My GM Week

So I have heard a lot about the General Motors diet but never tried it because I thought it is tooooo difficult and being the foodie I am, I will never be able to sustain it.

But from past 4 months I was not able to work out due to injury first in my left foot and then as soon as I was able to stand on my two feet the right foot bumped itself in the wall restricting me to bed for another couple of months. Well that might bed an exaggeration, I was not restricted to be but yes I was hopping and limping so could not go for brisk walks, jog or gym :(.

I was getting bothered with my tendency to put on weight by mere thought of food and was thinking about some kind of a diet. When my cloths started snuggling me around I prepared my mind to go the GM way and it helped me loose that extra fat I gained while sitting idle.

The diet really works if you are doing some kind of yoga or walk along with it but still I lost about 3-4 kgs without any kind of physical workout. The best part is you feel a lot lighter on your stomach after this diet and specifically for me even after the diet was over I did not feel the urge to snack upon cookies, chips or any other kind of junk food between meals. Yes it is difficult specially the first 2 days but once you make up your mind it is not that hard.

So here I am sharing the day by day account of my GM diet which you can try before any wedding or special occasion to fit in your favorite dress.

Day 1

Day 1 is dedicated to fruits and fruits only. You can eat all and any kind of fruits except for banana. Along with fruits you need to drink loads of water, around 10-12 glass. Following is the kind of menu you should follow:

• 1-2 glass of warm water after you get up.
• Breakfast could be 1 Apple/Some watermelon/Musk Melon .
• Mid morning: 1 chikoo/1 pear/1 pomegranate and with lots of water.
• Around noon take some orange/grapes/cherries to munch on.
• Lunch time around 2-3 mixed fruit bowl.
• Evening around 5-6 1 chikoo/1 pear/some grapes/cherries/Plums.
• Diner time mixed fruit bowl.
• You can drink fresh lime water with some honey in it between meals or some fresh coconut water.
• Avoid any kind of milk product including tea.
• You can drink green tea between meals.
• The trick is to take small potions 5-6 times so that you do not feel hungry.

Day 2

Vegetable day. Eat all vegetables raw or cooked on this day. Cooking can be done in very less olive oil.

• Start morning with 2 glasses of warm water.
• For breakfast eat 1-2 boiled potatoes. You can make a potato chat by adding some green chilies, fresh coriander, tomatoes, lemon and chaat masala to it. Optionally you can add some butter if it feels to dry to you.
• mid morning around 12' o clock eat a salad bowl with cucumber, tomatoes, lettuce, bell peppers and some lemon or vinaigrette dressing. Do not put any oil or cream based dressing in this salad.
• For lunch you can cook some tasty mix vegetable in olive oil or even without it. Saute some onions and tomatoes in non stick with only half a tea spoon olive oil (or without it) and add some peas, mushrooms, cabbage, carrots, capsicum, beans and cauliflower to this. You can add some spices like salt and pepper and even some soy sauce and tomato ketchup.
• In evening you can make a corn chaat with some american sweet corn (very little), onions, cucumber, carrot, tomatoes and bell peppers in lemon, salt and black pepper dressing. Make sure to add less corns and more vegetables as corns are high in starch.
• For dinner eat another bowl of salad with either mix vegetable or any other veggie. I prefer a big bowl of bottle gourd (ghiya) cooked in tomatoes and green chilies. 
• Again drink loads of water (10-12 glass), fresh lime, green tea etc.

Day 3

This day is a combination of fruits and veggies sans bananas and potatoes.

• 2 glass of warm water in morning.
• Breakfast should be a fruit 1 apple/watermelon/musk melon.
• Mid morning or noon eat a bowl of mixed fruit or a salad bowl. 
• Lunch will be a mix veg and salad bowl if you have eaten fruit bowl at mid afternoon. If you ate salad previously then you can combine mix veg with some fruits for lunch.
• In evening with green tea you can again eat any fruit chikoo/pear/plums/grapes/pomegranate/mango as per you linking.
• In dinner you can eat a corn salad/green salad/mix veg/any other vegetable along with some papaya.
• Drink loads of water and a couple of glasses of fresh lime if needed without sugar.

Day 4

Bananas and milk only. On this day you can drink up to 3 glasses of milk and eat up-to 8 bananas. You can make cold coffee, banana milk shake or plain milk but limit the amount of sugar intake. Drink lots of water and you can also drink GM wonder soup if you feel hungry, which you will not because bananas and milk are quite heavy on stomach.

Day 5

After being devoid of any carbs on the first four days, today is the day you can eat some actual food. The fifth day is brown rice and tomato day. You can eat as many as 6 tomatoes as salad and 1 cup of brown rice.

I made tomato rice with brown rice and added some green chilies and salt to it but without any oil. You can divide your 1 cup of rice in 2 or 3 meals and consume them at different meal times along with raw tomatoes.

And not to forget loaaaaadddsss of water. Around 14 glass.

Day 6

This day is again brown rice but with mix vegetables.

• Eat some salad for breakfast. Optionally you can add some corns in your salad to add taste to it but the dressing should not be oil or cream based.
• Make a mix vegetable pulao with 1 cup brown rice without any oil and spices. You can add green chilies, salt and pepper to this. Divide this in 2-3 portions and consume at different meal times.
• Between meals you can eat as many salad and vegetables as you want.

Day 7

Again you have to eat 1 cup brown rice with as many vegetables and salad this day. You can also drink fresh fruit juices this day. Drink loads of water along with juices.

By this day you will be feeling much lighter and an average person loose around 3-5 kg (even more in some cases depending on your metabolism) with this diet.

I will soon be adding some GM diet recipes in my Sanjhi Rasaoi blog so keep looking for them.

A Weekend around Delhi

Being a working couple in a city like Gurgaon leaves you with no time to plan long trips with friends and family. On the other hand the growing job pressures and never ending social obligations makes us want to plan a getaway every once in a while.

That happens with everyone and I am no different. Every few months I feel like getting away from my crazy lifestyle but with only weekend at our disposal it becomes difficult to go anywhere fa rtoo often and we plan long trips only once or twice a year. So whenever the urge to get away becomes too strong we usually book a decent resort in near vicinity and enjoy our time in luxury.

Several luxury resorts have cropped up near NCR in the recent past which offer multitude of facilities and lucrative offers to the maddeningly busy corporate people. These resorts are in close vicinity thus saving up on time and cost of travel, which can be spent on more constructive activities. You can relax and unwind in luxury while spending time with your near and dear ones and without bothering about hours of travel on return journey as that is what most people dread….THE RETURN JOURNEY.

I have done my share of resort experience on various occasions and thought about penning down a few destinations around NCR. Out of these, few I have experienced and others are places I am considering for my future weekend stint.

   Best Western Country Club Resort 

One fine Saturday morning our friends called and said that they have received an SMS regarding this amazing deal at the Best Westin Resort. We were bored and decided to check it out. As simple and quick as that we enjoyed our leisurely weekend at the Best Westin Resort.

Our package was lunch, evening snacks, dinner and breakfast included. It was weekend so an evening bar by the pool was set with karaoke to enjoy. There was an indoor DJ party option also available so we made the most of both the opportunities. They also have rain dance, horse riding, baggi ride, camel ride, a duck pond, play area for kids, live chess board area, rifle shooting and other games for kids along with the kids and adult pool.

The food is also good with many options and facility is beautiful with neat and clean rooms.

Best Western resort is about 45 kms from Delhi International airport towards Manesar and is a very good option if you are planning outing with kids.

  Tarudhan Valley by Seasons Hotel, Manesar 

Tarudhan Valley resort is around 40-45 kms from Delhi International airport, in Tehsil Taru, Gurgaon.

We have visited the facility many times as walk-in customer but have never stayed there but have heard that rooms are pretty decent and clean.

It is a beautiful property with a wonderful golf course, which of course is out of bounds for non-members. The breakfast and lunch buffet are a decent spread and food is good. Though there can be some improvement in there service which is slow. Some very basic things like missing sauce and cutlery at the table can be taken care of.

There is a spa, swimming pool and a games room but not great too many activities for kids. It is good to stay if you are in large group or are looking for a peaceful getaway sans any recreational activities.

  Westin Sohna 

This is a 5 star property in Sohna and therefore bit on the expensive side, but you will not mind paying the money for the kind of services you get there.

It is a beautiful property with excellent food and amazing service. The rooms and bathrooms are very neat and clean and staff is quite helpful. The best part is their kids club which offer loads of activities for kids like painting, board games, xbox etc along with attendants, so you can keep the kids busy while you enjoy that spa. They also offer various recreational activities such as horse riding, cycling, star gazing etc.

If you want a weekend getaway with luxury and want the kids to have fun, this is the place you must consider.

 Tree House Resort 

While Westin Sohna provides you the complete luxury with xbox and video games, the Tree house resort on NH-8 provides you luxury in more rustic kind of a way. This beautiful resort is directly opposite Amity University on NH-8 and is a nature’s paradise.

If you want to spend a weekend in the lap of nature then place is surely recommended. The “Nests”, as they call their rooms, are perched on top of trees and have some branches running right through them, which is a very different concept. They have very good staff with equally good food and wide variety of options in the buffet. Trust me you will not be disappointed on food front here.

The whole resort gives you a feel like staying in the jungle and they have some rabbits, chickens, ducks, peacocks etc which can be a nice experience for our city kids.

They also have multitude of recreational activities such as cricket, football, tennis, golf, camel riding, spa, chess, carom and billiards.

If you are a nature lover and want the feel of living in a jungle then this place is a must visit. It is a very rare concept and should be explored while you are in Delhi.

  Heritage Resort, Manesar

The Heritage resort is around 45 mins drive from Delhi International airport on the NH-8. The property is very beautiful with lush green gardens and old palace like building. The outdoor swimming pool area is very nice and the place is huge and idle for taking long walks in a good weather.

We never stayed there but have dined in the restaurant as walk-in customer so I do not have much idea about their rooms and services.  We had lunch there and I found the food and service good but have heard some complaints about their services by stay in customers’.

They have about 6 restaurants serving different type of cuisines, including an outdoor setting as well. There is a spa and various recreational activities like TT, billiards etc.

This can be a good option on a day of nice weather for long drive, nice location and some good food in luxury if you do not want to stay.

 Chomu Palace Hotel 

Want to live like royalty, try Chomu Palace near Jaipur. Well I myself have not been to this place but have heard about it from a couple of friends who are from Jaipur.

This is a huge palace in Chomu which have been converted to a luxury hotel. The whole ambiance is great and staying here is an experience of its own but the food is nothing to boast about. Being a luxury property the service is good and staff helpful.

There is a spa, swimming pool, gym and library but no other recreational activities so it if you plan to spend a weekend here the best activity will be to explore the palace.

The place is a little far from Delhi but closer to Jaipur so can be a different kind of one night stopover on your next trip to Jaipur.

There are many other options as well and I am currently researching on them. Will share them soon so that you can choose and pick your favorite destination.