Fitness: Demystifying Diet and Exercise-Ashwin Rao

Why are we discussing this ?

• Almost all of us want to be healthy and fit

• But diet and exercise are painful things

• Is there a “magic diet” or a “workout gizmo” we’ll learn

about

• Goal 1: Get empowered with facts, eliminate myths, take

control

• Goal 2: Prioritize within the list of diet/exercise pointers

• You’ll make good progress just by focusing on the top of

the list

• Treat the bottom of the list as “good to know luxury

items”

• Fitness leads to greater self-confidence and sense of

achievement

Some Warnings

• Good health and fitness requires hard work, discipline and

sacrifices

• For most people, fitness is a “luxury” not a “necessity”

• It gets harder and harder with age

• It doesn’t work if you don’t genuinely enjoy it

• Access to good food/exercise is not so easy in Mumbai

• There is no quick solution – involves a permanent lifestyle

change

• Need to be willing to spend good amount of time as well as

money

But there will be some pleasant surprises

• You don’t have to starve yourself

• You don’t have to eat bland, boring food

• You don’t have to run 10 miles a day

• Some of you could do the exercises at home

• You will learn that minor, but targeted changes can make a big

impact

• You will learn a lot about your body and its responses

• After some seasoning, many people find the healthy lifestyle

addictive

Overview of Diet

• Liquidity

• Size and Frequency of Meals

• Food Pyramid

• Carbs and Protein

• State Space: ω fats

• Raw Foods

• Supplements

• Effect on Metabolism and Hormones

• Most dangerous foods & Worst practices

• Meal/Snack Tips

Liquidity

• Harsh Truth: Alcohol and Caffeine are more damaging than you

think

• Problems: Dehydration, indigestion, screws up appetite and sleep

• “A good night of drinking eliminates a week of hard workout” –

Ashwin ☺

• Law of conservation of “height” – a massive low follows every

“high”

• Soda/”Juices”/Packaged beverages – mixture of

sugar/salt/caffeine

• All you need is WATER, WATER and WATER

• And consider veggie juices as well – Greens, with a bit of

carrots/beets

• “Health drinks” are a scam, with a few exceptions

• Remember: your liquid intake is more important than the solids

you eat

• Sense of balance: Indulge yourself occasionally, or you’ll go

crazy

Size and Frequency of Meals

• Ideally, six small to medium-sized meals a day

• Breakfast is a very important meal

• Before and after workouts

• Get balanced food in every meal

• How much protein ? Depends on your exercise levels

• Don’t focus too much on calories

• The key is to develop your metabolism

Food Pyramid

Carbs and Proteins

• Good carbs and bad carbs

• Anything refined is bad – go with dark color when in doubt

• Veggie carbs more important than grain carbs

• Avoid white rice, naan, white bread, pasta, biscuits etc.

• Replace dessert with fruits (small portions with every

meal)

• Protein: Veg or non-veg ?

• Non-veg: Focus on fish and organic meats/eggs

• Veg: Daals, beans, nuts, spinach, paneer, sprouts

• At least 1g of protein per kg of body weight

• Weight-training will require more protein to repair

muscles

State Space : ω fats

• Fats don’t make you Fat !

• The body produces ω-9s – they are non-essential fatty

acids

• We mostly get ω-6s in our food

• ω-3s: hard to get in our regular diet

• Fish/Cod/Krill Oil, Flaxseeds/Flax oil, Butternuts,Walnuts

• Quality of ω-3 oils is very important

• Saturated Fats are bad but unrefined coconut oil is good

for you

• Trans fats are VERY bad – mostly in processed/packaged

foods

Raw foods

• Heat destroys nutrients

• Raw veggies and fruits are VERY powerful

• Try juicing veggies if you can’t eat them raw

• Go with veggies/fruits that are not too sweet

• Get your daily dose of nuts and sprouts

• Sashimi: Yummy or Yuck ?

• Raw milk and raw eggs: VERY dangerous in India

• Raw food diet has been shown to reverse serious

illnesses

Supplements

• Should we take multi-vitamin pills, protein powders etc. ?

• Generally not required. Besides, there are quality issues.

• Useful in certain situations: travel, workouts, dietary

restrictions

• ω-3s, Probiotics, some packaged veggie juices/protein

powder

• Avoid things like “fat killers”, Creatine/Glutamine etc.

• Unless you are into serious bodybuilding

Effect on Metabolism and Hormones

• Important to understand that diet controls your

metabolism

• Eating healthy food several times a day will boost

metabolism

• Eating sparsely, no breakfast, caffeine/sugar etc slow your

body

• Similarly, good foods will improve your hormonal balance

• White carbs and sugary foods/drinks screw up hormones

• Weight gain is mostly due to poor metabolism and

hormones

• Diet, sleep, stress, metabolism, hormones – all closely

linked

• We’ll talk about effect of exercise on

metabolism/hormones

Most dangerous foods

• Alcohol and Coffee

• Soft drinks, coke, diet coke, even packaged juices

• French fries and their equivalent Indian fried foods

• Donuts and their equivalent Indian sugary foods

• All sorts of white carbs – bread, pasta, even morning

cereal

• Low-fat/reduced-fat packaged foods

• Hot dog, bacon, cured meats etc.

• “namkeen”-type evening snacks

• Having said that, occasional indulgence will keep you sane

Worst practices

• Skipping breakfast or other meals

• Low appetite

• Frequent snacking on “namkeen”-type food

• Lot of coffee, tea or soft drinks through the day

• Irregular meal hours

• Binging on alcohol and dessert

• Inconsistent sleep timings

• Getting very little protein – vegetarians need to

watch out

Meal/snack tips

• Dark grains – whole wheat, jowar, ragi, bajra rotis

• Ragi dosa, Pesarattu, Adai (basically no rice)

• Brown rice, or even better, try Quinoa

• Use unrefined coconut oil on Lentil Dosas/Quinoa (Delicious !)

• Keep a box of walnuts, almonds, brazil nuts (raw, no salt)

• Snack on fruits – try to eat less sugary fruits

• Also, dry fruits (in moderation)

• Sprouts are one of the major joys of being in India

• Freshly squeezed Cucumber + Spinach + Carrot juice is divine

Exercise

• Our body needs Strength, Endurance and Flexibility

• Weights→Strength, Cardio→Endurance, Yoga→Flexibility

• Bang for the buck: Weights, then Flexibility, then

Endurance

• We will focus on basic strength training

• The goal is to lose fast and gain lean muscle

• We are not here to figure out how to look like John

Abraham

• Basic strength training goes a surprisingly long way

• Add some yoga and a sport or two to complement

Strength Training Excuses

• “I don’t want to build big muscles”

• “It’s not going to help me lose weight, so I do

running”

• “I’m not the weight-lifting type”

• “I’m afraid of hurting my back”

• “Lifting weights is so boring”

• “Lifting weights is so unnatural”

How does strength training work ?

• Lifting weights makes your muscles work hard• This results in “tiny tears” in your muscles (next day

soreness)• Protein + Rest between workouts repair and grow

muscles• Over a period of time, you can lift heavier weights• Better muscle tone leads to faster metabolism• This means faster fat burning even when sedentary• Positive effects of testosterone production• This accelerates the process of fat loss and muscle gain

Strength Training Basics

• Lift a weight quantity which lets you do 6 reps, but not

more

• Do 3-4 sets of these 6 reps for each exercise

• On a given day, focus on only lower body or only upper

body

• Give that body part a break for at least 3-4 days

• Lifting technique and maintenance of form is VERY

important

• Proper breathing: Exhale when lifting, inhale when

lowering

• Lifting action: power and speed, focusing on the exact

muscle

• Lowering action: very gradual (over 2-4 seconds)

Workout Tips

• Workout in the morning when your testosterone levels are

high

• Have enough carbs and protein before and after the

workout

• Drink plenty of water during the workout

• Use a trainer/spotter to watch your form and to rack

weights

• Legs and back are the most important muscles

• Lots of squats and pullups (and variants) – can be done at

home

• Warm up with a 5 min jog before the workout

• Stretch for 10 minutes after the workout

Workout Tips (continued)

• Workout duration: 20-50 mins (not incl warmup and

stretching)

• Don’t socialize, keep a tight schedule, focus your mind

• Keep records of your reps, sets and poundage

• Do the most demanding exercises first

• Don’t workout if you are sick or have slept too little

• Avoid supplements, unless you want to do serious

bodybuilding

• Most importantly, feel good and enjoy your workout

Sample Schedule

• Thrice a week

• Mondays: Chest, Shoulders and back

• Mondays: Bench Press, Incline Press, Pull ups, Chin ups

• Wednesdays: Biceps, Triceps and Abs

• Wednesdays: Biceps flex, Narrow bench press, Ab crunches

• Fridays: Legs

• Fridays: Squats, Deadlifts, Calf raise

• Do yoga on other days or some light sports or just rest

Yoga

• Deep breathing – focus your mind on breath flow

• Try to touch your toes without bending your legs

(sitting)

• Dog position, plus upward and downward facing

• Learn to stretch your biceps, triceps, chest and

shoulders too

• Hold stretches for at least 30 seconds

• Yoga also builds strength and makes you sweat

• Disclaimer: I am not a yoga expert, so can offer limited

help

Final Words

• Diet and Exercise go together – can’t get away with just

one

• Get your hydration and sleep habits in structure first

• Incorporate diet and exercise in your life incrementally

• Important to understand what foods are good and what

are bad

• Don’t force yourself to follow a strict diet.

Indulge...sometimes

• Train yourself to enjoy your strength training

• See improvements in a month even with basic strength

training

• Adequate rest between workouts is extremely important

• Treat this as a lifetime commitment, not as a “Get Fit

Quick”