Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Make Cinnamon your friend

Whether you are looking for losing weight or generally want to improve your overall health; Cinnamon is your best friend sitting quietly in your kitchen shelf. Make it a part of your every day routine.

You can put it in your tea, your tea will not only taste great but it will also smell great.

Try having cinnamon and honey drink as your first and last drink of the day and see how fresh you feel throughout the day. Just add hot water to a tablespoon of cinnamon powder and add a tablespoon of honey to it. It tastes ok but is very good for your health.

Wishing you a great health!!

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

White is not Right

For a better health and not compromising too much on taste; I would strongly recommend replacing all the white things in your kitchen with the browns.

a) Brown rice in place of White rice
b) Brown sugar in place of White sugar
c) Mix grain flour in place of White flour
d) Maida with Wheat flour
e) Masala Maggi with Atta Maggi
f) Maida Noodles with Wheat Noodles
g) Maida Pizza with Wheat Pizza
h) Maida Buns with Wheat Buns
i) Full cream milk with Soya milk

Basically, white is not right pick whatever looks brown as it has more fibre. White sugar means refined sugar, Maida means more processed flour. The more the food is processed the worse it is for your health.

Only white thing to love is skimmed milk or curd made by skimmed milk. Say Salaam Namaste to the rest of the stuff.

First thing is first; skipping breakfast is the worst

You should have your breakfast within first two of your waking hours. If have you woken up at 6:00 am you should eat your breakfast by 8:00 am. If you are not feeling hungry by that time, it means either you have had your dinner too late or too heavy. Having a proper diet at proper timings day before make sure that you are looking forward to your breakfast and dont want to skip it. Skipping breakfast regularly in the long run leads to every kind of possible stomach disorder like constipation, acidity, gas etc.

As they rightly say, eat your breakfast like a king, lunch like a common man and dinner like a beggar - breakfast is the most important meal of your day. After all you are getting a chance to eat like a king only once a day. Even if it means waking up a little early, DO NOT, leave your house without eating your breakfast. If you take your breakfast in the office, have a glass of skimmed milk at home and then go to office.

Food should be distributed as:
(breakfast + snack) = 40%
(lunch + snack) = 40%
(dinner) = 20%

Amongst plenty of healthy options, I am writing a few of them here:

a) 1 glass of skimmed milk + 1 bowl of museli/ cornflakes/wheat flakes + 1 apple
b) 1 glass of skimmed milk + bread jam + 1 apple
c) 1-2 egg whites daily in sandwich, or in boiled form is very healthy for breakfast
d) 1 glass of skimmed milk + sprouts salad + 1 toast
e) 1 glass of skimmed milk + veg upma
f) 1 glass of apple shake + veg sandwich
g) Fruit bowl + Green Tea


Tips:
- It is safer to have whole grain cereals, white bread, Oats etc rather than rice items like idli, dosa, poha etc because they have a high glycemic index.
- For taste and extra nutrition, you can throw some raisins and nuts in your cereals / shakes
- Have all the hight calorie snack like chips, pastries, cakes in your 10:00 am meal if you want to eat them. Avoid eating them by all means after sun set.

Bachna Ae haseeno



Truly a Yash Raj film with all those colorful dresses, songs, dances, beautiful foreign locations or shall I say DDLJ served to you in a new platter with fresh faces. It has lot of reference to the movie as well.

Like DDLJ it also has a flirt and careless person whiling his time away in the first half who turned out to be a mature and ultra emotional person in the second half. It also has a song picturized in Punju wedding. It also has songs beautifully picturized in foreign locations. Australia is looking much more beautiful in this movie than it was in Salaam Namaste. It seems Siddharth Anand is exploring it more and more with his every visit.

Ok now the movie - I loved it, simply because I love songs, dances, romance, good looking people and colorful clothes - its good enough for me to pass 3 hours. I liked Jhoom Barabar Jhoon also. Common whats the smirk for? I really enjoyed that dance competition and Amitabh was looking awesome in the title song. What more do you want?

I am not writing the story here - I am writing why should you watch this movie?

a) Ranbir is looking like a dude, dancing superbly, acting well ( I almost started hating him in the first half and was sympathetic towards him in the second half)
b) Bipasha, even though she is looking elder to Ranbir, but she is looking drop dead gorgeous and performed so brilliantly. Its time you should take Bipasha seriously, she is more than a hot babe now.
c) Deepika is looking the best and the chemistry between Ranbir and Deepika is rocking in the movie. She is very dignified and professional in the movie. Guys you will not mind watching the movie for Deepika and Bipasha.
d) Minnisha is a complete misfit in the movie. Firstly because she was potrayed as 15 years old and she is looking way too older for that age. Secondly, poor thing is lost between the two ultra gorgeous and tall ladies.
e) Khuda Jaane and title song simply rocked; Jogi Mahi and she is a small town girl are peppy; lucky boy is what I hum the most.

All and all - go and watch the movie - big deal!!

Monday, August 25, 2008

Introduction Message

Hi, Welcome to my blog.

I have been trying very hard to get that perfect health for so many years. I have lost my parents years back due to their ill health caused due to wrong lifestyle and eating habits. I know how much good health is important not only for you but for your loved ones also. If you are healthy, you will not only be there for your loved ones for longer time but you will also be able to enjoy that time to the fullest.

There is saying in Hindi, "Pehla Sukh Nirogi Kaya" - healthy body is the most important thing in your life and it is so true. Only if you are healthy, you will be able to enjoy your career, your status, your family life, your love life etc

I have created this blog to talk about health, fitness, weight loss and low calorie recipes. I am going to write here whatever I have learned from my mistakes or mistakes committed by people around me; whatever I have learned from the loads and loads of stuff that I have read.

And yes, besides fitness mantras and quick recipes we will also talk about positive attitude which is very very important for a perfect health.

So - Stay Tuned!

Friday, August 22, 2008

Ranbir Kapoor - The new SRK in making

Be it his witty answers in interviews or lot of public appearances just before the release if his movie or his representation of an ideal son and ideal boyfriend - Ranbir always reminds me of Shahrukh Khan.

Like SRK, he will be seen everywhere from reality shows to talk shows just before the release of his movie and he will mingle with the crowd, he will interact with everyone in a very sweet and nice way.

Like SRK, his answers are very witty and intelligent and his interviews are always interesting and entertaining.

Like SRK, he is ultra sweet with his leading ladies at least in front of camera.

Like SRK, he is making his off-screen image of an ideal man doing full justice to all the relations around him even after being a celebrity.

Like SRK, he is making his mark with extra emotional and romantic roles.

Its too early to comment whether he is following SRK acting wise or not but offscreen his PR and Marketing skills are seems to be influenced big time from SRK.

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

YouTube is the new convinient theatre



Sigh is Kinng. I loved this movie. I am so surprised that people get disappointed with the movie stating that there is no story / no sense in the movie. My point is why you had such expectations at the first place. It was supposed to be a funny film and it is just that. I absolutely loved Akshay and Katrina in it and it is a great entertainer. Javed Jaffery and Om Puri as usual are brilliant. Akshay truly is a rock star.



GOD Tussi Great Ho is below average and if you have already seen Bruce Almighty then its a sheer wastage of time. The funny moment between Sohail and Salman are just the same as they were in Maine Pyar Kyon Kiya. Amitabh and Priyanka are wasted in the movie; they dont have much to do. Salman couldnt even touch Jim Carrey. Not to forget that I am a huge fan of Salman.



Mission Istanbul. A very boring movie; Producers has spent so much on special effects and stunts, I wish they would have spent something on the cast also. Besides Vivek, everyone specially Zayed disappoints in the movie. Shabbeer could have been better but he has nothing to do in the movie. Can safely avoid.



Kismat Konnection. OK movie; no harm in watching it on YouTube for free. Vidya is definitely looking elder to Shahid and I dont know why she was paired opposite to him at the first place. It doesnt have the Aziz Mirza charm and freshness. Juhie is funny in her short and comic role.



Money Hai to Honey Hai. Govinda should select his movies very carefully now. When Bhagam Bhag and Partner were hit for whatever reasons; why he want a flop to his credit. He might not get the full credit of the success of these films but he would definitely get the credit for the failure of this one. He cant do a lead role and he cannot, I repeat, cannot dance with Eesha Deol. He is a brilliant comic actor but brilliant comic actor too get old and they cant keep on doing the same thing all their lives. Avoid by all means.

Thursday, August 7, 2008

My Favorite Management Books

Managing Radical Change
What Indian Companies Must Do to Become World-Class looks at what companies in India must do, not just to survive, but to rank among the best in their strategy, organization and management. According to internationally acclaimed management gurus Sumantra Ghoshal and Christopher A. Bartlett and industry insider Gita Piramal, the problem is not that managers are unaware of the need for a radical response to the problems and challenges posed by the new competitive, technological and market demands in India. But, trapped in an incrementalist mindset—that change can come only by degrees—deep in their heart they do not feel the urgency that they profess.

Only the Paranoid Survive
New techniques, new approaches and new technologies upset the old order and change the rules of the game. This is what trucking and air transportation did to railroads, what container shipping did to traditional ports, what superstores did to small shops, what microprocessors did to computing and what digital media might do to entertainment. Andrew Grove calls a very large change in one of the competitive forces in an industry, a “10X” change, suggesting that the force has become ten times what it was just recently. In the face of such “10X” forces, a company can lose control of its destiny. The business no longer responds to the company’s actions as it used to in the past. What such a transition does to a business is profound, and how a company manages this transition determines its future. Grove describes this phenomenon as a strategic inflection point.

World Class in India
World Class in India presents the stories of select Indian companies that have been able to spur their managers to overcome their resistance to change and begin the journey to becoming world class. The cases in this book have been chosen from a cross-section of industries in different sectors and range from family-run businesses to multinational corporations to government enterprises. They are drawn from extensive research done by the authors over several years and show how companies have transformed themselves bottom up, revamping their strategies, organisation and management. Organizations covered include Bajaj Auto and Life Insurance Corporation of India, Reliance, NIIT and Wipro and more...

The Tipping Point
This fascinating book, by Malcolm Gladwell talks about how little things can make a big difference. Though the book covers various social issues, business leaders can learn a lot about innovation, especially disruptive innovation by reading this book. If we think carefully, disruptive innovations share a lot with epidemics. Both result in major changes.So it is useful to understand how social epidemics occur.Social epidemics share a basic, underlying pattern. Tipping Point is the name, Gladwell gives to that one dramatic moment in an epidemic when everything can change all at once. Innovators can learn a lot by identifying and anticipating tipping points. The great innovators know how to tip the world.

The Machine That Changed The World
The Machine That Changed the World is a well-written book that highlights comparisons and contrasts among automobile manufacturers. The book is written for a general audience interested in the topic of automobile production. Of particular relevance to the technology educator however, is the time frame and scope of the book. A chronological history of global automotive development and manufacture, from the industrial revolution to the present, provides many useful insights to the technology educator. Among the most important of these insights are discussions of the origins and future of manufacturing technology.

Managing for Results
This is one of the first ever books written on Business Strategy. Drucker mentions that any organization must be focused on making the present business effective, identifying and realizing the potential of the existing business and transforming the business to cope with the needs of a different future. Drucker emphasizes that results and resources always exist outside the business. It is always somebody outside who determines the success or failure of a business.

Emotional Intelligence
Why do people of high IQ flounder and those of modest IQ do surprisingly well? According to Daniel Goleman, the difference quite often lies in the abilities collectively called emotional intelligence. There is a strong link between sentiment, character, and moral instincts. Impulse is the medium of emotion. The seed of all impulse is a feeling bursting to express itself in action. Those who are at the mercy of impulse suffer from a serious shortcoming. The ability to control impulse is an integral part of character. Similarly, the root of altruism lies in empathy and the ability to read emotions in others. Self-restraint and compassion are the two values needed to build a moral society. The author argues that emotional intelligence must be given much more emphasis in schools, colleges and the workplace.

The Goal
Anyone connected to manufacturing industry who has not read "The Goal" should correct the matter as soon as possible. For one thing it is the most readable management book that it is written as a novel with a believable story line. It is also the definitive book on Theory of Constraints, the theory which says look after the bottlenecks and the rest will take care of itself. The novel can transform management thinking throughout the world.

Good to Great
This book is about what separates the great companies from the good companies. The author describes his work as a search for timeless principles – the enduring physics of great organizations – that will remain true and relevant no matter how the world changes around us. The specific application might change (the engineering), but certain immutable laws of organized human performance (the physics) will endure.

Count Your Chicken Before They Hatch
Count your chickens before they hatch is a bestseller by Indian business guru Arindam Choudhary where he discusses his theory "i" management, apart from general business theories. The book starts off detailing qualities, skills & attitudes required to succeed in the business world today and goes on to explore examples of people who made it big against all odds. Choudhary also explores the Indian psyche in depth and looking for qualities such as passion, patriotism & integrity among the employees of various Indian companies he interacts with. He emphasizes the need for Indian corporations to follow management practices that are suitable to Indian culture rather than blindly aping western management theories.