Diet - a very big topic to discuss. Now, i have a handfull of work to work on and i also have got you people on whose brains i can feed (my diet) on.
As a Nutrionist, in my 9 yrs. of experience, i saw so many cases and in every case, depending upon their health issue i gave them diet charts. But one thing was common among all............they were unaware of what they are eating, they don't know what its composed of and this innocence towards their diet may cause any health issue!
I mean to say that those things which can be prevented, people came to me for treatment. Why don't we prevent it when there is a chance to prevent it ?!
One thing i observed was, Obesity, especially among children and adolescents, was and is being spread like a communicable disease where as, it is not communicable. Mostly, this is because of increase in intake of fast foods. These fast foods which we like can cause obesity, cancer and many gastrointestinal problems.
Remember one thing.....the one which is tasty to our tongue is not good for our health and the one which is good for our health is never tasty.
Hence, escape this 4" tongue & the remaining part of your gastrointestinal tract will never complain, because the remaining part of the gastrointestinal tract doesn't recognise any taste.
But the question arises, CAN WE ESCAPE THIS 4" TONGUE?
You eat anything that is eatable and it consists of none other than
Carbohydrates
Fats
Proteins
Vitamins
Minerals
+ Water
There is a misconception in the society that a person gets obese only with fat, but let me tell you,
Weight = mass * gravity.
As the gravity almost remains the same everywhere, the mass should defer for the weight to defer.
Now, this mass is not just the fat. Mass of our body consists of bones, muscles, water, blood, blood vessels, nerves, superficial fascia, ligaments, tendons, soft organs etc..etc...etc...
Out of all the said above, generally, the weight of our body defers because of bone weight, muscles, water, hormones & fat.
If the weight of the body is due to your bone weight or muscles, then you are lucky & there is no need to decrease your body weight.
If its due to water, hormones or fat, then you have got a target now to reduce your body weight.
Decreasing the body weight is hard & to maintain the same weight is harder.
I am not asking you to get to the ideal weight as we are not models & we are not going to walk on ramps.
But our body weight should not cause any health issue to us or it should not get down our self-confidence levels or we should not be awarded the first prize for our tummy....isn't it?!
Then guys & gals, this is the time you put all your interest & concentration on your body shapes & get down your weight with simple tips.
As i said above, whatever u eat, it consists of
Carbohydrates, Fats, Protiens, Vitamins & Minerals + Water.
Now, Carbohydrates have two functions, (i). they give instant energy
(ii). they turn up into fat
So, this says that you take carbohydrates only when you think that you are going to work. Otherwise, avoid them.
Eg: At nights, avoid carbohydrates (as we are not going to work so hard as we have been doing all through the day) or avoid carbohydrates at lunch time if you think that you are going to sleep or lie down immediately after lunch.
Carbohydrates are present in Rice, Wheat & Maize. Hence, avoid them if you are not going to work after your meals.
1 gm. of Carbohydrate gives 4 Kilo calories of energy,
1gm. of Protien gives 4 Kilo calories of energy &
1 gm. of Fat gives 9 Kilo calories of energy.
This says that you will have to work more than twice (when compared to Carbohydrates of Proteins) to deplete 1 gm. of fat from your body.
Vitamins & minerals are not going to provide us any energy but they are used for protective & regulatory functions of the body like protecting the body from many diseases, helping in metabolism etc.
Protiens have 2 functions: (i). give energy
(ii). build up the muscles
Then why don't we take protiens instead of Carbohydrates, when both of them give 4 Kilo calories of energy for every 1 gm. of them. But even in taking protiens we should be cautious because excess amount of protiens in the body may lead to a condition called 'Hyperproteinemia' & may finally lead to kidney problems (because kidney can't filter blood properly if too many protiens are present in it).
For your information, i am presenting the daily requirement of protein according to the category.
Category Age Protein content required per day
Infants 0–6 months 9.1
7–12 months 13.5
Children 1–3 years 13
4–8 years 19
9–13 years (male) 34
9–13 years (female) 34
Adolescents 14–18 years (male) 52
14–18 years (female) 46
Adult Men 19–30 years 56
31–50 years 56
51–70years 56
> 70 years 56
Adult Women 19–30 years 46
31–50 years 46
51–70years 46
> 70 years 46
Pregnant Women 14–18 years 71
19–30 years 71
31–50 years 71
Lactating Women 14–18 years 71
19–30 years 71
31–50 years 71
Now, plan your diet accordingly.
Fats are of two types: Saturated & Unsaturated.
Saturated fats are present in animal foods i.e., milk, meat, egg etc.
Unsaturated fats are present in plant foods i.e., plant oils etc.
Saturated fats are more dangerous than unsaturated fats because saturated fats get deposited in the blood vessels & cause heart problems directly.
Unsaturated fats get deposited in the liver or in the adipose tissue present underneath the skin, increasing the body weight & causing health related issues indirectly.
I would like to give an example for the above said one. The plant oil companies give ads saying that they protect our heart. But even if they want to cause any harm, they will not be able to because plant oils cannot get deposited in our blood vessels. This simple point, they are using for their business.
But there are some preferences among oils too. The oils which consist of Omega 6 fatty acids are much better than the oils which consist of Omega 3 fatty acids i.e.,
Canola oil is better than Saffola oil which in turn is much better than any sunflower oil followed by ground nut oil & coconut oil.
Let us put it this way:
Canola oil > Saffola oil > Sunflower oil > Grondnut oil > Coconut oil
Many nutritionists say that Olive oil is also very good for health. I personally don't have any opinion regarding this statement.
So, avoid saturated fats completely & let in a few unsaturated fats into your body because these few unsaturated fats help in metabolism. Hence, around one and a half to two table spoons of plant oil per day can be consumed.
Fiber:
A very important thing in our diet. It cannot be digested in our human digestive system & so cannot give any energy & so, cannot increase our weight. But it gives satiety (a feeling of heaviness). This feeling is very important as this satiety prevents the production of insulin which stores fat or which converts carbohydrates to fats. Hence, we may not develop any fat.
Fiber also helps in reducing constipation (difficulty in defaecation) by forming a layer in the large intestine, which prevents the friction among the faecal matter & the large intestine.
Now, a few tips to my fellows who want to reduce their weight through their diet.....
1. Generally, we all belong to white collar jobs & hence we require aerbout 1700 - 1800 kcal. per day.
2. In case of pregnants & lactating mothers, they require about 2200 - 2500 kcal. per day.
3. Cut off carbohydrates completely till you reach your goal.
4. Avoid all types of fast foods & bakery items.
5. Avoid all milk products, except curd (if the curd is made from a double toned milk).
6. Use only double toned milk.
7. Consume plenty of water through out the day (5-6 lit.) & preferably, warm water (consume warm water through out the day).
8. Eat plenty of vegetables & fruits.
9. Avoid banana, chikku, watermelon, mango, custard apple, guava (if its pakka) etc. among fruits.
10. Avoid potato & all tubers among vegetables.
11. Avoid fried items.
12. Avoid non-veg. at nights. Fish is good for health as it contains more of protein. If you are interested in chicken, then put a few chicken pieces on a dry pan (no oil at all), heat them in a very low heat for a few minutes. You will see a white colour liquid in pan now. This liquid is nothing but the saturated fat which would have gone into your body if you wouldn't have followed this procedure. Now throw the oil out & use the piece, as the piece now totally consists of muscle i.e., nothing but protein. Avoid mutton, pork or beef.
13. Take 6-8 meals per day, but in limited quantities.
14. Take more fiber contents in your diet.
15. Take limited protein content.
16. Regular exercise is a MUST.
17. Don't be lazy, go on doing some or the other work.
18. Psychologically, don't be in a depressive mood. Depression increases obesity.
19. Avoid eating while watching TV (as you do not know how much you eat while watching TV).
20. Get rid of gynaecological problems, as in many gynaecological problems put on weight.
21. Test your T.S.H (thyroid stimulating hormone) levels, as any increase in T.S.H levels (hypothyroidism) leads to increase in weight.
22. Test your Haemoglobin level in the blood, because whenever Haemoglobin decreases, the body puts on weight as a protective phenomenon.
23. Decrease salt intake, as salt retains water in the body & will not allow to decrease your weight.
24. Don't try to decrease your weight rapidly because our brain & other organs cannot adjust to rapid loss of weight.
25. Do not cease food intake to reduce weight. This is a misconception in the society that "cessation of food intake reduces weight". But this is not true because we have a biological clock in our body which would be disturbed if you cease food intake. Because of this the body looses vitamins, minerals (especially Calcium), proteins, haemoglobin & serum electrolytes levels fall & the person becomes anaemic, can't be active in day to day living, goes into depression, looses his muscle girth (through out the body), looses his skin tone, gets hair fall, the bones loose calcium from bone (Osteoporosis) etc...etc...etc....
Even if a person looses his body weight through the cessation of food intake, its not a healthy decrease. Hence, never ever try to cease food intake to loose your weight.
26. Walk for atleast 8000 - 10,000 steps a day. If available, use PEDOMETER, which calculates your number of steps, calories burnt & the distance covered. Put this pedometer to your waist belt or tie it to your arm & let it be there through out the day. Do not disturb it in the mid of the day. At the end, at night, look at it to know your number of steps, your calories burnt & the distance covered.
27. Wake up early in the morning. Waking up early burns your fat.
28. Avoid smoking & alcohol, if you really want to reduce your weight.
29. 6-8 hours of sleep is a MUST. Deprivation of sleep or excess sleep also increases your weight.
30. Feed yourself more on soups, vegetable salads, fruits & fruit juices.
31. Last, but not the least, oil pulling plays a very important role in reduction of the body weight.
Take 2-3 Tsp of oil into your mouth & gargle it for about 4-5 minutes. Once you feel surfy in your mouth, then spit it out. The oil would have turned up into white colour.
Oil pulling excretes the excess of water present in your body. Hence, you may decrease 2-3 kg. of weight just with it (within a month or two). Remember, the oil once used in cooking should not be used for oil pulling. Take fresh oil for oil pulling.
32. Don't allow your stomach to starve for more than 6 hrs. in day time. I would advice to have meal for every 3-4 hrs. A meal doesn't mean a full plate rice or rotis or so. Even a fruit juice or a plate of vegetable salad also considered as meal.
33. Avoid coffee, can take tea.
Remember, your loss of weight should not disturb any other activity in the body.
You may have doubts that if rice, wheat & maize are avoided in food (as they consist of carbohydrates), then what to be taken?
You have Jowar (can make rotis), Raagi (can make porridge or rotis or sankati), Bajra (can make porridge or rotis), Oat meal or oat soup.
If you cannot resist rice intake, then consume only Unpolished Rice (brown rice)
There is much to discuss about the relation between diet n obesity. But already, it has become a very long discussion / article, whatever you call it. Hence, i will have to end it here itself.
But if anybody is keen in reducing their weight through their diet & if they have any specific doubts, then they are free to ask me through my mail id saileshdr@gmail.com or log on to http://www.maguscuro.com/ & you will get my mail id in my website.
I wish you all a Bon Appetit !
As a Nutrionist, in my 9 yrs. of experience, i saw so many cases and in every case, depending upon their health issue i gave them diet charts. But one thing was common among all............they were unaware of what they are eating, they don't know what its composed of and this innocence towards their diet may cause any health issue!
I mean to say that those things which can be prevented, people came to me for treatment. Why don't we prevent it when there is a chance to prevent it ?!
One thing i observed was, Obesity, especially among children and adolescents, was and is being spread like a communicable disease where as, it is not communicable. Mostly, this is because of increase in intake of fast foods. These fast foods which we like can cause obesity, cancer and many gastrointestinal problems.
Remember one thing.....the one which is tasty to our tongue is not good for our health and the one which is good for our health is never tasty.
Hence, escape this 4" tongue & the remaining part of your gastrointestinal tract will never complain, because the remaining part of the gastrointestinal tract doesn't recognise any taste.
But the question arises, CAN WE ESCAPE THIS 4" TONGUE?
You eat anything that is eatable and it consists of none other than
Carbohydrates
Fats
Proteins
Vitamins
Minerals
+ Water
There is a misconception in the society that a person gets obese only with fat, but let me tell you,
Weight = mass * gravity.
As the gravity almost remains the same everywhere, the mass should defer for the weight to defer.
Now, this mass is not just the fat. Mass of our body consists of bones, muscles, water, blood, blood vessels, nerves, superficial fascia, ligaments, tendons, soft organs etc..etc...etc...
Out of all the said above, generally, the weight of our body defers because of bone weight, muscles, water, hormones & fat.
If the weight of the body is due to your bone weight or muscles, then you are lucky & there is no need to decrease your body weight.
If its due to water, hormones or fat, then you have got a target now to reduce your body weight.
Decreasing the body weight is hard & to maintain the same weight is harder.
I am not asking you to get to the ideal weight as we are not models & we are not going to walk on ramps.
But our body weight should not cause any health issue to us or it should not get down our self-confidence levels or we should not be awarded the first prize for our tummy....isn't it?!
Then guys & gals, this is the time you put all your interest & concentration on your body shapes & get down your weight with simple tips.
As i said above, whatever u eat, it consists of
Carbohydrates, Fats, Protiens, Vitamins & Minerals + Water.
Now, Carbohydrates have two functions, (i). they give instant energy
(ii). they turn up into fat
So, this says that you take carbohydrates only when you think that you are going to work. Otherwise, avoid them.
Eg: At nights, avoid carbohydrates (as we are not going to work so hard as we have been doing all through the day) or avoid carbohydrates at lunch time if you think that you are going to sleep or lie down immediately after lunch.
Carbohydrates are present in Rice, Wheat & Maize. Hence, avoid them if you are not going to work after your meals.
1 gm. of Carbohydrate gives 4 Kilo calories of energy,
1gm. of Protien gives 4 Kilo calories of energy &
1 gm. of Fat gives 9 Kilo calories of energy.
This says that you will have to work more than twice (when compared to Carbohydrates of Proteins) to deplete 1 gm. of fat from your body.
Vitamins & minerals are not going to provide us any energy but they are used for protective & regulatory functions of the body like protecting the body from many diseases, helping in metabolism etc.
Protiens have 2 functions: (i). give energy
(ii). build up the muscles
Then why don't we take protiens instead of Carbohydrates, when both of them give 4 Kilo calories of energy for every 1 gm. of them. But even in taking protiens we should be cautious because excess amount of protiens in the body may lead to a condition called 'Hyperproteinemia' & may finally lead to kidney problems (because kidney can't filter blood properly if too many protiens are present in it).
For your information, i am presenting the daily requirement of protein according to the category.
Category Age Protein content required per day
Infants 0–6 months 9.1
7–12 months 13.5
Children 1–3 years 13
4–8 years 19
9–13 years (male) 34
9–13 years (female) 34
Adolescents 14–18 years (male) 52
14–18 years (female) 46
Adult Men 19–30 years 56
31–50 years 56
51–70years 56
> 70 years 56
Adult Women 19–30 years 46
31–50 years 46
51–70years 46
> 70 years 46
Pregnant Women 14–18 years 71
19–30 years 71
31–50 years 71
Lactating Women 14–18 years 71
19–30 years 71
31–50 years 71
Now, plan your diet accordingly.
Fats are of two types: Saturated & Unsaturated.
Saturated fats are present in animal foods i.e., milk, meat, egg etc.
Unsaturated fats are present in plant foods i.e., plant oils etc.
Saturated fats are more dangerous than unsaturated fats because saturated fats get deposited in the blood vessels & cause heart problems directly.
Unsaturated fats get deposited in the liver or in the adipose tissue present underneath the skin, increasing the body weight & causing health related issues indirectly.
I would like to give an example for the above said one. The plant oil companies give ads saying that they protect our heart. But even if they want to cause any harm, they will not be able to because plant oils cannot get deposited in our blood vessels. This simple point, they are using for their business.
But there are some preferences among oils too. The oils which consist of Omega 6 fatty acids are much better than the oils which consist of Omega 3 fatty acids i.e.,
Canola oil is better than Saffola oil which in turn is much better than any sunflower oil followed by ground nut oil & coconut oil.
Let us put it this way:
Canola oil > Saffola oil > Sunflower oil > Grondnut oil > Coconut oil
Many nutritionists say that Olive oil is also very good for health. I personally don't have any opinion regarding this statement.
So, avoid saturated fats completely & let in a few unsaturated fats into your body because these few unsaturated fats help in metabolism. Hence, around one and a half to two table spoons of plant oil per day can be consumed.
Fiber:
A very important thing in our diet. It cannot be digested in our human digestive system & so cannot give any energy & so, cannot increase our weight. But it gives satiety (a feeling of heaviness). This feeling is very important as this satiety prevents the production of insulin which stores fat or which converts carbohydrates to fats. Hence, we may not develop any fat.
Fiber also helps in reducing constipation (difficulty in defaecation) by forming a layer in the large intestine, which prevents the friction among the faecal matter & the large intestine.
Now, a few tips to my fellows who want to reduce their weight through their diet.....
1. Generally, we all belong to white collar jobs & hence we require aerbout 1700 - 1800 kcal. per day.
2. In case of pregnants & lactating mothers, they require about 2200 - 2500 kcal. per day.
3. Cut off carbohydrates completely till you reach your goal.
4. Avoid all types of fast foods & bakery items.
5. Avoid all milk products, except curd (if the curd is made from a double toned milk).
6. Use only double toned milk.
7. Consume plenty of water through out the day (5-6 lit.) & preferably, warm water (consume warm water through out the day).
8. Eat plenty of vegetables & fruits.
9. Avoid banana, chikku, watermelon, mango, custard apple, guava (if its pakka) etc. among fruits.
10. Avoid potato & all tubers among vegetables.
11. Avoid fried items.
12. Avoid non-veg. at nights. Fish is good for health as it contains more of protein. If you are interested in chicken, then put a few chicken pieces on a dry pan (no oil at all), heat them in a very low heat for a few minutes. You will see a white colour liquid in pan now. This liquid is nothing but the saturated fat which would have gone into your body if you wouldn't have followed this procedure. Now throw the oil out & use the piece, as the piece now totally consists of muscle i.e., nothing but protein. Avoid mutton, pork or beef.
13. Take 6-8 meals per day, but in limited quantities.
14. Take more fiber contents in your diet.
15. Take limited protein content.
16. Regular exercise is a MUST.
17. Don't be lazy, go on doing some or the other work.
18. Psychologically, don't be in a depressive mood. Depression increases obesity.
19. Avoid eating while watching TV (as you do not know how much you eat while watching TV).
20. Get rid of gynaecological problems, as in many gynaecological problems put on weight.
21. Test your T.S.H (thyroid stimulating hormone) levels, as any increase in T.S.H levels (hypothyroidism) leads to increase in weight.
22. Test your Haemoglobin level in the blood, because whenever Haemoglobin decreases, the body puts on weight as a protective phenomenon.
23. Decrease salt intake, as salt retains water in the body & will not allow to decrease your weight.
24. Don't try to decrease your weight rapidly because our brain & other organs cannot adjust to rapid loss of weight.
25. Do not cease food intake to reduce weight. This is a misconception in the society that "cessation of food intake reduces weight". But this is not true because we have a biological clock in our body which would be disturbed if you cease food intake. Because of this the body looses vitamins, minerals (especially Calcium), proteins, haemoglobin & serum electrolytes levels fall & the person becomes anaemic, can't be active in day to day living, goes into depression, looses his muscle girth (through out the body), looses his skin tone, gets hair fall, the bones loose calcium from bone (Osteoporosis) etc...etc...etc....
Even if a person looses his body weight through the cessation of food intake, its not a healthy decrease. Hence, never ever try to cease food intake to loose your weight.
26. Walk for atleast 8000 - 10,000 steps a day. If available, use PEDOMETER, which calculates your number of steps, calories burnt & the distance covered. Put this pedometer to your waist belt or tie it to your arm & let it be there through out the day. Do not disturb it in the mid of the day. At the end, at night, look at it to know your number of steps, your calories burnt & the distance covered.
27. Wake up early in the morning. Waking up early burns your fat.
28. Avoid smoking & alcohol, if you really want to reduce your weight.
29. 6-8 hours of sleep is a MUST. Deprivation of sleep or excess sleep also increases your weight.
30. Feed yourself more on soups, vegetable salads, fruits & fruit juices.
31. Last, but not the least, oil pulling plays a very important role in reduction of the body weight.
Take 2-3 Tsp of oil into your mouth & gargle it for about 4-5 minutes. Once you feel surfy in your mouth, then spit it out. The oil would have turned up into white colour.
Oil pulling excretes the excess of water present in your body. Hence, you may decrease 2-3 kg. of weight just with it (within a month or two). Remember, the oil once used in cooking should not be used for oil pulling. Take fresh oil for oil pulling.
32. Don't allow your stomach to starve for more than 6 hrs. in day time. I would advice to have meal for every 3-4 hrs. A meal doesn't mean a full plate rice or rotis or so. Even a fruit juice or a plate of vegetable salad also considered as meal.
33. Avoid coffee, can take tea.
Remember, your loss of weight should not disturb any other activity in the body.
You may have doubts that if rice, wheat & maize are avoided in food (as they consist of carbohydrates), then what to be taken?
You have Jowar (can make rotis), Raagi (can make porridge or rotis or sankati), Bajra (can make porridge or rotis), Oat meal or oat soup.
If you cannot resist rice intake, then consume only Unpolished Rice (brown rice)
There is much to discuss about the relation between diet n obesity. But already, it has become a very long discussion / article, whatever you call it. Hence, i will have to end it here itself.
But if anybody is keen in reducing their weight through their diet & if they have any specific doubts, then they are free to ask me through my mail id saileshdr@gmail.com or log on to http://www.maguscuro.com/ & you will get my mail id in my website.
I wish you all a Bon Appetit !
