Gunning for fat loss?

6 min read


Affirmations that help you make the right food choices towards achieving your goal.

Start with a simple rule: If you are feeling full, stop eating. Stick to this rule forever, and you will never, ever regret it.

Bored? Sad? Happy?

You may be, but none of those could be reasons to eat if you are not hungry.

Eat only if you are hungry.

Importantly, the food we eat should have all the required nutrients in adequate quantities.

Many people think that they cannot burn fat without tears. I have an interesting fact to share that points to the contrary.

The fact is we do not burn or torch fat like it is commonly believed: Instead, we breathe it out, pee it out, or sweat it out.

You must be still wondering how you can get rid of stubborn fat.

Well, fat loss is easy to accomplish if you understand some principles and rules and follow them religiously.

Rule 1: The first simple rule is to stimulate your body and make it use fat as its energy source. That is because if we feed our body continually, it just relies on the source we have been providing and stores the excess as fat for the future.

OK…but how do we do that?

We all seem to be waiting for a secret ingredient to come along that will help us lose fat. Alas. There is no such ingredient. Rather the fat loss journey is a sauce comprising many ingredients all working in sync.

It takes great commitment to set your mind on a goal and work towards achieving it.

Your fitness routines should be a part of your daily life – not just hitting the gym occasionally or starting a new diet plan.

Photo by Fitsum Admasu on Unsplash

Rule 2: Do not hate the current shape/size/status of your body. Instead, be excited and tell your body how you are going to transform it.

This is important as, perhaps, we are giving in to the comments of others and fearing too much about failure and, consequently, getting desperate and stressed out.

This stress determines everything in your fat loss journey.

Yes.

You follow a healthy diet plan and exercise adequately, but still, have excess fat?  The only reason for that could be your stress.

Try to destress your body.

Fat loss isn’t about only calories: it is a mind game too. It needs to be won in the mind first and then in the body.

Rule 3: Focus.

Focus on what you can control and not on what you can’t.

What is it that you need to focus on?

Consistency with your diet, exercise, and how much you are moving everyday – be it walking, taking the staircase, or just standing — matters a lot.

Then, how quickly you get back on track after a break and, finally, how positively you treat yourself – these are the things that you can control.

What are the aspects that you do not have to focus on?

  • How fast you lose weight
  • Where you lose fat (face, belly, thighs)
  • How quick you see the changes in the mirror
  • How fast you will reduce the size of your clothing, etc.

These are things that you cannot control. Don’t about them. Let time and your efforts take care of these.

From a pure weight-loss perspective, what you eat doesn’t matter as much as how much you eat does.

I am not suggesting you should just eat cake all day even if you are under your daily limit. What I am suggesting is that if you love cake so much, you could have a measured and mindful piece of it every day, or a bigger one once every 3 days.

All that takes planning and, believe me, it is possible!

Further, follow the formula 80/20: 80% whole foods and 20% whatever you want – literally.

Now coming to the dietary recommendations – here are some that you can follow:

  • Drinking water is one of the easiest ways to turn up your fat-burning capacity – but, mind you, it is not the only one. As in, if you are eating a perfect diet but are dehydrated, then you are likely to lose less weight. Therefore, hydrate yourself with water as it helps to keep your appetite under control besides also flushing out the bodily wastes and toxins.
  • As opposed to the common belief that rice makes one fat, it is the quantity of rice that does the damage. If you can control the portion size of rice in your meal, then you could have all types of your favourite foods and still lose weight. But, again, you have got to be mindful of how much of it you are eating.
  • Eat good quality, unprocessed foods, and keep up a healthy intake of dietary fibre from fresh vegetables (salads) and fruits and add at least one serving of green leafy vegetables for every meal.
  • Have salad (1cup) before starting your lunch and dinner and end your meal with buttermilk that has cumin seeds and carom(ajwain)seeds – (1tsp each) mixed in it.
  • Eat moderate portions and try to eat slowly and chew your food thoroughly. While you should always avoid overeating, make sure you don’t starve yourself – which would be counter-productive.
  • Avoid consuming refined sugar-based products to the extent possible.
  • Keep intake of fatty foods (chats, pizza, fried foods, packaged foods, etc.) to a minimum.
  • Avoid diet colas and sugar-free snacks that are floating in the market as you tend to over-eat them thinking they are healthy options. Nope. They are not. Rather, you should follow the 80/20 formula.
  • Do not skimp on protein as doing so has a disastrous consequence on weight loss.
  • Eat protein – at least one serving (approximately the size of your palm) per meal.

11.   Eat mindfully, get good quality, deep sleep every night, and learn to get rid of your stress.

There will be days during which the fat loss journey seems to be easy and you will feel some good changes happening and progress towards your goal. There will also be days when your body doesn’t make much or no progress at all. This is where most people quit out of frustration. Getting into such a situation needs to be avoided at any cost as this is where, owing to guilt and the resulting overeating, you gain double the weight you lost.

Always choose consistency over intensity and habits over quick fixes.

It takes commitment and discipline to make your fitness and training a priority, and that is what will lead to the results you seek. Do not confuse motion with progress.

So, with the right attitude towards diet and exercise, you really can set yourself on a slimmer, healthier, and happier course for life.

Thank you,

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Author

Dt. Niharika Katkam (M.Sc., Nutrition and Dietetics)


 *Disclaimer: The diet plans, remedies, and other health-related suggestions published on this website are a collation of information on directions and advice from experts (dietitians and others) provided by the respective expert mentioned as the author of an article and, as such, are sourced from reliable and competent sources. However, both the experts themselves as well as the site owners/promoters request readers to consult their family doctor/physician before using the information on this site and also to exercise caution as necessary. By visiting this site and, by virtue of accessing any information from the site, site users indemnify, by default, the site owners/promoters, dietitians, experts, and affiliates, of any potential damage caused (in any form whatsoever). 


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