Fitness Secrets - Diet and Health

Life has given cancer survivor Samuel Chettiar a second chance after he was detected with Hodgkin Lymphoma (Stage 4) in 2008. And Chettiar, who will be participating in this Sunday’s Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon (half marathon), credits his recovery to distance running. In 2008 Chettiar consulted an ENT (ear, nose and throat) specialist after suffering from persistent cough and weight loss across nine months. The doctor found a lump below his right ear and asked him to undergo some tests. The doctors later found three lumps in his neck and one under his right arm. Chettiar underwent 12 intense chemotherapy sessions across six months as the tumours were dealt with. “Thanks to my wife Annie’s relentless support, I survived those trying times,” he said. After the treatment (in 2009), Chettiar began leading a normal life but gained a lot of weight. “One day (December, 2012), I realised that I just could not bend to tie my shoe laces. That’s when I decided that I had to lose ...

Instead of the time to settle into a rocking chair, 60 is now the age to become a glamorous grandmom. With the right food, exercise and a little bit of mindful thinking, you can stretch your youth to the next next decade. Fitness expert Namita Jain tells you how. Buy Sexy @ Sixty online (Rs 128/- Cash on Delivery) FOCUS AREA: METABOLISM And you thought your body only burned calories when you were sweating it out? Not so. Thanks to a process called metabolism, some calories are spent even when you are sitting down, and apparently doing nothing… Metabolism refers to the amount of energy in calories that the body uses up to maintain itself. And if you hope to have your cake and eat it too, even as you grow older, you may want to make this one your closest ally. MASTER IT LIKE THIS • Don’t fast. Eat Skipping meals doesn’t help. Hunger causes a drop in blood sugar, and this in turn generates food cravings. Suddenly you want to binge on all those calorierich foods you w...

‘I am my favourite!’...says Gauhar Khan, as she reveals the secret to her well-maintained body MY EXERCISE REGIME I perform at Bollywood’s biggest musical shows and that is the reason I have to dance regularly for two hours. This activity covers my fitness. Apart from that, I work on my upper and lower abs by doing 100 ab crunches and reverse crunches. I also do weight training which keeps me toned and fit. MY DIET I avoid carbs, bread, roti and rice. Even if I eat these, I try to keep it to a minimum. I stick to a good amount of protein and apart from chicken, I prefer proteins that are in the form of vegetables and dals. I also eat oats. MY PROBLEM AREAS I don’t have any. I am always conscious about my obliques as I feel fat gathers there very easily. MY STRENGTHS I have an over-all fit body but I will say my obliques are my strengths as I do a lot of hard work on them. MY IDOLS MY FITNESS ROLE MODELS Demi Moore and Jennifer Lopez are my role models. T...

HEAVENLY BODIES: RITHVIK DHANJANI , TV ACTOR, 25 The television actor who tried everything, including the ‘idli diet’ to beat 113 kg, tasted success with dance and weights It’s not easy being fit while showing off groovy dance moves to win over judges and a teeming fan following. Ask actor Rithvik Dhanjani, a popular face on television. Ever since Dhanjani joined a dance reality show, his training regime has undergone a drastic change. “The only time I spend in the gym is for muscle training,” he says, candidly. The strenuous dance rehearsals take care of his cardio workouts, for now. The actor believes in striking a balance between his training schedule and, of course, sticking to a strict diet. No smooth ride For Rithvik Dhanjani, building a chiselled body was anything but a smooth ride. He remembers his days as a podgy youngster, bingeing on junk food, back in Dubai. "I have to be extra careful about what I eat because I put on weight very easily. I weighed 113 kg at one...