Lifestyle Introspection: White breads really making us fatter? Discussion in White & Black

Are all types of conventional bread that bad?

Perhaps the easiest comfort food in terms of the logistics of acquiring and buying it, a loaf of bread seems like the biggest target for lifestyle gurus and healthcare specialists with a growing echo that any and nearly all types of white bread are responsible for everything, ranging from diabetes to a possibly fatal heart attack. The organic overdose has been here for some time, and now, more and more manufacturers are labeling food to perfection, ensuring that with every carefully chosen word, they create the aura of organic or natural or at least, something better! This is the problem – anything that seems better than what you have been consuming is suddenly the trendsetter.

Myth: Bread is just empty calories! Grains have three parts: the endosperm, bran, and germ. White flour is made just from the endosperm, while whole wheat contains all three parts. And many of a grain’s nutrients are in the latter two components.

[Source: www.washingtonpost.com]

One such sorry state of affairs is seen in the white-bread landscape. Anyone and everyone who is even remotely into fitness or diet control is aware of these two, hated words - white + bread = unworthy of human consumption. Every health journal and food blog, and nearly every media resource around us seems to be preaching one thing – Don’t Eat White Bread!!

6 Strength Training Exercises Most Young Men Might be Missing!

This discussion is on Strength Training based on the data available on Mensfitness.com – Click Here to view the original discussion. The original editorial piece talks about 30 such underrated exercises but I am going to discuss the ones that I feel are most relevant. Some of these, I have been able to get going with not too many reps, some I think of returning too while some, like the extreme back-bends, might be doable by the end of this month. Now, the actual discussion:

1. Cable Pull-Through Gym Exercise: please note that am not a big fan of cable-linked exercises. Though they could be great, I could never get around all the contraption-like aura of it. This particular exercise is easy to Google. You will find lots of videos on how to do it. Invariably, this is for the lower body. The video clips are handy to understand the range of motion that seems very butt-centric.

Her Bra Strap is Showing, so why should you feel uncomfortable?

This continues to happen to me repeatedly though I realize am not doing anything wrong – every time there is a lady with her bra strap clearly showing around the neck-shoulder area, I feel this weird anxiety overcome me. It is as if my mind splits into two halves. One party says that looking at them is not wrong since I didn’t pull them out of their safe confines. The other, more vocal half keeps saying that looking at them is rude and looking at them and pretending not to be aware of their presence is even ruder! You are still lying! I think it is time I got another appointment with my shrink.

Skin Picking [Excoriation]: Stupid Addictions that Only Harm You

You might not have heard about this condition if you don’t like the psychological roleplay plots. This is a type of obsessive behavior where a person will continue to scrape away skin layers on the hands feet, along the corners of the nose and mouth and majorly on the scalp. Skin picking as a habit can reach such limits that you fully realize that the skin is being bruised to the extent of remaining inflamed throughout the day or even bleeding and even then, you cannot stop yourself.


How common is this? A lot, beyond what you can imagine but most people don’t count it as a mental health condition. 

From Childhood to Young Adult & Now Married - How Creating, Losing and Reconnecting with these Memories Makes Me Wonder about Life

Providing context for the discussion – this was during the middle school era, which now seems like the Middle Ages leading up to my current condition of just having passed the mid-life stage, and eating seemed like something I was born to do. I could eat on a budget, like a king, an African refugee or someone who needs to stuff just to get through the day. The extent of my bhukkadpann notwithstanding, it was evident that I had some room for the overall quality of fare served to me, the ambience and the dining schedule [the lack of it actually]. Invariably, this meant that on some days, I could be as fussy as a post-menopausal cat, not listening to endless calls from my folks to try something they believed was good food.

Not Another Left-handed vs Right-handed Blog: Is there a good side to your body?

Left Side Talking: As a result of IBS, I do have this unwanted tendency to get bloated every now and then, usually around the time when my dietary choices are out of control for more than a couple of days and when stress starts accumulating. During this phase, I have noticed that there are a few bodily positions that help me to exert the upper intestinal region better and vent-away the gassy build-up. This might sound repulsive and nauseous but believe me, when you are bloated and feel that heavy, anything is better than waiting for the antacids and anti-flatulence drugs to work. Seated somewhat comfortably on my left side with my elbow directly below my head, I have a much higher chance of expelling the gases and getting some quick, safe relief.

Talking Cheese: Cannot Sound Like an Expert Here!

To Cheese or Not to Cheese?

I am talking about choosing between homemade cottage cheese, the off-the-shelf cheese slices variety and legacy cheeses. There is an abundance of choices and very little clarity about what we are eating and for what reason. Yes, legacy cheeses are made by brands that have existed for decades and are known to prepare cheese with a distinguished flavour and unique aura that is often endemic to a region or a small community. On the other hand, homemade cheese is more of a comfort food that promises to provide some precious proteins too. Homemade cheeses don’t agree with a lot with my digestive system. They can make me bloated and gassy. The retail, sliced variety is easier to handle and can be easily added to any preparation.

Banish Old Driving Habits: Vehicular Acclimatization is What it Takes to Make the Most Out of Mahindra KUV 100

Image borrowed from www.motoroids.com - also, My KUV is
in Burnt Red shade - this is a Stock Image I guess!

A lot has been written, spoken and exchanged about what the Mahindra KUV 100 can and cannot do – the reasons are different for each expert or the owner. Am trying to provide one basic, very fundamental thought behind all of these since I own the model and have driven it for around 8K. The only folks who will find an issue with driving the KUV100 are people who are trying to compare it to a four-cylinder automobile. I did this mistake too. Despite the very efficient engine and the ability of the KUV to run crazy in the third gear itself, the engine is not your usual four-cylinder variety. What does this mean?

DIY Diagnosing: Sciency to Explain How Scratching Self-multiplies

Well you have to say there are some benefits of knowing a hypochondriac. Yes, I have to confess that there is something within me which has to know the exact reason for the slightest of health issues. I need a reason and logic behind every prescription. Due to this habit, every now and then, I decode answers to some everyday health issues that are usually ignored by typical health and fitness blogs. Apparently this problem is referred to as Excoriation and it can affect people of all age-groups, gender and social-economic backgrounds.

One such question is that why when you scratching one part of the body, the need to scratch more, in other places arises? Skin picking and scalp picking happen to be one of the most common types of recorded and explained obsessive behaviors recorded among men and women. Something similar is trichotillomania which is a severe form of hair pulling, sometimes to extreme that it can cause hair thinning or balding patterns to emerge...

People will not stay with YOU, neither is the expectation real #wisen-up!

Think of me as a manager who brings a team-first perspective to the workplace, every day. However good that might sound, this is not really the best approach when you are working in a setup that has constant churning of resources, the exits are quick, often impromptu, seldom unplanned and you are essentially, almost on your own when it comes to doing something for the team. It has been a handful of years at my current stint and I believe that this duration has helped me grasp one big realization – you might have the best intentions for the team but it is not really wise to expect them to reciprocate the gesture. Why? Simple – the salary-for-work environment puts everyone in a certain place.