The 100 day diet

by Amrita Simon

Christmas is approaching, and you are having to hold your breath to wriggle into your jeans!!!

To those who really want to lose weight.....

Welcome to the Simon Fitness Boot Camp!!!

Here's a sure shot, fool proof, way to lose the flab and look wow this Christmas and for the New Year's Celebrations,unless you are Diabetic, have Thyroid problems or are on Anti-depressants.

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To the Diabetics,I'd say, run this diet by your GP. For the rest, if you are more than 5 kilos overweight, get your Thyroid levels checked before starting this diet.For those on Anti-depressants.....your weight loss will be a little slower, so follow this diet strictly after consulting with your Shrink.

Make a food journal and weigh your self and write it down before starting.Do not weigh yourself for the next 15 days.

Shun the Sugar

Sugar is very high in empty calories and even a little consumption leads you to crave sweets. The very first step should be to stop sugar completely. Even half a teaspoon is bad.

If you are craving for something sweet, eat a couple of dried dates,apricots or a tablespoon of raisins. But not right after a meal.

Drink a glass of water 15 minutes before you eat.Do not drink water with your meal.Wait for at least an hour.

Stop the Milk

Milk is big no-no.It is high in cholesterol and has no fiber. Since it is difficult to digest, using milk in your diet will burden your digestive system and slow down weight loss.

Switch to soy milk if you really like to drink milk. I did and it was delicious and satisfying.

Learn to take your tea or coffee without milk.

Can the Colas

Steer clear of fizzy drinks,sodas and colas,even the 'natural' fruit drinks and juices. Aside from being very high in sugar, they are very acidic( including the diet colas) and will ruin your PH balance.

As a rule don't drink anything that comes in a bottle, pack or can. If you want to drink something sweet, try freshly squeezed juice and smoothies.

Ditch those Drinks

Alcohol is very high in calories, increases appetite and ruins digestion.

So, go easy on those cocktails.

Ideally you should have none,but if you really have to,then it is important, that you restrict your self to a maximum of two drinks a week.

Munch more Fruit

Bursting with all the goodness nature has to offer, fruits are the most perfect food designed for our bodies. Full of anti-oxidants and vitamins, fruits are perfect for getting healthy and fit.

Just make sure to eat fruit that is in season and do not eat it if it has been altered in any way by cooking or canning.

The best way to eat fruit is on an empty stomach. So start your day with fruit.

Eat NOTHING but fruit for breakfast.

Go Green

Meat and eggs are very difficult to digest and place a great strain on our digestive system.

Since they are very acidic, high in fat and low in fiber, they are important to avoid if you want to lose weight fast.

Stop consumption of Meat and Eggs and turn Vegetarian.

Replace Non Vegetarian food with,Soy chunks,Tofu,Lentils,Legumes and Vegetables.

Do not over cook and kill the nutrients in your Veggies.Use a non-stick wok,add a teaspoon of oil,when it heats,add the Veggies and stir fry for a minute or two.

Snack on salads

The one important food capable of flushing toxins from your body, cleansing your system leading to weight loss is Raw sprouts (blanch them first) and Salads.

Make them an important part of your meal and your snacks. Add Peanuts or raw Sesame seeds to your Sprouts to give it that nutty taste.

Cut the Carbs

Stop eating simple Carbohydrates like Maida, Bread,Pasta, Rice, Potatoes and even Wheat Rotis.

Switch to Millet (Jawar,Bajara) Rotis.

Eat no more than 2 Rotis a meal.

Jog, Skip and Run

These three cardiovascular exercises are perfect for losing weight fast.

No matter how well you eat, you will not achieve optimum weight loss until you add at least 20 minutes of aerobic activity to your regimen.

Begin by brisk walking and graduate to jogging when you have better stamina..

So there you have it.....the 100 day Slimming Guide.

Go on give it a shot..You have nothing to lose but your weight..

(For those who achieve success,cheques are fine ;0) but cash is better)

SHE DON-Hindi Movie 'Shabri' Review
by Amrita Simon

'Shabri' is the story of a slum-dweller girl,working hard at an Atta-chakki for her family that is almost as poor as church mice.

An alcoholic father,a mother working herself almost to the bone making pickles and a young brother who loiters around mixing with the wrong kind of people, adds to the burden of the already heavy laden,weary and frustrated Shabri..

The ashen tinted film symbolizes the lack of any hope or color in Shabri's life. Her concern for her brother 'Bandhya'(Vijay) is expressed only through tight slaps and scraps over a pair of rubber slippers.

'Murad' (played by newcomer Raj Arjun) is a Mathka player with a heart.

From the very beginning, he is shown as a savior of sorts.His expressive eyes say it all.... his compassion and kindness.

Acutely aware of and almost hating what he does for a living, Murad is seen constantly discouraging Shabri's brother to have anything to do with anything illegal.

The only dramatic entry in the film is that of the Villain (Pradeep Rawat). He seems even more sinister than what he was in Ghajini, literally making the back of the hair on your head stand up.

Bandhya gets picked up by the police for a crime he is innocent of. Murad frantically tries to get him out but fails.

Shabri turns up at the Police station to set her brother free. While she waits outside the Cop-in-charge is shown slurping his meal in a disgusting way. The way he tears into the meat he is eating and sucks at the bones depicts what some corrupt and cruel cops are capable of doing.

As he leers and touches Shabri, her terrified young brother, his beating wounds visible, his voice quivering with terror, musters enough courage to tell the cop to lay off his sister or else.....

Later Bandhya is shown in a dark cell with a lone bulb swinging mid-air,with cops all around him and one of them undressing.

What you see later is not for the faint-hearted.

The Director, Lalit Marathe shows Bandya's torture and brutalization, in a way that has never, ever been seen on any Hindi Movie screen before.

Murad breaks the news to Shabri in silent scene that nevertheless conveys his own pain.

When Shabri sees her brother's young broken body, his torn chappals (the very pair she'd fight with him about) laying alongside, a representation of sorts, of the perverted, animal like cruelty he had to go through, something inside her snaps and she takes the law into her own hands.

Murad stands by her like a rock. The rest of the movie is about how because of their actions Murad and Shabri are on the run and literally have to 'hit the mattresses' with both the police and the Villain 'Rajdhar Bhau' hot in their pursuit.

In a juicy, author backed role, Isha Koppikar,(Shabri) gives the best performance of her career with her slum-dweller look (dark pancake,crumpled saree, et al) and gait down to a pat.

Almost always serious in every frame, one gets to see Shabri give a slight glimmer of a smile when she catches Murad looking at her as she dries her freshly washed hair.

Newcomer Raj Arjun (Murad) is the surprise package of the film .

Considering,this was his first film, he has given a beautifully restrained performance, expressing himself softly with words or sometimes with his eyes only. Any other actor in his place would have hammed or may have been tempted to but Raj gives a stellar performance in a role that should have been longer.

Zakir Hussain is good as the stony faced cop with a wry sense of humor.

As the main Villain, Pradeep Rawaat has out done himself. He is just too good. Unlike other Directors who show the Villain as just a very bad guy, Lalit Marathe has carved out many facets in his Villain that shows his cruelty, his pain and finally his stunned grief.

In fact the Villain is the best etched character of the film.

As a first time Director, Lalit Marathe has done a good job, paid attention to detail, made a good film on a novel concept and is worth watching out for.

Even though, in my opinion, the film could have done without the ashen hues and expanded the romantic angle between Murad and Shabri a little more, it is unquestionably a must watch for all those gangster film aficionados out there.