Morning: You can be all these andmore - because the key to them lies, in your hands! What you need to dois start your body's energy cycle that lasts for the entire day. Andhow do you rev up this energy cycle which means, you create-use-up-create energy constantly? By two simple ways - exercise, and eat(when you must) the right food.



The best breakfast you can treatyourself to is exercising. Walking or jogging or cycling or swimming orinchstepping, for 20 to 42 minutes awakens you like nothing else does.It stimulates your insides by working on your muscle tissues, relaxesyour digestive tract, rids your body of wastes, gives you more punchthan the caffeine you get from your morning cuppa.

Eating in themorning does not really help your energy cycle. You will know why laterin this chapter. But, if you must eat, go for fresh fruits andsugar-free fruit juices. Your body can digest them with ease. Thus, theenergy cycle generated by exercising does not get used up for digestionand you are free to use it for more important jobs.

Aha! youmight say, these guys promised us that we have to make little changesto make big differences. Do they call these little changes? Why, I'venever exercised in the morning! And as for drinking fruit juice insteadof coffee... forget it! Wait! Don't tune off. We are talking of anideal situation here. If you can switch to this state without feelingany pangs, you'd be into your energy cycle almost with a snap of yourfingers!

But what if you are used to eating a hearty breakfast?What if the thought of eating fruit in the morning makes you squirm?What if you don't feel ready to face the day without your morningcuppa? Here is where that tiny change waltzes in, Have your morningcuppa without sugar. If you cannot cultivate a taste for yourunsweetened beverage, use a sugar-free sweetener, but try to weanyourself out of this habit gradually.

If you feel unfinishedwithout sinking your teeth into your toast, continue to do so. Justsubstitute the butter with a delicious herbal spread, You can pileonions, coriander leaves, ginger, garlic, salt, lemon juice into yourmixer and churn out this mouth-watering chutney. Spread it over yourslice and crunch away! If you are into dosas or parathas prepare themwithout oil or ghee. And you can use the same fat-free chutney as anaccompaniment. Coconut as a base for your herbal spread is avoidablesince it increases your cholestrol. It is far healthier to use onions.

Afternoon:If you haven't had time for exercising, here is your opportunity to doso. Your lunch hour is your own. You could go for a 42-minute walk. Orswim if you have a pool handy. If your office has a gym, use the walkeror stationary cycle. If you have your own cabin, you can inchstep. Keepjogging shoes, socks and a mat permanently in your cabin.

Onceagain, the ideal lunch would be a soup and a nice luscious salad or amedley of vegetables with a fat-free masala - eaten with oil-less rotisor bread. Wash it down with fresh buttermilk or chaas.

If youcannot do without your thali, have hot steamed rice (without ghee) anda fat free sambhar or dal with your sabzi cooked in an oil-less masala.A void pickles and papads.

Most of them have excess oil and salt. For dessert, sink your sweet tooth into a nice juicy fruit.

Ifyou eat out regularly, try and inculcate these hints into the chief'smenu. We are sure a good restauranteur would want to please his regularcustomer.

Tea-time: Your tea should be sugar-free, and if youenjoy a snack with your evening cuppa have idlis or cream crackers. Thehumble idli is an ideal health food. You can even put sprouts into itsmix before steaming. And, of course, the accompaniment should be theoil-less sambhar or the herbal chutney we've already mentioned.

TV-time:In the evening, while watching television, you can inchstep or pedal onyour stationary cycle. If you like snacking, crunch on cucumberfingers. Instead of eating fried farsan or peanuts (they contain highcholestrol), you could make your own TV snack. For example, mixvegetables with sprouts and a few roasted channas, sprinkle them withchaat masala and squeeze a fresh lemon. Or spread chutney on a creamcracker, place a sliced tomato over it, sprinkle with sprouts and chaatmasala, and place a tiny sprig of coriander or mint leaves as agarnish. Salted biscuits are not recommended for obvious reasons.

Dinner.Your night thali can be similar to your afternoon one - steamed rice,fat-free dal, a sabzi cooked in an oil-less masala, a chutney andfruit. If you enjoy onion bhajiyas, dip them in their batter and grillor bake them, Don't fry them.

Pre-dinner appetiser. Perhaps youare used to imbibing alcohol before dinner. The healthiest way would beto give it up. Relax with a glass of buttermilk. Or fresh fruit juice.If that is not possible, don't exceed two small pegs of your favourite.Beyond that, it's just not worth risking your health.

Initially,preparing such meals may appear an onerous task. But that is onlybecause you are not used to it. In time to come, you will realise thatoil-less cooking is far simpler and quicker than the oily way. Itinvolves churning out the masala in your mixer and cooking yourvegetables in it, or boiling the dal with the seasoning such as mustardseeds, curry pata, etc. By following such a fatless and sugar-freelifestyle daily, you can splurge once in a way when you are out at afriend's place or at a restaurant.

On such occasions, you will besurprised how full you feel on food cooked in oil-for by then, yoursystem will be tuned to healthy eating.

By adopting the simpleprinciples mentioned above, you will be aiding your body's energycycle. You will enjoy your meals even as you continue to lose weight.

Yourexercising ensures excess fat-burning, while you are not putting fat orsugar into your body. You can compare this fitness lifestyle ofexercising and healthy eating to blinking. Blinking comes naturally toyou. Only by putting weight on your eyelid, will you make it difficultfor yourself to blink. Similarly, by not exercising and overeating, oreating the wrong food, you put pressure on your body system. By gettinginto the fitness lifestyle, you are leaving your body free to 'blink'away in its natural energy cycle.