Allee G's Health Blog

Primal Fitness Workout - Pull up ladder

noreply@blogger.com (Allee G) — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 13:01:00 +0000

All you need is a pull up bar.

And this is what you do with it.
1st min 1 pull up
2nd min 2 pull ups
3rd min 3 pul ups
4th min 4 pull ups

And so on untill you can do no more.. If in the 8 min you can manage only 7 pull ups thats when you stop (this is where I stopped). Else go on doing pull ups you crazy animal you.

And thats your lift heavy workout for the week :)

Let me know if you try it in the comments section.

The Gooiest Chocolate Walnut ‘Primal’ Brownies EVERRR

noreply@blogger.com (Allee G) — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 06:22:00 +0000

My primal brother and my source of inspiration is in town. (Yayy) and these walnut meal brownies are his specialty. We made the most delicious brownies the other day! They’re primal, extremely low carb, and super gooey and delicious.

The aroma of chocolate baking in the kitchen filled my senses with warmth.

What is the Primal / Paleo Lifestyle? - Part 1

noreply@blogger.com (Allee G) — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 11:57:00 +0000

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First things first. I don’t believe in the paleo diet because the word diet conjures up images of deprivation, failure, self-doubt and depression.

I prefer to use the word ‘lifestyle’, because that’s what it is. A lifestyle that transports your body to a time and place where things were simpler, you have none of the modern preservatives in your food, food is real and wholesome, you do not ‘workout’ but do physical stuff that makes your body useful, and you sleep, rest, and take joy in the outdoors (or for us Mumbaikars maybe the balcony?)

Link Love - Healthy fodder for your mind

noreply@blogger.com (Allee G) — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 08:42:00 +0000

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Here are some links I’ve gathered recently for your brain to gnaw on. This is stuff I’ve been reading these last two weeks, that have been doing the rounds in the paleo community, and I figured my readers might probably not have come across these links.

We all know exercise is healthy. But if you need a little nudge in the right direction, here’s some research that will give you just what you need.

This study links cortisol to cancer. Cortisol has a very bad rep in the health circles and is the underlying cause of most lifestyle diseases, that belly that refuses to budge and most niggling problems. But this direct link to cancer has me worried and on a mission to double my fight against the evil.

Wondering whether you should store your food or give it away before you go on the mini break? Here’s a cool site that will help you decide. Stilltasty.com tells you what the shelf life is for your favourite foods.

Primal fitness workout - screaming legs

noreply@blogger.com (Allee G) — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 08:55:00 +0000

All you need for this is a little space for the walking lunges.
Do this full body workout twice a week and you need not do anything else except walking as this fills in your lift heavy quota for the week.

Time your self, do three rounds of:

25 walking lunges

followed by 10 burpees. (squat down, put hands on the floor, jump both your legs back, do a pushup, jump both legs in front, stand, and repeat)

Repeat.

Try increasing your speed every time you do this. Feel free to record your time in the comments section. Thanks.

Vegetarian and primal - one more recipe

noreply@blogger.com (Allee G) — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 07:50:00 +0000

Jan has turned into a far more manic month than I had envisioned. So I've been away from my computer. Which is why I'm going to take the easy way out and continue with last week's post on vegetarian primal desi food. My brother - Apurva Mehta - a long time advocate of the primal life and a fellow carnivore - has recently started cooking vegetarian food, thanks to the entrance of a vegetarian significant other in his life.
Here's another nice recipe with a desi touch with the addition of flat bread so you won't miss the roti.

Paleo flat bread with roasted cauliflower

Paleo Flat Bread : Start with the regular paleo bread recipe. Bake for 20 mins. Then sprinkle the finished bread with some olive oil, shredded mozzarella cheese, diced tomatoes, salt and pepper, and sprinkle fresh pudina (mint).
Put oven on broil and let the topping cook slightly for a minute or so.

Roasted cauliflower : Cut a whole cauliflower. Mix in 1 tsp of diced fresh ginger. Sprinkle salt, pepper, coriander, and clove powder, add 2 tsp of olive oil and mix everything. put in a roasting pan and bake at 180 degrees for 30 mins.
Feel free to make this paleo flat bread with any veggie of your liking.

Thanks for reading and let me know how it turns out.

Vegetarian and Primal? some ideas for you

noreply@blogger.com (Allee G) — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 11:02:00 +0000

Not much has been written about being vegetarian and primal. I think that's because the two terms contradict each other.

While being primal has a lot to do with eating real food, avoiding processed modern junk, and doing real workouts, it also has a lot to do with embracing our ancestry, reprogramming our genes and connecting with our bodies. And before agriculture and grains and modern conveniences, we thrived on animal fat (a major percentage of our calories was derived from animal fat). Cut to present day Gujarat, or Tamil Nadu, where the major percentage of calories is from super processed carbs and refined vegetable oils.

In many places where people are embracing the Paleo lifestyle, vegetarians are vegetarians because of personal reasons, a choice they've made because of a conscience or the (false) belief that it's healthier. So when confronted by research and logic, it's not too hard for them to make the switch slowly but surely. If you're one of these, here are some ways to start eating meat.

In India however, most vegetarians are that way because of deep-rooted beliefs, social and religious reasons. Fear not, neither this post nor this blog is not going to try and change this belief. For even though I am a beef loving pork worshipping hindu (by birth only) I know better than to embark on a fruitless mission.

Instead my job is to make your life easier. If you are vegetarian, and the sound logical reasoning behind the primal lifestyle beckons you for a 30-day tryst, then here are some ideas for you.

Why I'm not running the Marathon

noreply@blogger.com (Allee G) — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 11:02:00 +0000

The big day is here. The Mumbai marathon is tomorrow. And as always, I’m not running.

Normally, that should not even be a statement worth writing (or reading). But somewhere along the way the idea has been formed, that anyone who is a ‘fitness buff’ or a ‘health fanatic’ or simply is in good shape, should be running the marathon.

Various fitness groups that I’m part of consist of a lot of people who run the marathon. And I get asked time and time again, why I’m not running. The thing is, I have become a decent sprinter off late - I have increased speed (as I’ve gained strength), and have also upped my stamina.

So I’m fit, I’m into fitness, I am a decent runner, I enjoy getting up early and exercising (twice a week at least) and I clearly love relay races …

So, why am I not running the marathon?

Primal fitness : the duck walk

noreply@blogger.com (Allee G) — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 07:12:00 +0000

This is a fun primal home workout you can do anywhere and anytime (specially in the lack of time). Most of our flats have a little passage you can use when nobody's home!

This workout will make your leg muscles beg for mercy and have your heart rate at max for a great high intensity session.

Here goes:

Perform this circuit 5 to 8 times depending on your fitness level. The next time you do this, try and do it slightly faster than the previous time. Rest as little as possible.

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12 steps walking lunges
6 steps duck walk : With your hands stretched out in front of you for balance, get into a very low squat position. Now walk forward staying as low as you possibly can.

That's your workout for the day and it hardly took much time, but I'm sure it left you sweatier and more tired than a lot of other stuff that you do.

Let me know if you did it and feel free to record your time in the comments section. Thanks for reading.

How bizarre! Weight loss on holiday!

noreply@blogger.com (Allee G) — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 06:56:00 +0000

I used to be the sort, whose weight used to fluctuate wildly. So while I tried my best to exercise and attempt to be healthy (my pre-primal definition of healthy anyway), come vacation time and I’d come back looking like I ate the whole country.

Until I went primal that is.

In a new series I’m going to attempt to make a primal travel log after every trip. Since 2012 starts of with the first holiday in week 1 itself (I’m off tonight), I have some catching up to do. So very briefly I will outline my holidays since going Primal in April 2010. In other words, this post is about how to lose weight when on a holiday.

In Portugal - August/Sept 2010 (4 months of primal living)

Fit in the city - Best workouts for everyone

noreply@blogger.com (Allee G) — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 07:40:00 +0000

The New year’s here, and with it some new resolutions. Is one of them anything to do with getting healthy, losing weight or increasing fitness? I thought so.

And because I’m so thoughtful, here’s your guide to getting fit in the city the primal way. Consider it a gift from Allee G’s health blog.

The best thing about Primal fitness is that it takes much less time and effort, than the old fashioned way. The endless trudge on the treadmill or long boring sessions of isolated exercises at the gym, move aside. Instead doing some basic movements that workout the whole body, increase strength, speed, and agility and fights inflammation aka slow movement, is the way to go. Minimum effort for maximum effect is what PB fitness is all about.

In a nutshell, this is what Primal fitness looks like:

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Luckily for us cave girls and boys, workouts in the city are definitely moving in a progressive direction. From what I hear, there is definitely newer, more fun stuff happening in Mumbai in the realm of fitness. While the primal movement in India will probably take a few more lifetimes to catch on - especially when it comes to food - when it comes to fitness it’s not all grey and dreary.

Even I am normally nodding along in agreement when I am in a gathering of people discussing fitness (save the marathon discussions), unlike the food discussions when I do my best to slink away when conversations veer towards ‘I didn’t eat the lamb because it was cooked in ghee, but I ate an extra oil free roti.

As a primal enthusiast, and the odd one out, it is best on such occasions to keep your mouth shut, and your mind firmly fixated on ideas for a new blog post on the topic.

So while on the topic of fitness, I’ve put together some classes/ workouts that are decently primal in nature. If you want real workouts that include HIIT, sprints, body weights, heavy lifting; and which involve the whole body and add real strength, instead of ones that are repetitive and promotes surface fitness, here are my recommendations:

How to Beat the Year End Excesses

noreply@blogger.com (Allee G) — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 12:12:00 +0000

I did a similar post for Diwali, and this time it’s for Christmas, New Years and the big bad weddings. This year is a hiatus of sorts for me from weddings. No one close enough to me is getting married so I don’t need to attend any this December, which is a good thing so I can sit back and enjoy the holiday season like I should. I can also take out time and write for my blog and look back at the last few dangerous Decembers and share my views on how to get to the other side looking fab and feeling fit!

Here are some thoughts:

Bandra Boy gone Primal!

noreply@blogger.com (Allee G) — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 18:12:00 +0000

The purpose of this blog is and always will be to write about my newfound lifestyle that has given me tremendous energy and joy. It is also to document my primal journey the Indian way (or maybe the Sobo way) taking into consideration our food, and lack of an open mindset and open spaces in Mumbai. This blog is different from the numerous others on the paleo/primal lifestyle, in that it is probably the only one that’s set in India, where changing traditional mindsets is as much of an uphill task as getting pothole free roads.

But one of my readers has given me a reason to hope and dream. He's the one who read this blog which piqued his curiosity, clicked on links that let him to Mark's Daily Apple, and has completed a month of being completely primal (at least with the food). A huge step! A huge shout out to Carl!

I dropped him a mail to find out how it’s going and well… let's hear it from him!

Dear Allee: What should I carry in my dabba?

noreply@blogger.com (Allee G) — Sun, 04 Dec 2011 07:21:00 +0000

Is a question oft heard by those of us in the Indian corporate scenario, and a couple of readers of this blog voiced their frustration. With the not so healthy options out there - think the Friday Chinese noodles, the Monday samosas as snacks, the aloo ka sabzi on Thursdays - it's no wonder that those on a quest for a healthy lifestyle in today's stressful age are at a loss when it comes to food at the workplace. Anyone with no time to put together a tiffin is relegated to eating food not fit for human consumption, let alone for those who are fortunate enough to afford much better quality of food.

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So here are some (totally primal) lunch ideas to carry with you to work so that you don't end up eating something that is damaging your body or nibbling at something with chai that is doing more harm than good.

Of FDI in retail, Walmart, Kirana shops and being Primal

noreply@blogger.com (Allee G) — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 11:58:00 +0000

I would not like to be considered regressive. In fact I consider myself pretty progressive. Still this decision by the government on allowing FDI in retail, which will bring big bad American biggies like Walmart knocking on our door has me worried. Don't be alarmed, this rant has nothing to do with politics or politicians or economics for that matter. It has everything to do with being healthy.

Isn't it bad enough that we have packaged 'health foods' like Kellogs and soya chips? Isn't it bad enough that kids eat sugary cereal for breakfast? Isn't it bad enough that we're buying milk in tetra packs with preservatives and god know what else, instead of the fresh raw milk the doodh wala used to bring to the doorstep? Isn't it bad enough that we're buying dahi from Danone instead of those wonderful active live cultures we used to make at home?

There was a time when we were the organic capital of the world. Our milk came from cows, not from industry. Our veggies still come from real farms (albeit entwined with pesticides), and do not look like some hybrid mutant veggies and fruits that you find at American grocery stores. Which is why the organic movement in America is so big. They need it. We don't. At least not up until now.

Quick fitness in Bombay

noreply@blogger.com (Allee G) — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 04:24:00 +0000

My last post was about what I do when it comes to fitness and the theory behind it. But more than what I do, I'd like this blog to be about how you can implement primal eating and fitness into your life in India where space contraints are a real nightmare, and age old food habits and myths are as ingrained in our minds as Sachin is in our hearts.

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All of us living in Mumbai know how precious time is, not to mention space. With work pressure, and the emphasis on always trying to be ahead in the rat race, we often let go of spending time looking after our own physical needs. But what if there were ways that you - someone with a full time job in the maximum city - could take control of your life and fit in exercise as well good eating into your busy schedule? Let's tackle exercise first should we?

So without further ado here are a few things you can do and you should do, no matter how busy you are, and no matter how much space you have, or no matter what your fitness levels are.

Real workouts = real fitness

noreply@blogger.com (Allee G) — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 08:07:00 +0000

First, an apology; It's been awhile since I've updated this blog (Nearly two weeks to be precise). The reason being, I got a little frightened as I found you guys are actually reading. I started getting emails, phone calls and pings on g talk with questions and feedback. And suddenly this is no longer about me exercising my writing skills anymore but developing an audience through honest work. It's exciting albeit a little scary. Please stick with me.

In my last post I wrote about why real fitness and strength is important in daily life.

Being primal is as much about doing the kind of physical work your body was designed to do, as it is about eating what homo-sapiens have been designed to eat.

In this post I'm going to attempt to cover ways in which we can exercise like we're meant to, gain strength and real fitness, and eventually a real nice looking fit body. Not skinny mind you, but lean and muscular. And more than just theory, I’ve tried to explain how I workout in the attempt to give my body what it needs.

What is Fitness exactly? And post Diwali round up.

noreply@blogger.com (Allee G) — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 11:29:00 +0000

In my previous post I said I'd let you know how the festivities went, whether I indulged, and whether I felt guilty or not. But before that, I want to talk about what my definition of fitness is, or what fitness means to me.

I'm tackling this today because I went for a run last evening - a Sunday, just to end the week well, and thought about how much my running has improved just on the basis of being fitter and stronger. Like I've said before, I'm no runner, and don't intend to be one. I despise treadmills and marathons, and I find I get easily bored. But yesterday, just in conversation with my husband I ran 5 kilometers without noticing and not so long ago, I remember being unable to run even half a kilometer at a stretch.

How did this happen without training for it?

I'm not training to run, but by doing what I've been doing, gaining strength and agility, sprinting, and working on core strength (strength being the key word here) I'm able to just up and run whenever I want to without planning for it or thinking twice.

How to feel guilt-less this Diwali

noreply@blogger.com (Allee G) — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 12:56:00 +0000

If you find yourself touching your stomach or butt or face while looking into the mirror more than usual at this time of the year, imagining how the laddoo you have just devoured is slowly but surely making its way to that exact problem spot, worrying about how you will get back on track after Diwali is done with; you are not alone.

Let the festivities begin, and with that let there not be guilt.

Easier said than done you say? Possibly. But I'm done with feeling guilty about all the crap I've eaten during Diwali, and this is how I'm going to avoid that unwelcome emotion:

Introducing the Primal Blueprint 21-Day Total Body transformation

noreply@blogger.com (Allee G) — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 07:58:00 +0000

Hello my Dear Readers,
I’ve got a special announcement today. Mark Sisson, author ofThe Primal Blueprint, has a brand new book out called The Primal Blueprint 21-Day Total Body Transformation. It’s a practical, action-oriented guide for how to eat, exercise and live Primally – a step-by-step, “cut to the chase” resource to make a smooth and quick transition into a Primal lifestyle. In it he tells you exactly what to do every day for 21 days to take control of your health for the rest of your life. Mark explains what this new book is all about, what’s in it and who it’s for here.

If you're curious at all about the Primal lifestyle and want any questions answered or need a slight push in getting started, or if you want to know exactly what it is you need to do to kickstart your primal lifestyle, then this book is the answer.

Mark is looking to score this book on the New York Times best-seller list to gain exposure for the Primal Blueprint message, so he’s put together a loaded special offer. Basically, you order 1 or more copies between October 18 and 24, email your receipt to a special email address and Mark kicks you back a bunch of freebies. It’s a win-win. You get a great book for less than 15 bucks, and a bunch of free gifts, and you and Mark both get to help take the Primal movement mainstream. Check out the details of Mark’s special offer below and pick up a copy of the book today.

The Dessert Edition

noreply@blogger.com (Allee G) — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 16:37:00 +0000

I've been a busy girl these last couple of days, after the cookies I've gone on a primal dessert spree..

These desserts are quick and easy to make and sugar free with very little carb content. Oh and these are vegetarian too!

The first one I made is a chocolate, avocado pudding.

All I did was cut one avocado in half and scoop it's contents into a blender, put in one banana chopped, 3 Tbsps of cocoa, and 1 tsp of honey.

After the blender mashed it to pulp, what emerged was a smooth textured, delicious chocolate mousse with a really good flavour. 100% real food !

The Return of the Cookie Monster

noreply@blogger.com (Allee G) — Sun, 09 Oct 2011 19:55:00 +0000

If there's one thing I can't stay away from since going primal (apart from alcohol), it's chocolate chip cookies dipped in coffee! Most of my friends will attest to that. So when I finally got a great recipe and baked a super primal batch imagine my joy.

This is the best primal chocolate chip cookie recipe I've found yet and I have tried a few, so read on for the real food recipe...

Cookie Monster

Be inspired - A short story

noreply@blogger.com (Allee G) — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 11:47:00 +0000

What started of yesterday as a short quick post on inspiration and Steve Jobs took shape of something much longer than I had intended. I started by writing about Steve Jobs and then realized I had nothing to say that hasn't already been said.

So without wasting your time, I'l just dive into what this post is about. Its been inspired by Mr. Inspiration itself and it is about, well… inspiration.

There are two reasons why I am writing about inspiration today.

1) In the last few days, I've heard the word 'inspiration' a lot. My current lifestyle that warrants a change in attitude, and a new outlook to health and fitness has encouraged a few readers to reach out and ask for inspiration.

2) I believe that Steve Jobs inspired just by doing. If you've heard stories about him, you'd know that the CEO of Apple was not one to sit back and let others do things. He'd get involved in the minute tinkering of new launches much to the exasperation of his staff. He scrapped a couple of iPhone prototypes after countless hours of work, just because they were not up to his perfect standards.

This eulogy of action by Seth Godin has inspired me greatly.

I can't compose a proper eulogy for Steve Jobs. There's too much to say, too many capable of saying it better than I ever could.
It's one thing to miss someone, to feel a void when they're gone. It's another to do something with their legacy, to honor them through your actions.
Steve devoted his professional life to giving us (you, me and a billion other people) the most powerful device ever available to an ordinary person. Everything in our world is different because of the device you're reading this on.
What are we going to do with it?

Today, I am more inspired than yesterday, to live life to the fullest, to respect my body, to eat and exercise sensibly and to do it with love.

With this blog, I aim to delve into my personal experiences and share them, and by doing that I hope to encourage readers get onto a path of long term health and fitness, because it all starts with some amount if motivation. So in that vein, I'd like to share with you my story and what inspired me to make this drastic change in lifestyle with the hope that I might inspire you in even a small teeny weeny way.

Because the only true way to inspire is by doing.

Spend Less Time Exercising

noreply@blogger.com (Allee G) — Sun, 02 Oct 2011 10:01:00 +0000

I'm one of the colourful sprinting blurs

There are many ways to exercise. And somehow running for hours and hours has caught the fancy of alot of people in todays day. The hype around the Mumbai marathon so does not help! Its fine to run if you enjoy it. I mean if you wake up early in the morning and say - Hey, I can hardly get my shoes on straight because I need to be out that door and run and run and run; if you cross your heart and tell me that's how you feel in the morning or evening or whenever it is that you're going for a run, then do it. Don't let any blog post or article in the world hold you back if you feel like that.

If you feel like I feel - me being a fairly active person - read super active person who does 8-9 workouts a week on average (yes yes mental I know) - I feel like shooting my self when we're doing the 1 k test once a month in bootcamp.

I hate it. I hate the monotony of running. I feel upset. Every workout I do makes me feel uplifted and happy. Except for running.

So you may not be like me. But you not be like little miss sunshine in the first para either. If you are somewhere in between (more tilting towards me something tells me) , if you put your alarm on snooze 3 times before getting out of bed and wondering why you're putting yourself through the ordeal then listen up..

I was a lazy chubby girl till 2 years ago. I could not wake up without an alarm till 10 am or sometimes 11. up until the age of 28, I was not some 18 year old lethargic teen mind you. So I'm not a natural to working out, nor was I ever athletic.
The same me wakes up before the alarm at 6 am because I really want to. I haven't missed a single session NOT A SINGLE BOOTCAMP SESSION in the past year and a half. Why? Because I enjoy it and I enjoy my reflection in the mirror. There is no other explanation why a hater of early mornings and all things sunrisey would put herself through the ordeal.

I think the key to fitness is to really enjoy exercise and in order to enjoy it, you need to find things that take up less time and are therefore less monotonous.

Here are some ideas...

How to lose weight by eating out alot

noreply@blogger.com (Allee G) — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 17:46:00 +0000

My husband is in the food business: restaurants and bars. Needless to say I eat out a lot. I eat out a lot more than ever before.

This was the spread that was ordered last night (a Monday night) by 5 other people on the dinner table when I went out.

Indian meal

And this is what I ordered for myself...

Tandoori chicken

A whole Tandoori chicken - nothing more, nothing less. Juicy, lipsmackingly delicious, filling, and leaving me wanting for nothing.

I've been eating out a lot in the past year and a half, but at the same time I've managed to lose loads of fat and I've dropped 3 sizes.

A lot of people when trying to lose weight say : stop eating out.
But when trying to lose weight, it is important NOT to deprive yourself of goodness and all things fun.
If by keeping yourself locked up at home, you're resenting the whole weight loss journey, it's not going to work.

But having fun means being out with friends and enjoying your social life yes? Yes.

But having an active social life means debauchery, getting drunk, and letting my hair down yes? Not entirely.

Looking good, feeling good, and having a healthy body comprise of basic requirements if you want to enjoy life to the fullest and have fun.

So while keeping this in mind, here are ways to go out, have a good time, enjoy good company, good food, and still keep that weight in check: