Lose weight the right way

-- Times of India --

Learning to make the most of your diet is the first step towards losing weight.

You've finally decided that you're going to lose that extra flab. Just going on a diet will not help - the idea is to eat right and at the right time. And remember, just following a healthy diet won't do - you need to ensure that you get the most out of your platter. Here's how...

For starters, eat fresh food or consume it within three hours of cooking. Avoid deep freezing the cooked food. The smaller the number of people the food is prepared for, the better its nutrient level. That's why restaurant food can never be compared to home food. And that's why, instead of picking up salad from your favourite salad bar, you should take a tomato and cucumber with you and eat it as your own on-the-go salad.

Eat the veggies and fruits whole instead of cutting them into pieces, because you lose the vitamins on their surface. The larger the exposed area, the more the loss of nutrients. So eat a full apple, pear or plum, etc, and don't chop it into pieces. If it's a big fruit like a melon or papaya, which you simply have to cut, carve it into big pieces instead of ones that you eat with your fork. Hold the big piece in your hand and chew on it and literally let the juices flow. Messy, but quite satisfying. Also, do not store the cut veggies. Never ever buy cut-and-packed vegetables and fruits that are available in supermarkets. It's like buying food that's gone to rot.

Remain loyal to your genes and eat what you have been eating since childhood. If you are a Punjabi, eat your parantha without feeling guilty; if a Tamilian, eat your idli, dosa etc. For, right from the time you're in your mother's womb, your body is used to eating, digesting and assimilating certain foods - these we call gene food. Most of us now eat foods of all kinds, from across the world. But it's important to eat at least one meal that consists of our gene food.

Also, you must always try to eat local produce and seasonal food as much as possible. Remember, climate, altitude, humidity, wind, soil quality, etc influence our digestive system, hence ayurveda recommends we tweak our diet, habits and lifestyle according to the season. Take the example of Kareena Kapoor, who ate momos while shooting in Ladakh and these helped her lose weight because Ladakh is dry, windy, cold and at an altitude of 3,500 metres. If she eats too many momos in Mumbai, which is humid, hot and at sea level, she'd become fat. Likewise, mangoes are great in summer. Eat them just once a day as a mini meal and they'll give you a season's supply of antioxidants. Store them in your fridge for rains and you won't enjoy them as much; they won't taste half as good and would have lost most of their nutrients.

(Diwekar is a sports science and nutrition expert. The excerpt is taken from her book, 'Don't Lose Your Mind, Lose Your Weight')