The Brunette Diaries

Tips To Help You Maintain Your Weight Post Weight Loss

Neither it is easy to lose weight, nor it is a cup of tea to maintain the lost calories. Once you’ve lost a significant weight, you feel proud of having to achieve what once you thought was a dream. But often people feel so proud, they allow themselves a lot of cheat day, that not only harms your system but also puts you off of your daily routine. It is NECESSARY to award yourself some prizes, but if you want to maintain that weight loss, you got to work harder all over AGAIN. Worry not, we have some tips for you, especially that will help you keep your fitness at bay, and your health top notch.

1) Never skip your breakfast

Breakfast is the MOST important part of your meals. It helps the body kick start, provides the right energy for you to keep going the whole day. It’s a proven fact, people who have breakfast as compared to those who DON’T are healthier and at lesser risk of obesity.

2) Exercise daily

Remember the time you worked so hard to lose all the fats that you carried, but now that you achieved your goal, you don’t hit the gym that often. Regular exercise is a MUST, it helps you burn any new fat that the body produces. It also keeps you on track with your health.

3) Weigh yourself quite often

Checking your weight on regular intervals helps you keep a track. It shows if you have gained or are gaining constantly. You can, accordingly, moderate your diet and exercises. Anytime you feel lazy about following your routine, just check your weight.

4) Lift weights

Doing cardio may be fun, but weight lifting is essential for maintaining your weight loss. You may not need to hit the gym every day of the week, if you train in heavy lifting, going 3-4 times a week is more than enough for your body. Lifting weight builds your core stronger, eventually helping your system to be stronger and healthier.

5) Stay hydrated

No matter what, keep your water intake proper. Don’t neglect this point, water is extremely crucial for any problems. Acne – drink water, constipated – drink water, need to lose weight – drink water!

6) Make sustainable changes in your lifestyle

Now that you’ve achieved the unachievable, you need to keep that goal forever. If your work schedule doesn’t allow you working out a time or you have to eat outside often, DON’T. Make sure you remind yourself of all the hardships you went through to achieve wherever you stand today. Make necessary changes in your lifestyle and priority to your health and fitness.

Get on roll, guys! It’s time to take your health seriously! 😉

Indian Women Are As Likely To Develop Renal Problems As Men

*How much do you know about Renal Problems?*
*Do you know what causes it?*
*How can we avoid having those problems?*

WORRY NOT! TBD will guide you. Renal problem is a serious topic, and you should be well educated about it, more importantly, should be aware of things that cause renal problems, and if you ever encounter yourself in THAT situation, what you should be doing or who you should be consulting!

Kidney disorders are a worldwide health concern with severe outcomes of kidney failure and premature mortality. Kidney disease is currently the 8th leading cause of mortality among women.

Prevalence of Chronic Kidney disease (CKD) among women is as common as among men. Women are 5% more likely to develop CKD in comparison to men.

CKD is also considered a risk factor for adverse pregnancy outcome and reduced fertility. Women who have CKD are at increased risk for negative outcomes for the mother and the baby; pregnancies in women with advanced CKD are most challenging with high rates of hypertensive disorders and preterm births. It comes as a shocker to many that the kidneys, each about the size of a fist play such a major role in your wellbeing.

What causes renal disorders?

So what exactly causes these 2 little fist-sized organs to suddenly go out of order? Kidney diseases are mostly caused due to diabetes, high blood pressure, and hardening of the arteries. However some of these diseases can also occur due to the inflammation of the kidneys. This condition is called nephritis. Some anatomic disorders too can lead to renal diseases besides the one resulting from metabolic disorders. The chances of the latter happening however are thin for in the case of metabolic kidney disorders are rare since they need to be inherited from both parents.

Rising renal problems in kids

Occurrence of renal failure in Indian kids has been increasing at an alarming rate in India. 20 % of the Indian kids are suffering from kidney diseases. Parents have a leading role in order to keep their child healthy and lead a disease free life:-

1) Diet – A balanced diet contains a mixture of fats, carbohydrates, and proteins. Avoid processed food, fizzy drinks in order to maintain sugar and salt level Parents should keep their children fit, active and eating well to ensure that they do not become overweight. Encouraging children to take part in sports and physical activities to keep them fit.

2) Consume water – Healthy fluid intake is necessary for children, especially water. But if a child is dehydrated, he/she should not urinate more frequently as the water gets absorbed by the body.

3) No- smoking – teenage is the age that is most attractive for cigarettes and hence parents should keep an eye on their children.

4) Medicines and drugs – Aspirin and other banned drug usages may directly affect the kidney or liver. It dehydrates the body and succeeds to kidney failure.

5) Reduce sodium intake – Too much of sodium can lead to hypertension, so cutting down on salt intake is better. Daily 1.5 to 2.3 grams daily is the prescribed amount of salt intake

6) Increase potassium – Potassium helps in balancing the water level and reduces the effect of sodium thereby reducing blood pressure. So it is a key that kids are nourished with potassium rich food(potato, spinach, beans, low fat dairy products).

What are the treatment options?

When treating kidney, the doctors tend to concentrate more on the underlying cause of the disease. The infections can also be cured by antibiotics if the infection is caused by bacteria. In case of acute kidney failure this scheme works best. In such cases treating the original cause can help return the kidney to its normal functioning. But in most of kidney failure cases, the blood pressure has first to be brought to be normal in order to evade any more progression of disease.

End-stage kidney failures are only controlled by dialysis or kidney transplant. Dialysis can be done once a week or more often depending on the condition. In case of transplant the diseased ones are replaced by a new or a healthy one. These transplants are said to work 80 percent of the time. The only fear in this case what is the body rejects the transplant. The risk however is worth it because a healthy kidney can help you live a better life.

All About Vegetarian Keto Diet

The vegetarian diet is commonly regarded as one of the healthiest diets for humanity. Many studies have found that vegetarian diets reduce the likelihood of prevalent diseases like heart disease and diabetes and improve health more than the average non-vegetarian diet. However, this doesn’t mean that the vegetarian diet is the best diet for everyone’s health.

The Ketogenic diet, for example, has been found to be more effective than the vegetarian diet for weight loss! And Just because you don’t eat meat doesn’t mean you can’t try this high-protein plan. Here’s how to turn the Keto diet vegetarian:

What is Keto diet?

With no carbs for fuel, the body produces ketones by breaking down fats in the liver. This helps burn excess fat and jump-start your metabolism, and it can lead to weight loss and increased energy. There is also an emphasis on whole foods with the Keto diet, which means that many types of processed foods are off-limits.

The original Keto diet is extremely high in fatty meats, which is not good for our cardiovascular system, the vegetarian version eliminates these meats and allows for more plant-based options, such as avocado and nuts and seeds. In general, the population is going towards a more plant-based, whole-foods diet, which is why the Ketotarian diet is emerging.

Going Ketotarian:

The diet of the moment is the Ketogenic plan, people turn to it to lose weight, to manage chronic illness, or to find a healthier lifestyle. This high-protein plan focuses on meat, however. The goal is to eliminate carbs, jack up the protein, and force the body to burn fat for fuel (instead of its preferred source: carbohydrates). This phenomenon is called ketosis, but the meat focus prevents vegetarians from experimenting with the plan.

How does a vegetarian Keto diet works?

First, even non-vegetarian Keto eaters shouldn’t focus too much on meat: The misconception that Keto diets require huge amounts of meat or meat products may scare off vegetarians, those concerned about the environment, or people that want to eat healthier. A vegetarian version of the Ketogenic diet may be appealing for its weight loss and other health benefits.

What can you eat as a Ketotarian?

The vegetarian Keto diet menu will include leafy greens and aboveground vegetables such as broccoli, asparagus, and green beans, as well as high-fat dairy, nuts, seeds, avocados, berries, sweeteners, oils, and fats. Ketotarians should ensure that they fit plenty of nuts, seeds (including flax and chia), tofu, eggs, cheese, cream, vegetables, avocados, olives, olive oil, canola oil, and butter into their diets for optimal results. You can make “treats” to help cravings, like chocolate avocado ice cream, from compliant ingredients.

What to avoid?

The list is very similar to the regular Keto diet (except you’re avoiding meat): Be sure to steer clear of grains, sugar, fruit (except for occasional berries), and tubers, like yams and sweet potatoes, while following the vegetarian Keto diet.

What are the benefits of vegetarian Keto diet?

One of the most beneficial things about the vegetarian Keto diet is that it incorporates fresh foods and eliminates many processed foods. The parameters of a Ketogenic diet are simply grams of macronutrients—protein, fat, carbs. The vegetarian Ketogenic diet tries to also focus on the quality of foods eaten, increasing the micronutrient content of the diet.

How challenging is it?

Those who are doing the vegetarian Keto diet will have to pay extra attention to what they are putting in their mouths. It can be harder to manage your diet because you might have to spend more time calculating your carbohydrate intake and spend a lot of time planning meals and considering the foods you are eating. Many plant foods contain carbs so it could be challenging to stay balanced, satisfied, and achieve Ketosis. Another challenge is not falling into the trap of eating foods that may be compliant but aren’t actually healthy. As with any diet, the label itself does not make it healthy. The labels of ‘vegan,’ ‘vegetarian,’ ‘Keto,’ ‘gluten-free,’ and many others include a range of food choices that fit the standards of the diet but aren’t necessarily healthy. This is especially true of processed foods that may carry these labels.

Things Your Doctor Wishes You Knew About Losing Weight

Consulting a doctor or a dietician is the smartest way of losing weight to achieve the proper and RIGHT guidance towards your goal weight. But often 20-30 minutes of meeting isn’t adequate enough to know everything there’s to know about losing weight. We asked doctors, dietitians, therapists, and other weight loss experts the key facts their clients most often miss. Make sure to master these often misunderstood facts if you’re looking to shed a few pounds.

1) Food that seem healthy may also make you gain weight

Many people think if it’s healthy, you can eat as much as you want, but it’s important to limit ‘recreational’ eating, no matter how healthy the snack is. When you do snack, make sure you’re choosing the right kind.

2) WHEN you eat is as important as WHAT you eat

When you eat is important for weight loss. Starving all day and eating a big meal at the end of the day is counterproductive. No matter how nutritious a meal is, if eaten too late in the day, one does not have the time to burn it off and use it for fuel for the day. It ends up being stored in a body gas tank (the fat cells) you can’t readily access.

3) Reaching your goal end isn’t the end

It takes fewer calories and more energy expenditure to maintain weight loss than it takes to initiate weight loss. So if you let up once you start losing weight, you will gain it all back and then some! The good news is that when you start losing weight, it becomes easier to do more things like spending extra time on the treadmill or doing more resistance training reps. The idea is to continuously challenge yourself.

4) The right thyroid test

If you’re having a hard time losing weight, get a proper thyroid assessment. Most people need a test that goes above the standard medical thyroid profile. A standard thyroid test reads as ‘normal’ in 80 percent of overweight individuals, which is incorrect. A proper thyroid assessment includes checking eight different parameters of thyroid function and comparing them to optimal, not normal, values. Evaluated this way, over 80 percent of overweight individuals will actually be properly identified as being hypothyroid. This is a key contributor to overweight.

5) Alcohol prevents weight loss

Alcohol does not only empty calories but also has a huge effect on the weight loss process. It can interrupt and inhibit fat metabolism, making it harder to lose weight. Alcoholic drinks also contain a lot of added calories and carbs that will make it harder to lose weight even when you’re reducing your caloric intake. At the very least, order something you sip slowly, such as wine, rather than something you may drink larger amounts of such as beer.

Be Beautiful Without Having To Sacrifice Your Health

You don’t need to undergo extreme or painful measures to be beautiful. Being good to yourself and maintaining your health are important ways to accentuate your appearance ― it will make you gorgeous inside and out.

Look Younger, Naturally!

You might undergo youth-boosting treatments for your skin but these can be damaging to your health. An example is using chemically-enhanced skincare products that spread toxins into your skin and body. These can cause illness or adverse skin reactions. A much better option is organic skincare that looks after your skin with gentle ingredients while keeping your body free of harmful chemicals. Nutritional ingredients such as Vitamin C and Vitamin A, both in your diet and beauty routine, will also keep your skin firm and young without you having to resort to invasive procedures. Looking after your skin will keep your body functioning healthily so you can be naturally beautiful all over.

Is the Gym Your Friend or Enemy?

You know that it’s important to exercise daily ― when you get your heart pumping, this increases the oxygen in your body and activates your immune system. It also leads to weight loss. However, working out too much can disintegrate tissues, it can release the stress hormone called cortisol that can lead to disease, cause muscle tears that increase injury risk, as well as put your body under strain so that your immune system takes a dive.

How do you know if you’re exercising too much? If you get sick easily, you feel short-tempered, exercise makes you feel really tired all the time, or your body takes days to recover after a session, these symptoms mean you have to scale down your workouts.

Fashion Faux Pas to Avoid

Wearing clothing and shoes that make you look stylish but aren’t comfortable or put pressure on your body in various ways can harm your health. Are you guilty of these fashion faux pas?

Wearing High Heels Regularly

Yes, they’re gorgeous and make you feel like a million bucks, but they also strain your feet because they put your feet into an abnormal position. This can lead to pain, joint inflammation, and pinched nerves. High heels can also harm your spine because they alter your posture. Your lower back will feel the strain as it tries to deal with the unnatural position, causing pain.

Wearing Too-Tight Clothing

You might be trying to squeeze yourself into tight clothing over the holiday season when attending all the festive season parties, but this is dangerous. It can lead to numbness in your body because of constriction. Over time this can cause chronic problems. Tight clothing around your abdomen prevents digestion, so it can lead to problems such as burping and discomfort, which is exacerbated if you already have a health issue such as heartburn. Avoid anything that’s too tight and remember this isn’t flattering― instead of hiding any extra weight on your body, it will actually accentuate it.

Being beautiful should never be about harming yourself. Remember: health and beauty go hand in hand for best results!