Plant Based Life

Such a click-bait title, but seriously, if there was only one tip I could give someone for a flat belly, it would be this.

I wish I could go back to my old self and read this article! But moreover, I have seen people get very excited about the concept of veganism after my seminars/ workshops and decide to switch overnight to last for exactly 24 hours later before they fall of the wagon.

Protein, protein, proteins!

I made this high protein (25 grams of protein in one bowl) dinner bowl yesterday by putting in random ingredients but it turned out darn good!

This is the second most popular weight related question I get after the “how to lose belly fat”. For someone who is new to a plant- based/ vegan diet, if you do not look after your nutritional intake carefully, you will lose a lot of weight in a short span. 

Farzi Cafe at UB City, bangalore (and branches in other cites) is a very cozy yet live place to sit and enjoy the bangalore weather. 

Let’s talk belly fat! Because 70% of the clients I meet just want to reduce belly fat.

Now it is important to understand that the body decides where to lose fat from once you start exercising and eat right.

The most popular question I get on a regular basis is “is there any shortcut to lose weight fast?” Everyone wants to get there fast without having to put work in. But the truth is, there really is no substitute for hard work. 

Happy world vegan day!!!!

One of the best decisions I made for my body was to go on a plant- based diet. Do I ever think about going back or ‘miss’ any food that is non- vegan, you bet I don’t. And this comes from a hardcore food lover and a once cheese pizza addict.

A lot of times my clients tell me I am too strict with them and don’t give them a lot of freedom with fitness or nutrition plans. This is sort of true because I obviously want them to get the best out of my programs and see the best version of themselves in the short time we have together.

So I have been having late nights (11pm) and early mornings (3.30am, legit) since the past few days. Inspite of the long hours, I am still working out for about 1 hour per day and been on my foot running around almost all day.

The most common excuses people have for not working out is “lack of time”. The second most common excuses I here all the time as a fitness expert is “too much travel”.

I do not really know if I am a morning person or wake up early because my work demands me to do so. My day starts anywhere between 5.30- 6.30 am and on most days I wakeup before the sound of the alarm going on. This is a good sign, meaning my body has got enough rest and is ready to take on the next day stronger.

Let’s just start of by saying everyone is an athlete (totally stole that from Philip Maffetone)  but I seriously believe in this. I was working as a personal trainer and group exercise instructor when I was at 32% body fat. 

If you are new to veganism or have decided to go dairy free, one of the problems you will face with is an upset stomach. Even if you have nothing to do with veganism but just decided to change your food habits all of a sudden, this is a common side effect.

Whether your reason is because you want to go vegan and give up dairy milk or caffeine causing side effects, overcoming tea/ coffee addiction can be hard. Caffeine is addictive and if you have been having it for years, it is not easy giving up overnight.

Yes! I found vegan cheese nachos in Bangalore! Where you ask, well then read on!

Lets talk some reality here, oven baked fries don’t taste half as good as deep fried once. Sure you can have a healthy quinoa base pizza but what dominos tastes like only dominos tastes like right?

Lately I have not been feeling very motivated personally to do anything much. One of the reasons for this is because I do not have any immediate goal or any finishing line to go for. Without a goal and deadline, I do not feel the need to push myself and have instead been distracted with things not the best for my health.

Lately I have been coming across many people who started their 2017 New Year’s fitness resolution in full swing and have suddenly stopped everything. The new pair of Nike’s are suddenly out of sight, healthy food drawers in the kitchen have been replaced with take-out containers and its been days together they have stepped foot in the gym.

While shopping at Food Hall the other day I came across the Rice Paper’s and actually got them to try the rice paper vegan bacon. I wanted to try the traditional vegan eggs/ bacon for breakfast (event though I have no freeking idea how the non- vegan version even tastes. I wanted this as an option for some of my clients transitioning from being meat eaters to vegan’s.

If you cannot fall asleep just because you are so excited to wake up to breakfast, well you might not be having enough carbs for dinner ;). But I would be lying if I say this has never happened to me. Especially since I have discovered smoothie bowls! I LOVE breakfasts especially because mostly its one of the only meals my entire family sits together to have and talks about everything not related to work. Also I make the most amazing smoothie bowls!

The very first question I get asked when I tell anyone that I am vegan is the “But proteins?”. Funnier is that I get asked this by people who are overly obese and get out of breath even while talking or unhealthy and clearly underweight malnourished looking adults.

I always ask them if they know literally anyone on planet earth who has died of protein deficiency. Then ask them how many of their family members currently suffer from cardiovascular diseases, hypertension, diabetics, cancer etc (multiple studies have confirmed the relationship between animal proteins and these diseases by the way!). But anyways since this article is really not about proteins (and believe me I am tired of talking proteins ;), the second most common question I get asked is “where do you get your calcium from”?

I recently had a business meet with this person regarding some tie up and we met at a local cafe. It was a health cafe and the menu was filled with everything from smoothies, sandwiches, salads, desserts etc. There were ample options for vegetarians and non- vegetarians.

I have already been told not to write about this but ehh, I still am. I really hope as you are reading through, you take this as an inspiration/ motivation and try and look at the positive arguments. 

As a fitness expert I often get women/ girls coming upto me with trouble losing fat in their lower body. I have myself struggled with a lot of fat deposit on my adductors/ abductors (inner and outer thighs), and glutes (butt). Surprisingly though, losing weight in the lower body was not that very hard for me. 

So if you have been following my journey, you would have already heard me brag on and on about why animal protein is not important for the human body, and how we can not only sustain, but live better by only eating plant protein.

As much as you want to stay on track, you are going to have cravings. Not going to lie, these are hard to overcome. I really wish a good workout could out run a bad diet, however, this is not possible (trust me I have tried it more than one time :(). 

As much as I dislike cardio, I have found ways to make it super fun in the past few months. Knowing there is escaping from it, if you looking to seriously lose fat in a short period of time, CARDIO!

Ok so have been hearing intermediate fasting and SO much about it, I had to give it a try. Firstly, intermittent fasting (IF) is a very popular “diet/ lifestyle” concept now, where you spend periods of time lasting from 14-20 hours not eating. Now this may sound very restrictive, but actually it really is not. 

Ever been on a fat loss program? Heard dietitians, gym instructors, random uncles who like to weigh in on everything say “stay away from carbs”. Carbs are bad, that’s what causes you to gain weight. Don’t eat rice, cut down on roti’s, skip dinner, drink only soup for dinner, if you want “fast” weight loss, don’t eat carbs.

Ever been on a fat loss program? Heard dietitians, gym instructors, random uncles who like to weigh in on everything say “stay away from carbs”. Carbs are bad, that’s what causes you to gain weight. 

That’s my Quinoa- Almond milk breakfast bowl with a dash of spirulin powder. It’s pure vegan and oh so healthy!

For those who do not know, gram for gram, spirulina may literally be the single most nutritious food on the planet. Only a tablespoon contains about 11% of your daily iron requirements.

Made Tofu veggie stir fry for dinner few days back!

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Benefits of tofu…

Soy chocolate milk breakfast bowl!

So when you have absolutely no time to cook breakfast but still want to get something refreshing and almost healthy in, try this!

Don’t try and look like that model in the cover of the magazine you saw. The model in the magazine also does not look like the model in the cover of the magazine.

Yes strive to be the perfect version of you and wake up everyday bettering yourself but don’t set unrealistic standards. 

Cardio when sore… This is why you should do it too…

Ok most of the times soreness is caused when there is too much lactic acid (by product released when glucose is broken down for energy in the body during exercise) accumulated in the blood stream. 

Vegan‬ and ‪‎gluten‬ free Quinoa- Oats bites!

These are quick take away breakfast bites that I made!
If your work schedule does not allow a lot of cooking time, bake these once a week and store them for upto 15 days…

I generally have spinach as my last meal of the day and for various reasons…

Spinach is an excellent source of carotenoids (precursor to Vitamin A, which is almost not found at all in a vegan diet)…