BENGALURU : There are hundreds of diets that will help you lose weight, but what good is losing weight if you gain it right back? Eliminating food groups is not the way to keep weight off. Instead, choose a nutritionally-balanced plan with enough calories to keep you from feeling hungry or giving into unnecessary cravings. Eating regular meals and eating when you are hungry is key. Intense hunger can force you to binge, so more small meals or few big meals ensure you eat when the body is hungry and not when its simply time to eat as per clock, but the body does feel the hunger.
Let’s start with breakfast. You are breaking the fast and hence it is a very important meal to wake the metabolism and give you the energy for the day. A wholesome breakfast should contain protein, good carbs and good fat to give you a lot of fibre. A wholesome, nutrition dense meal will keep you full for long (fruits, oatmeal, nuts, seeds, dosa/idli/poha/chutney, smoothies, ragi porridge etc).
Lunch must have a good combination of the macros and more important soluble and insoluble fibre (vegetables, whole grains, beans, chickpeas, dals etc). Ensure every lunch has a big serving of cooked vegetables, one green leafy vegetable, some raw salad, little rice/roti, nonveg (optional), yogurt (optional).
Evening snack can be packed with vitamins, minerals with a fistful of nuts (almonds, pistas, walnuts, Brazil nuts, peanuts etc) along with your tea/coffee. Dinner can be early with a nice big bowl of warm soup (pea, broccoli, pumpkin, tomato) or can also have some grilled fish/chicken with stir fry vegetables.
Protein is important when you are on a weight-loss goal. Include a source of protein in all meals and snacks to feel full for hours. Monitoring your portions and learning more about the calories in the foods you enjoy will help you meet your goals. Track your meals, journal them if necessary and see how you feel after each of those meals. Feeling energetic, feeling happy is great, feeling lethargic, bloated and gassy is not.
Last but not least, get in the movement, walk more, exercise daily, drink a lot of water and sleep well. Weight loss is not the job of one single thing. If you look at the above mentioned collectively and manage it well, nothing can stop you from getting you to your desired weight.
(The author is a fitness expert with Cure.fit)