The Hindu Business Line : Eat wise, not less!

I'm 26, 5 ft tall and weigh 51 kg. I recently joined a one-hour dance-cum-toning class for three days a week. Though I'm in shape, my stomach is not flat. I cannot eat less, because my energy levels fall. Please advise. - Kirti

To flatten your stomach, do these hyperextensions with two 2.5-pound weights:

Lie on the floor on a mat on your back. Bend your knees and cross your legs in the traditional Indian way as if you were sitting on the floor for a meal. Place your arms at your sides. Grasp a dumbbell in each hand. Now, raise both dumbbells upward and over your head until your arms are parallel to the floor. Hold for a count of 10.

You will feel a beautiful stretch on your abs. Return arms to your sides. Repeat this exercise 20 times. Gradually increase to 40 reps. This exercise tautens your frontal muscles.

To tighten and tauten your stomach's lateral (side) muscles, do the following stretching exercise: Stand erect, feet apart, hands grasping dumbbells. Now, bend your left knee, bend your trunk to the left and rest your left forearm on your shin area, and raise your right arm over and beyond your head.

You will feel a stretch on your right side muscles. Now, pulse 20 times on your right side as if your right arm is reaching farther and farther to your left. Return to erect position. Repeat the exercise on your other side by bending your right knee... Do both these exercises every day.

You don't have to eat less, you have to eat wise. Cut fats from your food. The system struggles to digest heavy stuff such as oil, ghee, butter, cream, and cheese, and drains your energy. Get into oil-free cuisine. Or with your roti have a fresh vegetable-cum-fruit salad instead of a sabzi cooked in oil.

Garnish your dals with fragrant coriander or mint leaves instead of seasoning with oil. Eat moderate amounts of rice as sometimes it makes your stomach feel bloated.

With these measures, you should dance towards a flatter stomach!

I'm 21, 6 ft 2 inches tall and weigh 112 kg. I'm trying to reduce my weight through regular walking for a month now, but in vain. I'm a vegetarian. My body's appearance has changed a little but the weight remains the same. Please suggest the best way to reduce my weight. - Raj Jain

If your body appears a little thinner, it's a good sign. Everybody loses in inches first then in kg. So, have patience. Meanwhile, for effective fat-burning, walk 4.8 km in 42 minutes five days a week. If that pace is too brisk, build towards it gradually. Your walking speed should allow you to converse comfortably and shouldn't have you panting.

On the food front, cut all fats, fries, and sweets. Eating more salads and drinking 10-12 glasses of water daily help flush out all wastes from the body. When you feel cleansed and light, your walking speed automatically accelerates. It's a beautiful virtuous cycle. Aim for a kg-loss per month. You can do it.

I am a 24-year-old working girl. I hardly get time to go to a gym. I'm 5 ft 2 inch tall and weigh 60 kg. Am I obese? How can I lose weight? - Sonali

A person is obese when she is 25 kg over her ideal weight. Since you should be 50-55 kg, I assure you, you are not obese! If you are serious about losing weight, you can make the time to workout according to your personal preferences and circumstances.

You have several options:

If you're a morning person, wake up one hour earlier and go for a brisk 42-minute walk.

If you flag after lunch at work, then exercise at lunch-time at a nearby gym. Exercise makes you more alert and you can concentrate better because your circulation and metabolism get stimulated. Also, it's nice to know that your body is burning calories for the next 4-6 hours as you work more efficiently.

Walk or jog before dinner if you are an evening person. Cardiovascular exercise gives you a second wind and drives out tiredness and your supper tastes super!

If you're a people person, organise a group and get a personal instructor to hold special classes three times a week at a fixed time.

It all begins in the mind. Think of exercise-time as your personal quality time. Say firmly, "I'll make the time", and you will.

Picture by Satish H.

(The writer is co-author of the book, `Fitness for Life'.)