Lose Weight and Gain Health

We consume food for energy requirements of our body and burn them through the normal metabolic process in the body.  This process is measured in terms of calories.  On an average, our body requires 1100-2000 calories of food every day, which in turn a healthy body will burn in the normal metabolic process to maintain equilibrium or constant weight.  The problem happens when either of  these two processes is overdone or underperformed.   The funda of weight gain or reduction is straight and simple and can be explained by a simple equation as below:

Weight gain = More calories Consumed + Less Calories burned

Weight loss = Less Calories consumed + More Calories burned.

When we burn energy worth 7000 calories more than what we consume, the body weight is said to get  reduced by about 1 kg.  Certainly, we cannot burn these many accumulated calories overnight or in a short span to dramatically reduce our weight.  This is not desirable too and may lead to medical complications.  It has to be achieved through physical efforts, life style changes and a strong positive attitude and commitment.

Weight Reduction can therefore be targeted through following steps.

1)  Consumption of Balanced Nutrient Food.

2)  Physical Exercises.

3) A positive attitude and commitment.

Let me now explain each one of them in detail.

Balanced Nutrient Diet

The principle of Naturopathy  proclaims that ‘Food is thy medicine and Medicine is thy food’.    We should eat and eat well. We should not starve or deny ourselves the pleasures of eating. It is not important how much alone we eat.  What is also  important is ‘what we eat’ and ‘when we eat’.    It is said that when we eat ‘right food’ in ‘right proportion’ and at ‘right intervals’, there is no cause for any diseases or disorders and hence food itself acts as a preventive or protective medicine to the body.

As said earlier, basically our body requires around 1100  to 2000 calories of food.  We should simply ensure that our food consists of adequate components of  carbohydrates, proteins, fats, fibre,  vitamins and minerals.   A chart consisting of our normal popular foods and the calories provided them is given in Table A.

Table A: LIST OF POPULAR FOODS ITEM AND CALORIES PROVIDED Source: ‘From Fat to Fit’ by Dr.D.R.Gala, Dr.Dhiren Gala and Dr.Sanjay Gala Carbohydrates Chapati (Wheat)  (20 gms)   40  Calories Poori  (Wheat) 16 gms   68 Calories Paratha  (Wheat) 55 gms 304  Calories Bread (2 slices) 45 gms 120  Calories Wheat Biscuits  20 gms 64  Calories Kichri (Rice) 140 gms 238 Calories Idly (1 Piece-Medium)-68 gms   68 Calories Sada Dosa (100 gms) 216 Calories Masala Dosa (100 grams) 210 Calories Samosa (30 gms) 103 Calories Potato Chips (20 gms) 108 Calories Kachori (45 gms) 190 Calories Potato Bhajia (60 gms) 240 Calories Onion Bhajia( 60 gms) 197 Calories Pattis (60 gms) 201 Calories Potato Wada (45 gms) 118 Calories Cutlets (60 gms) 126 Calories

Sweets

Boondi Ladu (35 gms) 150 Calories Carrot Halwa (85 gms) 333 Calories Sugar (1 tea spoon) 6 gms 25 Calories Jaggery (1 spoon) 15 gms 56 Calories Honey (1 Spoon) 21 gms 66 Calories Cereals- 100 Gms

Wheat 348 Calories Rice 348 Calories Barley 335 Calories Jowar 335  Calories  Rice Flakes (Phova) 350  Calories Bajra (Millet) 360   Calories Maize (Corn) (Makkai) 342  Calories Maize (Bhutta)   23 Calories Pulses (100 Gms)

Black Gram (Urad) 348 Calories Bengal Gram (Chana) 316  Calories Green Gram (Moong) 334  Calories Lentil (Masur) 346  Calories Peas 315  Calories Soyabean 432  Calories Vegetables (100 Gms)

Carrot  47  Calories Potatoes  99  Calories Onion  51  Calories Tomatoes  20  Calories Cucumber 14  Calories Bitter Gourd 25  Calories Cabbage 30  Calories Cauliflower 39  Calories Fruits (100 Gms)

Orange 56  Calories Apple 49  Calories Pine Apple 50  Calories Fig (Anjeer) 75  Calories Water Melon 17    Calories Mangoes 50  Calories Bananas 153  Calories Guava 66  Calories Grapes 45  Calories Pomegranates 65  Calories Pears 47  Calories Papaya 40  Calories Sweet Lime (Mosambi) 59  Calories Lemon 57  Calories Jackfruit 65  Calories Milk Products (100 ml)

Cow’s Milk   65  Calories Buffaloes Milk 117  Calories Curd (Cow Milk)   51  Calories Butter Milk   15  Calories Paneer 348  Calories Egg (100 grams) 173  Calories Fish gms) 100  Calories Hot and Soft Beverages

Water  0 Calories Tea (150 ml) 60  Calories Coffee ((150 ml) 75  Calories Lime Juice (200 ml) 75  Calories Soft Drinks (Aerated)(200 ml) 75  Calories Beer (Mug) 200 ml 100 Calories Alcohol (1 peg 45 ml) 110 Calories

As per nutrition plan developed by Spectrum Health Care, Mumbai, a seven day sample diet plan for variety should revolve around 1050-1350 calories consumption of food every day, with a component plan of 200-250 grams of carbohydrates, 25-35 gms of protein and fat within the overall plan.

From the Table A, it can be observed that vegetables and fruits give us fewer calories for more amount of food consumed and hence are highly recommended.

On the other hand, sweets, cakes, ice-cream, soft drinks, wafers, bhajias, chips, samosas, vada paavs and other  fried and fast foods provide more calories for less amount of food consumed besides burning a big hole into our pockets!!. Hence, it is better to consume them in lesser quantities.  Still better is to avoid them altogether, if not immediately at least over a period of time.    This is what health and wellness experts mean when they recommend life style changes.

One need not get carried away by the jargon like ‘life style changes’.  We traditionally had a good eating life style.  Over a period of time, our modern life style has evolved around ‘fast, easy and convenient life style’.  And to suit this lifestyle, ‘fast, easy and convenient foods’ have also evolved and become part and parcel of our living styles. Refined, preserved foods stored in a refrigerator may prolong the shelf life of the food, but they rob the vital mineral and nutrients required in the food.

To seek a new eating life style for our future, we have to simply visit our past or eating habits of our elders and ancestors.  Let us check the eating style habits of our ancestors.    Our simple and traditional meal or thali had all the components of balanced nutritious food.   For example: a simple Maharashtrian meal consisted of the following.

Chapati or Bhakri

Amti or Varan

Pulses

Vegetables

Curds

Salad (Pachadi or Koshambir)

Chutney

Lemon Butter Milk

The above menu has all the components of food for healthy living.  Even today, we can see many poor people in villages living a long life span healthily, consuming or surviving on 6 or 7 Jowar Bakris a day with some chutney or chilli powder as a side dish.  Similarly, curd rice is almost mandatory in South Indian home meals.  Naturalists argue that a diet plan revolving around fruits, roots (vegetables) and sprouts is the best diet for our body constitution.

Some Mantras of Good Eating Life Style

1) The principle of food eating is to eat well, to eat regularly at fixed intervals and to eat in smaller and measured proportions.   We can consult a good physician or dietician or nutritionist to understand our body requirements and suggest an appropriate diet plan.

2.   Generally, our morning breakfasts in the morning could be a little heavier , the afternoon lunch a little lighter and night meals the lightest.   It is advisable to have two hours gap between dinner and bedtime, as generally activity is minimum after dinner.

3)   Before venturing on a diet plan, in practice, it is better to jot down a list of our favourite foods and beverages and share it with our family.  More often than not, it happens so that our list of favourite foods already comprises of healthy foods, and the doctors too will be approving the same for our diet plan.  So a perfect match is established between what the doctor ordered and patient desired.     So let us merrily enjoy eating such foods for which we already have a taste or liking.

4) Some tastes however may have to be cultivated with or without doctors’ recommendations.  For example, with advancing age, it is better to take less of sugar and salt in our food items.  To start with, it may be difficult to adapt, but  over period of time, once we get used to it, we will as well start enjoying them.  We see today many people joyfully taking tea or coffee without adding sugar in them even when they have no sugar related problem, just as a matter of abundant caution or preventive vigilance.

5) While eating, eat slowly, chew thoroughly, and enjoy relaxedly.   It is important to reduce the foods to small particles in the mouth to prevent indigestion in the stomach.

6)  The most balanced meal for one who exercises regularly is based on four pillars of nutrition- High carbohydrate, moderate protein, high fibre and low-fat one. Carbos such as rice, rotis, and peas are sources of quick energy.   They infuse glucose into our muscles.  Proteins such as pulses, dals,soyabeans and mushrooms nourish and build up muscle tissue.  Low fat vegetables and fruits provide vitamin, minerals and fibre that make our bodies efficient.  And skimmed milk variations, such as curd, strengthen our bones and help digestion. These four pillars of nutrients are needed to stay healthy and fit.  (Source: ‘Fitness First’ Columnist- Bharat Savur)

6) As far as possible, we should cook and eat a meal that is low in glycemic load and glycemic index.  Let me also explain what low and high glycemic index foods are.    When we consume low glycemic Index foods like Chana, Rajma, they are broken down more slowly into simple sugars, keeping food glucose levels more stable.  The absorption of these foods is therefore more gradual and does not contribute to blood sugar highs and lows.  On the other hand, when we eat lot of sugars, chocolates, sweets, potatoes, white bread, white rice, sabudana, maida, rawa or processed foods, they get easily digested and absorbed.  More of insulin has to be secreted by the pancreas to bring this sugar back to normal level.  More the insulin, more fat is laid down in the body and the liver.    A list of High, Moderate and Low Glycemic index foods is given in Table B.

Table B: Foods with Low, Moderate and High  Glycemic index foods. Source: Dr.Sujatha Udhesi’s ‘Food for thought’ column in DNA Daily. Low Glycemic Index Foods (Highly Recommended) Moderate Glycemic Index Foods (Moderately Recommended) High Glycemic Index Foods (Avoidable) Whole Pulses like Chana,Rajma, Whole Wheat Bread White Bread Green Leafy vegetables like Spinach (Palak), Methi Whole Wheat Atta Items Maida Biscuits Apples Bajra, Jowar Atta Maida Nan,Roti Pears Besan Atta White Rice Unripe Guava Dals Sabudana Peanuts Chocolates Walnut Cakes Cashewnuts Sugar Almonds Jaggery Gavar Rice Crispies Karela Corn Flakes Mashed Potato Noodles, Pasta made of Maida Rawa Candy Bars

7)  Try using brown rice or boiled rice, instead of white rice.

8)   Bhakris of Jowar, bajra, nachni or Rajgeera are always a good option.

9)   Try using various types of pulses and dals.  Have at least four pulses a week.

Do not overcook them and do not add soda.

10) Try using green leafy vegetables like Palak, Methi for dishes.  Similarly,

cabbage, cauliflower, brinjal can also be explored.

11) Take a good helping of raw vegetables like Cucumber, Carrots, Tomatoes,

Onions whenever and wherever possible (one can take it always in a pack to

office or on mobile duty and consume them instead of creamy biscuits,

namkeens or chaats.).

12)  Variety of Chutneys like that of Coriander, Garlic as side dishes  also serves

as  healthy options.

13)   If we have craving for eating sweets, it is better to choose fruits.  Fruits have

natural sugar in them.  All other sweets are made of refined sugar.

It is better to avoid them altogether or consume them in moderation.

14)  We should eat whole fruits with their skin.  Substituting fruit juices to whole

fruits are not a good option.  Peeling of skin from fruits and vegetables will

deprive us of vital minerals and nutrients.  Whole fruits and vegetables are

packed with fibre and nutrients essential for optimum health, especially

antioxidants (Vitamin A and C) and phytonutrients (plant chemicals), which

have protective effect on the body, reducing the risk of some cancers, heart

disease, premature ageing etc.  They also help our immune systems to fight

infections.

15) Avoid food with transfats, ghee or oil.  Animal and dairy products have trans

fats.

16) Avoid cream biscuits, namkeens served in meetings and at get togethers

Instead one can have whole wheat biscuits, cream Cracker biscuits or ragi

(Millet) Biscuits with no Maida in them.

17)  Curds prepared of low fat or skimmed milk should be used.

18) Cow Milk is good.  All other dairy products like ghee, butter should be

reduced to the barest minimum.

19) Make the habit of drinking pure water at regular intervals. Many experts

recommend  drinking water on an empty stomach every morning.  Later,

during the day it is  recommended that one should drink at least 8 to 12

glasses of water.  Even at workplace, one can store water in a crystal clear

container (not in plastic bottles) close to our desktop and liberally consume

them at regular intervals. It is always advisable to sip water gently or softly

from a glass or mug.  This also gives a fullness to our stomach and staves off

hunger. One should avoid dropping water forcibly into our mouths from the

plastic bottles.   One should also avoid drinking  water while eating food and

during the interval  of 30 minutes before having food and 60 minutes after

having food.

20) Avoid consuming hot beverages like tea, coffee at regular intervals.

Alternatives like lemon tea, black tea, green tea can be explored. These

days, jaljeera sachets are available in easy-to-use packs like Ghutka sachets.

One can easily mix them with water and drink it in office instead of regular

bouts of cutting chais or or one-by-two coffees

21) Avoid  soft drinks, soda, carbonated or aerated drinks.  Instead drink pure

water,  butter milk. (Chaas),  coconut water, limewater without salt and

sugar.

22) Habits like smoking, consuming alcohol, chewing paans are always bad and

if one is addicted to them, it should be got ridden off completely.  In case it is

difficult  to withdraw, consume them in extreme  moderation.

23) On Sundays or late night sittings at home, it is always advisable to  keep a

ready-to-eat pack of snack in our refrigerator like sprouts of whole moong,

green and black channas.   We can consume them mixing with salt, minced

onions, chopped tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots etc.  Sprinkle them with

coriander powder or chaat powder to add that extra fizz. Use them with curds

made of skimmed milk,  if it serves us right.

24) When we attend parties, generally we go on an eating binge partly not to

antagonise the host and partly because we fall into the temptation for food

items which are neatly and elegantly displayed, and which are freely and

handily  available.  During such parties, it is better to start with  items like

light soups, raw green salads, fruits  or items rich in fibre like green leafy

vegetables,  bhindi, cucumber, carrots etc.   A few extra calorie conscious

people, even take regular diet meals at home before starting for the parties!!!

25)  Similarly, when we visit restaurants, we should prefer to consume  items

like steamed food, roasted food, as far as possible,  instead of fried foods.

Opt for phulkas, dry rotis instead of stuffed parothas or butter naans.   Opt for

lime juice or Jaljeera for quenching the thirst instead of aerated drinks.  Have

fruit salad instead of ice-cream for desserts.

26) While travelling on long distance trains, one can go for options like cucumber,

Fruits,  Sukha bhel, tomato soup etc.

27) While organic food and stores have not deeply penetrated in our country, if

there is a choice, we may purchase food items from these stores, even

though they are a bit expensive.  With more and more usage, the prices are

likely to fall down.  Anyway, it is better to pay a premium for such food,

strengthen your immunity and prevent diseases and hefty payments to

doctors.

28) While buying food items we also should not get carried away by mischievous

labels  ‘like less fat’ or ‘less cholesterol’.  Many times they conceal more than what they reveal.   What we should look forward in such labels is the fine print as indicated by nutrition facts, where component-wise details are given.

Physical Exercises

It should be  understood  that physical exercises are needed not to just burn the calories of food consumed by us.  Our body is a great gift given to us by God or nature.  We have to maintain, preserve and take good care of it.  Physical exercise is a part of this goal.  As it is, most of us are leading a sedentary life style. Physical exercises  energise our mind and body and keep us fresh and active through out the remaining part of the day.

Table C provides the various simple  activities that can be performed and energies that can be burnt every one hour by pursuing the same.

Table C: Various Activities and Energy Burnt Activity Energy Burnt approximately. Walking for one hour 129 calories Brisk Walking for one hour 300 to 350 calories Jogging for one hour 350 to 400 calories Rope Skipping for One Hour 600 calories Running for one hour 650 to 800 calories Bicycling for one hour 590 calories Swimming for one hour 550 to 700 calories Light exercises of Yoga for one hour 300 to 350 calories Walking Upstairs for one hour 472 calories

I chose a personal plan comprising of  following activities..

Time Spent Main Activity Side-Activity a)    30 minutes Yoga & stretching exercises            Nil b)    20  minutes  Brisk walk covering  2.25 kms. Stretching Neck, Shoulders,  Arms, c)    15 minutes  Jogging covering 2.75 kms. Stretching Neck, Shoulder, Arms d)    25 minutes  Pedalling on a Stationary Exercise Cycle. Reading Newspaper   Total=  90 minutes

A total time of   90 minutes spent in a day of 24 hours for maintaining our body is no big deal.   In the above chart, along with the main activity, a few side activities  have also been suggested.  For example, every day  most of us at least spend 20-30 minutes time reading newspapers   resting on a sofa or a chair.   Why not instead read them pedalling  a stationary cycle at home and save on our valuable time.?    Similarly, one can buy a tread mill and do multiple activities like walking, jogging or running on it, even as we watch the favourite TV news  programme or serial.   This suggestion is given only to save valuable time.   Nature or sunshine walking is always the best.   We can also have a riding bicycle at home,  and use them for small errands like purchasing milk from the dairy or newspaper instead of  riding  on our 2 or 4 wheelers.  This is a safe, greener option besides saving on petrol, and reducing parking and traffic density problems on our roads!!

Yoga practice on an empty stomach is an excellent way to start a day. It is a good habit to get up early in the morning and perform the Yoga exercises after freshening oneself and cleaning the bowels.  While we have a wide array of Yogasanas to chose from, we can select a few of them suiting our body requirements. It is always better to take counselling from a Yoga Teacher or Guru and  practise them properly under their guidance.   Suryanamaskars, Bhujangasanas, Pranayamas,  Shavasanas are some of the easy-to-perform and popular Asanas.

After Yoga exercise, it is not advisable to immediately perform  body exercises like walking or jogging or aerobics.   We can take rest for a while, reading a paper or a magazine. Side by side, we can have fresh lime juice or light tea with biscuits.   All this can be done to the accompaniment of soft or light music in the background just to pep ourselves!!

After resting, say for 20-30 minutes, we can step outside of our home for an outdoor walk or jog or run.  It is better to choose a neighbourhood park for this purpose as the surroundings over there are generally stimulating and environmental friendly.  Simply strolling or walking  leisurely in a park will not bring any major health benefits.  One should target brisk walking.   We should steadily walk at such a speed so as to cover 2.25 kms distance in 20 minutes.

After walking, one can jog around.  Jogging is slightly faster than brisk walking but marginally slower than actual running.   One should target to cover a distance of 3.00 kms in 15 minutes.

Even as we are brisk walking and jogging, we can simultaneously perform warm-up actions like light stretching of   arms, hands or neck  These warm-up actions help in loosening the stiff muscles  and removing the flab  accumulated around arms and neck.

We can drink water before, during or after the walking and jogging exercises, to avoid dehydration.

Once we reach home, we can start pedalling a stationary cycle reading newspapers of the day, as suggested earlier.

The above four activities can ensure that we can burn around 500-600 calories every day.

At office:

At office, don’t get tied on to workplace or sit before computers for a long period of time.  Once in a while move out of the desk.  Stretch necks and arms or rapidly blink eyes after a session with the computers.

As we sit and work at our workplace for a larger part of the day, it is better to stand relaxedly  and  have lunch in the canteen.

Time and boss permitting, one can go for a small stroll from our workplace after one hour from having lunch.

Use stairs instead of lifts (elevators) or escalators.   We may park our vehicle  at a distant place in the office garage so that we are forced to walk a distance to reach our work place. Positive Attitude and Commitment. It may perplex some of you as to what has positive attitude to do with weight reduction goal.   Many of us have these resolutions of targeting weight reduction at the beginning of every year only to be broken after a few days.  Lack of time and boredom are the chief causes for breaking our  resolution.  While this may not necessarily mean weak will power, what it perhaps means is that ‘health issues can always recede to the background, while other priority items cannot’. Like our career progression, like our children’s education,  we should think that health maintenance is our investment, in terms of time spent, for the long term well being of self and family.  What is the point of accumulating wealth today, if we become physically unfit at the advanced stage of our career or thereafter, and become a burden to our children, family and society? As discussed earlier, a good health regimen calls for lifestyle changes. The transition at times appears difficult and invites snide or humourous comments from neighbours.  In such circumstances, a positive attitude driven by self-belief, will attune our mind and body to the rigours of changed life style and we will start enjoying life for ourselves  rather than for others!!!   Anything that we enjoy for our self is not  hardwork at all.  In the long run, exercising and eating  becomes  fun and unavoidable integral part of our lives.  Life becomes light, simple and joyful devoid of negative emotions like stress, anger and tiredness