Diet Extremism

Neither fasting nor feasting can help a person to become healthy.

Everything works best in moderation.

There are two categories of diet extremists in the world. The first goes on torturing their V body by overeating. They are absolutely unaware of what and how much they are eating. They overburden their body by overeating. Even if the quality of food you eat is right, the quantities have to be moderated. That’s the basic law of the body. Anything eaten more than what the body requires will become fat. The body goes on crying, “Help me. I am overloaded.” It’s screaming to stop, but then people go on and on eating. Animals don’t overeat. They stop when they are full. Have you seen any baby overeating? They run away the moment their stomach is full. Overeating is a learned trait and must be corrected by listening to the body. When your breath is getting heavier, you have overeaten. When there is difficulty in walking, you have overeaten. When you find it difficult even to drink water, you have overeaten.

The other diet extremists are those who starve because of being overweight. The body goes on screaming, “I am hungry. Please give me food,” and they keep dieting. When you go on to any form of diet, where you are asked to live on salads and soups, you are doomed. When you don’t eat enough, then there is more anxiety because the body is hungry. With little knowledge about food, and lots of ignorance, we search for easy solutions to reduce weight. We find our friends reducing weight through weight-loss programs by being on cabbage soup for a week. We too exercise our willpower for a week and lose 4 kgs. We feel so successful after having reduced, but the moment you start again with solid foods, you will gain back the extra kilos. Such weight-loss programs are a torture to your body. Neither fasting nor feasting can help a person to become healthy. Everything works best in moderation.

Decades of researches have shown that diets, either self-initiated or professionally guided, are ineffective in producing long-term health benefits or permanent weight loss. Most crash diet programs and weight-loss programs are only going to lead you in guilt trips. When your diets fail to keep the weight off, you go into these guilty thoughts: “If only I didn’t love food so much; dieting is not my cup of tea; if only I could exercise more; if I had more willpower...” The problem is not personal weakness or lack of willpower. After all, you have the willpower to stay on cabbage soup for a week; willpower is not the problem. Please understand, it is not that we are failing on diet, but it is diet that is failing on us. It is the diet that is causing such feelings in us.

We live in a world where there will be social occasions, celebrations, family gatherings and outings. Following any of these weight-loss programs will induce this anxiety, “If I attend the function, will I break my diet?” The very thought of it will make you nervous. Nervousness and anxiety are not happy emotions for weight loss. Your emotions will play havoc on your health and you will feel stressed out.

Such deprivation diets will not satiate the nutrient requirement of the body. When you are on such diets, you are either on boiled veggies or soups or fruits. Our brain is at least 60% fat. It is the fattest system in our body. So we need to consume good fats in our day-to-day life. Deprivation diets mean a big ‘No’ to fat. We need proteins for our muscles and such deprivation diets may not satisfy our protein needs. We need constant flow of glucose in our blood. So we need carbohydrates, which is denied when we are on deprivation diets. Psychologically you will feel down because such diets on the long run do not give enough glucose to the brain. You are slowing down the machine. You are self-torturing yourself. Eating wholesome food is the key and the only solution.

If process of weight loss has to be

successful then it has to be pleasurable.

Everything you eat and every exercise you

do must be pleasurable.

If you are not enjoying,

it is unlikely that you will continue with it.

Take frustration, guilt and deprivation out of

weight management and allow yourself to

adopt and adapt gradual, realistic changes,

into your life and that will make healthy

eating and physical activity

a permanent pleasure.

You think you are on deprivation diet and starve the body. But the mechanism of the body outsmarts you by slowing down your metabolism. Though you will eventually stop this unrealistic eating plan, your metabolism is still slow and inefficient. Hence you gain the weight back even faster. Through most weight-loss programs, you only lose the water content of the body. You don’t lose fat. That’s why people who are on such weight-loss programs look flabby and not toned. Now you have extra weight, a less healthy^ body composition and a less attractive physique.

Very few diets teach healthy eating, healthy cooking and healthy exercising. Many offer unrealistic recommendations and encourage health-threatening restrictions - restrictions, which make us scared and fearful of what to eat and how much to eat. Diets don’t teach the safe and effective ways to exercise; they don’t teach as to how to deal with our cravings and desires; they don’t teach as to how to attend to our feelings of hunger and fullness. Eventually, we become tired of the intricacies, the hunger, the lack of flavour, the lack of flexibility, the lack of energy and the feeling of deprivation. One fine day, we quit all diets and gain back the weight we have lost with a vengeance. Then we eat and exercise less with an attitude, “Why bother?’

What we need is a lifestyle change that we can live with for the rest of our lives. If your process of weight loss has to be successful then it has to be pleasurable. Everything you eat and every exercise you do must be pleasurable. If you are not enjoying, it is unlikely that you will continue with it. Take frustration, guilt and deprivation out of weight management and allow yourself to adopt and adapt gradual, realistic changes into your life and that will make healthy eating and physical activity a permanent pleasure. You will soon discover what your body is capable of! You will begin to look, act and feel at your best.

What is Trans fat?

Trans fat is also known as hydrogenated fat, which is very bad for health. They are made by adding hydrogen to liquid vegetable oil under pressure. This results in a stiffer fat, which is hard at room temperature. For example, vanaspati is a trans fat. They are artificial and are manmade. While our body needs fat, we need to be careful as to what kind of fats we are consuming. Trans fat harms the body by increasing the cholesterol level in the blood. They also bring down the good cholesterol or HDL cholesterol in the blood. They block the arteries and prevent blood from flowing through them. In women, trans fats actually doubles the risk of heart disease. They are also harmful on children. Most manufacturers of biscuits, breads, confectioneries, fast food, fried foods, namkeens, cakes and pastries, ready to eat meals, street foods and hotel foods use vanaspati instead of ghee and they also keep reusing the oil, which is very harmful to the body.

Raw Mangoes

The green mango is valuable in dealing with blood disorders because of its high vitamin C content. It increases the elasticity of the blood vessels and helps in the formation of new blood cells. It increases body resistance against tuberculosis, anaemia, cholera and dysentery. If a glass of lukewarm milk is taken after eating a ripe mango it energises the entire system, especially the intestines. To avoid the heat generated by mangoes in the body, keep the mangoes in water for a couple of hours, before eating.

Health Glance

Physical fitness is influenced by age, sex, heredity, personal habits, exercise and eating practices. We cannot do anything about the first three factors; however, it is within our powers to change and improve the other three. If we can invest at least 30 minutes a day on exercise, then exercise will be a health-building measure; else it will become a remedial measure to fight sickness and disease in the later years. Small efforts can boost fitness levels and lay the ground for a healthy lifestyle. Make exercise a part of your lifestyle and not just a short-term goal. Exercise must become one of those things that we do without questioning - like bathing and brushing our teeth.

A few changes that can be made in your lifestyle are:

• Take the stairs instead of using the elevator.

•   Park at the far end of a parking lot and walk to the office or store.

•   Get off public transportation a few blocks before your stop.

•   Get up from your desk during the day to stretch and walk around.

•   Take a brisk walk when you get the urge to snack.

•   Increase your pace when working in the house or yard.

•   Maintain your garden.

•   Carry your own groceries.

Trading the big for the small

A lot of us do it unknowingly in various areas of our life. We yield to smaller gains and lose out on the larger profits. By yielding to the short-lived pleasure of temptations, we lose out on permanent happiness. For temporary calm in relationships we give up permanent peace. Instead of settling discords when they occur, we accumulate them and lose out on relationships. We lie to protect ourselves for the moment and lose out on the other’s trust. We gain the sale and lose the customer. If we can only analyse before embarking into something, we will know what is big and what is small and we won’t make the mistake of trading the big for the small. Let’s lose the pennies and gain the dollars.