Obesity is like a global epidemic. One of the main reason for obesity is lack of proper lifestyle which we call sedentary lifestyle. In maximum number of patients I learn that they do not eat much but still fat. Let us understand what can be done to reduce excess body weight.
First of all SLEEP WELL
Sleeping for 7 to 8 hours is important without much break. Short Sleep Duration Is Associated with reduced Leptin, Elevated Ghrelin, and Increased Body Mass Index. Leptin is a hormone, made by fat cells, that decreases your appetite. Ghrelin is a hormone that increases appetite, and also plays a role in body weight. Good Levels of leptin suppress appetite. And decreased level of ghrelin means less appetite.
Drink Enough Water
Water as an Appetite Suppressant
Water can be really helpful for weight loss. It is 100% calorie-free, helps you burn more calories and may even suppress your appetite, if consumed before meals. The benefits are even greater when you replace sugary beverages with water. It is a very easy way to cut back on sugar and calories.
One important fact about water is that when you feel hungry, many times it is false hunger and instead of eating anything, if you drink water, it is likely to suppress the false hunger and you don’t have to eat anything.
Never Skip Breakfast
Studies show that breakfast does help with weight loss. In fact, more than 75% of people who lose weight eat the morning meal every single day.
Boosts your health. Breakfast tends to go hand in hand with a healthy lifestyle. It may even lower your odds of getting conditions like heart disease and diabetes.
Don’t drink calories
“Don’t Drink Your Calories” is an easy and quick mantra to help you make good nutrition choices. Here are some easy alternatives to save calories: Reduce the size of your coffee, the sweeter added, and use fat-free milk to save calories. Select water with your lunch rather than soda.
Stress management is the key
Cortisol stimulates a surge of energy in your body. While this process is essential for survival situations, it also increases your appetite. Additionally, elevated cortisol levels can cause cravings for sweet, fatty and salty foods.
Exercise and be active for weight loss
Here are exercises for weight loss.
- Walking
- Jogging or running
- Cycling
- Weight training
- Interval training
- Swimming
- Yoga
Two Meal Plate
One simple meal that accelerate weight loss is 2 meal plate, one with salads & other normal. In order to control calorie intake, prepare two meal plate. In first plate, keep salads and in second plate food. Eat full salad plate before second plate. This will help you in limiting calorie intake.
Quit cooking & weight loss
Eat food with low Glycemic Index and eat lot of fruits and vegetables and maximum food in as raw or natural form as possible.
What is Glycemic Index?
- The glycemic index, simply put, is a measure of how quickly a food causes our blood sugar levels to rise.
- The measure ranks food on a scale of zero to 100. Foods with a high glycemic index, or GI, are quickly digested and absorbed, causing a rapid rise in blood sugar. These foods that rank high on the GI scale are often — but not always — high in processed carbohydrates and sugars.
- Meanwhile, foods with a low GI are digested and absorbed at a slower rate, and subsequently, cause a slower rise in blood sugar levels. These are typically rich in fiber, protein and/or fat. Keep in mind that a low GI doesn’t mean a food is high in nutrients. You still need to choose healthy foods from all five food groups.
Sweet tooth – eat fruits (fructose)
Swapping sugar-heavy desserts for fresh or baked fruit not only reduces your sugar intake, it also increases the fiber, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants in your diet.
Fructose does not acutely raise blood glucose. As such, fructose has a lower glycemic index than do starch-based foods, and it has been used as an energy source in diabetes patients because it may aid glycemic control.
What is Intermittent Fating?
- A phenomenon called intermittent fasting is currently one of the world’s most popular health and fitness trends.
- It involves alternating cycles of fasting and eating.
- Many studies show that this can cause weight loss, improve metabolic health, protect against disease and perhaps help you live longer
Intermittent fasting
- When you fast your body needs not to secrete insulin in excessive amount and insulin is low in body.
- Eat for 8 hours & do not eat for 16 hours means 16 hours of low insulin level.
Things to consume during fasting:
- Water, liquid without calorie like tea, coffee without sugar, soya milk, coconut water, lemon water, stevia leaves.
Enjoy yourself to lose weight
Enjoy yourself to lose weight, play outdoors & avoid unnecessary eating. Avoid in between snacks. Generally people are fond of high calories snacks with tea intervals or in between meals. Replace these snacks with roasted seeds without salt, makhana (fox nuts/lotus seeds), dry fruits to limit calorie intake.
Limit cooker cooking
Adopt and learn from our village culture. Pressure cooking can reduce heat-sensitive nutrients (e.g., vitamin C, folate) and bioactive phytonutrients, such as betacarotene, glucosinolates (helpful compounds found in cruciferous vegetables) and omega-3 fatty acids, that are beneficial for human health.
Weight loss concept understanding is important if you want to keep weight under control and avoid many diseases associated with obesity.