DIET TO REDUCE OBESITY

DIET PLAN TO REDUCE BODY WEIGHT

Avoid rice if trying to lose weight: When it comes to calories, all cereals are created equal. This means the same serving size of rice, wheat, broken wheat, ragi or oats contain the same amount of calories. Having said that, it is also true that if the rice is highly polished, there is nothing much in terms of nourishment in it other than simple starch. Besides, such polished starches are easy to digest, making you hungry within no time. For this reason, fibre rich cereals such as whole wheat, millets like foxtail, barnyard or pearl millet, ragi and so on are recommended over polished white rice. But no matter what, you would still have to pay attention to the portion size!

An easy guide to remember portion control is to use your fist as a measure. An average healthy adult who is not overweight needs close to 12 servings of cereals, each serving size being of a tight fist size or in terms of weight, will be 30 grams of dry cereal. If overweight or obese, that could be cut down to 8 servings approximately per day.

Potato and banana have to be shunned for weight loss: Potato is rich in a type of starch called resistant starch that forms after cooking and cooling the potato. Besides, the skin of the potato is rich in minerals and some vitamins, and fibre. Similarly, banana is a great antioxidant, potassium rich fruit that soothes down acidity and digestion related issues. There is no need to avoid these healthy foods. Again, the portion size matter, as also the method of cooking. Fried potato is calorie dense, while simple pressure or steam cooking with the jacket intact is the best way to enjoy the potato.Sugar is bad: Many recent studies have again reemphasized the fact that excessive sugar can lead to many health problems, including weight gain. Using in moderation and skipping it wherever possible would be prudent for overall health and weight loss.Foods should be oil free: Healthy fats are very much a part of a balanced diet and fats are very important to help the body absorb vital nutrients like vitamin A, D, E and K which help us with vision, skin and brain health and so on. As per the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), 25 to 30 % of our total energy should come from a mixture of healthy fats.You should eat six times a day: This has come about in recent times with more and more dietitians and doctors advocating six meal and frequent eating pattern. But ancient wisdom focused on eating only 2 or 3 times a day and not indulging in any excess snacking in between. Less was more, as far as our age-old wisdom was concerned. In today’s context, dinner is the meal that gets delayed thanks to the prolonged working and travel times. Also, breakfast tends to get skipped more often than not due to either not being able to wake up on time or due to the long travel time. It is due to these factors that the idea of eating six small meals is advocated. But often times, this may not be necessary and a balanced 3 meal a day is also fine if that suits the lifestyle.Fasting frequently will lead to weight loss: We burn energy even when we are at rest because our various body functions such as breathing, digestion, heartbeat and so on require energy. This energy is called the basal metabolic rate or the BMR. The second part of energy expenditure comes from the food we eat, called the thermic effect of food, ie, energy for digesting and metabolizing the food. Certain foods require more energy to digests, such as proteins and fats. More work is required to digest fats and proteins and also they generate more heat as compared to simple carbs.

Fasting for prolonged periods of time is actually counterproductive since fasting lowers the basal metabolic rate. This is due to the fact that foods generate heat and increase the energy expenditure, as the digestive and circulation systems start to work at an increased rate to digest the food. When food intake is nil, these activities slow down, thereby also cutting down on the energy burnt while at rest. Fasting occasionally is seen as beneficial, while frequent fasting, for the reasons discussed above, is not helpful.

Here Are Some Ideas on Eating Healthy For Weight Loss

1) Breakfast ideas (7 am to 8 am) – Make your breakfast multigrain and protein rich. Traditional, local breakfast is always better than eating boxed or packaged instant cereals that are loaded with chemicals, sugar and harmful flavoring agents. Make your own multigrain mix by milling together any of the millets like bajra, ragi, jowar, foxtail, pulses like green gram or chana, wheat germ or bran into a flour. You could add this to any dish like idli or dosa, upma or parantha to enrich it with fibre and nutrients. Combine this with a bowl of low-fat curd or boiled egg white for a balanced breakfast.

2) Mid-morning snack ideas (10.30am to 11.30am) – Any locally grown, fresh fruit is a great mid-morning snack option. Try and eat a different fruit every day to get the best out of all the different fruits. A handful of walnuts and almonds are also good options.

3) Lunch ideas (1.30pm to 2.00pm) – One dish meals are easy to prepare, and contain most of the required food groups (vegetables, cereals, pulses ) in them. Examples are the south Indian bisibelebath which could be made healthier by using brown rice instead of polished white rice. This dish also contains dal and plenty of vegetables. Adding a bowl of low-fat curd or raita makes this a complete dish. Similarly, parantha made from multigrain flour and stuffed with greens is another one dish meal.

4) Evening snack ideas (4.30pm to 5 pm) – Microwave dried corn without using oil for a healthy evening snack. Other options include roasted chana or sprout chaat, seasoned puffed rice or poha.

5) Dinner ideas (7 pm to 8 pm) – Start your dinner with a bowl of vegetable soup. Multigrain phulkas with a cup each of mixed vegetable sabzi or curry and dal or whole pulse, along with a cup of low-fat curd makes for a balanced dinner. Non-vegetarians could replace the dal with grilled or steamed sea fish twice a week.

If hungry at bedtime, try a glass of skimmed milk with cinnamon instead of sugar or you could also go in for a low-fat buttermilk and a fruit.