Thought for the day

Give a candy to a street urchin or an egg sandwich or biscuits or anything that you will and watch his face light up with unadulterated joy -  such a priceless moment! 


I made a promise this year - not to send flowers to my close friends on their birthdays - my friends know I love them anyway - I go to an orphanage instead and give them things they need - be it food or supplies and have them say a prayer for my friends! 


Feeding and educating kids - two things that are very close to me!
 

Me time!

You love your kids, your partner, your family, your friends, your work, your chores - but what about you? 


Of course there's only 24 hrs x 7 days x 4 weeks x an overcrowded 'to-do' list - but in that, make time for your own self. Don't keep everything for tomorrow - because it never comes! Time flies and before you know it, you will look back thinking "i wish i did...."


I am single - it's easy for me to find 'me time', but I constantly egg my married friends to create a little bubble for themselves every now and then - recharging the batteries - its not selfish it is essential to your well being and consequently to the ones around you! 

And when people say they don't have time I tell them about Mom!

You will read a lot about my Mom in my blogs - well she is one such woman - got married at 19 - left her studies - left the country - had her children - when i started school she went back to her studies - did her bachelors, then her masters, prepped for her PhD, wrote travelogues, acted in movies and theatre - cooked for the family every day (we didn't like anyone else' cooking you see - selfish us) - drove me to school when the driver wasn't there - looked after my grandfather - who was not the easiest person on the planet, made time for her parents, worked out, entertained, traveled and made time to play with me, vacation afternoons when I was a kid! Even today her infectious laughter lights up her eyes whenever she says or does anything! She taught me the importance of  'joie-de-vivre'  (of course she has an amazingly supportive husband to make matters a little easy) and taught me, keeping a little time for yourself is a great investment!


Do something that makes you happy to keep that spring in your step - it could be a block of chocolate - a new pedicure - that 15 min time window before the house wakes up when you sit in the balcony to have your first cuppa - or it could be those 20 surya namaskars - or a quick trip to your favorite store - that french lesson you wanted or those salsa classes - just do it ! Because tomorrow will be a long time coming!

Shoes glorious shoes!

My mom was my glamorous fashion icon -  this fabulously dynamic lady who can't be anything but an inspiration! 


Shoe fetish was ingrained in my subconscious pretty early in life - way before Sex and the City, Gossip Girl  or Lipstick Jungle and flared in to a full blown obsession with time! 




I grew up eyeing her enviable italian stilettos waiting for the day I could fill those shoes! Aaaaah! and then came that unforgettable sweet sweet moment, when I tried them on twirling in front of the mirror - feeling like the most beautiful girl on this planet!


I don't hoard shoes though - i give out 20 pairs for every 30 I buy - but shoes matter -  A LOT! The other day when I realised my shoe closet needed some help - i went on an overdrive and bought 6 pairs in a single breath (oh I love online shopping) - thats how much they matter!  (though unlike Carrie in SATC i will not sell my soul for shoes!) 


I own shoes magnets, miniatures, books, bric-a-bracs - even a shoe collage table-top! A nice pair of shoes can brighten my day and bring a spring in my step. I have animated conversations about shoes with my girlfriends - I can shop for shoes 8 hours at a stretch and cant wait to get back home so that i could lovingly take them out of their bags and try them on one after the other! (though my feet get annihilated in the process)

And currently the hunt is on for those perfect nude peep toes with the perfect heels - not too high or low.... anybody?

Things that make a 'happy me'!

WORKING OUT - KEEP YOUR CORE STRONG AND ITS ALL GOOD!

1. I don't own a weighing scale – my mirror is my best friend - I am good when my mirror is good! 
2. I thank my stars that I have  a fully functioning body – with everything where they are supposed to be - I understand and respect my body and strive to make it fit to the best of my ability! What we see on screen and magazines are results of lot of 'work' - system, hair, make up, correction, surgery - what we see is clearly not what we get! I stay focussed on what's good for me!  
3. I never obsessed about workouts - I simply tried lots of things till I could design routines I like… I need to look forward to what I do!
4. I always have this need to feel strong from within - and work towards it - Breathe - Walk - Exercise - Yoga - Surya namaskar - Pilates - Pranayam
5. I was never in a hurry to lose lbs in 10 days - i just worked towards a fitter me - weight loss is simply a by-product - a very happy one but a by-product nonetheless - TO ME IT IS ABOUT BEING FIT AND NOT BEING THIN! 

MAKE EATING FUN - HEALTHY = TASTY IS NOT A LIE (will be loading recipes soon)

1. Processed food have very little place in my life - try to use whole food - fresh, raw, home made 
2. Veggies... veggies... veggies - salads, steams, stir fries...
3. Make your own dressings@home - then you know exactly what's going in there!
4. Fruits - at least 5 a day
5. Lean protein - a must with every meal
6. Whole grains - legumes - dals, rajma, sprouts (esp for vegetarians)
7. Flax seeds - its in my cereal, rotis, idli
8. Sunflower seeds - ditto
9. Paneer is a must for vegetarians - make paneer at home with skimmed milk
10. Lo-fat dahi - the best probiotic food you can get!

MUST DOS

1. I indulge - BUT DONT OVER DO!
2. Portion control - I READ THE LABELS READ THE LABELS READ THE LABELS
3. Stay positive even on my worst day - its not easy - but doable!
4. Drink plenty water
5. DON'T BE AFRAID OF FOOD - JUST KNOW THE GOOD FROM THE BAD - AND KEEP IN MIND A LITTLE BAD FROM TIME TO TIME IS ACTUALLY GOOD!:)
6. And finally a square of dark chocolate a day - keeps chocolate craving therefore bingeing at bay  :) and I pack in the anti-oxidants!

First step forward...

Thanks to my folks I've always been a confident person, so even when I realized I need to get fit (mind you not thin or size zero) just fit and strong from within – I didn’t run to the nearest dietitian – trust me Mumbai is peppered with 

dietitians and weight loss quacks waiting to prey on human frailties - but thankfully that wasn’t an option I even thought of!

I walked into a gym and for the first time ever in my life, got on the dreaded treadmill – oooh it was hate at first sight (and the relationship continues) but it woke me up to the reality of calories – I didn't know it takes 30 minutes to burn 250 calories (a samosa really) if you walked on an average speed! For me it was never about the quantities, I was never a big eater – I just became a wrong eater without quite realising it. That comprehension triggered a paradigm shift which has stayed with me till today!

Gyms can be painful with semi-literate trainers pushing you to do 200 crunches from Day 1 and an hour on the mill! I am not a pushover so I stood my ground and refused to be sucked in to the madness. My mission was to find my own path to fitness with my set of trials and errors.

The diet errors!

- I tried the Atkins diet for a fortnight and woke up with a nightmare ‘what the hell am I doing – hardly any veggies, no fruits and loading my system with fat and protein – yikkes!!!! So Dr Atkins was summarily packed off…

- I tried skim milk and banana milkshake for 2 days - weakness central!

And couple such followed - net net I realised, if you don’t feel right about the diet from inside, chances are - it is not right! 

Like everything else in life - listening to your inner voice is a good thing even when it comes to health and fitness! I started reading up, distilling, filtering – and slowly my approach to health was getting on track - i was finding that crucial balance between what I ate and what I did! 

The path to 'never spending one miserable hungry moment staring longingly at the baked cheesecake', was looking me in the eye with a big beaming smile!

Bye bye denial!

I was a fit child – a fit teenager – very active - with no body image issues. Hour long morning walks with my mom, was a way of life! My mom, who was in to fitness way before it became a fad or a way of life here!

And then in my 20s - life happened! Active yet sedentary - the walks went out of the window - a ligament tore - sickly sweet office coffees by the gallons and 'eat what you can grab when you can' in your 18 hour work schedule became the mainstay, work hard party harder - the mantra. Murphy's law!

This pattern, followed with alarming regularity, resulted in a much 'healthier' me than I would have liked – the pants, the skirts, the dresses, made way for shalwars and loose baggy clothes – denial was in the house and she was here to stay! 

Dad would frown and mutter ‘you could be fitter’- mom would lovingly say I always look gorgeous… family would mutter behind my back, but no one dared cross me and tempt my ire.

And the fact that I was in a bit of an emotional morass - didn't help matters!

I moved cities, changed jobs - and one fine evening as I was leafing through my old pics with a friend over a cup of coffee - his arch 'and then what happened to you?????!!!' jolted me into action! 

People may comment - kindly or otherwise, but unless we are willing to accept reality no one can make us - so I guess I was ready to snap out of the rut - and that reaction was the final trigger - the timing perfect!

Finally and thankfully 'acceptance' was in the house now! 

Bye bye denial!!! 

Warning!

Friends have been telling for the longest to start writing my blog - so here goes...


Snapshots of my life's experiences, but naturally! Things I like - things I do - things I believe in! And like all things human - extremely subjective!:)

A spot of sunshine - a dash of laughter - a pinch of indulgence - a dot of pondering - a bit of nostalgia - all from my life's pages! 

People who are attached to their weighing scales and measuring tapes, the health pages definitely won't be for you.... people who think water will make them fat – who run to check how much weight they put on after having a gooey fudge brownie with ice cream stay away – people who live on two lettuce leaves for lunch and watery soup for dinner – please give this a wide berth! This is for people who enjoy food and like to be fit and healthy and trust me the two do meet! 

You have to be patient with me though - a little short on time I maybe - but definitely very tall on intent - I promise I will be loading lotsa stuff in the days to come. Stuff that are tried and tested - stuff that's worked for me - so go ahead spread the word!