Lisa's fitness fundas

Lisa Sarah John, the Sports Nutritionist for the Prakash Padukone Academy and National Cricket Academy, is perhaps the most well known practitioner in this field in Bangalore. She is a post-graduate (MSc) with distinction in Nutrition & Dietetics from WCC Chennai. Her brochure lists the following critical points on nutrition. These are relevant perhaps more for the "average" citizen than for sports professionals, who are more aware of fitness facts. Nevertheless, these could prove useful:

LISA'S GOLDEN RULES
*Check your weight once a week
*Set aside 20-30 minutes a day, 7 days a week for a walk
*Drink plenty of water, at least 2-3 litres
*Drink at least 2 glasses of low fat milk
*Try not to be hungry at any time
*Choose fruit and fruit juices as snacks
*Make each meal a combination of carbohydrate and protein foods
*Make dinner a low fat meal with lots of salad
*NEver skip any meal as you tend to over eat later
*Never go out to party/ restaurant on an empty stomach. Have a fruit/ buttermilk/ salad before leaving home

TRAFFIC SIGNAL GUIDE TO EATING

RED -- CAREFUL
SMALL PORTIONS OF THESE CAN MAKE YOU FAT

*Cream of milk, butter, ghee, cheese, paneer
*All fried foods, papad, pickle
*All nuts and coconut chutney, soya
*Bakery items like cakes, cookies, puffs, pastries
*Sweets like chocolates, ice cream
*Red meat and gravy
*Mayonnaise
*Aerated drinks and alcohol

** Use skimmed milk powder
** Eat only fish/ chicken
Eat only at lunch and avoid gravy
** 2-3 teaspoon oil in cooking permitted

ORANGE -- EAT IN MODERATION
*Whole wheat bread, phulkas, ragi, jowar, bajra rotis, rice, pasta
*Dals and pulse -- channa, rajma, moong
*Low fat curds, eggs
*Chicken, fish -- grilled/ tandoori
*Vegetables (sabji)
**No rice at night (no white cereal)
**No non-veg at night
**No sabji at night

GREEN -- EAT LIBERALLY
*Skimmed milk/ curd
*Lime juice/ buttermilk
*Fresh fruits
*Cucumber, tomatoes, carrots, cabbage, raddish, sprouts

FORMULA FOR FITNESS
WALK: 20-30 minutes, 7 days a week
WATER: 10-12 glasses (2-3 litres)
DIET: Very strictly
*Avoid fatty food to lose weight
Careful
To eat fatty food only: twice/ week to maintain weight
*Healthy Eating
*Eat plenty of fibre, whole cereals, pulses, salads, fruits

NUTRIENTS AND FOOD GROUPS
There are six classes of nutrients: Water, Minerals, Vitamins, Carbohydrates, Proteins and Fats.
WATER: makes up 60% of body
MINERAL: important for teeth, bones and blood
VITAMINS: important for many vital processes
CARBOHYDRATES: consist of Sugar (Fruits, sugar, jam jelly, honey, jaggery) and Starch (Vegetables, Cereals like rice, wheat, corn, bread, roti, idli, pasta)
PROTEINS: are body builders. Dals/ pulses are rich in protein and carbohydrates.
Soya, nuts and oil seeds, milk and milk products, eggs, meat, fish and poultry are rich in proteins and fat. Therefore, use carefully.
FATS: are reserve fuel
Oils: Unsaturated fats
Cream of milk, butter, coconut, margarine
Dalda: Saturated fats -- avoid

FOOD DISTRIBUTION PERCENTAGE
Breakfast and 11 am fruit: 40%
Lunch tea and 6 pm fruit: 40%
Dinner: 20%
UNHEALThY FOOD DISTRIBUTION
The present trend is to have light breakfast, lunch and a heavy dinner where the food distribution is 10% +20% + 70%. Avoid this unhealty practice.

(Courtesy: Lisa Sarah John. Contact: lisasarahjohn@hotmail.com or www.lisamiraclediet.com. Phone: 080-2571 9234.