Tuesday 21 October 2014

Menu Plan

Dinner
Mix bean with barley soup with beef & spinach x 2
     - onion, tomato, carrot / celery sweet potato - taco mix
Spaghetti pot x 2
Jeera rice, dal, beans

Lunch
Fried rice & zuccini-tomato-feta salad x 2
Jeera rice, dal, beans x  2

Snacks
Grilled feta & spinach burgers x 3
Madelines
Persimmons 

Breakfast
Grits with peachs/cranberries/raisins x 3
Oats with apple
Apple jam & bread

Sunday 19 October 2014

Weekly Goals + Last week's progress


This weeks goals

Career Improvement/Study
Learn for DMV learners test - 15min each day
Check Six Sigma project

Home
Weekly Menu plan
Try 2 new recipes

Personal
Read 2 books
Drink 1l water daily
Exercise as per 31 day plan

Financial
GC - 7700


Last weeks progress

Career Improvement/Study
Learn for DMV learners test - 15min each day - 3days
Check Six Sigma project

Home
Weekly Menu plan

Personal
Read 1 books
Drink 1l water daily
Exercise as per 31 day plan

Financial
GC - 7300 

Sunday 12 October 2014

Day 12 : Menu Plan

Menu Plan:

Breakfast
Oatmeal with granola + grapes/bananas x 3
Lemon herb egg salad with flatbread x 2
Rava upma x 2


Lunch / Dinner
Egg curry with rice x 2
Eggplant curry with rice

Snacks/Drinks
Bananas
Apple with peanut butter
Madeleines
Grape/Orange juice

Day 12 : Weekly Goals


Goals for the week:

Career Improvement/Study
Learn for DMV learners test - 15min each day
Check Six Sigma project

Home
Weekly Menu plan

Personal
Read 1 books
Drink 1l water daily
Exercise as per 31 day plan

Financial
Update Budget app
GC - 7300


Last week's Goals:

Career Improvement/Study
Learn for DMV learners test - 15min each day - Studied only 1 day
Check Six Sigma project

Home
Weekly Menu plan

Personal
Read 1 books
Drink 1l water daily - missed on Sat & Sun
Exercise as per 31 day plan

Financial
Update Budget app
GC - 6800

Saturday 11 October 2014

Day 11 : Hair & Skin Care Tips - Part II

Last week I applied a turmeric + milk mask to my face and I felt a tingling sensation on my skin due to the active nature of the turmeric.
I didn't get to do anything for my hair, so this week I'll be taking care of both my skin and hair.

Hair Care

1. Egg + Olive Oil Mask - Beat two eggs and add some olive oil to it. Apply it to your hair and leave it on for an hour. Wash it off with shampoo to replenish hair and restore its softness and shine.


2. Apple Cider Vinegar Rinse - Apply a one to one mixture of warm water and apple cider vinegar to your hair. Rinse it thoroughly after 5 minutes to get rid of the apple cider smell. This give you shiny bouncy hair.


Skin Care

1. Potato pack - Potato is a good absorbent of excess oil and sebum and it also removes dirt and grease from the skin. It reduces dark circles, puffiness under the eyes, blemishes and acne marks.

  Thin slices of potato can be applied over the pimples. You can also grate the potato and the juice can be applied over the pimples and acne. Sliced potato can be kept over the eyes to reduce the dark circles and puffiness. (source : www.stylecraze.com)


2. Baking soda - It helps eliminate breakouts and reduces inflammation, exfoliates, helps remove dead skin cells, and reduces old scars or acne marks. A few teaspoons of baking soda mixed with warm water till it forms a paste. Apply the paste to your skin, leave it on for only 10 to 15 minutes the first few times as it may feel strong. Gradually increase the time up to an hour After one use you can see a great difference in your skin

Friday 10 October 2014

Day 10 : Warm Up + Cardio (elliptical + treadmill)


Today's Plan of Action:
  • Breathing exercises
  • Cardio (elliptical) - Hill workout - 20min
  • Cardio (treadmill) - Hill workout 10min

Today's update

Bed time yesterday-  11.45pm        Wake up time - 6.45am  =   Sleep time - 7hrs
Water - 7
Workout - I did as planned :) 

Thursday 9 October 2014

Day 9 : Breathing exercises + Cardio (running)

I have been able to maintain longer times on the treadmill and elliptical - going from 20min to 35min.
This feels good..gaining more stamina

Today's Plan of Action:
  • Breathing exercises
  • Cardio (running) - 5 min walk..2min jog..2min run..5min walk..2min jog...5min walk
I have been intrigued by weights of late and am thinking of trying to lift some today. I have been looking at a few workout moves using 5lbs dumbbells and have been pinning a few I found do-able.


Today's update

Bed time yesterday-   11.45pm       Wake up time - 6.45am    =   Sleep time - 7hrs
Water - 6
Workout - I did my workout as planned :)

Wednesday 8 October 2014

Day 8 : Warm Up + Cardio (elliptical + treadmill)


Today's healthy living plan:

Today's update
Bed time yesterday-   11.45pm       Wake up time - 7.00am          =   Sleep time - 7hrs 15min
Water - 7
Workout - I did my warm-up stretches for 10min and then went to the gym for a workout
                 Treadmill - 10min for 0.8miles  - I did a mix of running and walking
                 Elliptical - 25 min

Tuesday 7 October 2014

Day 7 : Warm-up, Yoga & Cardio



Today's healthy living plan:

Today's update
Bed time yesterday-   11.45pm       Wake up time - 7.15am          =   Sleep time - 7.5hrs
Water - 7
Workout - I did my warm-up stretches for 15min and then went to the gym for a workout
                 Treadmill - 10min for 0.8miles  - I did a mix of running and walking
                 Elliptical - 20 min

Monday 6 October 2014

Day 6 : Warm Up + Cardio (elliptical + treadmill)


Today is Day 6 of the challenge to stay healthy this month. For me this mainly means following my fitness routine - which compared to my diet is something I fall short on.
Well NOT this time!

Today's healthy living plan:

I am trying to find a treadmill + elliptical Workout plan which isn't too complicated to remember, so in the mean time I am aiming for a 1:2:1  - T:E:T ratio on the treadmill & elliptical.

Today's update
Bed time yesterday-12.10am    Wake up time -7.15am  =   Sleep time - 7hrs 5min
Water - 7
Workout - Elliptical - 20min    I didn't get a chance to use the treadmill, so worked-out only on the elliptical

Sunday 5 October 2014

Day 5 : Weekly Goals & Menu Plan


Goals for the week:

Career Improvement/Study
Learn for DMV learners test - 15min each day
Check Six Sigma project

Home
Weekly Menu plan

Personal
Read 1 books
Drink 1l water daily
Exercise as per 31 day plan

Financial
Update Budget app
GC - 6800


Menu Plan:

Breakfast
Oatmeal with granola + grapes/bananas x 4
Lemon herb egg salad with flatbread x 2

Lunch / Dinner
Curried chickpeas with lentils and rice x 2
Eggplant curry with rice

Snacks/Drinks
Bananas
Apple with peanut butter
Madeleines
Eggnog
Grape juice



Day 5 : Breakfast Ideas


I am someone who can survive without breakfast. I need some energy to get me going till lunch time..if not I could eat anyone who comes my way!

Usually I have oatmeal for breakfast, either hot or the overnight cold version with yogurt and some chopped fruits.

However in order to motivate me to workout in the morning, I will be trying up some new breakfast recipes - kind of dangling a carrot in front of me! If it works good for me

I have just recently found the blog BudgetBytes which has easy recipes with no fancy ingredients..I repeat NO FANCY ingredients! How awesome is that now..

Freezer Breakfast Burritos

Lemon Herb Egg Salad served as a sandwich

Chili Garlic Breakfast Quesadilla

3 recipes I found interesting for now..I might add more to this list, so of like a recipe inspiration board for me..speaking of boards here is my breakfast Pinterest board.
Follow Lisann Peretra's board Breakfast Recipes on Pinterest.



Today's update
Bed time yesterday-11.30pm    Wake up time -7.30am  =   Sleep time - 8hrs (Sunday - YAY!!)
Water - 6
Workout - Treadmill - Walked and ran for 10 in
                   Elliptical - 12min

Saturday 4 October 2014

Day 4 : Hair & Skin Care Tips - Part I

PCOS has been affecting my hair and skin from a long time. I have been having plenty of acne breakouts, and I have given up on concealing it in my makeup routine. Also the acne scars take a very long time to fade off.

Each week I'll post 2 of the tips I've been told to follow:

Hair Care

1. Warm Oil Massage - Massage your head for a few minutes with lukewarm oils. This leads to stimulation of blood flow to the scalp, which in turn make the hair follicles strong. I would be using coconul oil, but you can use almond or olive oil as well.

Here is a link with more details on a hot oil massage.

2. Mayonnaise - Use mayonnaise instead of a conditioner. This is a really good natural conditioner that can tame frizzy hair. It is especially good for dry frizzy hair. Apply mayo all over your hair from root to tip. Cover with a shower cap for 20 - 40 min. Then rinse off.

Skin Care

1. Turmeric mask - Mix a little turmeric with milk or yogurt to form a smooth paste. Apply it to your face. Rinse off once the mask starts feeling dry.
Read here for more health benefits of turmeric

2. Lemon + honey easy mask - Cut a lemon in half and add a few drops of honey to it. Rub it across you face and let it remain for 10 - 15 mins. Rinse off with cool water.

Day 4 : Yoga poses for PCOS



Action plan for today :

  • Breathing exercises
  • Warm-up exercises
  • Yoga poses for PCOS
Yoga poses beneficial for PCOS:
  1. Badhakonasana (Butterfly pose)

  2. Suptabadhakonasana (Reclined bound angle)

  3. >
  4. Bharadvajasana (Bharadvajasana twist’s)

  5. Chakki Chalanasana (Mill churning pose)

  6. Shavasana (Corpse pose)







Today's update
Bed time yesterday-12pm    Wake up time -7.30am  =   Sleep time - 7.5hrs
Water - 6

Friday 3 October 2014

Day 3 : Yoga for back and neck pain

Sitting at my desk the whole day, hunched over the laptop has given me a serious stiff neck. And that is what I'll be working on today

Action Plan for the day:


Today's update:
Bed time yesterday- 11.30pm     Wake up time -  6.40am = Sleep time - 7h10m
Water - 7

Thursday 2 October 2014

Day 2 : Warm-Ups and Yoga Breathing Exercises

Action Plan for the day:

  • Yoga breathing exercises (I will be doing this daily)
  • Warm up stretches


Warm up stretches :
Here is a video I like and will be doing today.



Yoga breathing exercises: These are the 3 exercises I will be doing every day
1. Kapalbhati Pranayama
2. Aulom Vilom Breathing
3. Ujjayi Pranayama
 

Day 2 : Sleep and Water

Sleep: I plan to get at least 7 hrs of sleep every night - which means I need to be in bed by 11 to be able to wake up at 6
Things to motivate me to wake up
  • Listening to music
  • Writing up the progress on this blog
  • 15mins of yoga/breathing exercises


Water :  I usually manage to drink about 5 glasses of water without much effort. I plan to increase it to about 7 glasses approx. 1.5 liters. My plan goes like this
  • Immediately after waking up - 1
  • Around lunch - 1
  • As soon as I get home from work - 1
  • Around dinner  - 1
The rest 3 glasses I will fit in sometime during the day. I plan to keep a cup of water next to me during work an refill it once in the morning and once in the noon.


Today's update:                                           
Bed time yesterday - 12.10am  :  Wake up time - 7.30am  = Sleep time - 7hrs 20min


Water - 6 glasses

Wednesday 1 October 2014

Goals for Oct'14



Tracking my goals after such a long time

Career Improvement/Study
Complete DMV learners test
Choose 1 - 2 courses from Coursera

Home

Weekly menu plan
Daily 15min clean up
Try 2 new recipes

Personal

Read 5 books
Drink 1l water daily
Exercise as per 31 day plan

Financial

Update Budget app
GC - 8000

Day 1 : 31 days of Healthier Habits to Fight PCOS


I've had many thoughts about linking up for the 31 day series as what I wanted to be doing was - developing healthier habits to fight PCOS - and just the effort of blogging for 31 days was causing me more of stress instead of just focusing on the main point...HEALTH!

So I'll just be writing out my plan for the day and checking it off as Yay or Nay..
The main areas I will be working on are fitness, meals, drinking water, sleep schedule & a little bit listening to some calming music or a fun activity for a holistic approach.

Here is an overview of how I am aiming to be healthy this month.

Day 1  - Right Over Here
Day 2 - Sleep & Water  and Warm-ups and Yoga Breathing Exercises
Day 3 - Yoga for Back and Neck Pain
Day 4 - Yoga poses for PCOS and Hair and Skin Care tips - I
Day 5 - Breakfast Ideas and Weekly Goals & Menu Plan
Day 6 - Warm-up + Cardio (elliptical & treadmill)
Day 7 - Warm-up, Yoga & Cardio
Day 8 - Warm Up + Cardio (elliptical + treadmill)
Day 9 - Breathing exercises + Cardio (running)
Day 10 - Warm Up + Cardio (elliptical + treadmill)




Stay tuned for my Goals of the month!