Additional Information

Many people have lost weight based on my experience and you will too.  Just be doggedly disciplined.  Do not deviate from the plan until you reach your desired weight and be stable for 3 months after that.  Then only you can give yourself an occasional gift.  But until then, there should be no excuses, not for birthdays, not for anniversaries, not for religious ceremonies, not for પ્રસાદ (प्रशाद ), not for મારા સમ (मेरी कसम), nothing whatsoever.

Permanent weight loss only happens with a combination of food intake and exercise.  I believe the combination is 90% food intake and 10% exercise.  However exercise acts as a catalyst, meaning without exercise, control of food intake will have no positive effect.  In fact, it will have negative effects like backache (muscle spasms), because without exercise weight loss occurs from muscles instead of body fat.  Without control of food intake, no matter how much you exercise, you will not lose weight either!  Hence, the combination is essential.  Remember to walk everyday.  Park your car farthest away from the entrance in a mall parking lot.  

Two persons in my office Cederick and Alexis surprised me when I returned to Maryland from California after six months.  Both of them work in our warehouse.  Their jobs involve lifting of heavy boxes all day long.  So physical activity was not an issue but both were overweight.  After seeing me succeed they had decided to do something about their own health.  They completely stopped eating all grains, including wheat, corn and rice.  They both have lost a lot of weight and look fit and muscular.  You too can do it.

Pesto vs. Chutney:

Pesto is a sauce that originated in the Genoa area of Italy, commonly known as Italian Riviera.  That region is famous for its variety of vegetables.  When we were visiting Genoa our guide had mentioned that the population of Genoa region relies heavily on vegetarian diet.  Columbus was born in Genoa.  My totally unsubstantiated theory is that he was looking for the land of chutney from which Italians derived inspiration for pesto.  Actually to be fair, chili peppers used in chutney were brought to India by Portuguese sailors from Brazil many years after Columbus had discovered the “new world”.

Pesto is made by grinding together basil leaves, garlic, pine nuts, olive oil and parmesan cheese.  Traditionally, pesto is made in mortar by grinding with a pestle using circular motion.  Sounds familiar?  It should be to all Indians because that is exactly how chutney is made.  These days pesto is made with many types of ingredients.  The following table illustrates some of the best combination of ingredients for different types of pesto and chutney.

	Basil	Arugula	Spinach	Cilantro	Cilantro	Mint	Tomato
Ingredient	Pesto	Pesto	Pesto	Pesto	Chutney	Chutney	Chutney
Basil	X
Arugula		X
Spinach			X
Cilantro				X	X	X	X
Mint						X
Pine Nuts	X
Walnuts		X	X
Peanuts				X	X	X	X
Olive Oil	X	X	X	X
Parmesan	O	O	O
Garlic	X	X	X	X	X	X	X
Chilies					X	X	X
Tomatoes							X
Salt	X	X	X	X	X	X	X
Lemon					X	X	X
Ginger					O	O	O

O= optional,  X=required

These days pesto or chutney is easily made by grinding together the ingredients in a food processor or grinder while pouring oil or water until a creamy consistency is obtained.

How to cut 50% Carbs from your Sandwich:

By definition, "sandwich" stands for two slices of bread containing some edible item(s) between them.  "Sandwich" has also become a verb; “I was sandwiched between two fat persons in the plane”.  In order to cut the carbs from a sandwich we have to get away from the accepted definition of “sandwich” and create a new definition.  The part of any sandwich that gives it a high carb rating is the bread.  As the breads have become more and more “sophisticated”, they tend to become greater in carb content.  While a slice of plain whole wheat bread may have 15g of carbs, a slice of bagel has 20g of carbs, and a slice of ciabatta bread has 25g of carbs.   The simplest way to reduce the carb content of a sandwich is to cut the amount of bread in it.  Let’s say that you are eating out and order a sandwich containing some vegetables like lettuce, tomatoes, onions, cucumbers on whole wheat bread.  That sandwich has a total of 35g of carbs (15g for each slice of bread and 5g for the veggies).  If you simply take out the top slice of bread and don’t eat it, you have reduced the total carb content to 20g of carbs, almost half of the 35g for the regular sandwich.  Simple enough?  If you are going to eat at home and have the opportunity of making your own sandwich then you can use the following recipe:

1.  Cut a lot of tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, and avocados.  Keep some sprouts and baby spinach leaves on hand too.

2.  Toast two slices of bread.

   

   3.   Spread pesto or chutney on the toast along with, and optionally, olive oil or mayo.

   4.    For the ease of eating, cut the slice of bread in two and then load it up with the veggies.  Add salt and pepper per your taste. Cheese is optional.

    5.  There, you have a sandwich which is highly satisfying, fills your stomach, and with only half the carbs (35g).  Look for “open-faced sandwich” at expensive restaurants or at your home!  I eat such sandwiches at least three times a week.

    6.   ..and here’s new me! 

You too can create a new you.

Surrendering and Spirituality:

The Western world is all about fighting.  We have war on terrorism.  We have war on drugs.  We have war on cancer.  When somebody dies they announce on TV that the person died after a three-year long heroic battle with cancer.  I find the whole concept of war on such things totally ridiculous.  Have you ever been sick?  I mean really sick?  If you have you’d remember that you had no strength to even drink a glass of water to take your pills let alone do battle with the disease.  I don’t think anybody battles their cancer.  The media just makes it up to glorify that person.  When the ambulance came to take me to the hospital, I decided that I had fought long enough avoiding going to the doctor and it was time to let the medical professionals do their jobs.  So I surrendered.  Kalpana was totally amazed by my transformation.  I, who does not believe in taking drugs, was letting the doctors and nurses do their thing without resisting.  I, who thinks the medical establishment is misguided, did not battle them for following their procedures.  I had totally and peacefully surrendered. 

On the last day, just before they discharged me from the hospital, the doctor wanted to write me a prescription for some heart medication because they had seen my heart rate go up very high once during the hospital stay for no reason at all.  That is when I fought and refused the prescription.  I was no longer in surrendering mode.  I was in fighting spirit again and that was proof positive that I was well. 

All this led me to contemplate the whole concept of surrendering.  While meditating it occurred to me that every religion in the world talks about surrendering.  Bible talks about surrendering to Jesus, Gita talks about surrendering to Krishna, Koran talks about surrendering to Allah.  The new-age gurus talk about the same thing in slightly different language.  Eckhart Tolle, the “Power of Now” author, talks about surrendering to the moment that is NOW because there is nothing else.  When those NOW moments pass they become past.  They are not real because they are only in our memory.  We have no way of predicting what the future moments will bring until they become the NOW moments.  I actually find it a lot easier to understand the concept in the language of these modern authors rather than the flowery language (અલંકારિક ભાષા or अलंकारिक भाषा) of the “holy” books.  May be in those days such language made sense and therefore was necessary.  None of the Indian religious books make sense to me.  I find them to be gobbledygook!  May be the authors of those so-called holy books were trying to convey the exact same thing that these days Eckhart Tolle is talking about.  Surrender to NOW, the moment that is, for the simple reasons that (a) there is nothing else, and (b) you cannot change it.  In the old days it was a lot easier to say, surrender to Allah or Krishna or Jesus.  But now we know better, or do we?

Whether you are diabetic or overweight, whatever your situation may be, just surrender to the situation.  Accept it totally.  It is what it is.  It is not going to change no matter what you do.  Resistance is futile!  By surrendering you will feel peaceful.  Then go ahead and deliberately take any action needed to recover.  Be focused and be determined.  Calmly go about implementing your action plan and you’ll see amazing results.  Do not work “hard” at it.  “Hard” work only increases stress.  Calm, focused and disciplined approach brings positive results and peace.

About Diabetes:

In order to successfully overcome diabetes and its effects one must understand what diabetes is.  Diabetes Mellitus or sugar diabetes is a condition defined by a set of symptoms, most commonly, higher than normal levels of sugar in the blood and excretion of sugar in urine.  The condition was originally discovered by the symptom of sweet fruity smell of the urine.  These symptoms can occur for a variety of causes like; pancreas not producing insulin, liver producing too much sugar, master hormones not giving proper messages to liver or pancreas, cells not being able to utilize sugars,  too much fat in and around cells inhibiting usage of sugar by the cells, pregnancy, etc.  Some pregnant women become diabetic during pregnancy but become normal after delivery.  This is known as gestational diabetes.  This has led to an interesting theory about the growth of fetus in the womb, which leads to pressure on the pancreas causing it to not function properly, thereby leading some people to believe that putting on weight around the abdomen puts pressure on pancreas causing it to malfunction.  Whatever the reasons may be, treatment of diabetes is essentially the same; diet, exercise, drugs and insulin. 

Diabetes can be controlled and type II diabetes can even be reversed by diet and exercise.  There are many doctors who conduct training for reversing type II diabetes through vegan diets and exercise.  I intend to prove that Type I diabetes can also be reversed.  I’ll talk more about that in the future when it happens. 

I know from personal experience how my sugar levels vary based on perceived stress and other situations.  You see, I measure my sugar levels at least five times a day.  I have to do so in order to compute the amount of insulin I need to inject before eating.  This gives me an insight into how my body reacts to different situations.  What I have found out is that when I am going through situations that my mind thinks are stressful then my sugar levels stay high and do not come down easily.  One of those stressful situations used to be attending my office in Maryland.  But having recognized it as a stressor, I have “changed” my mind about attending the office in Maryland and have successfully reversed the outcome.  On the other hand, situations that I perceive to be joyous tend to drop my sugar levels, sometimes they drop too much.  One of those situations is holding a very young baby in my hands.  Another one happens every time when my friends Haren and Raksha visit us.

Quiz#3:  What do you think would happen if Haren and Raksha were to move in with us, or we babysat a young baby every day?