Meet Me at The Gym!

sameerjb #91 actually i would not recommend fasting as a way to break the sugar habit. fasting is like crash dieting, which is self-defeating, as i discussed earlier. moderation, rather than heroic sacrifices like skipping meals of day long fasts, is the key to success in diet (as it is in politics, i may add).

incidentally. i am quite comfortable with my dietary habits and see no reason to change. i take a half spoon sugar and a bit of milk with my tea for example - but then i drink just one or two cups of cups a day at most and i dont think this little luxury will kill me. also, there are other things in tea besides antioxidents (caffeine e.g.) and so once again i think moderation is the key here. green tea is much better than black for antioxidents incidentally - and my wife is attempting to switch both of us over to green tea and in due course we might do that.

UmarMurtaza #90 gee whiz! 5 stars!! maybe i better open up a health food shop now.

If I had read all these informative postings, I could have saved the fat fees my doctor charges for all this free advice. Don`t eat any whites - Rice, pasta, patatoes. Eat only meat(chicken) green veges and fruit. And yes walk at a good pace for at least half and hour every day.

Umer Murtaza:
I drink 7-8 cups of tea per day. It would be too much sugar (sucrose) per day if I add a spoon per day. At least half the posts, I have written from home are accompanied by a cup of tea as this one too.

Anti-oxidants are found in most food because it is part of natural defense mechanism for all forms of life. Oxidation starts with the loss of an electron and anti-oxidants, not necessarily electrons rich, but efficient in transfering an electron to the oxidizing material and sometime sacrifice themselves in the process.

Mammals, except human, produce large quantities of anti-oxidants to survive more polluted environment. As the theory goes, human used to produce large quantities of it too but during evolution and keeping environment clean, cooking food before eating decreased the necessity to produce large quantities of anti-oxidants. That is why, many scientists led by peeran-e-peer dastgeer hazrat Linus Pauling (may his miracles be sanctified, rehmat ullah aleh) forwarded suggestion to take anti oxidant suppliments to strengthen immunity to infections and allergies in addition to slowing down of ageing process. For the last 10 years, I have been taking one gram pill of vitamin C everyday in the morning without any vitamin poisoning. That is my way of belonging to silsila-e-Paulingia.

tanmed:
The best way to break dependency or addiction of anything including sugar, particularly those whose metabolism produce fructose (sucrose, honey) is to fast. I would suggest one day sugar fast (totally without carbohydrates), one day meat fast, one day smoking fast and so on. Give body a rest from routine, as sabath day, weekly or biweekly or monthly. The effect of fast is very powerful cleansing effect, particularly if accompanied with drinking large quantity of water. It is like applying brakes to moving car until it stops. Next day you do not start from the level brakes were applied but much lower. Pulsed addiction is better than continous addiction. If it was not for the night (basically a fasting state), the smokers would have shortened their lives much more than non-smokers.

[As they say, everything good in life is illegal, immoral of fattening. Damn, damn, damn. ]

True! It is a constant war and the famous chinese book, ``art of war`` applies much more to life than geo-political wars. It is a constant war between various energetics and dynamics. Each chemical or biological reaction is a war. The enzymes are equivalent of high tech wepons, faster killing, perfect targetting etc. Human body perfected enzyme catalysis the way now laser guided, GPS guided and heat seaking missiles perform. We know so much about the working of human machine now and should use the information to make it run efficiently.

Nazarhayat:
Actually I did not know about peelo either. Never had it. Next time in Pakistan, I will try to find it for the taste. I love tasting. Other day I tasted a Colombian specialty. It was a sausage made from cooking rice in cow`s blood with some spices - one bite was enough, never again.

dost-mittar:
I also think that rice in Panjab is rather recent (few centuries) adaptation. The basmati itself has been traced back to a highland variety from some area in Afghanistan. Aryans, Scythians and huns could not possibly have brought this chinese grain to India.

Sobia:
????????????? - whats next? Meet Me in Lahore or Lahore-Islamabad Motoeway?

Ah yes, summer is here and every body is going through the ritual of showing a little bit of flesh. I did the same, wearing only a sleeveless vest when the terrified population thought that the beast of Bodmore had been loosened. I was netted and chained by the authorities and taken to the London zoo and placed along with the bears. Upon closer inspection, they found out who I was and whilst shaking their head in embarrassment…they moved me in with the apes.

In fury I protested but the froth and saliva muffled my English so all that the security could understand was:

`Oonga boonga, lumba pumba. Oonga boonga wooh wooh ah ah ah ah!`

It just so happened that a team of palaeontologists were studying the behaviour of savage apes. When they heard my protestations, they saw in me capabilities that were above the apes`. My jaw was less protrusive. My forehead was high and wide. The temporal regions of my skull were swelled, demonstrating that I had a high capacity to integrate, create and compose information from various senses. I was demonstrating intelligence!

`Could it be?` said Dr. John Smith.

`I don’t know, John,` contemplated Professor Jim Bob. `How can a human be so hairy? I mean, he`s got hair coming out of his eyeballs and fingernails.`

In rage I slapped my cousin Cocoa Pops and took the twig off him, writing on the ground, `Get me out of this f*****g place you a**munch.`

`Did you see that, Jim? He has an opposable thumb and he`s drawn symbols to tell us where he came from. I think he`s trying to communicate. Vocal cords, opposable thumb, a degree of IQ above that of our cousins.`

`I think we have our man!`

The team erupted in joy. Champagne corks arced through the air and everyone embraced everyone. At last, the journey had come to an end…

You can see me on the Natural History Museum under the heading, `The Missing Link` from Mondays to Fridays 9 am to 6.00 pm.

Umer M.

Sobia,

Exercising is so boring. I remember rowing and after half an hour, thought…what the hell am I doing? It just seems like such an artificial process. If I can’t incorporate something vigorous in my everyday work, then pah, forget it. A couple of press ups and I`m happy.

Tahmed,

5 stars! I can imagine you being a smart student who would raise his hand at the end of every question… and would sit at the front…and was probably a class monitor…and had chubby cheeks... and knobbly knees.

You know, I was about to write down a few drug names used by patients suffering from certain conditions, the important effect of these drugs being that they ultimately reduce the `weight on your hips` thingy by doing a few things here and there but then my ethics programme kicked in. So y`all can walk with your heavy grocery bags and suffer.

It`s best to exercise after a good night sleep. Your body has just undergone an 8 hour period of munchy deprivation so you can lose those carbohydrates floating around in your system quicker and then switch to burning fat, even though it`s fat which is the chief molecule burnt during sleep. Have breakfast before you exercise and that effect`s lost.

There`s a new once-a-day tablet in town which may reduce the risk of heart attacks by up to 80%. I can see it taking off in Pakistan: a pound of jalebis followed by a tablet.

Glad to hear Sameer mentioning interesting points regarding tea. I always have hot water and I try not to pour cow juice into my tea (what a liar, I`m having one with milk right now - full cream of course) for milk can sequester the antioxidants and relieve it of its therapeutic properties…is that right?

Samina mentioned Atkins diet. Load of cobblers. In a way, it`s a bit like diabetes. Think about it: no carbs but just fat and meat for utilisation. So your body will undergo the same biochemistry it does when you are a diabetic, the most dangerous effects being blood vessel damage in kidneys and eyes. Someone correct me here if I`m wrong.

But more important than your health and sanity is this…imagine the breath on you when you go through all that meat! Samina, if you want to start a family with Mr S., I suggest you either do an Atkins diet when he`s got a cold/bunged up nose or that you do not partake in such an activity:) Ho ho ho. Chortle chortle.

Umer M.

Ansari # 86

Peelo is a yellow colour small fruit like ``baer`` mostly grown in the graveyards located near villages in Punjab or in dry wilderness. It is a natural shrub requiring little rainfall or looking after.

Now , off course, our villagers have changed. They can`t do without Tea. They have Pulao/rice, regular meat, even Firnee or sweets. In old days, it was only Halwa.

saminasha #82 if you eat lots of salads and vegies, then that is all the more reason not to torture yourself by staying away from rice (basmati, texmati, whatever).

What`s a peelo?

sameerJB #81 Your mentioning of fast digestion of rice gives rise to another important point: sugar imbalance. chocolate, sweets etc. as well as carbs (including rice and wheat) are quickly converted to sugar, while high fiber food (oats, beans, good old daal, vegetables, fruits) release sugar more slowly and thus over a longer period of time. result: eating sweets and carbs creates more sugar than the body needs, thus causing it to store it for future use and so we have ``a moment on the lips, forever on the hips`` problem. it creates further problems too: insulin (which is the chowkidar that regulates entry of sugar to body cells) works less effectively on low fiber diets and thus we have even more excess sugar converted to fat. also the body tries to produce more insulin to overcome the reduced effectiveness and that ultimately can lead to diabetes (I am not a 100 percent sure on this last link with diabetes).
Things become worse as the sugar imbalance causes individuals to become hungrier sooner and thus eat more. Chocolate in particular seems to be addictive, and when deprived of chocolate the same parts of the brain are triggered as in case of known addictions like heroin. Doesnt mean one kisses good bye to chocolate - just that one does not empty the chocolate box in one day.
As they say, everything good in life is illegal, immoral of fattening. Damn, damn, damn.
:-)

Tahmed, Sameer,

You two are adorable!

I DO eat a lot of salad and veggies...but I LOVE rice...just wanted to find out where basmaati stands on the nutrition scale...its the one grain/carb that I cannot live without...and your comments are appreciated...

What do you think of the Atkins diet? Too much meat for my gahaas eating bones...

sameerJB:
``Most Punjabis eat less rice than others although plenty of rice is grown in central Panjab.``
I think that the large-scale growing of rice in Panjab (both sides) could be a recent phenomenon, due to market oriented factors. I remember the time when Basmati rice was always associated with Dehradoon whereas now it is grown mostly in Panjab.
And Panjabis in India have started to eat more rice than they used to. The reason, I think, is the same as their adoption of Hindi in preference to Panjabi. Back in the fifties and sixties, in the offices, Panjabis were usually clerks or junior officers while their bosses were south Indians, Bengalis and Biharis, so they started associating rice-eating with upper-classes.

nazar:
``My forefathers just in the last century were eating wild peelo and maize as their staple diet in Punjab.``
Back in the fifties, a refugee from Rawalpindi started a little paan-cigarette shop at the end of our street. When coca cola first came to his shop, he confidently diagnosed, ``saade-paasay peeloo honai aayeen, is ch peelooaan da swaad ae`` (we had peeloos back home, that`s what`s gives coke its flavour!).

Saminashah:
tahmed is right about the ratio of calories intake pers person for average day. In winter, more calories are needed to keep the body temperature optimum. Major problem for old people in particular with eating white or polished rice is the low fiber contents. Brown rice is much better for fiber contents. Eating rice usually leads to constipation, unless loaded with grease and some other fiber comtaining material.

Second problem with rice is its fast digestion. Body uses calories as it needs for all the bodily functions and work. The fast digestion releases heat calories in short period of time and soon you feel hungry becasue calories not used up right away are wasted or stored as fat (glycogen). It is a problem of time released calories. For mostly rice eaters, five or six smaller meals per day is appropriate option. Meat on the other hand releases calories slowly because it digests slowly. Rice is like beer. One can have 1200 calories from beer but can not spend the day on beer because calories are wasted abd not available when needed.

A very good suggestion with no chance of side effect. Drink hot tea, green or black or just hot water soon after every meal. It raises the temperature of stomach little bit and most chemical reactions (digestion) rate go up slightly. At the same time, rise in temperature decreases the efficiency of digestion because biochemical reactions are very temperature dependent. You might sweat as a result of drinking tea or hot water but it will destroy some food from ever turning into calories and digest the remaining faster. So if you count your calories in dinner to be 700, pouring a cup of hot water on it will make them more like 600, just assuming. Psychologically you will remain satisfied because your intake was appropriate.

So there you have it. Eat rice if you wish for lunch but avoid for dinner. Eat less than most people put in the plate, have fiber rich daal or vegetables to go along and have an apple or fruit meal 3-4 hours after lunch.

tahmed:
Both teas, black and green have anti-oxidants called polyphenols. Black tea has higher molecular weight polyphenols because of the oxidation reaction in sun drying. The amount of polyphenols is same in both but the theory is that higher molecular weight polyphenols are not as useful as lower mw. By the way, I am very very familiar with oxidation/ combustion, anti-oxidants chemistry.

nazarhayat khan:
Most Punjabis eat less rice than others although plenty of rice is grown in central Panjab. We are bread eater and most calories historically came from fat from milk, lassi, butter, ghee in addition to wheat flour. Rice in my urban family too was occasional and associated with holidays or celebrations. I am sure their must be many historical, anthropological factors for it but not on my mind right now.

sameerjb #71 that is good advice, which i may summarize poetically as follows:

more water
less worry
more sweating
less curry

but...
black tea with no milk or sugar?? that is going too far...how about green tea then? it has more antioxident than black tea anyway (thus offers better protection against cancers and heart attacks).

Tidbit #73 way to go. hope you keep it up. the good thing about pilates is that you dont need any equipment and can do it in the comfort of your home with the TV on and are thus not dependent on the weather for example. in addition to benefitting the back and stomach, it also exercises muscles deep inside the body that are used for balancing that dont get exercised any other way.