We have become addicted to fine dines so much that we cannot digest the calories that we may eat on roadside cafes, golgappa cart or an average looking restaurant. Lahore, that was once, known for great food has now limited its glory to a good ambiance and expensive rates. We immediately start doubting the food that we get at a comparatively low price. This custom was broken by Jay Bee’s when they started selling the most delicious ice cream with a price starting from 100.
Such places give us hope that you can find good food at a cheap price as well. This does not have to have a tag of being so costly. The restaurants have stopped putting extra effort while still keeping the rates low for the general public. Instead of improving their qualities, they have started using techniques to put them in limelight. Instead of providing good food, the only purpose is to make double money. They have started relying on activities like “live music”, a food challenge or a stand-up comedy. No doubt, these activities put an extra oomph to the overall experience of a restaurant, nevertheless, they cannot compensate for bad food.

All my assumptions were smashed when I tried this delicious Sajji by a roadside restaurant with the name “Akram Tikka Shop”. To my surprise, they were serving hot food with exceptionally great customer service. The way they were greeting their customers broke the record of any good high priced restaurant. Not just this, their freshly made tikka was so appetizing that we couldn’t stop ourselves from overeating. If you want to check how involved the restaurant is to provide you with fresh and hygienic food, you should check their salads. Raw food is the best way to check the common practices of a restaurant. This eatery did not disappoint us even with the salad and raita.

The warm breast piece tucked away in a heap of scrumptiously made rice only under Rs. 200 is not less than a heavenly experience. Their customer-focused service makes the whole experience a treat to the buds.
If you ever go to Mehmood Kasuri road, do not forget to stop by at Akram Tikka Shop for great and hygienic food service.

With ever-increasing trends of Keto, Banana, and GM diets, weight loss has become more of a trend instead of having a healthy lifestyle. As much as it is important to exercise and follow a proper diet schedule, we also need to closely monitor our everyday activities. It is mostly the habits that impede our weight loss process. If you are trying everything and still not losing weight; these are the habits you need to incorporate in your everyday routine to speed up your weight loss.

Proper water intake

There is no better fat and appetite killer than drinking a lot of water. Not only does it resolve your health concerns, but it also keeps your skin glowing and acne-free. Start drinking 8-10 glasses of water and you will witness a noticeable difference in your lifestyle and your weight loss journey as well. Another logic behind drinking water before every meal is to make oneself feel fuller so in order to reduce the calorie intake.

Take steps

The worst habit that is firmly ingrained in our lifestyle is “no walk”. We have started depending on machines and helpers around us that eventually makes us lazy and takes away the activity time from our everyday exercise. The most helpful habit is to take steps after every task. Here is a way to incorporate this habit into your routine. Every time you need to pick up anything from a distance, get up and take it instead of asking someone to help you. Take the stairs instead of escalators or elevators. Third and the most important step is to stop using the phone to convey a message to someone. Instead, take steps and keep the healthy habit of walking in your routine.

Cut down on sugar

Even if you are working out every day but still taking sugar, it will prolong your weight loss process. However, if you cut out the sugar intake, the chances of losing weight will increase. Start with cutting sugar beverages, energy, and sports drinks. If you have a habit of eating a whole piece of dessert after food, cut the quantity. These baby steps will help you eliminate the sugary items from your diet completely. 

No meals after 7 p.m.

Restrict your diet in the window of 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. because the lesser the number of hours in which you eat, the lesser will be the calorie intake. There is no as such strong evidence but only logical reasoning that calories you consume in the day get burnt up with the activities you do, whereas, the calories taken at night sit in your system and turn into fat. 

7-9 hours sleep

Lack of sleep can cause you fatigue, which would result in low physical activity. If you take proper sleep, your metabolism works faster and your mood also remains fresh. Moreover, the study also says that you burn calories while you are sleeping. Apart from that, to have a healthy lifestyle, a proper sleeping pattern is quite essential. Sleep deprivation can ruin the whole schedule of the next day making you less motivated and more exhausted. 

Old were the days when a review was not a “thing” and it was extremely difficult to get information about anything be it travel, food, medical issues or any problem related to everyday life. It was not common to have a forum where people would share their experiences directly with the public. Reading first-hand experiences was rare and forums like Quora and Yahoo Answers were considered the only reliable sources. 

Now, everything is available on the internet and is just a click away. But, should we rely on such sources to be authentic and true? It depends and varies from source to source. It also depends on who moderates the source and how.

When the trend of having groups on Facebook started, people only used it for fun, to gather at a place to talk and share jokes. At that time, a few were trying to utilize this source for a meaningful purpose and those people gave birth to some amazing groups that, now, have a huge following and are considered reliable sources for any information related to the subject matter of the group.

Now groups have become a popular and the safest space for like-minded people to congregate and discuss specific stuff- from hobbies to pets and celebrities.

If you are still living in the stone age or looking for answers to your riddles related to food, travel, pets, allergies, mental health, etc., these are the groups that are at your service with a meaningful purpose and a great initiative to help the masses through a direct communication and dissemination of information through various posts.

 

Foodies ‘R US

Created in 2013, now this group has over 95k followers. This is the place where you will find reviews about any restaurant. You name it and people will share their experiences. If you are a foodie, this is surely going to be your favorite group as it has all the solutions to deal with your appetite. Not only the masses, but this has also helped a lot of restaurateurs and home-based chefs with their businesses.

The founder of the group, Asad Sheikh says “I started this group 6 years ago for one reason only and that’s the passion for food. I just want to tell and guide people on what’s good out there to try and what’s good that our country has to offer. I don’t write bad reviews of any kind but that doesn’t mean that I have not had my share of bad food. Always try to highlight the good while telling owners of the restaurant about things that need improvement.

We all are ambassadors of our city or country and others who see our posts or reviews create an image of where we are from. Over the years Foodies ‘R Us has helped many people living out of city or out of country to pick the eateries when they visit Lahore Karachi or even Islamabad. The same passion was translated into encouraging home-based talent to post as much as they can and later encouraging them to turn this talent into a business.

Many small businesses have blossomed from this platform and we later encouraged them further to be part of our Coke Food Festival, giving them a face to face experience with their consumers.

We have never charged anyone to advertise on our platform and that’s the reason for the success of many small businesses.” 

Soul Sisters Pakistan

This group is home to 212K women who interact and share their issues and experiences related to health, relationships, feminism, networking, their moments of happiness, moments of suffering or any piece of advice related to the ongoing discussion. Not only this, through the group, women were able to find their long lost friends, online jobs, solutions to their problems and a lot more. This has become a safe place for them to talk about stuff they do not normally share publicly or are afraid to talk about. Anonymous posts have become the new trend to send your message across.

“In a culture where women are often silenced and their issues trivialized, I felt that we needed a space and people to talk to, other than their immediate family and friends; a space where we could give unbiased advice as a third person, for each other’s problems and a space where we could come together to share our stories, experienced and inspire each other.

And so in August 2013, Soul Sisters Pakistan was formed, and within months we were getting scores of requests to join the group as the concept of a safe space like this wasn’t so common back then! From discussing taboos to breaking stereotypes to providing legal aid and emotional support – the community has really made a mark and become a household name. It is also one of the 115 most impactful communities in the world, recognized, supported and trained by Facebook itself!- Kanwal Ahmed (the Founder)

The Travel Diary 

Earlier, it was extremely difficult to know about the experiences of people who travel. Now, you just have to post a query and hundreds will be there to assist you or guide you about a particular thing, food place, culture or about people of a certain country. All in all, this group is a complete package to know about anything related to a country. Founded in 2016 with more than 72K members, this group is a query-home for all travel enthusiasts.

 Mishaal Hashmi, the founder of the group says, “Traveling is something that is an innate part of me. Ever since I was a child, I’ve been blessed to have the opportunity to travel, be exposed to cultures and people. As an adult, I’m even more fortunate to be able to share my passion with like-minded individuals, who share a similar passion. The idea to create the Travel Diary arose from my desire to share my travel experiences as well as gain wisdom from the experiences of others. Never in my dreams had I imagined my passion to take on such a gigantic form and for a forum such as The Travel Diary to exist is a humbling experience and a dream come true.”

Soul Brothers Pakistan 

Even though most of the posts are light-heart humor and user-generated content; the group generally talks about various topics including networking, recruitment, and counseling. Similarly, it talks about issues that surround the men’s ecosystem i.e. relationship, health, masculinity, and mental state. Moreover, It discusses these issues in depth through live talk sessions also known as #SBPGuyTalk, where group members from all walks of life come and discuss issues varying from Depression, Suicide, legal affairs, and health-related topics. Their popular segment #AnonymousSoulBrother is also widely used by members who seek suggestions and valuable insights on a variety of topics.

“We identified a need where we could create a crowd-sourced platform for men which would offer a healthy support system for Pakistani brothers here and abroad.” – Danish Javed (Co-Founder)