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Written by Nirmalya Dutta |Updated : March 10, 2015 5:17 PM IST
There are various hurdles to losing weight. Some of us don't have the motivation, the information or the right attitude. It's not possible for everyone to juggle work and home-life and make room for exercising or dieting. But it's a common myth that weight loss needs you to join a gym or follow a strict diet. Anyone can lose weight anywhere without putting in too much effort. All you need to do is follow a proper diet and exercise properly. Remember, ignore either your diet or exercise and the plan won t work. They are essentially two sides of the same coin. Here's the ultimate plan to lose weight without stepping out of your home!
Diet for Weight Loss
The problem is that we make many basic mistakes while eating every day which results in our weight gain. We make the unhealthier option without even knowing it. For example, even the food items you find on the supermarket aisle which promises to help you lose weight are actually unhealthy for you. Some basic general tips you need to keep in mind when you re trying to lose weight are:
Don t go on a crash diet: While crash diets or eating very less might give you some benefits for a while, the weight you ve lost will simply return in a few days when you return to your normal dietary habits.
Eat more fibre: This will help you stay fit because normally as it doesn t have a lot of calories. It also makes you feel fuller, slowing down your digestion. It also prevents absorption of fat in the digestive system.
Stay hydrated: Drinking water is another important aspect of weight loss. You should drink 2 litres of water every day (that s not a lot).
Cut down on saturated fats: Saturated fats are the kind found in all the junk food that you eat every day and are essentially responsible for the rising obesity cases in the world. You d do well to avoid foods like biscuits, bhujias, burgers, butter, chocolate, cheese, oil, processed meats and other junk foods which are high in them.
Cut down on sugar: One of the primary reasons for the obesity pandemic is the high amount of sugar we consume. It s present in every single item we love -- candies, chocolates, cold drinks, spreads, jams, ice-creams and pretty much everything you like.
Keep track of what you eat: Another reason we tend to eat more than required is don't often count the snacks we have in-between meals or even the meals we're eating. What we can do plan out your meals properly so that you don't end up eating junk food. You can even calculate the number of calories you consume in a day with an app like HealthifyMe (which has a widget on TheHealthSite.com) which has in its database the calorie count of every dish under the sun, including Indian ones.
Avoid alcohol: Kris Gethin, editor-at-large of Bodybuilding.com writes in his book, The Bodybuilding.com Guide to Your Best Body: Alcohol, even antioxidant-rich red wine, has calories that do nothing to fuel your workouts and fuel only the fat deposits around your waist. Studies have shown that alcohol can increase cortisol levels, which promote fat gain, especially in the abdominal region which should definitely be avoided when you are looking to trim down and show off a six-pack.
Here s a sample diet plan by nutritionist Shilpa Mittal:
Breakfast: Start your day with milk and cornflakes, or milk and poha/upma. If you are from northern India, and are into eating parathas, you can still have them but make them healthy. Instead of just aloo paratha have potato mixed with other vegetables and use less of oil/ghee/butter. Similarly, if you are from southern India, you can have idlis, dosa, uttappa but avoid medu wada since that is fried. You can even opt for egg omelette or sandwiches.
Lunch: This can consist of a proper meal like rotis/ bhakri with vegetables, salads and a source of protein from dal/curd/ sprouts/ non-veg dishes like eggs, fish, chicken plus a small helping of rice. Avoid pickles and papads.
Snacks: This can be mixed dry fruits, seasonal fruits or any fruit you like or a handful of roasted channa or kurmuras.
Dinner: Preferably opt for an early dinner and it can be just like lunch or it can be a single wholesome meal like khicdhi, pulav, briyani.
Check out our healthy foods section and healthy recipes section for more ideas. Also check out these articles.
Another important aspect of weight loss is exercise. Here are some you can do at home:
Push up: The push-up is a complete exercise that targets your chest, abs, arms and shoulder pretty much every upper body muscle. Specifically, the muscles the exercise targets are the abdominal muscles, the pectorals, the deltoids and the triceps. How exclusively each muscle is targeted will depend on the variation of the push-up you re going to do. Read how to do a proper push-up.
Dips: The bench dip is another great bodyweight exercise for beginners. All you need is a chair. It works your triceps. Read how to do dips properly.
Squats: The squat is considered to be the ultimate lower body exercise. When done with weights it targets the muscles of thighs, hips, buttocks, quads and hamstrings. Not only are they great for your muscles but they also help strengthen your bones, ligaments and tendons throughout the lower body. Read how to do a proper squat.
Sit-ups: The sit-up has become a bit obsolete now thanks to the abdominal crunch which people believe are more effective in getting flat abs. The truth is that the sit-up is a very effective exercise as well and it works on more muscles than the abs crunch. https://www.thehealthsite.com/fitness/strengthen-your-abdominal-muscles-with-the-old-school-sit-up-136793/
Jumping Jacks: A warm-up exercise, this total body exercise makes you ready for the intense workout that is to follow in the next few minutes. Jumping jacks are performed by moving both your hands parallel to the ground and jumping simultaneously. The hands must be brought down when the jump is complete. This is to be repeated for 30 seconds after which you can take a 10-second rest.
Plank: The plank is one of the most popular exercises for core conditioning and it will help build resistance in the abdominal area. The great thing is it requires no additional equipment except for your bodyweight. Get down in a prone position on the floor similar to the way you d do for a push-up. Instead of your palms, use your forearms to support your weight. Make sure your arms are bent and below the shoulders. Keep your back straight and hold this position as long as possible. Try and do at least three sets of 30 seconds each.
Leg Raise: The leg raise is another no-frills floor exercise that s great for your abdomen and obliques. Simply lie down flat on your back and bend your knees. Slowly lift up your legs from your hips and bring your knees level with your chest while keeping your soles upward. Bring your leg back to the starting position but keep in mind that it shouldn t touch the floor. Repeat this movement 20 times and do three
Track calories in Indian food items using Healthifyme calorie counter
Check out these articles for more exercise ideas
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