How to reduce weight?

Hmmm...How to reduce weight?

This is one question we get the most number of times in the form of enquiries. Well, losing weight is not only necessary for looking good but it is also important for people who want to improve their health and remain fit and active.

There are many ways to achieve a slim figure, but out of many which one is really healthy is very debatable. The difference would be in time taken, side effects and sustainability. Lets discuss these ways one by one:

1. Crash Diets: Not recommended at all! Crash diet make you reduce weight quickly. You might be pleased with the immediate weight loss visible to you, but your lost weight would come back as soon as you regain back your normal diet. You might even gain more, because during the period you are on a crash diet, you metabolism slows down and this will stay when you are back to your normal diet. Moreover you are depriving your body from the other vital nutrients like proteins, vitamins, minerals etc, which might have further side effects.

2. Food and Diet Supplements: These are viewed as short-cuts to reduce weight! Many of these "fast weight-loss products" are loaded with caffeine, laxative-like compounds and toxic stimulants capable of causing serious side effects, or worse. Weight loss is not just a matter of burning more calories than you consume. It has to be done in a natural way as well. Remember, anything which is not a natural food, is not good for your health.

3. Healthy Diet with physical activity: Well its is a step by step process! Make small changes each and every day and you'll slowly (but surely) lose those extra pounds. The key is to forget about instant results and settle in for the long run. To lose one pound of fat, you must burn approximately 3500 calories over and above what you already burn doing daily activities. That sounds like a lot of calories and dont try to burn 3500 calories in one day. By taking it step-by-step, you can determine just what you need to do each day to burn or cut out those extra calories. It is a right combination of routine, diet and physical activity, where overall, you are burning more calories than you are consuming. Dont forget that while doing so, you shouldn't deprive your body from the other nutrients like proteins, vitamins and minerals. Think of your diet as a life-long commitment and not some kind of a way to lose 25 pounds quick. It just doesn't work that way.

Here is a step by step process:

Step 1: Calculate your BMR (Basal metabolic rate)

Your BMR (Basal metabolic rate) is what your body needs to maintain normal functions like breathing and digestion. This is the minimum number of calories you need to eat each day. Your BMR depends on your weight, height, age, gender etc. You can calculate your BMR here: http://www.lifemojo.com/analysis/body

Step 2: Calculate your activity level and calories you eat

Find out how many calories you burn while sitting, standing, running, walking, driving, cooking, exercising, lifting weights, etc. throughout the day. It helps to keep a daily activity journal. Use a food journal to write down what you eat and drink each day. Be as accurate as possible, measuring when you need to or looking up nutritional information for restaurants, if you eat out. You can do it here: http://www.lifemojo.com/analysis/lifestyle

Step 3: Sum it up

Take your BMR number, add your activity calories and then subtract your food calories from that total. If you're eating more than you're burning, (your BMR + activity is 1800 and you're eating 2000 calories) you'll gain weight. If you're burning more than you eat, you'll lose weight. As an example, if you are burning 500 calories more than you eat, you would lose 1 pound in a week, as you would have had burnt 3500 calories in a week. Remember? 1 pound of fat = 3500 calories. However, you should also take these calories from the right sources of food, because making the food balanced is also necessary.


Here are some Do's and Dont Do's for anybody looking for a healthy diet:

* Have small regular Meals at least 4 time a day.
* Consume 8 to 10 glasses of water
* Eating Fresh Fruits and Vegetables in the form of salads.
* Substitute white bread with Brown Bread and Maida with Whole Wheat flour.
* Mix 25% of bran (chokar) and 25% of Soya Flour in your flour to make chapati.
* Switch to skimmed or double toned milk.
* Minimal Oil, Butter, Cheese, Curd usage
* Reduce Sugar consumption to 1-2 teaspoon a day.
* Have maximum of 2-3 cups of Coffee or Tea a day.
* Have at least one citrus fruit daily (Orange, Mausambi (Lime), Guava (Amrood), Amla (Indian Gooseberry), Lemon, Pomegranate (Anaar) etc.
* Avoid Fasting or Feasting. Don't starve. Don't overeat.
* Avoid Late dinners and skipping breakfasts.

The key to successful weight reduction is eating foods that are good for you and in the right amounts, not starving yourself or following fad diets. But you know what? It's really worth the effort in the long run. If you're overweight or obese, just decreasing your weight by 10% is enough to reduce your risk for diseases like cancer and cardiovascular disease.

Hope this helps!!!

There is a little bit more to "How to reduce weight?", that is motivation. Often we try different methods and and stop following them after a couple of weeks because we lose motivation.

So whenever you start losing motivation, just recall "Why I am trying to lose weight?". An answer to this question will motivate you again.

Another thing is to look for a weight loss buddy. He/she may be your souse/friend/fiancee/relative etc. When you both try to lose weight together you do motivate each other time to time. Researches have shown that a couple trying to lose weight together has a better chance of success!

One last thing is to keep a track of all you do. Whatever you are eating, whatever physical activity you are doing, just maintain a log of that. Make a diary to track your weight on a regular basis. This will motivate you later when you would start feeling bored of it :). After seeing your past achievements you would get motivated again!

My 2 cents!

Another point is:

Most people do not know the difference between weight loss and fat loss. A weight loss can be because of water loss also (remember? 70% of our body is water).

When you are going for a weight loss, look for a fat loss, not water loss! Try to measure your FAT % on regular intervals and you will know. Some diets and diet supplements claim to offer weight loss of 4-5 Kg or more, per week! But the truth is, these products are only offering WATER loss, not fat loss. And water loss is regained almost immediately.

As a matter fact, the most FAT loss that the average body can sustain is about up to 1 Kg per week. The rest will be either water loss or a combination of muscle and water weight. So never target more than 1 Kg per week.

Inspiration:

Inspiration plays a very important part in driving one towards maintaining a healthy lifestyle and following a strict fitness regime.

Looking up to personalities like former Russian President Vladmir Putin who follows a rigorous fitness schedule in spite of his busy and otherwise hectic life can be taken as a source of inspiration in maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

Putin’s passion for martial arts is well known and also he is regularly spotted at events and activities that make an effort in spreading the word about a healthy lifestyle.

Even we have our own Anil Ambani who makes it a point to run almost 5-6 kms a day to maintain his fitness after he had grown overweight and now one even tries to make a movie on him to showcase his interest and sincerity towards losing weight.

Inspiration is a major force as it could be someone close to us, that we may look up to, someone who may be a relative or a neighbour or a colleague. The best part is once we find such an inspiration there is hardly anything that stops us in achieving our goal.

Non Conventional ways of losing weight:

Dancing:

There are many other activities apart from the one prescribed by the fitness instructor that one can follow in the pursuit to reduce weight. One of the most fundamental activities of them is dancing.

Dancing has many benefits as it increases the heart rate through movement and also tightens major muscle groups of the body. The best part of Dancing is that it does not follow any particular format or procedure. There are various forms of Dancing one can refer or follow depending on one’s choice and convenience, each one of them being a potential method to lose weight.

Here one can have his particular choice of losing weight as one could choose a Dancing style depending on his time availibility and interest. But it has to be noted that the style of dancing decides the pace at which one loses his weight for example, a fast paced Jazz class will burn more calories than a slow and graceful lesson in ballet.

Also Dancing leads to increase in self esteem and self confidence as it brings out the positive energy and also leads to enhanced social life as one can always initiate a dance in a party or a public ocassion and get people around him or her in good mood.

Tap dancing is one of the fun styles of dance that is being followed at many places as a healthy form of exercise

Some of the important points regarding Tap Dancing are as follows:

1) Anyone can learn without any prior experience of dance activity.

2) Increases Cardio-Vascular conditioning strength and flexibility.

3) Increases strength in legs and feet and increases flexibility in hips etc.

I agree with all of the above mentioned advices and would like to add just few more points.

Firstly, I believe to achieve a goal one should think of it as a wonderful new "adventure"rather than a task or a deadline. Before beginning your weight loss program go in front of the mirror, look into your eyes and say to yourself "I love myself and I am taking myself on a wonderful journey." Do this atleat few times in a day, then few times in a week and then slowly you will need to say this to yourself may be once in a while.Positive affirmations, along with inspiration and motivation are a wonderful way of mentally preparing yourself to reach your goal and according to Louise L. Hay, a metaphysical lecturer, teacher and author, positive affirmations do work. Soon all the required steps of weight loss will become part of your lifestyle and you will be able to perform it with ease rather than getting bored of it. After all you love yourself and all is well. Correct!!!!

I would also add a few more DO's to the above mentioned advice:
1. Chew your food properly till it becomes a pulp or milky liquid. Several studies have shown that not chewing the food properly also contributes to faulty absorption, assimilation and digestion thus contributing to weight gain.
2. Do not eat until hungry or when tired, stressed or angry. Eating with a peaceful mind and with love and joy in every bite will help in getting the maximum nutrient value from your food.
3. Add cabbage, tomatoes and fiber rich foods to your daily diet.

If you are a dance lover like me then it's cherry on icing. Go for it. I agree with Mr. Karthik's advice. If not Tap or Jazz then Bhangra your way to an acceptable weight.

Good Luck!

** The above information is for educational purposes only. Consult your doctor for specific medical advice, diagnosis and treatment. **

Nice post!
Thanks for posting such a useful information. You people are doing good job

Hello Everybody,
I think we are all so obsessed about the way we look that many a times we assort to drastic measures- which is totally dangerous for our well-being.
One should opt for a healy lifestyle change- and mind you its for Life and not just a specified time period.
When we aim for a healthy lifestyle- which obviously has a lot of Dos and Donts- weight loss becomes just another Bonus that you get.
I myself have lost 12 kgs in one year and have now turned to Life Mojo for professional help as I am motivated by my own simple achievment.
Weight Loss is a mental thing- not just a physical symptom. Its about taking charge of your life, being selfish- in making the rt choices(and not that one extra helping of Samosa)!

@Bhanu
Well said!

Weight loss tips- Food
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Weight loss tip # 1 -If you want to achieve healthy weight loss, change to a diet plan full of fruits and vegetables and low in fat. You can use Hoodia diet pills in order to make sure the body uses the same amount of food in a more efficient manner.
Weight loss tip #2 - Another important weight loss tip is to lower your intake of complex carbohydrates such as bread and pasta. Complex carbohydrates are essential in our diet but we over-consume them and they are full of sugars.
Weight loss tip #3 -To achieve weight loss consume smaller portions of food and eat more frequently. Diet pills, however, are to be used according to a diet plan, or after a big meal – Hoodia diet pills, for example, are all natural dietary supplements that help decrease the appetite and actually shrink the size of the stomach thus effecting the amount of food you can intake.
Weight loss tip #4 -Some people find scheduling their meals useful with a weight loss program. That way their bodies know when to expect food and they avoid unwanted snacking which is critical in any weight loss program.
Weight loss tip #5 -Eat fruits or vegetables with each meal as they contain fiber and help fill you up with good calories- always good for weight loss.

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Eat right qualitay/quantity both and walk

Hi All,

I too have joined a gym for 4 months now.
Have been doing alternate cardio and workout.
cardio includes a 20 min treadmill, 15 cycling, 15 elliptical, 5 mins rowing and 5 mins stepper. plus abs which has crunches and rowing.
I also keep an eye on my diet.
Dinner includes just sprouts and fruits for a month now.
But I haven't lost any weight, just a kg, which keeps swinging.
Even trainer ain't able to tell why.
I have checked for thyroid too, but its not there.

Anyone suggest what and why?
What should I do?
My family and friends suggest I should stop the gym.

Thanks in advance for any help.

HI Megha,
Gym and cardio sometimes do not work for all. If you are taking care of your calorie intake and still not seeing the results then there may be other factors to pay attention to. 1st ask yourself if you are concentrating too much on "losing weight"?. If that's the case then step back and relax, approve of yourself the way you are (mentally) and take the workout as not just a weight loss goal but also as a healthy lifestyle regimen.
You can also try the naturopathic diet approach. According to Ayurveda, fruits are better taking alone and according to season and usually earlier in the day. For dinner try to take plain khichri (rice- less amount and Mung beans) and some nights you can take mung soup to which you can add certain spices like turmeric, black pepper and salt.Avoid adding sweetner. Even though you are taking light diet, avoid eating late at night. Puffed rice(kurmura) can be taken for snacks. Drinking lukewarm water through out the day has also shown to help.
Hope you will see some positive difference soon.
Good luck

@Radhika....
i dis-agree....!!!

I must say that we do have some good content for Weight Managment topic on LifeMojo.There are various diet plans, tips & exercise's shared on site.I would like to add two more to list of exercise's or rather call it unusual exercise's... It's called S&S - 'Sweep & Swab'.
Trust me it's really a good one if your ready to give a try!

Sweep all days & swab one day! Howzaat??

Hey all, though i am new to this group but i have been in to this field of advising people about how to maintain your weight since long as i am a dietition my self......One important thing is this that exercise alne cannot do wonders for you as you need to keep your diet balance and very important thing is that you need to really work on your metabolism.........If your metabolism is fixed than any slight deviation in your diet plan can be dealt calmly otherwise, no matter how much you traumatized your body by experiencing long term starvation, you will gain very easily or may be double the weight you have lost after discontinuing your diet plan.....Well one place where i found the best ways to reduce weight especially by fixing up your metabolism is Weight Loss nirvana.......Guys do visit it as the product and information is is having is worth following ...........Hip hip hurray to Weight Loss Nirvana.........