This post is dedicated to all those lovely ladies trying to lose weight.
Well being an avid lover of the good things in life, which devilishly only make you wanna cry on the weighing scale...it took me some time to crack the code...thanks to some help from experts. Now experts I value for anything..design, analytics or health
First some general rules:
1) Know and love your body - Let me explain..I am an O+ve and carbs suit me...so I need not give up carbs at all. Proteins dont...so avoid proteins specially at night. Each of us have a unique body..know yours...go to the experts and ask. Find out what your body wants and listen to it.
2) Sorry girls, you have to balance the diet as well as exercise. Hey its not a bad thing you know...the high after an intense workout is quite awesome...just get a good and empathetic trainer.
3) Dance - Its absolutely a soul uplifting exercise...do it even if its alone at home or on your terrace. Try Shiamak if you want to really get the pleasure of dancing...I did.
4) If you live far from work...its worth paying that extra cash...even if its big money and move closer.
5) If you have never been 55 kgs in your life....its still possible...so get out of the myth and set some impossible goal.
6) Love walking...walk for hours if necessary...and no, walking 5 hrs a day at times doesnt kill you...if its boring...try trekking... or on sunday get a friend and walk those 20 kms to that far away museum or monument.
7) And hey heard about all those amazing spa's and massages....go ahead join. Trust me on this one.
8) Yoga - Girls its simple and easy and the best toner you can get...just watch that tummy go in...and watch your body become flexible.
9) Stretch - your body has an awesome capacity to stretch and its most effective.
Now the trick about keeping the darn thing off...
Some more specific rules
1) Lose more weight...change the exercise..play tennis, squash, swim or gym ( not a great fan of indoors...but gives you great results)
2) Did you just drink 4 margaritas? Well...i hope no fries (try roasted anything) along with it?...even if you did...next day..stay on fruits...or on only veggies...avoid carbs now...your body will not starve...and will get detoxified.
3) Your body has a threshold weight....if you have lost 5 kgs...you will definitely gain 3...so lose 8kgs. ( maybe the experts dont agree to this one)
Aah...did I hear you asking food...hmm...trust me one helping just finishes off that hunger...the rest is in your mind...so work on your mind. Satisfy it with what it needs...and its not food. Do you like writing...reading...find out what uplifts your mind...and do it.
The calorie counter has helped me reach 53kgs...its simple, just know what you eat and if you dont.... listen to your body, it knows what it needs. A chocolate truffle pastry is not that bad just 350 cals...girls try keeping it below 1200 in a day. Biryani is a no no...oil is a no no....however a few bites satisfy the craving and is not so bad. Pizza's anyone?...no girls dont go beyond a piece. If you do...have only veggies for dinner. Fall in love with veggies and fish...not difficult you know.
The most important rule - Don't give up anything, just reduce the quantity and if you have partied hard at night...next day abstain! Remember your stomach is stretchable...the quantity it needs depends how much you fill in it.
My aim is 50 and I will get there...Toast anyone?
Most importantly dont do it if you really dont want to....its a mind game...aspire to have the perfect weight or the perfect size...you will get there....like I am sure I will :)
Sunday, June 17, 2007
a dream and a prayer
A fleeting glimpse of a dream
Souls entwine
Memories of being alive
And moments divine
*pic credit: flickr.com, Bob
Saturday, June 16, 2007
Hari Sadu
Leadership and the lack of it has been a large part of my tryst with the corporate world.
Being a relatively cool person who believes anyone can do what they want and who wants to be left alone to do my thing, work has taught me the benefits of how to practice this value of my life and along with it act as a catalyst in provoking thought in people about themselves and their values. A very enriching experience I must say.
Unfortunately my work life has not been so kind to me and has constantly put me in situations where my so called leaders have no idea how to manage this little girl, who doesn't need managing at all.
My experience in leading teams made me believe that you must make people dream or just make them remember their dreams. Touch that cord in them and lift them from one level of existence to the next. No dear readers this doesnt happen by giving responsibility and increasing scope of work, this only happens if they are confident enough to take responsibility.
Confidence is intricately meshed with performance. Make a person feel like he or she is shit and the best performers will crumble and vice versa. Skills, tools, processes etc etc will all happen on the job, but are we able to actually touch what makes 70% of the difference in performance? All the conceptualization, brainstorming, sales planning etc etc will not achieve anything if your employees are not in it with passion.
Do this with your direct reportees and ensure they do it with theirs and there you have a fantastic world class team if all of you dream big enough. Simple isnt it?
Not one to take anything in life too seriously in the long run atleast, I am surprised by my own reactions to my great leaders. Why am I in situations in which I am constantly hounded to not be myself? To the benefit of all my so called leaders, I plead guilty of not keeping quiet when I see something which I don't agree with going on in work, with me or with the team that I am associated with. I also plead guilty of expecting my leaders to be far ahead of me in leadership skills and expect them to make the team dream big and be confident and passionate.
Am I expecting too much? Will someone tell me where am I going wrong? Should I really have an attitude of acceptance?
Lets just say I am not in the mood.
Being a relatively cool person who believes anyone can do what they want and who wants to be left alone to do my thing, work has taught me the benefits of how to practice this value of my life and along with it act as a catalyst in provoking thought in people about themselves and their values. A very enriching experience I must say.
Unfortunately my work life has not been so kind to me and has constantly put me in situations where my so called leaders have no idea how to manage this little girl, who doesn't need managing at all.
My experience in leading teams made me believe that you must make people dream or just make them remember their dreams. Touch that cord in them and lift them from one level of existence to the next. No dear readers this doesnt happen by giving responsibility and increasing scope of work, this only happens if they are confident enough to take responsibility.
Confidence is intricately meshed with performance. Make a person feel like he or she is shit and the best performers will crumble and vice versa. Skills, tools, processes etc etc will all happen on the job, but are we able to actually touch what makes 70% of the difference in performance? All the conceptualization, brainstorming, sales planning etc etc will not achieve anything if your employees are not in it with passion.
Do this with your direct reportees and ensure they do it with theirs and there you have a fantastic world class team if all of you dream big enough. Simple isnt it?
Not one to take anything in life too seriously in the long run atleast, I am surprised by my own reactions to my great leaders. Why am I in situations in which I am constantly hounded to not be myself? To the benefit of all my so called leaders, I plead guilty of not keeping quiet when I see something which I don't agree with going on in work, with me or with the team that I am associated with. I also plead guilty of expecting my leaders to be far ahead of me in leadership skills and expect them to make the team dream big and be confident and passionate.
Am I expecting too much? Will someone tell me where am I going wrong? Should I really have an attitude of acceptance?
Lets just say I am not in the mood.
Monday, June 11, 2007
KISS - Keep it Simple and Stupid
( Post renamed from Its easy to be hard, but its hard to be easy)
This morning a colleague of mine, who is a usability expert in our company, showed me a calender which the usability training guys of HFI had given to all our Interface Designers after the training program over the weekend. A brilliant concept within HFI, in which they have internal contests and ask employees to come up with one-liners related to design which they brand as buttons and use avidly in trainings. This is where I got this line from.
The clue of a great website design is that you need to KISS..Keep It Simple and Stupid. Having spent much time on design and owing it to the great expert company I keep now-a-days, I have observed that this concept contributes greatly to why you like one website over the other. The Flickr pink for example, a beautiful way to highlight but pink for heaven's sake on a website, who could've have thought they could carry the concept off so well. But of course if you mess up with the search and features kiss or no kiss gets you no where!! (applaud please spoken like a true product person)
What do you like a messy webpage or a well prioritized easy to use webpage with messages like Oops bad bad server, no donuts for you?
Now what this statement basically stirred in me was nothing to do with webpages. Isn't it hard to be easy in life? Simple living!
Priorities, aims, wishes, desires...I agree keep changing, but if we can easily separate the chaff from the wheat, take it all one at a time and are able to live with a simple thought process, at times make fools of ourselves...I tell you life will be beautiful.
Lately I have been hounded by some complex delhi friends and have been a victimized as well as bored listener to conversations about why I should buy a big car, designer clothes, redo my transitional home and all that stuff people do to make their lives even more complicated. Trust me I love doing it up but not because you earned some money. I would easily spend big money on holidaying or buying expensive stuff I want but not because someone has it.
I have also often been lectured on relationships. Be hard, not easy...this has been proven umpteen number of times by collective experiences of most of my girl friends, in fact the results are instantaneous to see. A lot of fun this, but in retrospect the conversations between friends of planning and discussing results were more entertaining then the relationships themselves. The human mind I tell you sticks to what you cant have. But I have often observed that I have ended up poorer in the end of an experience like that. People who are attracted to what they can't have usually are no fun to be with and trust me they roam around in disguises. The fun of games is not what i refer to here, but the learning attached to the fun was simple to see.
Well may be just maybe the Usability concepts work in relationships too...you need to KISS...people you need to keep it simple and stupid!
Girls...some simple and stupid rules to follow. Guys some tips ;-)
1) Avoid guys who fall for all the games you plan with your friends. Though its a brilliant way to check initially.
2) Avoid guys who make you feel bad about how you look or want you to wear better and more complicated clothing, ofcourse unless you want to.
3) Avoid guys who don't KISS ( you know what I mean, I think I should rename the post, which i just did)
4) If its getting too tough to be with this guy...leave! Life usually is simple...the worst of circumstances can be dealt with simply and sensitively. If its getting tough one of you is making it complex. Your time will be better spent on playing tennis or those guitar classes you always wanted to do.
5) Avoid guys on whose priority list you appear anything but first...doesnt mean hound the poor fellas into shopping... some activities are just more enjoyable with the girls.
6) Understand making a fool of yourself, usually means spreading laughter...a great karma...so avoid guys who take it seriously.
7) Mostly for women in delhi as hoards available here - avoid guys who are avoidable...life will just get too complicated and not worth it..you could have learnt to play sultans of the swing by now!
Maybe the secret of Life is to Keep it simple and stupid.
This morning a colleague of mine, who is a usability expert in our company, showed me a calender which the usability training guys of HFI had given to all our Interface Designers after the training program over the weekend. A brilliant concept within HFI, in which they have internal contests and ask employees to come up with one-liners related to design which they brand as buttons and use avidly in trainings. This is where I got this line from.
The clue of a great website design is that you need to KISS..Keep It Simple and Stupid. Having spent much time on design and owing it to the great expert company I keep now-a-days, I have observed that this concept contributes greatly to why you like one website over the other. The Flickr pink for example, a beautiful way to highlight but pink for heaven's sake on a website, who could've have thought they could carry the concept off so well. But of course if you mess up with the search and features kiss or no kiss gets you no where!! (applaud please spoken like a true product person)
What do you like a messy webpage or a well prioritized easy to use webpage with messages like Oops bad bad server, no donuts for you?
Now what this statement basically stirred in me was nothing to do with webpages. Isn't it hard to be easy in life? Simple living!
Priorities, aims, wishes, desires...I agree keep changing, but if we can easily separate the chaff from the wheat, take it all one at a time and are able to live with a simple thought process, at times make fools of ourselves...I tell you life will be beautiful.
Lately I have been hounded by some complex delhi friends and have been a victimized as well as bored listener to conversations about why I should buy a big car, designer clothes, redo my transitional home and all that stuff people do to make their lives even more complicated. Trust me I love doing it up but not because you earned some money. I would easily spend big money on holidaying or buying expensive stuff I want but not because someone has it.
I have also often been lectured on relationships. Be hard, not easy...this has been proven umpteen number of times by collective experiences of most of my girl friends, in fact the results are instantaneous to see. A lot of fun this, but in retrospect the conversations between friends of planning and discussing results were more entertaining then the relationships themselves. The human mind I tell you sticks to what you cant have. But I have often observed that I have ended up poorer in the end of an experience like that. People who are attracted to what they can't have usually are no fun to be with and trust me they roam around in disguises. The fun of games is not what i refer to here, but the learning attached to the fun was simple to see.
Well may be just maybe the Usability concepts work in relationships too...you need to KISS...people you need to keep it simple and stupid!
Girls...some simple and stupid rules to follow. Guys some tips ;-)
1) Avoid guys who fall for all the games you plan with your friends. Though its a brilliant way to check initially.
2) Avoid guys who make you feel bad about how you look or want you to wear better and more complicated clothing, ofcourse unless you want to.
3) Avoid guys who don't KISS ( you know what I mean, I think I should rename the post, which i just did)
4) If its getting too tough to be with this guy...leave! Life usually is simple...the worst of circumstances can be dealt with simply and sensitively. If its getting tough one of you is making it complex. Your time will be better spent on playing tennis or those guitar classes you always wanted to do.
5) Avoid guys on whose priority list you appear anything but first...doesnt mean hound the poor fellas into shopping... some activities are just more enjoyable with the girls.
6) Understand making a fool of yourself, usually means spreading laughter...a great karma...so avoid guys who take it seriously.
7) Mostly for women in delhi as hoards available here - avoid guys who are avoidable...life will just get too complicated and not worth it..you could have learnt to play sultans of the swing by now!
Maybe the secret of Life is to Keep it simple and stupid.
Wednesday, June 06, 2007
Love...Does it exist?
A tricky topic...written at the risk of my reputation, yet close to my stubborn heart.
I watched a movie long ago called "Before Sunrise" and recently its sequel "Before Sunset". Ethan Hawke and a french woman meet in Italy on a train and spend an evening and a night together and part before sunrise, promising to meet in 6 months. They never did...11 years later they meet by chance in Paris and spend a day together. Two frustrated individuals totally in tune with each other...the french woman had a boyfriend and Ethan had a wife. They never really forgot each other and were in love.
Is this fantasy, an illusion or a reality?
Where does it start? The first glance, the first conversation or the first touch? Is it any of the firsts at all? Being a bit of a dreamer I choose to believe it is. The realization could be later or may never happen...however the rest is only the rest and comes afterwards.
Coming back to real life...do we as individuals know ourselves well enough to realize a good thing when we see it? Are we conditioned by our experiences or our ambiance to ignore it and look for something more conventional, because love my dear friends I don't believe knows any. It is a risky affair...are we scared and so settle for lukewarm security which we are sure will turn cold. Do we dare to dream?
Love, I believe, starts and ends at you yourself. Are you tuned in with yourself..if not you can forget picking up the frequency of another individual. Do we realize at this moment who we are, what we feel...what we believe in and most importantly where is it all coming from....our past experiences, our observations our conditioning or our insecurities? Can we then on realization drop it and know this may not be who we are? Does your lover or husband or boyfriend help you in this process? Do you help him?
Hundreds of people we interact with...do we have the sensitivity of noticing ourselves independently and not in relation to anyone else? Do we have a relationship with ourselves? If we do there is a strong chance that we will be bold enough to meet and know love and the fun and growth in love.
I have observed the time spent with each other is wonderful to begin with...but then it need not be just to begin with, but it often is. What spoils it? Do we realize that often we ourselves kill it. When one is going forward the other takes two steps behind...If we are changing constantly how can one take the other for granted? Isn't it usually because we are ignorant of the fact that we are changing and the other is also. Do we have the insight to see this?
Love is no guarantee for a successful relationship. But then thats a different topic altogether and will be covered in a different post.
As for the existence of it...we all know the answer in our hearts...we are just too scared to question what we have or have chosen to believe we know. A big clue my humble understanding can give is forget the movies, the good and the bad stories around you...forget what everyone around you says...look inside and follow your dreams...walk on the edge of the cliff if that is what it takes...falling off will be painful...but does that really matter?
I watched a movie long ago called "Before Sunrise" and recently its sequel "Before Sunset". Ethan Hawke and a french woman meet in Italy on a train and spend an evening and a night together and part before sunrise, promising to meet in 6 months. They never did...11 years later they meet by chance in Paris and spend a day together. Two frustrated individuals totally in tune with each other...the french woman had a boyfriend and Ethan had a wife. They never really forgot each other and were in love.
Is this fantasy, an illusion or a reality?
Where does it start? The first glance, the first conversation or the first touch? Is it any of the firsts at all? Being a bit of a dreamer I choose to believe it is. The realization could be later or may never happen...however the rest is only the rest and comes afterwards.
Coming back to real life...do we as individuals know ourselves well enough to realize a good thing when we see it? Are we conditioned by our experiences or our ambiance to ignore it and look for something more conventional, because love my dear friends I don't believe knows any. It is a risky affair...are we scared and so settle for lukewarm security which we are sure will turn cold. Do we dare to dream?
Love, I believe, starts and ends at you yourself. Are you tuned in with yourself..if not you can forget picking up the frequency of another individual. Do we realize at this moment who we are, what we feel...what we believe in and most importantly where is it all coming from....our past experiences, our observations our conditioning or our insecurities? Can we then on realization drop it and know this may not be who we are? Does your lover or husband or boyfriend help you in this process? Do you help him?
Hundreds of people we interact with...do we have the sensitivity of noticing ourselves independently and not in relation to anyone else? Do we have a relationship with ourselves? If we do there is a strong chance that we will be bold enough to meet and know love and the fun and growth in love.
I have observed the time spent with each other is wonderful to begin with...but then it need not be just to begin with, but it often is. What spoils it? Do we realize that often we ourselves kill it. When one is going forward the other takes two steps behind...If we are changing constantly how can one take the other for granted? Isn't it usually because we are ignorant of the fact that we are changing and the other is also. Do we have the insight to see this?
Love is no guarantee for a successful relationship. But then thats a different topic altogether and will be covered in a different post.
As for the existence of it...we all know the answer in our hearts...we are just too scared to question what we have or have chosen to believe we know. A big clue my humble understanding can give is forget the movies, the good and the bad stories around you...forget what everyone around you says...look inside and follow your dreams...walk on the edge of the cliff if that is what it takes...falling off will be painful...but does that really matter?
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