Women and the Weight loss

Women and weight loss : It was a normal workday when I found Sumi a good friend in a very worried and confused phase, she was upset, anxious and visibly disturbed, it so happened that people in her family were now openly telling her to lose weight. She may not have been of the ideal BMI was definitely not the XXL size, yes large, but bulky, no , definitely not. The suggestion of weight loss was being thrown at her as a warning , why? because the family was all set to look for a match for her, so the first step , lose weight. Now this angers me, why, I keep asking why it must be the girl who is asked to lose weight, and that to for a very strange reason, so that you look attractive and find someone good. How shallow it sounds, because that is what it is, shallow. To lose weight to look good is shallow by any measure. Now here I am only talking about the struggle that a common young Indian girl goes through just to achieve an hourglass figure. Let us discuss the ever live topic of discussion with women across all ages – Weight Loss.

The cinema, advertisements, social media platforms and people in general have created an image of  fitness built around size. Since few decades  size zero has been trending, young girls are aspiring to achieve minimal body fat and maintain and flaunt an hourglass figure. The fitness industry has become one of the fastest growing industries in India. Weight loss is a clever idea, if the cause is correct. There is a difference between staying healthy and being right figure. Being healthy is important and advisable for everyone men and women alike but for women being healthy is more challenging because of the body composition and metabolism changes that women goes through starting from puberty, the menstrual cycle, pregnancy and child birth, lactating, menopause and issues related to it, staying heathy becomes crucial at every stage for a women and maintaining the right weight is good way to begin, so shedding those extra kilos or inches should be a target. One size does not fit all, each person has to decide her own target and carve a path to achieve it, to stay fit is not about only losing weight, it is a continuous journey, you become fit, and you stay fit and you do certain things every day to ensure that you stay fit. It is never status quo; it is continuous journey.

Look beyond simple weight loss

An effective way to begin is to take a reality check, get a medical test done, understand your health conditions, look at the vitals and compare with the given standards and then look at what you want to improve. So instead of just getting on the scale and looking at the kilograms, look at the entire medical report and see how efficiently is your body working and what best can you do to bring it to the best level, look at your haemoglobin level, calcium level, vitamin deficiencies, functions of vital organs, and a picture of your overall health, discuss with a medical expert and understand that what should be the ideal picture and then start to set target for yourself. It may not be only weight, but other issues related to overall health which may need to be looked at, so understand your fitness level and decide a way to prevent all probable causes of low fitness levels and become the best version of yourself.

Not only at weight loss but look at overall fitness.

Once you set fitness targets for yourself, the next step is to find a way to achieve it, needless to add that every journey requires consistency and patience, there is no short cut to weight loss either. So firstly, stop believing the magic pills, the magic diet plans and the magic concoction which promises weight loss in few days, it is just not possible, neither advisable. Let us understand that the weight got accumulated over time and it will take time to go away, unless you remove it surgically, weight loss takes time. The only way to it is to be persistent and follow the path you have set for yourself. It will be a combination of diet, exercise, sleep pattern and lifestyle in general. Take time and plan your fitness journey. Consider the following key focus areas for designing and implementing sustainable weight loss journey:

Health Issues and medication:

Erratic weight gains and losses can be due to certain medication too, so if you are on any medication, check if your weight gain is related to the medication and take proper advise from an expert. In my mid thirties when I was going through emotionally tough times, I just kept putting on weight. I realised after over a year that I have put on fifteen extra kilos, just because I was emotionally low and all I did was sit, think, and eat. I was eating a lot just because that came to me naturally, I was stress eating and when I realised it I got on to work on it. It is not only your physical health or medication which add to weight gain or loss, it can be your emotional condition or mental health too. So, talk to subject matter experts and understand the connection between your health conditions physical, mental, and emotional and your fitness level, based on the advised plan your fitness journey.

Women and weight loss : Eating patterns to support weight loss

Measuring calories is one way of looking at a diet plan, simply put, if your calories burn out is more than the calorie intake you lose weight. So, though it is important to look at calorie consumption, it is equally important to ensure that all required minerals and vitamins are supplied to the body for proper function. Salt, Sugar, Rice, Wheat, there are reasons to believe that these are not the best friends for weight management, but before you switch over from sugar to jaggery, artificial sweetener, honey, stevia or any such replacement, study the effect and counter effect, similarly before giving up salt or switching to pink salt or rock salt, consult a doctor, Salt and sugar are essential to the body composition, therefore do not give them up without consulting a doctor. A good dietician can also assist you in deciding on gluten free choice. I read somewhere everything white is bad, be it sugar, salt, rice, etc, and then I thought of egg whites, well, they are good it is said, so do not follow blindly. An effective way to start and sustain weight loss would be to research and decide what suits you best.

Eat small meals at shorter intervals:

It is important that one understands the digestive system to understand the weight loss pattern. Eating small portions five times instead of three large meals is not only easy on the stomach, but it also controls the calorie intake . And you avoid overeating. I have learnt that to use a small plate is also a clever way to eat moderately. I have been there, ate a lot, and then went on a guilt trip, fasted, went on water diet, went on vegetable only diet, gave up wheat and rice for a while, you name it, I tried all permutation combinations and my experience has taught me that it is not only what you eat, but how much and how often you eat is important. A tried method is to eat frequent and small portions.

Eat wholesome meal.

To add to weight loss, take the first step and give up on processes food, eat wholesome meal, add greens, dairy, meat, pulses, grains, veggies and fruits to your meal. Yes, there are people who claim to have lost plenty of weight by just giving up on rice or sugar or any such thing, I agree that it has its own effect, but each body reacts differently to diet pattern. Understand your own body and plan the diet accordingly. To plan a weekly diet is a good way to begin the weight loss journey, a diet chart helps not only to plan weight management, but you can also satiate your taste buds and be in control of what you eat. I would recommend making minor changes, one at a time. For instant, eliminate or replace sugar from your food, change cooking medium could be another, next could be to add fibre rich food to your diet, and so on. One step at a time and you will realise that over a period your entire eating order has changed in a sustainable manner.

Salads need not be boring.

Salads assist a lot in losing weight. I recall people teasing me when I was on an only green diet, my friends would say chal ghass kha (go graze grass), it was depressing to live through that diet. The salad helped me loose considerable weight, but it was particularly challenging. The food lacked taste and variety. I am a foodie, so I had to look ways to make it work for me, and I learned how to set good healthy mouth-watering salads.

You can learn to cook meals which are healthy and wholesome and pleasing to the palate. Try food that is rich in fibre as it keeps you full, add seeds to the salads and spice up the soups. Eat fruits and vegetable of all kind and colour. Make your food interesting, so plan it ahead. Lose weight, not taste. Plan and make your weight loss journey enjoyable. Remember it is a journey, so you are primarily changing your food pattern and eating habits and in doing so you are also losing weight. So, losing the kilos is not the target, becoming and staying fit is. So, work towards staying fit and enjoy the journey to fitness.

Avoid caffeine:

Moderation . is the only way while consuming Tea, Coffee, Alcohol, Tobacco, energy drinks and all other similar stuff. All of them have larger negative impact on overall health and wellbeing. Manage weight, manage intake of any form of chemical stimulant, be it caffeine, alcohol tobacco or any other such stuff. It not good. Never will it be, give up. Give up alcohol, control tea coffee intake. You owe this discipline to your body. Take a bold step and say no to stuff that harms your health. Befriend your body first.

Women and weight loss : Drink enough water:

Water is the solution for most of the health issues, drink enough water. There are apps which remind you to drink water, and you can also find attractive stylish water bottles to keep a track of the amount of water consumed during a day. But in case if you have an issue of water retention, please consult a doctor. Water helps in reducing weight. Keeping the body dehydrated is good for overall health. One keynote to remember, all juices, shakes, lemon water, coconut water and all these watery treats are not only water, they are water added to the prime ingredient, so do not compromise drinking plain water. How much water to drink, depends on everyone, so be judicious.

Keep a good gut health:

Weight loss  depends largely on your gut health, how well your system digests the food intake and how well the nutrients are absorbed in the body. Timely meal, complete meal, correct meal is the only way to keep good gut health. Continuous medical examination is also recommended. Check your digestive system and keep it intact.

Exercise:

Exercising directly impacts weight loss. Staying physically active is important not only for keeping weight under check improves overall health and immunity of a person. You can choose any physical activity that suits you, but be sure of being regular, play a sport, jog, walk, swim, workout, dance, cycle, do gardening, or any other activity which keeps you physically involved. Women and weight loss is an evolving topic. Exercising improves the muscle strength, it also improves the joints and keeps a person fit, and yes you can exercise and burn out all those extra calories and keep you weight in check. My personal go to activity is walking. I love to walk, it not only improves my health, it gives me lot of me time, and I have also made some friends in the park. If you do not have any specific choice, I would recommend try walking. Start small and them build, you do not need to go to a gym, you do not need any equipment, you can walk at your own pace and at the place of your choice. Walking is a serious workout. There are plenty of walkathons where one can participate. I recommend start walking, walk towards a fitter you.

Lifestyle:

Women and weight loss, Your lifestyle shows on your body, it impacts not only your weight, but also your skin, hair, nails, and teeth. The way you lead your life has long lasting impact on your wellbeing. To keep your weight under check,  improve your lifestyle, I recommend considering a few changes in lifestyle.

Meditation:

Meditation improves health. Meditation will improve overall health and assist in weight loss too. Yoga is an effective way to meditate, the control breathing yogic exercises improve overall bodily functions. Spend time meditating, everyday on regular basis.

Connecting with likeminded people:

Women and weight loss: It is well known fact that people do their best in a group, connect with people who have similar challenges or think like you. People who are focused on staying fit will always encourage others to do so. You learn a lot when you are with people with similar goals, share what worked out for you, share recipes, diet charts, walking routes and everything in between, I have made many good friends on my walking treks, and will encourage you to connect with likeminded people and find partners enroute your weight loss journey.

Measuring improvement:

Measure your achievement, it motivates a lot. Seeing improvement is certainly encouraging, so measure your weight, judge your stretches, your stamina, your food intake, your exercise time, etc., etc., whatever can be measure, measure it, see the improvement, make changes if needed. Keep a track of what you are doing and how it is improving your overall health, not only the weight loss but health in general. So, measure it and keep improving on it.

Sustaining :

Women and weight loss, Like I said earlier, weight loss is not a target to achieve, it is a continuous journey, you reach a target weight and then you maintain it. I am sure you must have met many who lost weight and later it all came back and more. That happens in cases where the path taken is only to lose weight, not to improve overall fitness level. Attaining a desired weight level is a target one can achieve even by shortcuts, we have many who can share examples of losing 15 kilos in a month, 5 kilos in a week or many such stories, and not all of them are unrealistic, the question here is not only to lose certain kilos, but the aim is also to sustain the desired weight. Therefore, it is important to look aim at improving overall fitness level and looking at weight loss as just one of the milestones, it is a journey of sustaining and leading healthy lifestyle.

Frequently asked questions:

Q1. What is the best way to lose weight?

Lifestyle changes to incorporate good diet, exercise, and healthy living is an effective way to lose and sustain the ideal weight.

Q2. Will the weight come back once lost?

Weight loss is not a onetime target to be achieve, it is a continuous journey, and if you do not discipline and change your lifestyle, the weight is bound to come back.

Q3. Is bariatric surgery safe?

Bariatric surgery if done by experts is safe, spend time and discuss with the expert before you decide to go for a bariatric surgery.

Q4. Does menopause effect weight loss?

Changes in metabolism effect the weight, you can gain or lose weight as menopause sets in, but moderating eating patterns and exercise, one can control weight loss or gain both after menopause.

Q5. How to lose weight gained during pregnancy and childbirth?

Proper diet and regular exercising are the only way to lose weight gained during pregnancy, but you must remember that it will take time and be patient about it and keep the focus on overall health. The body needs special nourishment during and post pregnancy, which is particularly important, the weight gained can always be shed away.

Q6. I am little overweight, but I am fit do I still need to lose weight?

It is always advisable to maintain the best weight, Fitness and weight are interconnected but being overweight is not good at all. Maintain a proper weight even if you think you are fit. The BMI is a standard to follow on weight measurement.

Q7. Is it difficult to lose weight as you get old?

Age is just a number, it is not difficult to lose weight, the process may seem to be slower, but it is effective. Even if start your weight loss journey at the age of fifty or more, I will recommend doing it, whatever age you decide to stay fit is a good age to begin.

Q8. Is herbal medicine a safe way to lose weight ?

There is no magic pill for weight loss. However, some ayurvedic medicines claim to help reduce weight, but only correct diet and exercise is a recommended way to lose weight and sustain good weight and health.

Q9. Is keto diet a sure method of weight loss?

Each diet has its own pros and cons, so does keto, it was worked for many. But not every diet pattern gives equivalent results to everyone. The best way is to eat healthy and exercise regularly to lose weight.

Q10. Can fat turn to muscle?

No fat cannot turn into muscle. Fat and muscle both add to the body weight, but one body fat cannot be changed into muscle mass. Muscle mass gives strength and shape to the body, body mass adds bulkiness.