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Dieting is like banking. If your intake exceeds your expediture,
you will put on weight (build your bank balance). If,
on the other hand, your expenditure is more than your
intake, you will lose weight. Magic formulae don't work!!!
Dieting is a life long process of eating healthy foods
according to our body requirements, and not a sudden reduction
in calories to lose weight rapidly.
If you are trying to lose weight, reduce your food intake
by one fourth to one thirds immediately. Just remove one
third of the food that you would usually eat from your
plate.
Reduce the fat in your diet. NO fried foods. Use recipes
for low fat cooking. Avoid red meat. No butter on toast,
no ghee on chapaties.
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Cut down on simple sugars
and refined carbohydrates (refined flour,
maida). When eating at a fast food restaurant,
go for salads, grilled sandwiches, baked potatoes,
grilled chicken, diet sodas.
Increase your fibre intake (see section on
fibre).
Avoid long gaps between meals. Missing a meal
is not a good way to reduce calorie intake,
as it will make you feel excessively hungry
and you will end up eating more than you planned.
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Water is the best way to beat the heat. Drink water
whenever you are thirsty, and NOT juices or colas…they
are loaded with calories. You should consume at
least 8 glasses of water daily.
Although exercise is an important component of a
weight loss programme, diet is the major determinant
of weight loss. Jogging for an half hour burns about
300 calories, which is what just one large cola
provides. You can lose weight without exercising,
but exercise makes weight maintenance easier. Move
around more in your day to day activities. Stand
rather than sit (you use up more calories in standing
rather than sitting.). Take the stairs, rather than
the elevator.
Set realistic goals for weight loss; about 2 kg
per month is optimal. Don't aim for ideal body weight.
Moderate weight loss has considerable health benefits.
Take one step at a time. Losing weight at rates
greater than 2 kg per month is not healthy. It is
important to continue a balanced, healthy diet.
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Fibre
Many of us just love bread, and cannot imagine
having breakfast without our customary toast.
We often don't stop to think that the white
bread we eat is made of maida (refined flour),
which is a virtually fibre free (0.6 gm/slice)
source of carbohydrate. If we just replace
white bread with whole wheat bread, which
is naturally fibre rich, we would be benefited
in many ways. And probably find it tastier
as well!
Why fibre?
Fibre is an incredible food ingredient which
helps to lose weight, lower cholesterol and
heart disease, improves diabetes and even
reduces the risk of bowel cancer and diverticulosis.
Interestingly, fibre itself is devoid of any
nutrients. It moves through the digestive
tract faster and prevents food from putrefying
in the digestive tract. It prevents constipation
as it absorbs water to become bulkier. Because
of bulk, it gives a feeling of fullness and
reduces food intake.
The recommended daily fiber intake is about
35 grams a day. Whole wheat bread is an excellent
source of fiber (5 times greater than white
bread). Chapaties made out of wheat flour
from which the bran (choker) has not been
removed are very good sources too. Adding
other kinds of cereal flour like gram, black
gram, jwar and bajra also increases the fibre
in our chapaties. High fibre cereals, oatmeal,
apples (4gm each), carrots (2 gm each), guava,
cabbage and salads are also rich fiber sources,
as are dried beans, peas, lentils.
So go ahead today and try to get as close
to the 35 gm. daily intake as you can. Remember
to increase your fibre intake gradually to
avoid discomfort. And have plenty of water
… and you are on your way to a healthy diet.
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