Lose weight without side effects - No staying hungry

?Why do we gain weight

Weight gain depends on lot of factors. It can be genetic, due to pregnancy, physical inactivity coupled with irregular food habits, regularly eating more calories than we burn or as a side effect of some medication that we had taken. Whatever be the reason, being overweight and obese can affect us psychologically besides being harmful to our health. Not all are blessed with perfect bodies, but we all can definitely maintain a healthy body with the weight.
After having my baby, i had put of lot of weight and always wanted to get rid of that but never had time to exercise. When i quit my job, i had a list of things to do and losing weight was a priority. That's when I started trying the options available. I have no idea how to get an hour glass figure and i am not a nutrition or fitness expert. However, I can definitely tell you it is possible to lose weight in a healthy way and am writing this from my own experience.

?Do crash diets work

Crash diets work temporarily. If you have a wedding to attend in 2 weeks and you are not able to squeeze into the dress you have in mind, you would want to lose weight fast. If you are strong willed, a crash diet can help you at a time like this. You may lose weight, but, there's a chance that you end up looking tired and lifeless on that day. In addition to that, the moment you get back to your original lifestyle, you would gain back all that you have lost.
Crash diets are unhealthy, temporary and demand a very big sacrifice from your part, although for a few days. It's not recommended and is only for the strong-willed . I tried the famous GM diet couple of times, and always ended up cheating, half way down. My friends who managed to stick to this diet lost couple of pounds and were happy with the result. Unfortunately, some of them went back to their unhealthy life style and that didn't help a  bit.

 

 

?Do fitness pills or massage oils work

There are lot of people who swear by fat-free capsules and fitness oils. Some of these pills increase your heart rate which in turn burns more calories. Some others are called anorexigenic drugs and they have the ability to control your appetite. You may see a difference using these pills. However, this again is temporary and once you go back to your previous lifestyle, the weight can go back. Also, the supplements for losing fat weight and water weight are different and you should know your body composition before you use them. If not, you may end up with some dangerous side affects.
I have tried the ayurvedic massage oils like lavana thailam and other fitness massage oils and included some weight loss pills in my diet. There was a slight difference, but i discontinued as I wasn't sure about the composition of the pills, and then went back to my original weight. It is said that including flax seed oil in the diet or even fish oil can help in weight reduction. Maybe these oils are good for health in the longer run but there is little proof that it helps reduce weight.

 

?How do we lose weight

After trying my hand at several diets, i finally decided that staying healthy is the only alternative. As I changed my lifestyle to include healthy food in my diet and mild exercise , i started losing weight. Although the weight loss was not fast, it was steady, around 2-3 kilos per month. By 4-5 months, i got back to my previous weight and got used to my new eating habits and started loving it. First and important step is never to starve.
Eat all meals, but with slight variation. I am giving a sample of what I ate but then, food habits depend on the geographical location and culture, and it's not possible for everyone to follow it. Just make sure that you eat healthy food and no junk food/sweets/high fat dairy items are allowed. Also, all food items should be boiled or grilled/baked and not fried. Stick to a vegetarian diet if possible.

• As soon as you wake up in the morning, drink a tall glass of water mixed with honey/lime.
• Go for a walk for an hour or so. Walk at a decent pace. Not too slow, but no need to run.
• Have a good breakfast. No white bread, no chocolate drinks. Stick to oats or whole wheat bread. You can eat couple of slices with an omlette or a bowl of oats mixed with low fat milk and sugar substitute. Eat a small bowl of sprouts as well and eat it till you feel full. No jam or butter/cheese.
• If you feel hungry before lunch time, eat an apple or an orange.
• For lunch, eat proper balanced meal. Since I am from India, i generally eat 3 rotis (indian bread prepared from whole wheat) with any dal (legumes / pulses), a vegetable curry and salad for lunch. For people who eat rice, make sure that you consume less of rice and more of pulses and vegetables. For others, make sure that you know what you are eating is boiled or baked and not fried. Eat less of cereals and more of vegetables and pulses.
• Have a tea/ coffee in the evening with a low fat milk and sugar substitute if needed. If you feel hungry, you can have couple of banana or oat cookies which are low in fat. Eat a fruit salad if you are still hungry.
• For dinner, have as less cereals as you can and completely avoid refined cereals like rice and semolina. Oats or wheat is fine along with boiled vegetables. You should include salad as well.
• Go for a walk again after dinner if possible. Make sure that you sleep at-least 2 hours after your dinner.

Please make sure that you use as much less oil as you can (2-3 teaspoons of olive oil is the max that is allowed)
No chocolates, sweets till you achieved your target. If you do eat a sweet, find out how many calories it contains and work out till you burn it. Don't check your weight everyday, once a week should do.
No fruit juice is allowed. And, if possible no sugar. You can use a sugar substitute if needed, but that too not much. Remember that sugar substitutes are just low-calorie, not zero-calorie ! Also, check for Aspartame, heard it's harmful.
Drink as much water as you can. It is the best drink you can ever have. Fill up 2-3 bottles with water and make sure that you finish them off before end of the day. It's also good for your health and good to cleanse your system and is also nice for your skin !
Lastly, keep track of how many calories you are consuming and how many calories you would lose when in inactive state. I found it easier to keep track of number of calories i am losing or adding using websites like lifemojo. It's a nice starting point.
Eat healthy and stay fit !