Grandma’s Tips for keeping muffin tops in check!

 

My abdomen has a major tendency to stick out to the point where it becomes a separate entity. And my sides go overboard in no time. My grandma for one probably never had muffin top issues in her youth. She worked too hard. She had never seen a microwave oven or a multipurpose grinder-juicer-shredder-everything-doer in her life. Only when she got old did her belly turn into tires. Now me, I’m a different story. My muffins started sprouting the moment I crossed my teens and they are getting more determined by the day. But there are some antidotes that seem to work for me. Here they are:

1. Give that couch a break: The term ‘couch potato’ is a perfect description of a person who sticks to a couch most of the time. He does turn into a shapeless potato. And Ugly unattractive shapeless potato! The more you sit or lie down the bulkier your waist gets. ‘But I have to sit to study’ may sound like a better excuse but it does similar amount of damage to your curves. Get up. Move around. Try to put things into your schedule that include standing and walking instead of sitting. Walking around while talking to your sweetheart won’t kill you either. And that laptop and play station has to be kept in limits. Sorry geek.
2. This is not a war but a battle that has to be fought everyday: To reduce your weight is a constant effort that has to be made on a daily basis. Nothing less will do. This has to have a permanent separate compartment in your brain. You have to keep your diet and activity in check all the time. Commitment is the key to almost every achievement including keeping yourself from becoming really unattractive.
3. Think before you eat: Fruits, nuts, vegetables and water are the ultimate when it comes to staying healthy and avoiding obesity at the same time. They can be delicious once you get in the habit. Fresh fruit juices are loaded with vitamins and not to mention taste. I make a point of filling my belly with fruits and salad before every meal. Curd is the healthiest of dairy products and is great for the skin. Green tea is full of antioxidants that are well known healer.
4. Don’t ever let yourself off the hook: There is no excuse for pouring cheese and stuffing fat foods in your mouth. It is an unacceptable crime and you should not let yourself commit it. Ever. The need for this crap does not come from the belly, it’s all in the head. And once you get over that misconception that it is something you cannot live happily without, you’ll be just fine. Do not compromise on the quality and quantity of intake.
5. Grandma says: I died like you will. But I had a happy healthy life. The gooey fat that lines your arteries now is what I didn’t have till I was 40. I wasn’t a McDonald’s maniac or a burger king fan. Fresh organic food worked fine for me. I had a healthy lifestyle. I worked in the sun and slept under the moon. I didn’t make nature my enemy.