Diet tips (Episode 1) : My experiments with weight loss

Year 2004 –My husband and I were strolling in a Koramangala (part of South Bengaluru) street on a lazy weekend. We came across a weight loss center.  Since I had been keen on losing weight, we decided to check it out. Within a few minutes of walking into the “clinic”, they managed to brainwash us and convinced us to go for the buy-one-and-get-one-free offer. We were made to pay a hefty amount (package for 3 months) upfront. We swiped our credit cards and came out excited.

Every morning, we had to visit their clinic, check our weight first, lie down on the table, get some massages done, get a pack applied on to the tummy and go to rest room, check weight again and come back home. We were prescribed a diet too. For some reason, we were not very convinced about their fancy diet, but ignored that and continued with the table-top routine for some days. It was such a boring thing to do on the already busy early mornings. We stopped this drama after 2 weeks.

Year 2005 – During one of our chai time conversations in office, one of my colleagues talked about some XYZ diet (not the real name) wherein we are supposed to consume only one or two specific foods on each day (mostly fruits or vegetables) for a week. Hearing the story of the instant weight loss (results in a week!), I immediately explored the diet and decided to go ahead with it. The subsequent Monday, I started this diet. I really don’t know how I spent that whole week. I was quite depressed and felt drained out by the end of one week. The good part was I lost 4.5 kgs in a week. Bad part was I gained back almost the same weight within next 2 weeks.

After two weeks, one morning I got out of bed and realized that I had lost the ability to walk on my own. My legs had given up me! With the help of my husband, I managed to reach the hospital and got some treatment done and took a few weeks to recover.

Year 2009 – I was walking around the streets as part of my morning walk and found a nice board about weight loss product (again, I don’t wish to mention its name), and a small gathering in the car parking of a house. I thought there would be no harm in checking out what it is and how it works. I walked into the place and was convinced and excited to find out that we could lose weight only by replacing morning breakfasts with a ready-to-drink food supplement. I went ahead with it and lost about 6 kgs within a span of 4 months (some of it was due to water loss due to the consumption of diuretics as part of the diet). This continued for a year.

I started experiencing menstrual related problems (though scientifically I am not qualified to prove, I feel it is because continuously drinking the same food source for long period of time, daily). There is a proverb: “Even Amruth becomes poison if we overconsume”.

Year 2012 – A community near my house conducts free yoga classes to interested people. I attended yoga classes from 5.30 am to 7 pm every day for about 6 months. They teach various asanas, pranayama (breathing exercises) and also to try to inculcate samskara (value based behavior and activities), sanghatane (identifying oneself with a bigger cause) and seve (service to humanity). Though I did not lose much weight (looking back, I did not follow the asanas coupled with proper breathing), yoga helped me improve flexibility, strength and balance.

Year 2013 – By this time, I had started to jog in early mornings in a nearby park for about 15 to 20 minutes. People call it ‘runners’ high’; it was such a pleasure to run. It really boosted the mood. It helped me shed a few kilos too. I also learnt cycling (it’s never too late, you know, better late than never) and cycled 15 minutes after jogging. I enjoy both these activities even now. But they did not sustain the weight loss since I focused only on work outs, but not diet.

Year 2014

My cousin’s wedding was coming up. I wanted to lose some weight before his marriage to look good (doesn't everyone?). This time, my new fixation was the ayurvedic powder massage, a 10 day, one-hour-per-day program. I was promised that there will be some inch loss. Unfortunately, I could experience neither weight loss, nor inch loss. In hindsight, opting for the oil massage, would at least have been relaxing .

One morning in office, I was happy to read the “weight loss challenge” mail. The program was quite simple. There would be a dietician assigned to you. You would be given bi-weekly diet plans with weekly one-on-one consultations. I was excited all over again, eager to explore and learn something new about weight loss and health. I paid the nominal amount and enrolled.

Each of the 2-week phases (Wash out. Clean up. Refresh. Rejuvenate) were very fulfilling. I had to make some tweaks into the daily diet. I had to cook separately for myself (I did this despite having to cook for 4 others too; one can always take care of themself). I did it. In the four months that I followed it, I enjoyed my diet without oil, salt, coffee, tea etc. The ability to sustain by eliminating a few foods provides a lot of confidence and self-belief.

I owe it to my company for such a good program which changed my eating habits and helped me understand food better.  My eating habits changed, benefitting me, my family and also free consultations to my friends to relatives.

Year 2015 – Being not able to afford time to exercise in the morning due to the added responsibilities at home and work, I had to explore some alternate option to keep myself active. I chose Aerobics. I, along with my daughter, started playing Aerobics videos on TV and worked out for a good 30 minutes in the evening. Any of our relatives and friends who came home also joined us, and it used to be a high energy group activity with lot of fun.

Year 2016 – Weight loss hit the plateau and me being me, had to find some new ways of losing weight. Internet is all for you to explore and experiment. I came across some doctor who prescribed a Dal diet (mix 3 different dals, cook it along with some coriander leaves and ginger) for lunch and some protein laddoos for evening snacks. I thought ok, I just have to sacrifice my lunch, let me try. I did this for about 2 weeks. Weight loss was minimal. But food craving increased, which is, I believe, not ideal.

Year 2018 – I joined a health-related group in Facebook which seemed interesting. After reading about the multiple success stories, I decided to avail the services of a fitness coach. It was a decently economical package for the 4 months program; I enrolled. With the dedication I have (though my daughter may not agree) over anything I do, I took up this program also seriously. The coach provided diet options with clear details of how much weight I could lose with diet pattern 1 / pattern 2 etc.. They also provided high intensity exercises which helps to burn fat faster and increase metabolism. I could shed around 6 kgs over 4 months. The key learning was understanding the logic of weight loss / gain which most of the dietitians and weight loss clinics do not tell you.

Now, with this newfound knowledge, I began to learn the art of sustaining weight loss.

Other noteworthy, failed attempts of weight loss are (tried for few days only – none of these worked in silos) are

• Applying castor oil on the tummy and walking / jogging
• Holding the tummy (tucking it) throughout the day (whenever I remembered, I followed that :D)
• Drinking psyllium husk (isabgol) soaked in water (I think it works if you are typically eating low fiber diet)
• Having only cooked bottle gourds for dinner
• Drinking water added with chia seeds throughout the day
• Drinking cucumber, ginger, lemon, mint soaked water throughout the day
• Adding coconut oil to black coffee and drinking it
• Having apple cider vinegar / lemon water in the early morning
• Having green tea multiple times, a day
• Having green coffee multiple times, a day
• Lying down on stomach for about 10 minutes post meal
• Having warm water post meal

With all such practical experiences, I started sharing my knowledge through sessions with my colleagues, friends and relatives. Then comes the credibility question… Despite my practical knowledge, what makes me accountable? What makes me certified to advise?

My search started and I came across the Executive Diploma in Nutrition & Dietetics from the Institute of Good Manufacturing Practices (IGMPI), Government of India. I chose this one-year course to validate my practical knowledge and also learn more. After a year of studying various books and writing exams, I successfully completed the program in November 2020.

Here are a few key learnings  

• Diet & exercise should go hand in hand – excess physical activity leads to stress on body, and a diet low in nutrients (due to calorie restriction) leads to lack of energy
• Mitahara (moderate food) with well-balanced nutrients is the key for healthy body and mind
• Being physically active is essential to keep the body and mind fit and helps to stay positive
• Quantity of food has to be adjusted based on the daily activity level
• Diet diversification with variety of fruits and vegetables, pulses, cereals is essential
• 6 to 8 hours of sleep is must for healthy body & mind and keep stress away

Fad diets may help in losing weight, but they have a short-lived effect and create a lot of side effects on the body and mind. Fad diets are not sustainable, and one may lose muscle mass and water rather than excess body fat when following it.

There are high chances of weight gain once you begin to eat normally. Crash diets may lead to electrolyte imbalance, anaemia and calcium deficiency. 

Years of such experiences have given me some wisdom in the world of dieting and exercises. In the upcoming blogs about weight management, I will be sharing my learning. Stay tuned!

Looking forward to hear your diet and weight loss stories !

Special thanks to my daughter for her valuable inputs and also for creating the pictures.

Please click here for episode 2 & episode 3.