December 2, 2024

BENGALURU EXPRESS

Truth Triumphs

Eat only if you are hungry! If you are not hungry, then don’t eat.

GUEST COLUMN: Dr. N. Prabhudev

Bengaluru, March 31: Eating small quantity several times a day and to always eat breakfast even if not hungry was never rooted in any science. Eat several small meals per day and we have a childhood obesity crisis.
Weight loss is a fight most of us don’t win! Most people who lose weight eventually gain at least some, if not all of it back. Most of us eat more when we exercise, and though it may be just a few extra bites a day, the result is weight gain.
My goal is not to make you feel bad, but to help you reframe how you think about your weight. This is not a matter of lack of willpower or effort, but of biology: To maintain weight loss, you are essentially fighting a system that’s wired to re-gain lost pounds. The overarching message about our biology’s response to weight loss should not be misconstrued into a conciliatory surrender to the inevitability of weight regain.

The biological drive to re-gain lost weight can be countered with environmental and behavioural interventions.
Part of your weight is written in your genes. When you are starting out with any kind of weight loss goal, it pretty much looks like you’re the next star of a Mission- Impossible. The hardest part of the weight loss journey is losing the weight and the next hardest is not to regain it! You have lost so much weight – you don’t recognize yourself in the mirror. Your friends and family are oohing and ahhing you for your accomplishment. Instead of Mission- Impossible, it’s Mission: Accomplished.
Intermittent Fasting Can Help You Lose Weight!

Even Small Changes Help. And losing even some weight can make a big difference to your health and how you feel. You may not have to lose as much as you might think in order to start seeing health benefits. As a start, aim to lose 1-2 pounds a week. Adults who are overweight or obese should try to lose 5% to 10% of their current weight over 6 months.
Fasting or abstaining from food can create a calorie deficit, meaning that your body has fewer calories than it needs to maintain its current weight. That’s why diets that rely on calorie restriction, like fasting, are the hallmark of most weight loss diets. Intermittent fasting is often used to manage weight and metabolic health. The eating routine might help lower blood pressure, blood sugar, and blood fat levels.
Fasting is saying ‘no’ to eat for a certain amount of time. Most diets concern ‘What’ to eat. Fasting focuses on ‘When’ to eat. Brief fasting isn’t likely to hurt you if you’re a healthy adult.

Quality still counts.

Rain bow diet! When you’re not fasting, you can eat the food you normally would. You should still add more fruits, veggies, and whole grains. Your health changes for the better when you fast.

Intermittent Fasting
The intermittent fasting weight loss strategy involves setting periods of time where you avoid eating. Many people find this simplified approach more helpful than counting calories.

  1. The 16:8 method- food consumption to a set window of 8 hours per day. It requires Fasting for the remaining 16 hours of the day. Skip breakfast and eat from noon to 8 p.m.,. You can choose any 8-hour window to consume calories.
  2. The 5:2 diet: Five days per week, you eat normally and don’t restrict calories. Then, on the other two days of the week, you reduce your calorie intake to one-quarter of your daily needs. For someone who consumes 2,000 calories per day, reduce the calorie intake to just 500 calories per day, two days per week. The 5:2 diet provides flexibility. Restricting yourself to just 500 calories per day isn’t easy, even if it’s only for two days per week.
  3. The Warrior diet- 20 to 4 plan- It consists of eating very little for 20 hours during the day, and then eating as much food as desired throughout a 4-hour window at night. The Warrior Diet may be difficult to follow, as it restricts substantial calorie consumption to just 4 hours per day.
  4. Eat Stop Eat: is an unconventional approach to intermittent fasting popularized by Brad Pilon. This intermittent fasting plan involves identifying one or two non-consecutive days per week during which you abstain from eating, or fast, for a 24-hour period. During the remaining days of the week, you can eat quality food freely. Fasting for up to 24 hours can lead to a metabolic shift that causes your body to use fat as an energy source.
  5. Alternate-day fasting – Alternate-day fasting is an intermittent fasting plan with an easy-to-remember structure. On this diet, you fast every other day but can eat normal but quality you want on the non-fasting days. Strategy that involves eating around 500 calories on fasting days. Alternate-day fasting has proven weight loss benefits.
    It’s common for motivation to wax and wane during weight-loss efforts. Adopt a nutritious and a calorie deficit diet. Eat with heart in Mind! Walk 1000 steps more every day till you get to 10,000 steps a day. Ensure 8 hrs. of sleep.
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