Obesity: Change your diet, change your life

Blog written by:

Dr. Nanda Rajaneesh

Apollo Spectra Hospitals, Koramangala

In current times, almost everyone is conscious of their weight and appearance. Though, realistically speaking, there's no such thing as a perfect size or weight, it is always recommended that one maintains one's weight as per their BMI i.e. Body Mass Index.

What is obesity?

When a person's weight is way beyond the recommended BMI, it is termed as 'obesity'. An obese person's BMI is usually over 30. 

We all know that obesity is not a normal condition, as it is definitely related to some imbalance in every organ of the body. It indicates that every cell is surrounded by multiple fat cells. This affects cellular function, which will eventually impact organ health and cause damage in the long run. 

That is why, in my personal experience, conscious weight loss is extremely important. 

Over the last so many years, with consistent guidance I have been able to help people lose weight with just systematic dietary changes. This learning and understanding came from my own experience. 

What I learned from experience?

In 22 years, I went to a place called Zindal where, based on our choice, they would give us only one to two meals a day. We were asked to decide whether we wanted to consume one or two meals a day, depending on how much weight we wanted to lose. 

I stayed there for about 8 days, and lost nearly 2.5 kgs of weight during that short stay. 

Why weight loss is a challenge?

For nearly everyone, after the initial 2 Kgs of weight loss, the progressive weight loss is very difficult to pull off. But, at least we must find a way to sustain it. 

The problem with obesity is that, once you are obese, your basic metabolic rate keeps reducing, and you keep on putting on weight, instead of shedding it. Hence, after losing the kilos, maintaining one's weight is very important. The question is - how do we lose weight and then maintain it?

STEPS TOWARDS LOSING WEIGHT: 

EAT RIGHT - The first step towards reaching your ideal weight is to reduce portions of what you are consuming. We all know that calories play a major role in contributing to our weight - both calorie burning and calorie intake is necessary. Along with cutting down quantities, it is essential to make conscious healthy choices about what we eat at every meal. 

PHYSICAL ACTIVITY - Increasing basic metabolic rate is very difficult initially, because even if engage in aerobic exercises, you end up coming back and eating a lot of food. The key is to limit eating and sticking to healthy food choices, while staying active.

By devoting some time to physical activity like walking, yoga or jogging, you can keep your weight loss journey on track. 

TACKLING METABOLISM - Low metabolic exercise is known to burn the intracellular fat, but initially it does not increase the basic metabolic rate much. Which is why it being more sensible to eat less food. But, how do we eat less?

ALIGNING THE BIOLOGICAL CLOCK -  Along with decreasing the quantities, we can reset our biological clock by eating only two meals a day. You simply adjust your timings in such a manner, that you ensure at least one 14-hour gap between two meals. 

Let us say you eat breakfast at 10 A.M. and dinner at 6 P.M., from 6 in the evening to 10 next mornings you are giving a long gap which, in a way, is like intermittent fasting. The biological clock should then be set in such a way that you never skip that pattern. Once you do that, you are sure to start losing weight. In fact, I always used to tease my patients - "If you lose 10 kgs, I shall reward you". 

IN CONCLUSION:

What motivated me to write this blog is that, just a few days ago, I happened to meet one of my patients who managed to lose 12 Kgs of weight just with my diet suggestions, and following some small tips and advice. This inspired me to write about my personal journey, and also share my experience with one of my best patients. 

STAY CONSISTENT - I have seen a lot of people who have sincerely lost 6- 8 Kgs. But, if they can keep at it, and follow the same diet continuously, there is a consistent result where you actually slowly lose weight. 

If you consider carefully, this method of losing weight is far better than weight loss surgery, because it works on your overall system and helps you make long term changes towards better health and fitness. 

I hope this blog helps you understand the importance of conscious dieting in weight loss.