Last week was all about detoxing the body to prepare it for real weight loss; today’s article will give you an idea of how to manage your weight loss regime without eradicating any nutrient completely from your diet or going into crash or yo-yo dieting.

As said in the previous article, detox diets help cleanse the body, get rid of water retention and prepare the body to burn real fat. Once the detox part is over it’s essential to diet in such a manner that prevents craving as well as falling back onto previous unhealthy habits. Following some latest fad diet works for maybe a week or ten days, then you want to go back to eating your regular foods and the stuff that is easily available, less costly and prepared with convenience. For example if you follow the Atkins diet, the food has to be specially made for you, and after a while the motivation factor is lost and you want to go back to your daal, sabzi and curries. You think why not go back to old desi food for a while and sooner or later you fall off the wagon. It’s best to alter your pre-existing diet by choosing healthier options and making smart choices.

Do remember low fat or low cal is not always what it seems to be, mostly the amount of trans fat is high and you end up doing long term damage to your body that doesn’t show up immediately. You need to make realistic goals that you can achieve, so that your motivation factor isn’t lost. Weight loss depends on a number of things — gender, body weight: height ratio (BMI), age, health factors like chronic diseases, etc., and for women, it’s a topsy-turvy road to achieve weight loss after pregnancy. Remember: diet and exercise go hand in hand; just dieting will never help, similarly only exercising won’t help either, for both short term and long term.

Classically speaking, a woman of about age 20-35 years needs around 1,200-1,300 kcal per day if she’s leading a sedentary — moderately sedentary lifestyle. For men, around the same age group it would be around 1,500-1,700 kcal. If you work out, the calories you consume have to increase so that your muscles and proteins do not get burnt off. In pregnancy an increase of 500 kcal per day is required and in lactation 300 kcal per day. Similarly if you are diabetic, have heart disease, hypertension, high cholesterol, arthritis, gout or even osteoporosis you need to plan wisely and accordingly so as to not have any detrimental effects. Remember never to make a child of below two years diet, it’s harmful for his/her growth. So depending on which stage of the life cycle you are in you need to consider your weight loss goals and actions. It’s always best if you consult a dietician or nutritionist beforehand or have a personal trainer in the gym to guide you in the right direction.

Given below is a sample menu for a day to give an idea of how to lose around five to eight kilogrammes without drastically changing your diet. Always remember, the first step to dieting is portion control, cut everything you eat by half; having small frequent meals is the key.

Remember:

•Drink plenty of water •Exercise regularly •Try to maintain the times of your meals •Try to have an early dinner, maximum by 7:30 – 8:00pm •Try to avoid processed foods as much as possible.