WeightLoss ≠ Starve ≠ Diet

The Annasooktham in the Vedas have a wonderful description on diet:

“Brahmarpanam brahma havih brahmAgnau brahman hutam ।
brahmaiva tena gantavyam brahmakarmasamadhina ।। “
MEANING – Think of the act of eating : there is the eater, the digestive fire, the food and the hand used to put the food in the ‘fire’. it is similar to the act of Yagya.

“Diet” This word is probably the most exploited word in the world of not only nutrition but also otherwise.We get everything in the diet form from a Diet Coke to a Diet AC! Google has made easy for us to look for the different kinds of diets followed around the world to lose weight. The most popular ones are

1. GM diet( http://georoshni.com/gm-diet-plan-schedule-reduce-weight/)
2.  Atkins diet ( http://www.atkins.com/ )
3. Juice diet (http://www.rebootwithjoe.com/rebooting/rebooting-checklist/ )
4. Pritikin diet (https://www.pritikin.com/home-the-basics/about-pritikin/how-pritikin-works/12-pritikin-eating-plan.html#.VUHsuyGeDGc ) and the list goes on.

These diets have been time-tested by many and in fact they all work on a short-term basis. You lose weight quickly and so do you gain back like a rubber band if stretched has to come back to its original form.However what might work for me might not for someone else.Just like how no two fingerprints are the same so are our ways of eating. There is always a pattern in which we eat and are broadly classified as

• Emotional eaters
• Big eaters
• People pleaser
• addictive eaters
• Lazy eaters
• Control Freak Eaters.

The need to identify our pattern of eating plays an important role in weight loss.  And that’s one of the reasons why there is no one diet plan for all.

When I first started exploring the field of nutrition after  trying out a few diets and not getting my desired result I came across the USDA website which proposes a Balanced diet ( http://www.healthline.com/health/balanced-diet#Overview1). This provoked me to read further on the importance of carbohydrates, proteins, vitamins and minerals and the calorific values and of course the portion size. The portion size or the servings were something that disturbed me as 5 servings of fruits and vegetables did not sound good to me. Then I stumbled upon some amazing information as to what are portion size and who should eat how much.Here how it works:

1.Your open palm determines your protein portions. ( Diary, Beans, Meat, Fish, eggs)
2.Your closed fist determines your veggie portions.(all vegetables)
3.Your cupped hand determines your carb portions.(Grains,starches or fruits)
4.Your thumb determines your fat portions. (oils, butter, nuts or seed)

The above four points sums up on how much is one serving for one meal. This might differ from person to person on their activity levels and can be varied according to ones preference without increasing the intake of the fat portions. And one or two portion of any of the above can be eliminated at one meal.For example Breakfast should include all the four parts, at lunch the carbs can be eliminated an the proteins doubled while at dinner the carbs and fats can be eliminated all together.

Finally, Diet = Eating right = weightloss.

Tip:Eat Right = eat 4-5 small meals a day with the above portion size, along with a 30 minutes brisk walk/work out.

(It’s not a quick fix method but will help you live healthy and long as well.)

PS: Would love to hear feedback and also answer queries regarding this either in the comments or on my email: anitha.narayanamurthy@gmail.com