Dr. Madhumita Deb

Goals and attitudes:

Compared with previous attempts, how motivated to lose weight are you this time? score 1 for not at all, 2 slightly, 3 somewhat, 4 quite, 5 extremely 

How certain are you that you will stay committed to a weight loss program for the time it will take to reach your goal?
score 1 for cannot, 2 can somewhat, 3 uncertain, 4 can tolerate well, 5 can easily

Consider all outside stress in your life (work, family obligations, etc.) to what extent can you tolerate the effort required to stick to a diet?
score 1 for very unrealistic, 2 somewhat unrealistic, 3 moderately unrealistic, 4 somewhat realistic, 5 very realistic

Think honestly about how much weight you hope to lose and how quickly you hope to lose it. Figuring a weight loss of. 5kg to 1 kg per week, how realistic is your expectation?
score 1 for always, 2 frequently, 3 occasionally, 4 rarely, 5 never.

While dieting, do you fantasize about eating a lot of your favorite foods?
score 1 for not at all, 2 slightly, 3 somewhat, 4 quite, 5 extremely

While dieting, do you feel deprived, angry, or upset?
score 1 for not at all, 2 slightly, 3 somewhat, 4 quite, 5 extremely

Scored 6 to 16 - not a good time to diet; inadequate motivation and commitment and unrealistic goals can get in your way

Scored 17 to 23 - think about ways to boost your diet readiness before you begin

Scored 24 to 30 - bingo, your path is clear.

Hunger cues:
When food is mentioned, do you want to eat even if not hungry? score 1 never, 2 rarely, 3 occasionally, 4 frequently, 5 always.

Do you have trouble controlling your eating when your favorite foods are around the house? score 1 always, 2 frequently, 3 occasionally, 4 rarely, 5 never.

How often do you eat because of physical hunger?
score 1 never, 2 rarely, 3 occasionally, 4 frequently, 5 always.

Scored 3 to 6 - try to control the attitudes that occasionally make you overeat

Scored 7 to 9 - dieting will be easier if you try to resist external cues and eat only when you are physically hungry.

Control overeating:
Score 1 if you would eat much less, 2 if you would eat somewhat less, 3 if it would make no difference, 4 if you would eat somewhat more, and 5 if you would eat much more:

Although you planned to skip lunch, you are talked into going out to eat.
You go off your diet by eating a fattening, forbidden food.
After faithfully following your diet you decide to test yourself by eating a %u201ctreat.%u201d

Scored 3 to 7 - you recover rapidly from mistakes, but should get professional help if you often alternate between strict dieting and eating out of control
Score 8 to 11 - you have a flexible, balanced program that is not disrupted by unplanned eating
Score 12 to 15 - your reaction to problem-causing eating events can be improved.

Binging and purging:
Have you ever eaten lots of food rapidly and felt the eating was excessive and out of control?
score 2 for yes, 0 for no.

If yes, how often over the past year?
score 1 for less than once a month, 2 about once a month, 3 a few times a month, 4 about once a week, 5 about 3 times a week, 6 daily:

Have you ever purged to control your weight by using laxatives, diuretics, or induced vomitingscore 5 for yes, 0 for no.
If yes, how often during the past year? score 1 for less than once a month, 2 about once a month, 3 a few times a month, 4 about once a week, 5 about 3 times a week, 6 daily:

Scored 0 to 1 - binge eating and purging are not your problem
Scored 2 to 11 - get professional help if these eating patterns arise more often
Scored 12 to 19 %u2013 your potentially serious eating problem needs immediate professional attention.

Emotional eating:
For each of the next three questions, score 1 never, 2 rarely, 3 occasionally, 4 frequently, 5 always.

Do you overeat when you feel anxious, depressed, angry or lonely?
Do you celebrate feeling good by overeating?
When things don%u2019t go well with others or on your job, do you eat more than you would like?

Scored 3 to 8 - you don%u2019t seem to let emotions affect your eating
Scored 9 to 11 - monitor your occasional tendency to eat in response to emotional highs and lows and find alternative activities
Scored 12 to 15 - you need to find other ways than eating express your feelings.

Exercise:
How often do you exercise?
score 1 for never, 2 rarely, 3 occasionally, 4 somewhat, 5 frequently.

How confident are you that you can exercise regularly?
score 1 for not at all, 2 slightly, 3 somewhat, 4 highly, 5 completely.

Do you have a negative or positive picture about exercise in your mind?
score 1 for completely negative, 2 somewhat negative, 3 neutral, 4 somewhat positive, 5 completely positive.

How sure are you that you can work regular exercise into your daily schedule?
score 1 for not at all, 2 slightly, 3 somewhat, 4 quite, 5 extremely.

Scored 4 to 10 - change attitudes that are blocking your way to regular exercise
Scored 11 to 16 - to feel more positive about exercise, think of ways that are fun and fit your lifestyle
Scored 17 to 20 - your path is clear to a more active life.

In case of any diet/nutrition related query or to book an appointment with dt. Silky mahajan please send us a mail at info@foodsandnutrition. In or call on 080 6741 7780 (dial extension: 778).

There was a time when only the elderly were at risk for a heart attack. Today however, anyone can have a heart attack. Symptoms of an oncoming heart attack are often misunderstood. When it comes to first aid for a heart attack, every second is precious and hence it is important to be clear about what a heart attack looks and feels like.

Here are a few symptoms of heart attacks to look out for.

• Feeling of weight on the chest
• Stomach pain with nausea and heartburn
• Radiating pain on the left side of the body, particularly on the arm
• Dizziness and shortness of breath
• Pain that moves from the chest to the throat and jaw
• Extreme exhaustion and weakness
• Cold sweat

The first thing to do if you or someone around you experiences a heart attack is to call a doctor. Call emergency services and ask for an ambulance to be sent at the earliest. Lie down and try to relax. Any form of exertion can worsen the situation. If you are alone, do not attempt to drive yourself anywhere. If an ambulance cannot get to you, ask someone around to drive you to the doctor.

Chewing on an aspirin immediately after a heart attack can help save a life. Aspirin has blood thinning properties that can increase the supply of blood to the heart. Studies have shown that chewing an aspirin is better than simply swallowing it in case of a heart attack.

If the patient loses consciousness at any point, check their heart rate. In case the person's heart stops beating attempt to perform CPR to restart the heart. This can restore partial supply of oxygenated blood to the heart. To perform CPR have the patient lie down on the ground and kneel beside them. Place your right palm on the center of their chest and place the left hand over it while interlocking the fingers. Keep your arms straight as you press down on the chest at regular intervals. Try and achieve 100 compressions a minute.

Living a healthy lifestyle can lower the risk of suffering from a heart attack. Cholesterol is one of the most common triggers of a heart attack. Eat a diet rich in fiber and low in fats and salt content can lower your cholesterol levels. This combined with regular exercise can also help maintain a healthy BMI that would in turn lower the risk of having a heart attack.