Losing weight the healthy way

Change in body weight depends on the amount of energy that a person takes in as food and the amount of energy expended in various activities. One needs to create a healthy caloric deficit by means of regular exercise and following an optimum nutritional diet for weight loss.

Having said that along with regular exercise one needs to take control of the daily food intake in form of meals and snacks. Moreover, healthy eating is one of the best things a person can do to prevent and control health problems such as heart diseases, thyroid problem, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, and some types of cancer.   

Feeling full throughout the day is the most important factor for eating less. As often emphasized and more often overlooked is the first meal of the day. Your breakfast needs to be high in essential nutrients and Dietary fiber.

Start your day with oats or millets to keep yourself full for a longer period. As far as oats are concerned one should preferably opt for rolled oats or steel cut oats over instant oats. Millets are diverse grain and can easily replace processed grains and flours in a variety of dishes such as rotis, rice, dosa, idli, porridge etc.

One should add millets to their daily grain intake in the form of flour, rice etc. as they are full of minerals, vitamins and fiber. Millets also make your overall diet slightly alkaline which is very important as taking processed and refined grains makes the diet acidic. Millets are gluten free and are whole grains which are unpolished hence better than refined grains such as white rice etc.

Oats, porridge, granola can be made more tasty and full of nutrients by adding Dry fruits, nuts, and seeds to it. Dinner needs to be light and if possible around 4 hours before sleeping. Dry fruits, nuts, and seeds can play an important role in replacing unhealthy cravings for high calorie snacks. Nuts such as almonds, walnuts and pistachio can replace high/empty calorie snacks. Macadamia Nuts can be really useful as they contain large amount of monounsaturated fats, which help in reducing the bad LDL cholesterol and increasing the good HDL cholesterol.

Good intake of fibre is also necessary for proper bowel movement and bloating issue that many people face due to which especially belly seems to be bulging out. Grounded Flax seeds, chia seeds soaked in water, prunes, and figs/anjeer are a good source of fiber in your daily diet. As a substitute to sugar one can add dried berries such as Dried Cranberries and Dried Blueberries specifically in oatmeal, porridge, yogurts etc.

Further, refined oils should be reduced or replaced by olive oil, coconut oil etc. Anyone serious about weight loss needs to stop consuming refined sugar and replace sugar with healthier alternatives such as honey, organic jaggery and the like. Last but not the least alcohol and cigarettes need to be given up not just for weight loss but also for general well being. Storing your kitchen with healthier food alternatives and getting rid of unhealthy, high calorie, processed foods will not only ensure your personal well being but also that of your family.