The Brunette Diaries

It’s Time To Get High On Food In Real Sense

The only thing that comes to my mind when I see, think, eat, smell food is – Joey Doesn’t Share food! How many of you can actually connect with Joey and his appetite? *secretly raising my hand! Well, all the foodies out there, you’ve scrolled to the right post! 😉 Brace yourselves all the foodies out there, we are here to share the mutual love for food.

But do you know what’s the cherry on the cake? Adding liquor to your food! Can this thing get any better? Well, I don’t think so! Even if you are not much of an alcohol person, mixing some of the liquor to our favorite dishes won’t cause a much of a harm. This will just make your dishes taste better, and it will take you on cloud nine, for sure! And, if you are a liquor person, these recipes will make you jump out of joy, and of course, make you a tad tipsy. 😉

So, here goes the list of food where you can add liquor, make your food high on life and flavors, and give yourself a bit of a tipsy feeling. It’s time to get high on food!

Beer-Battered Onion Rings:

Ever thought about this? Your favorite onion rings can get you high, and for this, all you have to do is toss those rings in beer before you coat it with the breadcrumbs. Tada! Your crispy beer-battered onion rings are ready!

Drunken Gummy Bears:

This is the most difficult recipe we’ve ever come across. Get a bag of those cute little gummy bears, and pour a vodka in a huge bowl. Add the needed amount of gummy bears in them, and let them rest for a couple of hours. When you get them out, these drunken gummy bears will be the yummiest munchies ever! 😉 Difficult, right? Told ya…

Whiskey Marinade:

Whiskey marinade is going to be a bit messier. All you have to do is, pour a cup of whiskey in the chicken during marination, and then grill it upside down, and again sprinkle some whiskey to it.

Rum Balls:

Rum balls are the most lip-smacking dessert on this planet. Rum induced chocolate balls will get you high, for sure!

Caramel Apples:

Soak Granny Apples in vodka, same as gummy bears. Once these apple slices are drunk enough, dip them in caramel and enjoy this sweet sider.

Rummy Hummus:

Add a cup of rum in the hummus while grinding, this will just make an amazing dip while having a party.

Do you have any more ideas to get your food drunk? Share with us in the comments below.

How to resist the urge of eating junk food

Do you find yourself struggling to keep a diet going for more than a week? Do you give in to your cravings just a few days after making that almighty decision to go junk-food-free? Well, we’ve all been there. It’s a hard decision to make and even more difficult to stick to. After all, junk food is all around us on the streets, and is most often irresistible. Here are steps to follow so that you can slowly resist the urge of giving in to your cravings for junk food.

(Also read – Tricks to stop night snacking)

The excessive craving for chocolate stems from deficiency of magnesium in your diet

Identify your craving

According to diet specialists, a craving for a particular food may arise due to something lacking in your diet. For example, the chocolate craving is related to magnesium deficiency and the sugar craving is related to protein deficiency. You can eliminate these deficiencies to make sure you rid yourself of these cravings.

(You might find this interesting too – Are you obsessive about healthy food?)

Remove temptations

Stack your fridge with wholesome food rather than junk

Temptations are stronger when they are easily available. Keeping a pack of fried potato chips in your kitchen isn’t going to make things easy for you. Try this – go to the grocery store with a full stomach. This way you won’t bring home the usual junk that you bring that can tempt you to forget your diet.

(Try reading – Food that influences your weight)

Buy wholesome food

Most often, you give in because you find a shortage of wholesome food at home. Well, you have no one to blame. Stack your fridge with good, healthy and wholesome food so that you don’t have an excuse to binge on junk food.

Avoid boredom

Keep yourself busy so that you don’t binge due to boredom

Most people eat when they are bored. Keeping yourself busy will help you stay away from unnecessary snacking.

Drink water

Drinking plenty of water is very important. Usually, people confuse thirst with hunger and binge on something unnecessary. Dehydration can also cause unhealthy cravings.

Now that you know what to stay away from and what not to, consider indulging once in a while, just to satiate your taste buds.

Tips To Resist Junk Food

That constant struggle between fitness and fatness can get you really frustrated! The war of junk food cravings over health is one that almost everybody fights. If you do have certain fitness goals to achieve, it is important to abstain from, or reduce the intake of junk food, but at times the cravings seem too strong. Here’s how you can resist it.

(Also read – Super foods that help you lose weight)

Determine your weakness

A particular food may be your weakness. Figure out what it may be. For instance, I have a weakness for two-minute noodles. Figure out what is your junk food favourite and it will be easier to abstain from it.

(Also read – How to resist the urge of eating junk food)

Find your triggers

It is important to figure out what triggers you to indulge into junk food. The triggers may range from depression, boredom to medical conditions. Try to list down what exactly is your trigger, and if needed consult a doctor. You can also stay away from these triggers by keeping yourself busy.

Find replacements

If you frequently have a craving for a particular food, consider replacing that food with a healthier alternative that is quite similar. For example, if you love sweets, try indulging in mango, which is a healthier alternative and may be equally tasty.

(Also read – Food that influences your weight)

Eat regularly

Another way to stay away from junk food is by eating healthy regularly. By doing this, you don’t leave space for unnecessary binging, which involves junk food, usually. Plan smaller meals, probably 5-6 a day, instead of the usual 3 meals a day.

Half size your portion if you indulge

If you do indulge, try making the portions of your junk food lesser. Only take a few bites of your dessert, or share your dessert or meal with a friend or partner. You can even try eating it slowly so that the brain is satiated.

(Also read – Are you obsessive about healthy food?)

Exercise

Exercising will make you feel guilty to indulge in junk food. This is because you are putting in effort to lose weight. Exercise can balance blood sugar levels and ease your digestion as well.

Diet tips for weight loss

You may find yourself setting weight goals and in the process making unrealistic diet plans that you cannot stick to. There is no point sticking to this diet for a brief period and then going back to normal. What you need is a reasonable diet that can balance out your cravings and include discipline as well. Here are a few tips for long term weight loss:

Stay away from monotonous diets:

Including diet plans which absolutely cut out food that you love indulging in will cause extreme cravings in the long run. If you stick to a monotonous diet for a brief period and give up on it, you may end up eating more of that ‘prohibited’ food.

Gradually decrease portion size

Do not suddenly deprive yourself of food to achieve your weight goals. Your body will not be able to adjust to the sudden change in amount. Gradually decrease it to a level healthy enough to achieve your weight goals.

Plan your meals

As tough as this sounds, once you get into the habit of scheduling your meals it will be easy. A habit is a bit uncomfortable in the beginning, but gets easier later on. Train yourself to incorporate good habits like planning your meals and it will help you in the long run.

Incorporate seasonal indulgences

The season of mangoes is here! Have you planned on indulging? Some may stay away from it because it is heaty. But if you love it, then some of it can do no harm. Just understand that too much of anything is bad for you. This applies to other food as well; like, in the Christmas season!

Incorporate things you do not prefer

Obviously, we all have certain food that we abhor. Slowly incorporating foods like these into tastier foods that we enjoy is the answer. Try adding leafy vegetables to your chicken sandwich. Slowly but surely you will develop a liking to it as food preferences have a lot to do with classical conditioning.

Try your best to be reasonable about your diet. Do not fly too high with your weight loss chase but at the same time do not graze the ground. Keep it simple and stick to it.

Kick-start your weight loss plan

If you want to lose weight, you must reduce your calorie intake or burn your calories. Most people find it tedious to work on burning so many calories, so the easier way out is to reduce your intake. Usually, to lose a pound, you must reduce 3500 calories. But obviously, you shouldn’t reduce your calorie intake suddenly. Here we list a strategic way to start reducing your calorie intake to lose weight and maintain optimum health.

Weight loss goals can be achieved by reducing calorie intake

Eat eggs for breakfast

If you want to reduce your calorie intake for the day, try having eggs for breakfast. Dieticians claim, those who eat eggs for breakfast end up having 400 calories lesser than those who don’t. Try having boiled eggs rather than fried to reduce calorie intake further.

Cut out the soda

Sweetened sodas are high on calorific value and we’re not talking about the good calories. Sugars in soda can cause your blood sugar level to spike. Cutting out sodas from your diet will make you lose a significant amount of weight by reducing calorie intake.

Don’t eat in front of the television

Eating while entertainment is on will make you end up taking in more calories than you initially desired. Usually, when you pay attention to what you are eating, you are more likely to eat lesser.

Serve smaller portions

Our eyes are bigger than our stomachs. Parents have also taught us to finish what’s on our plate. Well, wouldn’t it be wiser to just serve ourselves lesser, if that’s the case? If you still feel hungry you can serve yourself again. But by serving yourself a smaller portion, you can easily monitor your calorie intake. Besides this, you can also try using a smaller plate.

Reduce sugar based confectionery

Sugar confectionery can throw your calorie count out the window

When it comes to taste, health is most often thrown out the window. Such treats are usually made with no intention of being healthy and thus must be a rare indulgence if you are looking to reduce calorie intake.

If you can follow this regimen to start off your ‘calorie deficit weight loss plan’ then you can surely give your metabolism a good jump start to prepare for serious weight loss.

Mistakes that slow down your weight loss

Ever wondered why the finish line keeps moving away from you in your race to a fit body? There are times when your fitness goals are so close yet so far. But what could be the problem? Well, we’re here to let you know just that. Here are a few common mistakes that we make which actually slow down our weight loss.

(Also read – Diet tips for weight loss)

Light breakfast

If you are one of those who have your breakfast on the run, well, then you aren’t doing your weight loss goals any favours. Although you may think that you are eating less each morning, a protein deficient breakfast is going to add to your cravings throughout the day.

(Try reading – Eat smart for easy weight loss)

Only cardio

There are some people who swear by cardio alone. Those who live by cardio will work their asses out and take the longest route to their fitness goals. Well, it’s more like following the finish line that keeps moving away without doing anything about it. Here’s the trick. Build lean muscle by incorporating strength training in your fitness regime. This will help you lose weight faster. Easier route, isn’t it?

(You may find this interesting – Kick-start your weight loss plan)

Light weights only

For those of you who do lift weights, lift heavy, or at least as heavy as you can. Research has shown that using heavier weights for fewer reps can burn more calories than using lighter weights for more reps.

Poor pre-workout nutrition

Most people want to keep the calorie intake on a minimal level when they are looking to lose weight. However, you must understand that protein will actually help you to lose weight faster. A good protein meal before a workout will help you boost your metabolism and make you burn more calories than before.

(Also read – Super foods that help you lose weight)

Diet soda

Well, soda is soda, and soda contains sugar. Although the amount of sugar is lesser in diet soda, in no way is it healthy for your body. Diet soda can stack a large amount of calories that maybe hard to burn away.

If you can stay away from these common mistakes that we commit, then your weight loss goals will be an easy target rather than a far-fetched goal.

How to burn fat without losing muscle

People usually want to lose the fat but are concerned about losing the pretty lean muscle tissue along with it while dieting. Here we give you tips on how to keep the lean muscle tissue and burn away fat.

Eat 5-6 smaller meals per day

To burn fat and keep muscle, you must not reduce your calories too much. Divide the number of daily calories your body needs into small meals spread throughout the day, rather than eating two or three large meals. This way your body receives a steady amount of the fuel it needs to maintain lean muscle mass.

Stack on protein

Your muscles need fuel to sustain itself. By having a protein rich diet, you are fuelling your muscles and telling your brain to stay away from muscle instead of stealing muscle for the energy deficit during a diet. If this happens, then your body is only going to use stored up fat to fuel your bodily functions and stay away from muscle. Good sources of protein include nuts, chicken, pulses and egg whites.

Maintain strength

Weight training must be adjusted appropriately

During a calorie deficit diet, you must not reduce the weight you carry. Your muscles need to be worked to sustain itself during this period of draught. By working your muscles, you are telling your body, once again, to use only fat to make up for the calorie deficit and stay away from muscle.

Reduce weight training volume

You need to maintain strength, but a caloric deficit is really an energy deficit, and while this is fantastic for losing any amount of body fat, it is not good for anything that is workout related like recovery and performance. Hence, even though you are maintaining strength, it is important to reduce volume/frequency of your workouts to facilitate proper recovery.

If you manage to do this, then you can reduce fat and maintain muscle. However, if you are lost on how to begin with this module straight away, check out how you can kickstart your weight loss plan.

Are You Obsessive About Healthy Food?

You have read countless articles on what to eat and what not to eat and you pride yourself in being someone who takes good care of yourself. You have the strict resolve to eat healthy food and rarely ever slip off the health plateau. Raw fruits, Boiled veggies and Salads are your best friends. But did you know that your extreme awareness (read obsession) about eating healthy can lead to an eating disorder?

Orthorexia (used as a parallel with other eating disorders, such as anorexia nervosa) is a fixation on eating only healthy or pure foods, or what an individual perceives as healthy or pure. Nutritionists and doctors have seen an increase in number of people who seem to have an obsession about eating only those food items which they feel are healthy for them.

Aarti Shah, a 26 year old is one such person. Being health conscious, Aarti decided to restrict the intake of salt and sugar in her diet. “My mom’s got diabetes and my dad suffers from high blood pressure. Over time as I read up and realised that I could too suffer from the same ailments. Hence, I decided to restrict my diet of sugar and salt. It wasn’t even difficult as my parents followed the same routine. In spite of optimizing my diet, I fell seriously ill last year. I used to feel exhausted and drained all the time even though I wasn’t doing anything strenuous. Through body check up I was surprised to learn that told I had some imbalance of sodium and potassium in my body. Basically the lack of essential minerals like sodium and glucose made me feel lethargic. It was then that I realised that one needs to have things in moderation and not completely cut out things from your diet without proper consultation from a doctor.”

Practising gynaecologist, Dr. Darshna Thakker, has often come across people who are obsessed on eating right and in turn end up harming themselves. “The problem is with so much awareness, there are number of people who get too obsessed on what they are eating but then in their effort to eat healthy and pure food they tend to miss out on a balanced diet. Also each body’s requirements are different at different age groups. Everything needs to be done in a balance.”

Even though Orthorexia is not yet an officially recognised eating disorder, there are signs that one can note of suffering from it.
– Being overly concerned with your eating habits.
– Feeling the guilt of deviating from strict diet guidelines.
– Having critical thoughts about others who do not adhere to rigorous diets.
– Distancing from friends or family members who do not share similar views about food.
– Avoiding eating food bought or prepared by others.
– Worsening depression, mood swings or anxiety regarding food matters and habits.

“Eating healthy is always a good choice, but not at the cost of health and that includes psychological health. Nutritional deficiency can make one irritable and depressed. So make sure you choose right and be wise,” adds Dr. Darshna.

Apps that help you lose weight

Losing weight is not everyone’s cup of tea, but it is definitely achievable. With a little motivation and dedication, you can too, reach your goal weight, and that too this year itself. Going to the gym, working out, while following a strict diet isn’t going to cut it. For the constant track of your journey as well as the progress, you need a personal trainer. A trainer that isn’t just present in the gym, but is with you 24/7. Your SMARTPHONE. As many aren’t aware, your smartphone can be of a great help in achieving your weight loss dream. How? All you need to do is just need to download these following apps, which are designed specifically to keep track on your health, on your food intake, calories, workout and many more.

1) My Fitness Pal

When you download this app, it will first take your weight, height and your lifestyle to understand what you eat, and how it can help you to lose weight easily. It cuts down your weight loss goals shorter, for like what you can achieve in a month which is really motivating.

2) Lose It!

This app keeps a proper track on your food and calories, your current weight, and prepares you a plan to focus on weight loss along with tracking your workout regime and your only job is to lose it!

3) Fooducate

Fooducate educates you about every food there is to eat. It helps you understand what harms your body, which food is rich in fibre, protein, calcium and so on. With the help of this app, you know what you eat and this way you can easily substitute the harmful junk you were eating into healthy and wholesome foods.

4) Pact

We are sure you must’ve seen a video of a girl running behind a car where her friend is seated giving her cash for running. How about you get cash for every kilo you lose? That’s what the app Pact does. It’s a weight loss app that uses cash stakes to keep you motivated and help you achieve your goals.

5) Nike Training Club

If you’re not comfortable with personal trainers or their high budgeted bills and expenses, this app is for you. Here you can get professional help from Nike’s experts and tons of workout plans from, guidance from pro athletes and celebrity trainers and much more. The app considers your requirement and plans your regime accordingly.

So, which app are you downloading next?