Millennials love their weekends, alright. But, does that really translate to Netflixing and binge-eating all through Saturday and Sunday? Well, not really. Bengaluru has a burgeoning young population, which takes fitness and health a lot seriously than you must’ve imagined. From meal prepping and taking upon popular social media challenges like #NoSugarFor30Days to implementing a few smart hacks to keep guilty eating at bay; there’s no turning back for young healthy hustlers in the city. Bengaluru Chronicle delves deeper...
Starting out slow and steady; blogger Simran Jain believes less is more. “I’ve started to munch less. One of the tricks that have really helped is ensuring that you stack junk and fatty foods in places that are difficult to reach. Chances are, the effort needed to get it out will discourage you. I usually keep fruits, nuts and other low-calorie snacks on my desk so that those are things I reach out to when hunger pangs kick in. It’s important to start out with simpler strategies in order to make healthy living a way of life.”
Vouching by how good health starts with a balanced diet and a suitable form of workout thrown in; entrepreneur Sid Naidu suggests foodies to break their eating patterns into five smaller meals. “They say that exercise is only 30 percent of the work needed to stay in the pink of health, and that the remaining 70, is all about the diet.
To this, I completely agree, because, working out without proper intake of food leads us nowhere,” he avers, adding, “Apart from various ways of exercising, I make sure to include a sufficient amount of nutrients in my meals, which I break into five parts. This helps even out one’s blood sugar levels and in keeping the energy steady. Some of the staples that I include in my meals are eggs, veggies, oats, a little meat when I go heavy on the workout, and dry-fruits. And above all - I keep myself hydrated, at all times. There were times when it used to get hard to keep track of all of this, when I’m on sets, working, or traveling. But I have learned to prioritise my health, now and I’m proud of it.”
Thinking along similar lines; fashion blogger and digital content producer Aswathi Balakrishnan opines that planning your daily diet in advance is key. “The first step to staying healthy is meal prepping. This helps you keep tabs on your calorie consumption and what goes into your system. Cut down on processed sugar and dairy, replace it with jaggery, honey, soy milk, almond milk. The No sugar challenge has been such a hit on social media, people realised that smart eating is pretty much like eating a gooey chocolate cake, without guilt. Because, pure cocoa, jaggery, and organic coconut oil are incredible ingredients that can be used to make delicious bites sans the bad fat and calories. I’ve always believed that conscious living and healthy eating comes from planning and setting realistic goals.”
Offering his observations about the trend, Chetan Kanani, co-founder, of a health food company, says, “Today people are more inclined towards a healthy lifestyle, which involves regular workouts and a planned diet, consisting of low amounts of sugar, salts, fats, and carbs. Gradually eliminating added sugar from their diet which contributes 25 per cent calories and may lead to cardiovascular diseases such as diabetes and hypertension and which may also lead to added health issues such as depression and anxiety. As today’s generation is more aware of the rising threat of diabetes and health-related illness, they are always on a lookout for a healthy and natural substitute which is high on nutrients and low on harmful fats and sugar.”
