Get out of your comfort zone

Like every year, 2016 would have started with the comfort of a new set of fitness resolutions. The fact that we need to make these resolutions time and again implies that we are yet to achieve what we would have liked to with our health. Sometimes, the illusion of being in a “fitness comfort zone” itself can be a problem. For instance, you could be in the “fitness comfort zone” wherein you think that skipping dinner nullifies the effect of additional calories after you’ve overindulged in chocolates. “Fitness comfort zone” factors keep your health levels stagnant.

Begin, then, by identifying your fitness comfort zones. Some are listed here:

Do you think an extra workout compensates for an extra dessert or a can of beer?

Exercising and eating are two sides of the same coin but that does not mean they are interchangeable. Eating food provides us nutrients, proteins, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins and minerals. Exercise burns calories but, more importantly, it builds muscle, regulates heartbeat and blood pressure, and strengthens the airways of the heart and lungs.

Remember, it takes a 3,500 calorie deficit to burn 500g of fat. An extra workout cannot, therefore, compensate for the ill effects in the metabolic processes caused by an extra can of beer or dessert.

Do you believe that home-cooked food is healthy even if it is deep-fried or sweet?
The ghee, sugar or mawa that is added to make meals tastier at home may be just a tad less unhealthy than the gulab jamuns and samosas available outside. Beyond a point, however, quantity matters, even if the ingredients used are of better quality or healthy.

Do you think that natural foods like dates are good to consume when you’re trying to lose weight?

If someone needs to lose more than 30kg, then consuming even natural foods like dates between meals is harmful. Dates have a high glycaemic index (or GI, which measures the effect of carbohydrates present in food on blood sugar levels), and a high GI in addition to the low metabolic rate of an overweight person could lead to fat storage. So dates may not contribute to the energy deficit necessary to achieve a 30kg weight loss.

Fruit could be as harmful as biscuits for someone who has elevated levels of triglycerides in the blood. This is because the chemistry of fat metabolism is altered for such people and even healthy fruit could further elevate triglyceride levels.

In other words, “fitness comfort zones” prevent you from looking at your health objectively and stop you from making the most of the emerging research on the science of nutrition and exercise.

Madhuri Ruia is a nutritionist and Pilates expert. She runs InteGym in Mumbai, which advocates workouts with healthy diets.