Time for some healthy fast food

Time for some healthy fast food (Thinkstock photos/Getty Images)

Fast food is very unhealthy. We all know that. But somehow when it comes to controlling a craving, we fail, again and again. 

Other than a few things here and there like watching programmes on the dangers of fast food regularly and learning to cook, Nutritionist Namrata Desai suggests a few more tips. "Unfortunately there is no healthier substitute for junkies.

But taking a few precautions can always help us," she says, adding, "Eat in moderation and keep a balance. Stuff your diet regime with plenty of vegetables and work out regimes. In this way whenever you feel like having some junk food, you can do it with ease and less guilt. Moderation is the key. Craving comes only when you completely deprive yourself of what you like. 

You can also go for baked, grilled and roasted alternatives. Trust me a grilled piece of chicken tastes much better than deep fried. Getting the perfect combination also plays a very important role. Like go for grilled salads filled sandwich or a whole wheat bun for a burger stuffed with a patty that's sauteed on pan. Choose low fat cheese instead of normal cheese and you can get what you want- high in taste but low in calories."

So next time you look at a burger, don't deprive your taste buds of it. Head back home and make a better burger, which is not just tastier but healthier too. Staying fit is easy, if you know your alternatives well. And you thought chucking the guilt was tough!

5 Things men fear about sex

5 Things men fear about sex (Thinkstock photos/Getty Images)

It's not only women who deal with bedroom fears. Men too are victims. Here are some common fears that make men nervous in bed.
It's commonly believed that men are more sexually active as compared to their female partner. But very often, they too encounter several fears related to their bedroom romp, which can in turn cause doldrums in their sexual relationship.

Fears related to their sexual performance, sex position, ejaculation period, a satisfying orgasm and wild acts in bed often end up killing their passion. With these fears running through their mind, men not only fail to satisfy their female partner, but are unable to enjoy the act themselves.

Chandigarh-based sexologist Dr. Deepak Arora explains, "Men always relate sex and sexuality with their egos and they never want to fail there. This is the biggest fear in them which converts to performance anxiety. This anxiety leads to a man failing to perform well in bed and if their female partner does not have the patience to bear with them, relationship goes for a toss easily."

Relationship counsellor Dr. Gitanjali Sharma adds, "Men need to understand that when it comes to sexual performance, they can't outperform themselves. The urge for performing better each time has to come from within by raising your consciousness to higher levels. And when self satisfaction comes, there is no question of under performing. You have sex for enjoyment and not to perform, under perform or out perform. It's a joy, sheer joy, so shed all your inhibitions and concentrate on the act."

As most male fears revolve around satisfying the female partner, Gitanjali suggests, "Till the time your women is emotionally satisfied, you can easily satisfy her sexual needs. The more emotionally connected you are, the more enjoyable physical intimacy will be. Try and indulge in physical intimacy only when your woman is ready, as it helps creating a comfort zone where she will participate equally. And while having sex, stay calm, relaxed, indulge in foreplay and nothing will stop you from performing the desired way."

Here are some common fears that make men nervous every time they gear up for a steamy romp...

Fear fright # 1: Leaving her unsatisfied
The foremost fear of leaving the female partner unsatisfied has a direct correlation with a male's organ size. While a woman thinks bigger the better, the man keeps worrying about what if he's unable to give the desired pleasure. This fear of not giving their best somewhere triggers a feeling of being an imperfect sex partner, which may even hit a man's ego directly.

Get over it: Dr. Gitanjali Sharma explains, "The fear of not satisfying a women leads to many questions in a man's mind. He starts thinking that will she look for that sexual satisfaction elsewhere and that thought of her being with someone else (because of his under performance) will make him more complex. This is like a vicious cycle, as the more he thinks on this subject, he gets driven by performance anxiety, thus leaving her unsatisfied most of the times. Performance in bed mainly depends on a woman's state of mind at that time. You need to be comfortable with your woman's body to feel a strong connection. Go slow and steady and understand your woman by awakening her sensitive parts rather than worrying about your size."

Fear fright # 2: Premature ejaculation
A gratifying sex quickie is all about giving and receiving pleasure. While men make every efforts to please their female partners, they would, most of the times, remain anxious about their own climax and this fear is driven by the ejaculation period. It's a very common apprehension that men come across where they suffer premature ejaculation due to which they end up spoiling sex.

Get over it: Dr. Arora elucidates, "Medically, if a man is able to hold his ejaculation for at least one minute, he is not a patient of premature ejaculation. But unfortunately very few people know this fact and they are being misguided with fake ads and while watching porn movies, which makes them think that they are unable to have sex for a longer period. This creates a feeling of insecurity about their female partner and the sexual stress mounts, which gets converted into performance anxiety. In most of the cases, the problem practically doesn't exist, but the fear is creating it."

Fear fright # 3: Not getting her pregnant
Though it's not necessary that every sex session should be aimed at getting the woman pregnant, but still men do carry impotency fears in their minds. The continuous worry of not getting a woman pregnant puts men in a serious stigma, which adversely affects their sexual performance.

Get over it: Dr. Arora says, "Having a child is related with both male and female health and destiny too. There are numerous cases where medically everything is normal, but the female is unable to conceive. You should try to have a healthy life style, a proper diet and a positive attitude about yourself. If there is any problem with your semen, it can be treated, so no point worrying about it. The first need is a good sex life, not having a child."

Fear fright # 4: Lacking porn value
It's a normal practice that men watch porn to learn certain sexual acts and then repeat them with their partner. In an attempt to try something new and opt for wild acts, men repeatedly indulge in bringing out the porn elements in their sex life. And many a times, if the female partner is not responding positively, men start feeling that they are lacking somewhere.

Get over it: Dr. Gitanjali says, "Men often compare their sexual performance with porn scenes or with that of their female partner and the fear that they might be less experienced makes them panic. Men should understand that performing in bed has nothing to do with any experience. It's the mental connection with the female partner which can exist even without taking any inspiration from the porn acts."

Fear fright # 5: Masturbation done in the past
Several studies have claimed that masturbation done during one's childhood or adolescent years doesn't impact a person's sex life in his later years. Yet there exists numerous fears attached to the same. Men often blame their masturbation habits for their weak bedroom performance and with this illogical apprehension; they fail to focus on their present sexual acts.

Get over it: Dr. Arora advices, "Masturbation doesn't harm much, but the guilt of masturbating is more harmful, and this is just due to lack of sex education. Every healthy male masturbates many times in his life in various stages of age, there is nothing to worry about."

Ways to lose flabs in 2 weeks

Ways to lose flabs in 2 weeks (Thinkstock photos/Getty Images)

With your best friend's wedding round the corner, are you finding it difficult to lose the flabs off your waist? Let's check out what the 2-Week Blitz diet has to offer 

Gaining momentum and hype in the UK, the 2-Week Blitz diet recommends about 75 minutes of exercise five times a week if you are planning to lose weight in about two weeks. You can take upto two days of rest but sugar and consuming alcohol is a no no.

On a typical day, you can get in to do a 10-24 minutes of cardio followed by weight exercises of about 3 sets of 5x. For better results repeat the cardio and three sets twice more. In the end, you can finish with the ab crunches.

The 2-Week Blitz diet includes

Breakfast - Muesli and a smoothie or a fruit

Lunch - Salad or fruit with fish or chicken. You can also have some sauted or boiled veggies.

Snacks - Fruit and nuts

Dinner - Chicken stir fry or veggies

The diet also suggests that you should refrain from consuming more than two cups of coffee throughout the day and drink lots of water for immediate results.

Opinionating, whether this diet is suitable for Indian women, Naini Setelvad, Nutritionist, Healthforyou, Mumbai, says, "This diet is not suitable for the Indian climate and palate. We are used to whole grain with a meal, and it is very difficult for an Indian to substitute grain for potato or corn. We like to have a lot of herbs and spices - which are also required daily. We would also need more vegetarian protein options. In India, we eat protein, the natural way with Vitamin C (for example, our dals always have kokum or tomato in them). Our meals are already rather scientific.We should stick to familiar foods if we want to make healthy food a part of our daily life." 

6 Sex positions for weight loss

6 Sex positions for weight loss (Thinkstock photos/Getty Images)

While it may seem hard to take out time to hit the gym for a workout session, very few people know that indulging in a sweat-inducing sex session is equally beneficial. 

It not only helps burning extra calories, but also allows couples to perform routine exercises and also enjoy sexual pleasure. What else can couples ask for! 

Dr. Basheer Ahmad Roy, a Bangalore-based sex specialist states, "Almost all muscles including the legs, thighs, arms, shoulders and lower abdomen are worked upon during a sexual interaction. Anything that is done for the body should be done for at least 15 minutes and a sex session may not stretch for this long. So couples need to pay extra attention that if they wish to derive additional health benefits from sexual positions, they need to prolong sexual activity right from foreplay to the climax state." 

Apart from the fact that sex brings relief from headaches, reduces depression and tranquilises the mind, leads to glowing hair and skin etc, it's also true that many sexual positions double up as easy workouts. 

Dr. Shivi Jaggi, a Delhi-based sexologist asserts, "Sex helps burning a lot of calories. Different positions in which partners participate as per their comfort level lead to a fit body. A few complex positions that require more of physical strength and involve more work lead to weight-loss and exercising of muscles. Intensity of movements and duration of sex make a lot of difference. 

Here are some lovemaking positions, which will let you stretch the most important muscle groups in your body... 

Missionary position (Man on top) 
In the Indian context, more than 90 per cent of couples indulge in the missionary position in bed, which seems to be quite gratifying for them. As the act involves weight balancing, it obviously has a number of physical benefits. The missionary position is all about stretching, arching and tightening. While the malepartner is on top, the female laying on her back can also stretch her back, arch and tighten the abs. In addition, she can also try tightening the kegel muscles right during the act. 

Dr. Jaggi elucidates, "The partner on top gets more involved in the physical activity. With a male partner on top, a lot of pressure is borne by his arms and shoulders. Besides, elbows and knees are used to the maximum while balancing in such a position; hence it stretches the muscles in both these body parts. In addition, thigh muscles are also worked upon during the missionary position, as you are almost on your knees during the act." 

Woman on top 
It is said that women can orgasm quickly while on top. Yet there is an evident reluctance among Indian women to try this position in bed. But having a female partner taking the lead is a very good exercise. It allows both partners to enjoy an equal participation, where the woman uses her hands and arms to prop up and down, and the male partner is holding the woman thus balancing her body weight. 

Dr. Jaggi shares, "With the woman on the top, the weight would normally be borne by the male partner. Women being the physically weaker counterpart during sex, you cannot expect them to hold on to their body mass completely. So again it's more of exercise for the men, where they use their biceps' muscles to hold their female partner. For a female too, just to maintain the position for a longer duration, she is stretching her biceps, triceps, forearms and chest muscles to the fullest."