The problem with Indians’ battle with weight is that they end up trusting every other source than listening to their doctor. They will read up every research paper on the internet but never try to find out if it applies to them. For truth be told, weight loss and its management, the most trending topic on search engines, should be an extremely customised, disciplined and a maintainable routine factoring in the person’s lifestyle, their health condition, their disease burden (a logical corollary given their weight issues) and most importantly body capacity. I have had many patients report to my OPD with extreme exhaustion and deficiency simply because they have tried some method or diet to lose weight and have crashed midway because their bodies weren’t up to it. So, for the new year, I won’t be prescribing a to-do list but a not-to-do list. Also, it is not about losing weight but keeping to the right weight.
1) Do not skip breakfast: Skipping the main meal or the fuel meal of the day has emerged as the go-to solution for keeping the stomach light and reducing calories. The fact is that your body is programmed to do something else altogether during the daylight hours. That’s the time your digestive powers are the strongest and can absorb the nutrients from the food you eat. With a sudden calorie dip that the body demands, you become sluggish and slow. Some people make up for their energy quotient by drinking fruit juice instead. Concentrated juice raises blood sugar, which stimulates your body to produce more insulin. Besides, skipping the most important meal of the day makes you hungry frequently and you gorge on any food that’s available. Then daytime denial also means that at some point later in the day you will eat like a glutton, giving into indulgence rather than discipline. Skipping a meal doesn’t save calories. Research shows that most people who eat fewer than three meals usually end up eating more calories during the course of the day.
2) Do not choose instant meals, roasted snacks or toppings: This one is a strict no-no as processed and preservative foods did nobody any good. Besides, what you get as packaged roasted and baked foods…