Weight Loss : it's all mind game!

Weight Loss

I promise this article is not Bullshit and you will definitely get a new perspective on weight loss and healthy living.

Why Weight loss?

No explanation is needed. You already know the problems of having more weight. Instead, let me give some motivating thoughts on having less weight: 

• Now you can walk more, climb more, live more
• No need to be scared of adventure trips and vacations
• Feel more energetic and confident
• You can enjoy the food you love forever ( what? Yes, you heard it right, imagine you can eat your favorite dish for your whole life vs the doctor putting restrictions for half of your life eating that)

What is Weight?

Weight = Fat + Muscle + Water

Do you have more muscle and enough water retention in the body? excellent. No issue with that. You never want to lose the muscle and water from your body. Muscle helps you do activity and water is life, period.

The main villain here is Fat. The obvious question is why the body produces fat if there is no use.

The answer is a survival instinct. Your mind tells the body to store some fat so that can be used when there is no every left in the body and for emergency situations. But that is acceptable up to a certain limit only. After that, extra fat is just garbage and of no use. It only creates the problem.

So our goal is to shed those dirty fat accumulation which is of no use but only harms the body. 

How weight is gained?

Reasons can be many but some common reasons are: Irregular eating, Sugar overdose, consuming more fat than daily needs, a sedentary lifestyle, etc; or it can also be medical conditions like thyroid.

In simple terms, calorie surplus always puts on weight. If there is no medical condition or disease, lifestyle choices are responsible for weight gain.

*You should always take the full body checkup for thyroid levels, cholesterol levels etc.

When Weight is gained?

Your body needs energy to survive even if you are not doing anything. This energy can come from the food/liquid available in the stomach, fat, or muscle. Let's say you ate a really good meal and now your body has all the energy it needs but there is some surplus, it will store it as a form of fat.

The key point here is your body takes the energy from the food you take first and then it goes to the fat; because fat is slow energy and is for emergency situations only.

Let's take an example, 

You ate breakfast at 7 AM and it was very light so it was over by 9:30 AM you are in the office. Now you will go to take a cup of coffee/tea with sugar which is instant energy. Now you take lunch around 12 which is full of carbs and fat and you are shorted till 5:00 PM and here you take snacks or tea/coffee again to fill the energy level. You are again shorted till dinner. Now you take the heavy dinner.

There is no way your body needs this much energy, so it stores the fat. 

If you notice you were never hungry during the day, 

so you never burnt the fat.

This example is a story of many and we will see how we can change our lifestyle a bit and lose weight or say lose the fat. 

How weight is lost?

With weight, we always mean how to lose the fat. We saw in the previous example how fat is stored. You would have already guessed that when there is no food in the stomach then the body starts to get the energy from the fat and that is how you lose the fat; It is that simple. This can be achieved in many ways, by a calorie deficit, intermittent fasting, exercise, etc.

Let's break this into multiple parts and lifestyle changes that will take you on the easy weight loss journey. Promise yourself to be persistent and the journey will be easy.

Let's lose the fat

Let me start with two stories, one of my mom's and one of my wife's. One right now and one in the next blog when the goal is achieved.

How did my mom lose the weight?

She was around 76 kg for a long time. Tried many crash diets, lost 2 kgs in 2 weeks, and gained back in a month. But no persistent results. Then she made really simple changes in lifestyle and in 6-8 months she lost 9 kg weight. It was a slow process ~1 kg per month and 250 gm a week but the results are permanent. Last year she got busy and even ate all the sweets and food she likes and gained only 2 kg in 3 months. That is the main part - those 9 kg are gone for good and it will never come back easily like it happens in a crash diet. (or weight loss powders available in the market)

Crash diet is not good for you. It will give quick results,

which are not permanent.

Points to learn from the story (changes she made in lifestyle which were very simple):

1. Go for a walk in the morning at least 3 km and if you have some time also in the evening. Target for 7-10k steps. She started slowly and then 3-5 km was a piece of cake for her. Try to walk at a fast pace, try to overtake everyone ;)

2. Drink something healthy like lemon/honey in lukewarm water first thing in the morning. This will give you some energy and will not get exhausted during walking.

3. She removed sugar completely from morning tea slowly. Or mix milk with tea to get rid of tea addiction. She likes toast or khakhra in the morning with tea which is better than bhakhari with ghee or butter (makhan).

4. Start the lunch with the Salad. Increase the portion of the vegetable (sabji) and decrease the roti. This is a game-changer. Wheat roti is a really quick source of carbs aka energy and if you decrease that weight loss is guaranteed.

5. If you need some caffeine in the evening you can try green tea which is zero calorie and will keep your brain active till evening. 

6. Finish the dinner by 7:30 PM max and then do not eat/drink anything but water. She also took lukewarm water before sleeping. This will actually help you go to sleep and won't feel hungry.

7. Finishing dinner early gives you a natural intermittent fasting period window of more than 12 hours if you take the breakfast around 8 AM.

8. She does fasting on Ekadashi and on big festivals. She does not eat a single grain between the meals. 

9. She tracked the calories in 'HealthifyMe' app for 1 month and always tried to eat fewer calories. This gave her a clear idea of which foods are okay to eat more and which are not.

It's okay if you feel hungry because that's where the body is forced to take energy from fat.

It's okay if you don't see a change in the weight, it will happen in 6 months down the line. Everyone's body is different and it might take some time for you but it's going to make you fit forever. 1-2 kg per month is fantastic.

SOME KEY Points and tricks

1. Make small lifestyle changes that are sustainable.

2. Be honest with yourself and stay persistent

3. Do not eat anything between meals (not even a single chocolate, a single grain, nothing!)

4. Take dinner as early as possible. If you are late eat only half.

5. Start walking if you are doing nothing, start running if you are walking, and start HIIT if you are running. Always try to push yourself.

6. Learn to stay hungry for long on water only. Hunger is your best friend. Your mind will play all the tricks to eat something and quit the program because it knows only 'survival'.

7. Do fast once at least every 15 days and take only fruits/veggies in the morning and afternoon. This will detox the body. In the evening you can take Sabudana or Samo (moraiyo).

8. Slowly increase the veggies portion on the plate. Start the lunch with Salad. Use a small plate. If you can't control it, Take all you want to eat on one plate only once. Once you are done, you are done; you cannot refill the plate.

9. Don't drink water more than 1 sip just after eating. This will slow the digestion.

10. Start tracking your calorie intake using some apps.

Common excuses and counter

1. I don't have time to go for a walk in the morning: 

Look at your phone's "digital well-being" app and see how much time you are wasting. use that time and start walking. Go for a walk after dinner. Busy in kids' homework? Then go for a walk at 10 PM before you go to bed. Believe me, a night walk is the best. Take a shower and go to bed and you will sleep like a baby.

2. I have only 15 minutes for the exercise. I can't wake up early: 

Can't walk then do HIIT workout. You can start with a high-intensity 15-minute zumba. Do something. You can always push to wake up early and automatically you will go to bed early.

3. I can't focus on work while hungry:

This is your mind tricking you. Drink some alkaline water (water + cucumber + lemon + mint) and kill the hunger. You will be okay in 1 week. No pain no loss (I mean loss of fat!)

4. I come late from office:

Then eat only half the dinner. Make the dinner the lightest meal of the day. (pro tip: Eat slowly. It will trick the brain. Start with the soup). Make all other things right during the day. 

5. I get a headache if I don't drink tea:

Tea is never a problem, sugar is. replace it with jaggery and decrease the portion very slowly. in 1 month you will like the tea without sugar. Nothing is permanent.

6. When I stop dieting, I gain the weight again:

I never told you to go on a diet. We are talking about a healthy lifestyle, which must be your normal daily routine lifestyle. Why do you want to stop following a healthy lifestyle?

7. We don't have time for cooking extra:

I never asked you to change the meals. Eat what you are eating. Just add raw veggies, and fruits and decrease the portion of carbs (rice and wheat roti). This will actually save time.  

   

(text me more excuses, and I will answer you brutally :)

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Stay tuned for the next story where my wife has lost 7 kg in the last 3 months (Jan-Mar 2024) and still losing. 

NOTE: I am not a certified fitness coach, nutritionist, doctor or professional. I am a curious engineer who tries to dig deeper and always looks for practical solutions.