hour.
• Preheat oven to 180 degree
• Take out the cookie dough and roll it out while it is between the plastic sheet. Make sure that you roll it till it is atleast 1/6^thof an inch thick
• Cut out shapes using your gingerbread man cookie mould. When there is dough remaining, roll it out again and cut out more cookies.
• Bake for not more than 15 minutes and take them out to cool.
• Once cool, mix the ingredients for the icing in a bowl and then pipe it over the cookies

2. Lemon Garlic herb roast potato:

Image source: onegreenplanet

Ingredients:

• Baby Potatoes 500 grams
• 1 1/2 tablespoons Olive Oil
• 1 tablespoon mixed herb seasoning
• 1 teaspoon chopped Garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon Sea Salt, or to taste
• Black Pepper, to taste

For the lemon herb mix:

• 3 tablespoons Olive Oil
• Zest of 1/2 a Lemon
• 1 teaspoon minced mixed herbs
• Salt/Pepper, to taste

Method:

• Preheat oven to 180 degree celsius
• Make slits in the potatoes but be careful to not cut all the way through
• Now mix the potatoes and all the other ingredients together in a large bowl (except for the ingredients for the lemon herb mix)
• Line your baking tray with a sheet and place the potatoes with the cut side up onto the tray.
• Roast the potatoes for 20 – 30 minutes
• Take them out of the oven and brush them with the combined lemon herb mix and pop them back in the oven.
• Take them out once they are cooked all the way through and drizzle them with the remaining lemon herb mix and serve hot!

3. Pumpkin and lentil stew

Image source: tastespace

Ingredients:

• 2 medium onions, thinly sliced
• 1.5 tbsp. finely chopped and peeled fresh ginger
• 2 tbsp. vegetable oil
• 1 tsp. Coriander powder
• 1/2 tsp. Ground  cardamom
• 1 small pumpkin, peeled, seeded and cut into 1 1/2″ chunks
• 1 cup lentils of your choice, picked over
• 6 cups of vegetable broth
• 3 cups of spinach
• 1 tbsp. cider vinegar

Method:

• Cook the onions and ginger on medium heat in a cooker till they turn golden.
• Add in the rest of the ingredients except for the vinegar and pressure cook for 12 minutes on medium heat.
• Once done, stir in the vinegar and season with salt and pepper to taste.
• Blend if you want a smooth consistency

Comfort food is the name of the game during the holidays, and when comfort food is made healthy, well, nothing is better is there?

The post Top 3 Xmas Delicacies made Healthier first appeared on Fit Foodies Mantra.

3 Foods to Have:

1.      Cinnamon:

Image source: wordpress.com

Cinnamon happens to be one the most antioxidant-rich spice that is available to us so freely. According to a ton of research, it has been found that cinnamon helps lower blood sugar levels to a great extent and also helps in improving sensitivity to insulin.

Apart from this, research has also shown that cinnamon, apart from lowering blood glucose levels, also helps lower cholesterol and triglyceride levels. Try to opt for Ceylon cinnamon instead of cassia cinnamon, which has been known to cause health issues if taken in high doses.

2.      Chia Seeds:
Chia seeds might just be one of the most diabetic-friendly foods that we can find in the market nowadays. This is due to the fact that chia seeds happen to be brilliantly rich in fiber while being quite low in carbohydrates.

It is viscous fiber that is present in chia seeds, which can actually help lower blood sugar levels wonderfully, as it slows down the rate in which the food we have had passes through the gut. Chia is also very effective when it comes to weight control as the fiber present in the seeds makes one feel fuller for longer.

3.      Fatty Fish:

Image source: wordpress.com

Salmon and mackerel, and even anchovies are amazing sources of omega-3 fatty acids, that are brilliantly beneficial for everyone’s heart. Since people with diabetes are at a higher risk of developing heart issues and stroke as well, fatty fish can be very beneficial for people having diabetes.

Since fish also happens to be full of protein, it also helps increase your metabolic rate quite effectively. The omega-3 fatty acids present in the fish also act as a protector for the cells that line the blood vessels in your body, and other than that also reduces inflammation.

3 Foods to Avoid:

1.      White Bread/Pasta and Rice:

Image source: wordpress.com

It is a known fact that people with diabetes should not eat foods that are high in carbs, and so including white bread or the likes are not really recommended for diabetic people. Pastas too, especially if they are labeled as gluten-free and are rice based, can have an adverse effect on the blood sugar levels.

Since these are mostly processed foods, they contain very little fiber in them, as can prove bad for your health since fiber helps slow down the absorption of sugar into the blood from the food. If you do want to have breads or pastas, try using high-fiber alternatives.

2.      Dried Fruit:
Many fruits are quite good for people with diabetes, but that does not mean that you decide to indulge in any fruit variant that you might get in the market. Fruits, when in their natural form, are full of vitamins and minerals that are very beneficial for your health. But this changes when the fruit is subjected to drying.

When dried, the natural content in the fruits is lost, as a result of which the concentration of the nutrients and components present in the fruit, increase to a great extent. This might sound like a good thing to you, but remember, even the sugar content in the fruit increases, which is not really a good thing for diabetics, is it?

3.      Fruit Juice: 

Image source: wordpress.com

It might shock you to know that, for diabetics, fruits juices and sodas/sugary drinks pretty much have the same effect on the body. Even unsweetened or 100% sugar-free juices are not exempt from this rule.

Fruit juices happen to be full of fructose, and this very fructose is one that is very harmful and renders the insulin resistant and also leads to obesity and various heart diseases. Instead, try indulging in water that has been infused with the goodness of lemons, mint and the likes.

We hope that we were able to answer a few of the questions that you might have had regarding this disease. Remember, diabetes is something that CAN be controlled effectively, merely by following a healthy and balanced diet!

The post Foods to have and avoid for people with diabetes first appeared on Fit Foodies Mantra.

The basic cause of diabetes is the inability of the body to produce the right amount of insulin in order to help control the blood sugar spikes that commonly affect people suffering from diabetes. Controlling your blood sugar levels are of utmost importance, since if one is not able to control their glucose levels, then it can lead to many health complications in the long run.

Importance of controlling blood sugar levels:

If you are a person suffering from diabetes, then it becomes all the more important to control your blood sugar levels to make sure that they do not cause further health issues. There is a particular desired range that diabetic patients and even people not suffering from are advised to stick to, and when one talks about diabetes control, then they are essentially referring to how close a person can stick to that particular range to ensure a better control over their glucose levels.

Too high or too low blood sugar levels are not a great sign of good sugar control and can be caused due to a number of issues like:

• Not following a particular/prescribed meal plan
• Skip or stop taking the prescribed medicines
• Not checking blood sugar levels regularly
• Less or too much exercise

Problems that could arise from not controlling blood sugar levels:

Short-term problems:

• Hyperglycaemia: Hyperglycaemia arises when the blood sugar levels rise above the normally indicated levels. This can be due to the fact that the body is not able to produce the desired levels of insulin to help control the sugar levels effectively. As a result of this, a diabetic might experience excessive thirst, increased urination, and in some cases, also unexplained weight loss.
• Hypoglycemia: Hypoglycaemia is the opposite of hyperglycemia, as it occurs when a diabetic person’s blood sugar levels fall below the normal levels. If left uncontrolled, then it can get potentially life-threatening. People who go into hypoglycemic mode can suffer from fatigue, blurry vision, seizures and even loss of consciousness in some cases.

Long-term problems:

• Damage to organs like kidney, eyes, heart, and nerves
• Stroke
• Vision problems
• Kidney issues
• Heart Diseases

However, the good news is that diabetes is one disease that can be brought under control with the right kind of medications, exercise, and food.

Foods That Matter

There are many foods that can help you effectively control your blood sugar levels and keep complications and issues at bay.

• Leafy Greens:

Leafy green vegetables are extremely nutritious and low in calories too. Another benefit of eating leafy green vegetables is that they are also low in carbs that are the core reason for raising your blood sugar levels.

Vegetables like spinach and kale are brilliant sources of various vitamins and minerals, especially Vitamin C. According to studies, it has been found that intake of Vitamin C in people suffering from diabetes, helps reduce inflammation and even fasting blood sugar levels effectively.

• Chia Seeds:

High in fiber and extremely low in digestible carbohydrate, chia seeds happen to be a miracle food when it comes foods that people with diabetes can consume. Chia seeds contain viscous fiber which has been known to even lower blood sugar levels considerably, as it helps to lower the rate at which food passes down one’s gut and also the rate at which it is absorbed.

The fiber in chia seeds, also make you feel fuller and reduce your appetite to help one achieve a healthy weight as well.

• Cinnamon:

Cinnamon has been used for over centuries on end due to its anti-oxidant properties. It has also been found that cinnamon helps lower blood sugar levels considerably and also helps the body’s sensitivity towards insulin.

Apart from this, cinnamon has also been known to reduce triglyceride levels and control cholesterol as well.

What you need to remember when it comes to diabetes control is that it is something that can be done, and quite easily at that, by merely being disciplined about what you eat, your activity levels and the medicines you take. It is a disease that can be controlled, provided you take care to remember all these things!

The post Why is it important to control diabetes and foods that help you do it! first appeared on Fit Foodies Mantra.