Often a question is posed as to whether there exists a magic pill which would help to reduce our weight and still give us the privilege to eat what we want. The answer is a definite "YES". This answer is deliberately hidden within this long article so as to make one read the entire text in this page and appreciate that there are a few more things to do than to just pop pills. Read on only if you need to reduce your weight to remain healthy. Otherwise skip this article.

I am devoting the following paragraphs to share a few experiences of mine which I feel may be useful to others in Weight Reduction through Life-style change so as to remain healthy. These experiences are shared to help people to shed unnecessary weight, under the supervision of a qualified professional. Beware that there are many who make tall promises and grab money. I was lucky enough to get one such professional at Bhopal. I suggest my viewers to kindly form an independent opinion after reading my article. But before you proceed click here to see for yourself what I want to convey through the following paragraphs.

Introduction : 

In my late thirties, I started having body aches and they gradually reached bone joints. I was terrified that it might be arthritis and met my SBI bank doctor and expressed my fears. He was very cool and asked me what was my weight at marriage. I said 57 Kgs. He said "... and now you are 72 Kgs". He quoted the following example. 

"Just imagine that there are 3 bags of rice each weighing 5 Kg and if you are forced by GOD to tie one bag to your right thigh one to the left thigh and another to your belly and are cursed to carry this 15 Kgs of weight for the rest of your life, wouldn't you feel uncomfortable and doesn't it become an agony for the rest of your life ?" My answer was YES, to which he said that it is the same curse that I am undergoing. The solution is to reduce weight and I should visit a dietitian. 

Soon, I visited a dietitian who prescribed Life Style Change including dietary restrictions and suggested 3 Kms of brisk walk every day morning to burn the excess fat. It took nearly 3 years to reduce to get back to 56 Kgs. It was a Saga !!!. Today I feel light & active and thank my doctor. All the sufferings associated with overweight disappeared. As a testimony of this saga, I share with you my  following photograph taken during our visit to Araku valley which shows me  seated on a branch of a fig tree, which is about 6 feet above the ground. I could climb and jump off a tree!!

Being a lady, at 41, I could climb and jump off this tree - of-course from this  reasonable height !!! Many stout men  in their forties cannot even dream of it. Isn't ? One can try to find-out for herself, how fit she is by pulling her own body weight by a few feet above the ground level.

One of the ideas behind this web article is to share my own experience, that one need not STARVE to maintain a good FIGURE and good HEALTH. Instead one can continue to have the best food and enjoy life and yet be fit. Gayatrivantillu recipes prepared in my kitchen and enjoyed with my family members are a testimony of the food which people can eat and yet be SLIM. However the prerequisites needed are 

1.   Limited intake of TASTY food

2. Feeling hungry before each meal so as to enjoy the next meal

3.   Eating BALANCED food

4.   Disciplined eating habits

5. Moderate Exercise

6. If need be a (magic) pill to control fat accumulation (only during weight reduction program)

How much Rice one should eat in a meal ? 

A person needs just 150 gms of cooked rice (50 gms of raw rice) in one meal. As many of us are sedentary workers, we require only this much amount of carbohydrates per meal. One 50 ml cup gives almost 50 gms of raw rice.  There is not need to cut the cereals below 150 gms of cooked rice or two rotis. 

How many Rotis one should eat in a meal ?

ONLY TWO !!!. A 50 ml cup of wheat flour, weighs 30 grams and it gives two rotis which are sufficient.

Can one have both Rice and Rotis in a meal ?

No, it's better to have either of them. One excludes the other. Its always better to have two meals with rice and one meal with rotis or two meals with rotis and one meal with rice. Any cereal intake above this amount gets converted into fat which, we all know, is very difficult to get rid off! 

So it's better to eat in a controlled manner to have a good health. One should eat more vegetables and dals which may be almost equal to or more to the quantity of Rice or Rotis !!!. 

Whether Hunger gets subsided with this limited quantity of cereals ?

During the intial periods of dieting a big "NO".

Salad is the best way to fill one's stomach. When hungry, we tend to eat more cereals to fill the stomach. Instead it's better to eat cucumber, radish, carrots in RAW form before meals. There is no quantitative restrictions on eating raw salads. These salads work both as fillers and roughage. People who desire to lose weight and/or are diabetic need to eat salads before meals. The appetite gets dampened soon after having the salads. Hence one gets satisfied with 150 gms of cooked rice or two Rotis if eaten after salads. This 150 gms of cooked rice (50 gms of raw rice) measurement helps teenagers also who are overweight and desire to reduce weight. One should do some moderate exercise like brisk walking, skipping etc also. 

The 50 gms measure of Rice or two Rotis is not applicable for growing children, nursing mothers and sick. Children won't put on weight with the extra rice or Rotis they eat because they play. Rather they require more carbohydrates for energy. If the child is not having sufficient outdoor activity, we need to be careful in determining the intake of rice and other carbohydrates.

What does a meal consist of ?

A daily routine meal consists of the following : 

1.   125-150 gms of Salads. Click here to know more about salads

2.   150 gms of cooked rice or two rotis with

3. A Curry / Dal (no restriction on Dal and Curry)  to fill your stomach

3.   300-350 ml of thin butter milk made from fat less curd 

4.   Only one piece of any sweet in the day (if one has a sweet tooth)

How many meals one can have in a Day? 

Only three (including the breakfast meal) - One at breakfast time (8-9 am before going to office), one at Lunch time (1.30-2.30 p.m. lunch break) and the last one during dinner time (6-7 p.m. soon after returning from Office). 

Can we have anything more than this ? 

Eating in-between meals should be avoided to the extent possible. Bhagavadgita also says that not eating in between meals is equivalent to "Upavas". Then only, one would be hungry and would look forward for the next meal. If you are not able to control yourself and feel hungry in-between meals, you may have a fresh fruit. Do not club fruit with anything else like custard etc. Have it independently Eat any amount of Raw Salads and fruits. 

Balanced Food ensures that during the entire day, some pulses and vegetables have to be taken. Quantities may vary depending upon the dish being prepared and you need not worry. Sometimes you may skip either Dal or Curry. It is not essential that there should be both Dal and Curry in each meal. Example, have Dal in the Morning with rice, Dry Curry with rotis in the afternoon lunch at office, a gravy dish with rotis in the Dinner at home. You may Pamper yourself with only one sweet before going to office. Have a leafy vegetable atleast once in a week. Ladies with lumps in breasts and sensitive nipples may add YAM (cut to small pieces) liberally in all the gravy dishes which goes well with potato and doesn't alter the taste. 

Isn't it as good as renunciation of the worldly pleasures and becoming a Sadhu ?

When we are restricting only carbohydrates and are able to eat any vegetable cooked or raw, how can it be a renunciation of worldly (taste / tongue) pleasures. We can cut on high calorie foods imaginatively without altering the tastes and yet enjoy life. For example I use Soya-meal (which is absolutely bland and neutral in taste) as the thickening agent to add volume to curries so as to fill the family stomachs without guilt. Try to use the peels of the vegetables as much as possible

How to consume Vegetables with skin ?

Wash the vegetables thoroughly. As far as possible do not scrape the skin. Try cooking them with the skin on. Only for some vegetables like potatoes you can peel the skin if they are very dirty. For carrots, radish, pumpkin (both yellow and white), bottle gourd, ridge gourd etc…. don't remove the skin. If for some reasons you have to remove the skin, don't throw that away. Instead grind it along with the masala you use. Most of the vitamin absorbing chemicals lie just beneath the skin of the vegetables. So by throwing them away we are throwing the vitamins also. Be innovative in using them. I use the bottle gourd, ridge gourd for Molakuttal. In that dish we cut the vegetables to small bits. So naturally we have to remove the skin of the vegetables. I grind these skins with the masala paste for this recipe. Its added to the curry in a hidden form. So no vitamin wastage and taste also enhances. Moreover the skin is the fiber which helps the body in clearing the bowels. For Sambar we cut the vegetables into big pieces. So here we need not remove the skins. For Gavial we use big pieces only but here we remove the skin. So add these skins while grinding the masala. This way no one knows until you disclose that the skin is utilized, while you are giving many essential vitamins and fiber to your family members. You may like to see my video on Bottle-gourd-preserving. The basic objective of this video is to show how to use a vegetable in its full to the extent possible. Not saving money but health :)!!!

Of-course there would be some vegetables like Jack-fruit, Banana etc where we need to peel them to consume. But to the extent possible evaluate whether we can consume a vegetable with its skin.

Can't I eat Potato Chips, Ice-creams etc. etc.

A Grihstha (person married and between 35-60) shouldn't become a Sadhu. Sometimes you may be tempted to have Potato Chips, Bhujias or a full bowl of ice-cream etc. sold in the market. Decide beforehand as to - on how many occasions you would like to have them in a fortnight. Occasionally, you may pamper yourself with these. In such situations its better to enjoy these things to the heart's content and skip your meal. Do not forget to eat raw salad and taking two to three glasses of lassi or masala buttermilk, to push the stuff down your internal gutter and add an additional mile of walking for the next fortnight. 

To reduce their weight what people should do ? 

For those of you, who would like to reduce weight, follow your diet meal and satisfy your in-between hunger pangs with fruits and salads of your choice. You should avoid ripe-mangoes, bananas during the weight reduction period. Have any other fruit to your hearts content. I took Papaya and Nashpati (Pears) when I wanted to reduce, because it fills the stomach and also is relatively low on calories. You should be careful not to increase your cereal intake in the next following meal. Remember that one should not go hungry. It doesn't help in reducing weight. Rather it makes him more obese. Read ahead to know why. Control the hunger with raw vegetables and fruits.

Weighing Scale

A progress card given to the child in school always helps us to monitor the child and take corrective actions. Similar is the case with us too. It would be better to consistently record our weight on one machine while we are on this "Tapasya". Similarly its better we record our weight every day preferably before having our breakfast. These steps would help us to avoid recording errors. As we start reducing our resolve to reduce increases day after day. Therefore don't forget to invest in a Wieghing Scale (costs Rs 800- Rs. 1000) to monitor your weight regularly.

A few facts why people do not reduce even after they embark on the dietary restrictions

Often they tend to substitute their reduced intake by walking to the fridge and picking up some things like chocolates, dry-fruits, sweets or have tea prepared with sugar and milk. They refuse to subject themselves to a frank calorie audit of what they are eating in-between meals. Often aerated drinks, Drinks, Ready Made snacks are the culprits for increasing the weight. 

Mothers and Grand-mothers are on Upavas on many occasions. Why are they obese ?

Mostly they are on Upavas during festivals when other food items like "Pooran Poli (Bobbatlu), Vadas etc. are prepared. Mothers and Grand Mothers after Upavas tend to eat a bit more than their normal intake. They also tend to eat extra little quantities left towards the end of the day instead of putting it into the trash can or handing it over to the servant maid (Saving !!!). Our body has a system of storing for the rainy days, whereby it efficiently coverts the excess carbohydrates into fat. When the body system is confused and is not sure of the hunger and feeding schedules it starts storing efficiently of whatever is fed to it. You might have noticed that people who have irregular timing for their meals are generally fat.

How many cups of Tea one can take ?

Tea is an anti-oxidant. Honey and lemon mixed in warm water cleanses the body system. We all know this, as an age old tip Tea when prepared with sugar and milk is bad for health because Sugar has lots of calories and Milk takes longer time to digest. Black tea is a better option for tea lovers. One can gulp down any number of cups without guilt, provided it is black tea.

Milk Products

Milk : As age progresses, the bone density decreases in late thirties. The best way to provide enough calcium to the body is to eat more milk products which are easy to digest and are lighter on stomach. Milk which is curdled or subjected to souring becomes lighter. Hence Paneer and curd are suggested. Avoid calcium supplements which can cause stones in the kidneys. Body finds it easier to absorb micro-nutrients from natural products. Consume on an average one liter of milk per person per day in your family. You can as well try to have everyday Saffron & Almond Paneer Dessert as Daily Calcium Supplement

People above 35 years should use only low fat milk. Make curd, paneer etc. with this milk. As one's age progresses, it will be difficult for our body to digest milk. Hence avoid milk. Instead take sumptuously buttermilk, curd, paneer made from low fat milk. They will be light on our stomach. Another option is using Soya milk. It will be better if we use homemade Soya milk rather than the ones sold in market.

Only children need full cream milk.  Those with children at home may order for full cream milk. Keep the milk in a open steel utensil in the fridge before going to bed. Next day you would find a thick layer of cream. Collect this cream separately into another vessel. Now you would be left with low fat milk. With the cream collected you can make ice-creams, cakes, Ghee etc. Give your children ghee, butter and full cream milk for good health  and as parents above 35 years avoid these as far as possible or moderate their consumption.

Paneer: Use fat free milk to curdle for making paneer. It's a wrong notion that only with full cream milk we get good paneer. Paneer made with low fat milk tastes equally good when used properly. One need not fry the paneer in hot oil. Just add it to your dish and enjoy the natural flavors. If you feel that unfried paneer scrambles easily there is a tip. Take the paneer pieces in a flat microwave safe plate and microwave on high for 2 minutes. Your paneer will be intact as the fried ones. This way we can avoid frying paneer in oil thus reducing the intake of oil.

Soya Milk: Soya beans are rich in proteins with minimum fat. It is a good source for Vitamin C & Vitamin E. Some children are allergic to milk. For them Soya milk is a boon. Take 1 cup (100 ml cup) of Soya beans and soak them overnight. In the morning, remove the water and microwave the beans for 2 minutes. This helps in extracting the full nutrients from the beans. Grind them into a fine paste. Take a deep bowl and add this paste along with one liter of water. Mix well. Heat this mixture to boil. Thereafter the mixture should continue to boil for 20 minutes atleast so as to remove the harmful protein in the skin of the soyabean. Strain this mixture through a muslin cloth. The residue is called OKARA. Consume the collected milk without adding any sugar. It won't taste wonderful but it is full of proteins. It is light on stomach. Use Okara for thickening gravy dishes, stuffing vegetables, kadis, raitas etc. You can even add a dash of it to the dals prepared at home. It's neutral in taste and can mix with any curry or dal. It increases the quantity without adding an iota of calorie, but is full of proteins. You can eat large quantities without guilt. 

Relevance of Microwave Oven for weight reduction