TIPS FOR WEIGHTLOSS :
There is no easy solution to a weight problem, but a healthy active lifestyle, positive attitude and good eating habits form an excellent foundation.
Find activities that you enjoy and that rejuvenate you. Walk briskly every day for twenty minutes, take the stairs instead of the elevator cut television time down to five hours or less each week. Get to know what is the problem in your eating habits. Start a food diary. Write down everything you eat. Identify high-calorie snacking, mood- related eating, and weekend lapses learn to respect the uniqueness of your body.
There is no "right" body shape or size. Losing weight is about being healthy, not about appearances. Only when you learn to truly love and care for yourself are you likely to succeed with a weight-loss regimen.
Be Reasonable and Realistic in your weight loss goal. Whatever your weight-loss goal, it should be reasonable. People with moderate weight problems may never be as lean as some of their friends. But they can keep themselves reasonably lean--and healthy--with low-fat diet and exercise.
First, aim to lose 10% of your weight. A 10 percent loss of body weight will have an impact on your health and will improve your health risk profile. Irrespective of what you weigh, you can lose about 10 percent without a whole lot of difficulty. So, it is a reasonable goal.
Then, if you keep that off for a year, set another 10 percent goal. Focus on feeling good rather than
looking good. Give it Time - Make a 10 week Commitment. Weight control is a long term proposition. It takes a lot of hard work and strong will to be able to reverse the condition that led to excess weight gain. It takes time to break old patterns and establish new ones.
When you get past three months and you’re still eating low-fat foods, you’ve probably established the healthy new behavior. Dont keep high-calorie foods on hand. A calorie chart can help identify loaded foods.
Eat fresh, Organically Grown food. Eat foods in harmony with the seasons, your locality, and your
climate. If possible, eat foods grown organically. Incorporate generous amount of fruits and vegetables in your diet. Plan your meals. Do not eat in between meals. Avoid the temptation while watching television.
There are several good reasons why thoroughly chewing food is healthier than gulping it down. You’ll digest it better and give your stomach time to signal when it’s full. Medical research has shown that people who chew more slowly tend to burn up considerably more body fat than those who shovel it in.
Slower eaters also have fewer digestive problems. So, eat your food slow. Enjoy the color, taste and flavor. Don’t read or watch TV while eating. Like in the old days make it a family meal. Eat small portions more often than taking a few big meals.
Eating five or six small meals throughout the day instead of your standard three squares may be
better for fat burning. After you eat, your body releases the hormone insulin, which causes your body
to store fat. The larger the meal, the more insulin your body releases. But smaller, more frequent meals keep insulin levels lower and more stable.
The less insulin you have in your blood, the more fat you burn, and the less you store. When you go longer than four hours without food, your blood sugar drops, and you’re likely to get famished. Add a healthy snack such as fruit, raw vegetables or nonfat yogurt between meals.
Dont skip meals. Skipping meals and then eating one big meal at night is not a good idea. While you are "starving" during the day, your body will put you on a conservation mode. It puts you into a slow burn mode during the day. The big meal provides an energy overload:
Start your day with breakfast. Your body burns calories at a slower rate as you sleep. Breakfast is
important, as it will jump-start your metabolism. It will kick it into the calorie-burning mode. If you
skip breakfast, you may ultimately burn fewer calories during the day. Plus, when you do eat, you’ll probably grab the first high-fat snack you see.
Stay away from buffets. All-you-can-eat buffets induce you to eat more than you need. Eat spicy food. Hot, spicy foods such as mustard and chili may even shift your metabolism into high gear
for a short period.
In a study by British researchers, spicy food was shown to increase basal metabolic rate
by an average of 25 percent. Explore meditation, and visualization exercises. Spend some time each day visualizing yourself having a slimmer, fitter body, and feeling stronger and healthier.
Naturally active people, the ones who never seem to sit still, use up more calories, and burn calories faster and more efficiently, than ones who prefer quiet activities. An active person will typically burn 10 percent more calories per hour than a sedentary person. So, keep moving or doodle or do something.
Aim for 45 minutes or more of exercise three to six times a week. You can split these into several
segments in a day. Activities such as walking, hiking, running, swimming, cross- country skiing, bicycling, aerobics, and yoga are ok. Physical activity increases the metabolic rate so that more calories are burned more efficiently. Remarkably, this higher rate of caloric burn continues even after the physical activity ceases.
Find a support group to help change habits and addictive behavior. Dont feel guilty if you slip on
your diet plan occasionally. Don’t just give up. Getback on track.
Believe in yourself. You can and will succed.
( By : Dr Aftab Ahmad, Sanjeevni, Bangalore)