Golden Globe- Save yourself the torture.

Boy oh boy. Have the golden globes got you salivating buckets full or what? Men across the globe, sitting jaw-dropped, distracted and in a state of wishful fantasy glued to their telles. Injustice! I find it sheer injustice for the rest of us women. I mean what kind of pressure do we mere mortals undergo when a 50 year old Jodie Foster has more gorgeous gams than a 30-something me (us-come on women, we're one on this)?!
And seeing the husband get his tie all wrong every time the likes of Jennifer Lopez in her tease-of-a-dress swayed on my flat screen only made my curves feel gargantuan.

So the conversation goes like this.

Husband: Baby, these women age so well. I mean look at Jennifer Garner (Why couldn't my parents name me Jennifer? May be i would also turn out in the ranks of Jennifer Lopez, Jennifer Garner, Jennifer Lawrence?) She's a mother of 3. Look at her arms and her buff torso.

Me: Yeah. (THOUGHT BUBBLE: But baby, she also has the luxury of having a butler, chauffeur, fitness trainer, yoga instructor and therapist at her disposal 24-7. She also has amazing caucasian genes that do not store fat like my sedated Indian genes. She also played a lot of sports as a kid unlike me, who sat on a swing when it was play time.)

Husband: Wow, look at Jodi Foster. OMG! Just look at her. Who would say she's 50?! Ha? Baby, if they can look like that, i mean what's stopping us? (Us as in Indians) Why do we age so poorly?

Me: Yeah, you're right baby. (Because perhaps they are allowed to do whatever their heart desires without gun point deadlines of marriage by 21 and 2 babies by 25 with a PHD in medical engineering and a $100K salary so you can send dollars back home, all by 28? Maybe that freedom lessens their stress? And we all know by now, less stress=better aging.)

Husband: Should i bunk work today? This is really entertaining.

Me: ABSOLUTELY NOT. We can see the re runs in the evening. (Not a chance in hell)

So this is how my day went post the golden globe:
1 hour after husband unwillingly left for work- 1 hour gym work out.
Lunch: Mountain salad.
Mid day- Green Tea
Evening:- Toast with peanut butter
Dinner-Salad
Post Dinner:- Bag of chips and a toblerone. Sigh!

I guess i now know why Jodi Foster looks the way she does. It all boils down to will power.
Will start working on mine for the next golden globe.
Till then, enjoy your curves ladies! 

Proof of Pregnancy

Klum, 1 months post her baby

A month after Heidi Klum had a baby, she walked the ramp for victoria secret's skimpies, strutting her stuff and making us 'normal' women go green, absolutely green with envy. Jealous is more like it actually. Me thinks she may be the only freak of nature, and what a stunning freak at that, to have zero stretch marks post the 9 months of baby making in her belly. 

My mumma used to say proudly, looking at her stretch marks, this is my proof of pregnancy. Sweet. But i wonder why i need to prove anything at all? Isn't labour enough? Ok. Let's not stretch ourselves too much today. Speaking of stretching, so do you have your proof of pregnancy? More proof for more than one pregnancy? 

I had a client skype with me from South Africa, wondering if Indian women suffered the eyesore of stretch marks due to pregnancy. Do we? I have not yet made a baby, so i apologize for not being able to give you first hand information, but what i can tell you is this-Your skin is made up of two important-for-youth substances. Collagen & Elastin. Think of Collagen as jelly. If you can imagine jelly, that is what Collagen is in your skin. It keeps it all together. Foods rich in protein help Collagen production and maintain good quality Collagen in the skin, which in turn keeps your skin young. Elastin on the other hand is like the elastic in your hair band. It can stretch and become as big as you want and in time either loose its original shape altogether, or in the case of human beings, shrink back really close to its original form. Elastin is also dependent on protein and some other nutrients to maintain good health in your skin. Good health of Collagen & Elastin will determine how youthful your skin looks, devoid of marks and blimps. 

Here are some reasons why you end up having stretch marks:

1. Lack of moisture in the body

2. Lack of EFAs or essential fatty acids like Omega 3-6-9 and Selenium

3. Unable to maintain a steady weight

4. Erratic dieting before conception 

5. Sun tanning

6. Constantly wearing very tight clothes

7. SO SO IMPORTANT- Not enough protein in your diet

8. Insufficient Vitamin E in the diet

9. Poor flushing of toxins from your body

10. Not having a rich husband. Read on, you'll see why.

So here are some of the reasons why you are probably less prone to have a stomach like Heidi Klum. I read somewhere, the source slips my mind, that Heidi Klum ate organic Norwegian Salmon very regularly through her pregnancy. This is great! Because Salmon is most definitely anti stretch mark food.

If you, like me, don't have the luxury to eat organic Norwegian Salmon, and prefer chomping on grass, make sure you eat a variety of vegetarian foods to get maximum nutrients in your diet. Combine nuts, grains, seeds, vegetables, fruits and roots of all colors, shapes and sizes. Remember, Vegetarian=Variety, else you will always be battling some deficiency or the other. The most important one, a massive deficiency to have a flawless belly post your bump. 

Mid Night Express

The poor husband. Yes, a rare moment of sympathy towards the opponent. I feel he must have to deal with much ever since we combined our worlds. For one, the endless overdose of what to eat and what not to eat. How to eat it. When to eat it and what the thousand possible reasons for the red blimp on the back of his ear may be. And this is just one aspect.
On an another note, since i've discovered this new found connection between the mind, body and food, this definitely is the latest topic of discussion whether or not he likes it. He likes it. Most of the times.
So here's something that struck my synapses yesterday. And please people, please do share your thoughts and back me up or boot me down on this one.
I felt the need to express everything that i had been reading and learning in the past couple of days about being a staunch vegetarian and felt the need to express it all in the middle of the night. When the husband seemed unenthusiastic about listening attentively, i snapped at him for being too selfish. Of course, once the coffee was in my hand the next morning, it was only too obvious who the selfish one really was.
Do you get irritable often? Do you snap often? Do you feel the urge to express rage? Observe. See if this is something that happens to you and keep a track of how often it happens. We've not had the sun for almost 10 days where i live. It has been cold, wet and grey for a long time now. I've found my self terribly irritable and sad. Not the usual foolishly optimistic and happy self that i am. The one horrible thing lack of sunshine does to the body is lowers levels of Vitamin D. And what could this possibly do? Iv'e been researching and apparently there is a direct link between low levels of Vitamin D and unstable emotions.
See, when your Vitamin D drops, it effects calcium and magnesium levels in body as well. A combination of these 3 dropping, effects neurological health, in that, it is more conducive to depression, anxiety, irritability and anger. Everything but a feeling of peace and contentment. Some people also start to breathe poorly because of the heightened levels of suppressed anxiety.
What is the cure? Nothing like a few minutes of the early morning sunshine. The first few rays of the sun that say hello hello. It is not only your daily quota for vitamin D, but also a great cure for skin, hair, bone and eye problems.
If sunny boy's on vacation and if you're vegetarian, then fortified juices and cereals seem to be it, but if you eat flesh, then you can get it from a number of meats. A whole egg to start with.
So the next time you feel that a drama queen has possessed your otherwise cool and calm persona, check your sunshine vitamin. And spare the husband. 

Of brittle bones and stilettos on stones

Oh dear Calcium! How is it that you avoid us vegetarians? Why would you do that to us?
We constantly swallow gallons and gallons of the white milky stuff believing that we will get our daily doze of you, but you seem to chase us despite that, why?
Ok no more silly talk with Calcium. Let's dive right into it. Calcium is a cause for concern for many vegetarians despite their daily doze of yogurt, cottage cheese and 'doodh-wali-chai.'
So where are we going wrong? For starters, in the study of Ms Diya Dembla, dairy, the whole range, does more damage in your system than good. You may think your dairy intake is helping you with your quota of calcium, but in reality, it is casing your digestive system to slow down, hampering the balanced secretion of hormones and yes, may even aggravate those pimples.
So what can we do if we drop the milk? Well, here are a bunch of very simple vegetarian sources of calcium which if included on a daily basis in your diet, that all nighter high-heel party won't kill your toes/knees the next day. Will take way more than that.

1. White Sesame Seeds:- Add them to your salad, stir fry with them, munch them raw. Excellent source of calcium.

2. Almonds: Oh there's so much you can do with almonds.

3. Raw Spinach: See this one's not the same as cooked spinach. The calci in cooked is almost destroyed. So you want to make sure that you get some amount of raw spinach through a juice or salad or garnish.

4. Bok Choy:- GO ahead, unveil the chinese chef in you and add this to your stir fry's.

5. ALL green leafy vegetables: Have you been avoiding fresh green fenugreek? Well now's your chance to kiss and make up. Pretty much all leafy greens have quite the doze of calcium and if included in your meals everyday, your heels won't hurt.

So what will you be including in your meal today my dear vegetarian?

Vitamin L

There's something magical about being in love. The flutter in your eyes, the gorgeous glowing skin, the effervescent smile and that almost foolishly happy for absolutely no reason disposition. LOVE. It can do that to the most rational, logical and practical of us all. If you think being goofy in love with a smile for no reason is unbecoming, i've got news for you bebe. 

When we are in love or feel loved the body releases a lot of feel-good hormones. One of them, among many is Oxytocin. Did you know that oxytocin is also one of the hormones that impacts the contraction and expansion of the womb and how milk ducts get stimulated while feeding? It also plays a role in not developing food allergies.

Have i lost my male readers? Wait. I have news for you too. Apparently when men and women go out for a romantic date or a mushy movie, levels of progesterone are boosted by almost 10% and this enhances the men's desire to get intimate. When Harry Met Sally tonight?

The love between man and woman is not the only kind that is nourishing for us. Research suggests that fathers who have a good bond with their children have lower levels of cortisol which invariably shoots up during the week while they are at work. Oh cortisol! You do not want elevated levels of cortisol in your body because this one is a trouble maker.

So grab a bite together over a moonlit sky. Hug your babies nice and tight. Make passionate love to your beau. Walk hand in hand singing and laughing over meaningful conversation. You'll soon realize, your medical bills are disappearing and the way you look and feel will be everyone's envy. LOVE.

Downfall 007

Are you the best at feeling low, depressed and constantly unhappy?
Do you have the unique gift of turning a perfectly beautiful day into a sob story?
Do you feel like the world is conspiring against you?
And most importantly, are you able to have healthy relationships without feeling like somethings wrong with the other person?
I've got news for you my darling friend. Other than the fact that you probably need help in the mental department too, but for starters check your levels of:-
1. CALCIUM
2. B VITAMINS
3. D VITAMINS
4. PROTEIN
It is a proven fact that low levels of the aforementioned have an immediate effect on your mental health. Deficiency in some nutrients are conducive to feeling mentally unfit and in particular low, depressed and victimized.
It is not abnormal to feel these emotions, but if you've been feeling like that on more than one occasion and it persists across a year, yes, start with checking your levels of 1, 2, 3, 4.
And hey, your body is not the world wide web where everything can happen at the click of an instant. If you've discovered that you are deficient in any of the above, give yourself at least, three months, to feel healthy and fine before you decide, it is the mental department that needs help.
Stay Happy!

Size Zero. RIP.

Size Zero. RIP.

Like tea or coffee, sugar or sugar free, image gurus have battled with the size zero conundrum for years. The silence was broken when a very bootiful Cindy Crawford appeared on a magazine cover flaunting her bump. That was breaking all fashion principles. How can someone who was known for her hourglass figure expose her ‘flaws,’ so publicly?

That edition was a runaway success. Something the publishing team at W magazine took their chances with and were rewarded with an all-copies-sold-out prize. That was the new wave of fashion imaging. It reached out to the everyday woman. Someone who had little time for herself and led a very normal life with a little bit of a bulge on the belly and flab on the arms. It gave the everyday woman hope. Hope that one day she can be accepted as she is. Today, albeit thin is still in on the ramp and fashion brands, thin is also relative. More brands want nicer bodies over anorexic ones. Of course, if you’re genetically blessed with the perfect stats you are welcomed with open arms, but that's becoming rare.

At the more recent, American’s Top Model fashion reality show, Tyra Banks and the rest of the judges actually let go of three prospective fashion super stars because they thought they would project the wrong body image to the young and restless. Are we truly changing the way fashion imaging is projecting bodies or is it just a phase? Do you like to see slightly healthier curves on the cover of a fashion magazine or do you still prefer the non-realistic fantasy of a mannequin body on the cover?

I wish I had access to the Neilson’s research of sales for size zeros across the globe. With so much awareness and focus on better health and fitter bodies rather than skinny ones, I bet the size zero phenomenon is near extinction.

If you’ve got the curves and look attractive, watch out, you could be picked for the next fashion campaign. Enjoy your healthy body and stop obsessing about being skinny because real is in, size zero is out.