Where Do I Begin To Lose Weight? Nirva Experts Answer

Assess Your Goals and Mindset

The key to successful weight loss is consistency in whichever path you choose. Along the way, before beginning, it is crucial to set your expectations. Firstly, accept and understand your body. You can consider getting your body constitution analysis done. 

While learning about one's body's nature, ensuring you answer the questions is good.

Question 1: Predominantly under which body type do you fall in?

• Endomorph - If you are an endomorph, you will have larger bones and a higher body fat percentage, and the lower half of your body will store most of your weight. Usually, endomorphs are slow metabolisers. Ayurveda compares this to a Kapha-type body. In Ayurveda, this body type is the Kapha-type.
• Mesomorph - Now, if you are a mesomorph, you have an excellent athlete-like physique. You do not tend to gain weight quickly despite moderate food consumption. Even if you gain weight, you respond well to weight loss treatments. Now you know why some people feel it is easy to lose weight while others cannot. Mesomorphs are also optimum metabolisers, which means you dont digest your food too slowly or too soon. In Ayurveda, this body type is the Pitta-type.
• Ectomorph - If not any of the above, then you are an ectomorph. You will have a very lean body structure. You do not gain weight. You are a very fast metaboliser. You feel hungry very soon but also feel full sooner than others. In Ayurveda, this body type is the Vata-type.

Getting your body type assessed thoroughly in the Ayurvedic way will be very helpful in reconciling your weight gain pattern. 

Question 2: What are the factors specific to you have caused your weight gain?

You could discuss your medical and lifestyle history with your care provider. 

Question 3: What is your BMI, and how much weight do you need to reduce?

Assess your BMI and understand how long it will take to get within normal BMI limits. If you try pushing yourself to lose too much weight within an unrealistic timeline, you may end up harming yourself on the contrary. 

Once you answer these basic questions, you come to the main part of your weight-loss journey.

• Set small achievable goals. It can be daily or weekly goals. Refrain from leading yourself up to failure by being impulsive. 
• Avoid changing your routine drastically, as you may unfollow it after a day or two. Make it an easy journey. This step also avoids depression and weight gain due to cyclic stress (you gain more weight as you get stressed due to obesity). 
• Measure your well-being. A weight loss regimen is not only about checking how many kilograms you have lost. If someone told you that it is, then they are wrong! You must also include other parameters to help you feel good and healthy. Give a score to yourself, for example: Rate yourself for following all the activities you had on your to-do list for weight loss for the day.

Self-appreciation can significantly help you continue your weight loss. You can also follow it together with your peer group. Love your routine and remind yourself that you are getting better every day. Every progress counts.

Let us now see how to evaluate progress with our current lifestyle habits. 

Evaluate Your Current Habits

Just like your see-saw game, the body utilises more stored energy in the form of fat and glucose when your physical activity increases. 

How do you relate your daily physical activity with your food intake? - It's simple. Keep a logbook of physical activities every day. Consider more work desk exercises if you need more time to exercise. Frequent physical activity throughout the day is more efficient than strenuous exercise once during the day.

Studies have shown that psychological health has more impact on body weight. This information has set a trend today in what is known as "BEHAVIOURAL WEIGHT LOSS INTERVENTION PROGRAMMES". It typically includes one or more of the following: 

Overcoming Cravings: This aspect educates people on handling cravings and provides simple alternatives. For instance, you could binge on fibre-rich snacks like millet biscuits instead of cheesy burgers. 

Maintaining Food Log: This tracks what you eat and how much you eat during the day. It can help you get a comprehensive picture of your eating pattern. You will also realise what is causing your weight gain or which food is helping you lose weight and make changes accordingly. 

Physical Activity Tracker: This log helps you understand which activity of the day is helping you lose weight. 

Sleep Log: This is a beneficial tool to lose weight. While the entire focus is on the activity, everyone often needs to focus on energy utilisation during rest. Studies have shown a strong relationship between good sleep and effective weight loss. 

Setting Short-term Weight Loss goals - To consistently follow your weight loss, a good sync between your goals, the outcome of the goals, and your expectations are essential. To simplify it, create a weekly chart combining diet changes and activities you intend to make for the week. Set a realistic outcome. For example, 'weight reduction by one kg', 'no fatigue at the end of the week', or 'optimising my blood sugar levels within 200 units.'

Changing Food Habits: There is a big difference between starving and dieting. Abruptly depriving yourself of food will add more pounds to what you eat, and at what time of the day does the trick. Start by reducing half a cup of rice for lunch and replacing it with millet rice or millet pan bread. Make sure to include adequate water intake. 

The bottom line of all the above factors is to make your weight loss journey doable till the end. Focusing on your daily current habits and making simple changes helps a lot in losing weight healthily. 

Apart from all this, your body posture throughout the day can also impact your weight gain. For example, if you are a sedentary worker and you have a hunchback posture while you are on your laptop, it is more likely that you will add weight to your tummy, shoulders and arm. In such a case, consciously sitting with a straight back every few minutes or sitting in vajrasana (diamond pose) or padmasana (lotus pose) while working can help. 

Now that you have identified how to set a goal let us see how to prioritise your nutrition. 

Prioritising Nutrition

Of course, nutrition and diet are of utmost importance in weight loss, and much has been said and done about that. In this section, we will focus on those facts of nutrition that you must consider on priority. 

Good nutrition not only helps to shed accumulated weight but also prevents weight regain by optimising metabolism. By saying 'good nutrition', we mean that your food has all the micro and macro minerals, vitamins, carbs, fats and proteins in proportionate. Minerals and vitamins run the entire show in our body. They are essential transporters and facilitators of metabolism in the body.  

Studies show that nutrition also prevents complications due to weight loss. It can regulate blood sugar levels, support kidney function, and caress your liver. 

Our experts can help you choose healthy alternatives for your meal times that can satisfy your taste buds as well. It is essential to make your diet enjoyable rather than a punishment. If you are unsatisfied with your meal for the day, the whole effort goes down the drain. 

Here are a few foods that can help in reducing your weight  in a tasty way: 

Avocado and Greens Smoothie

Eating just leaves and raw vegetables can leave you craving for something filling. Bring avocado to the rescue. Avocado supports the absorption of nutrients and detoxes the body. 

Nutty Oatmeal

If you want something to binge on, oats must be your choice. A nice oats porridge with assorted and crushed nuts as a topping can be as filling as a full-course meal. Oats add to the fibre, and nuts add the protein and vitamins. 

Baked Broccoli and Tofu

Broccoli is clinically proven to support weight loss and yet provides essential nutrients to the body. It is low in calories and rich in fibre, yet very filling and tasty. Bake broccoli and tofu with added salt, pepper and your favourite spices. You can top it with your favourite sauce and enjoy. 

Almonds With Green Tea

If you are on a weight loss journey, you can binge on a few roasted almonds and a cup of green tea for your evening snack. 

“It's not just about what you choose to eat; it's also about how you eat!” 

 Dr. Naveen Chandran, CMO at Nirva

How Does Stress and Your Mental Focus Affect Your Metabolism?

Though you have chosen what to eat well, if you are not in the mood to enjoy it, it just doesn't serve the purpose. Research shows that mental stress can significantly impact body weight. In the body, two significant hormones, ghrelin and leptin, are involved in energy balance. During stress, cortisol and adrenaline disrupt the balance of leptin and ghrelin, which may result in disproportionate weight maintenance. 

• Leptin helps suppress food intake and helps with weight loss.
• Ghrelin induces food intake, promoting weight gain.

Striking a good balance between both is essential to maintain a good weight. 

Depending on the body type, leptin or ghrelin becomes imbalanced during stress. This can decide whether you eat more when stressed, leading to stress-inducing binge eating. 

On the other hand, you may prefer to starve yourself during stressful situations if your leptin is affected. 

Having discussed what to eat, let us see how to spend the energy consumed via physical activity. 

Incorporate Physical Activity

When you think of weight loss, the term' physical activity' pops into your head. And yes, any weight loss regimen is complete with proper physical activity. But is physical activity all about working out? Let's check it out. 

Work-Desk Exercises 

In-chair Sit-ups - Ensure your chair doesn't have a wheel. Hold the chair backwards with both your palms and sit and raise yourself ten times, which can help activate your hip muscles and avoid weight gain in the hip and the thighs. 

Work Desk Push-ups - Hold your work table straight and slant over it. Start your push-ups 8 to ten times; this can energise you immediately and improve blood circulation over your entire back. 

On-spot Jogging - Jog on the spot for a few seconds and feel ready for another round of stressful meetings. This exercise can also help in keeping up physical activity during the day. 

Pedal While You Sit - While listening to others present during your weekly e-meeting, keep pedalling your legs until your turn. This exercise will reduce stress, regulate muscle movement, improve blood circulation and optimise weight maintenance. 

These small work desk exercises improve your confidence in losing weight and also prove to be manageable goals for the week. 

If you are a fitness freak, here are a few cardio and strengthening exercises that interest you. 

Cardio Exercises

Spot Running: Get high on your knees for the rocking effect. Stand wide apart on your legs, raise your knees high and run on the spot. 

Spot Mountain Climb: Assume a climbing position, typically plank-like, with one knee folded, the other leg stretched backward, and the body resting on your entire arm. Now jump and alternate this position on each leg. 

Frog Jumping: Sit in a squat position with the body resting on the frontal part of the foot. Tie your hand backwards. Alternatively, you can stand and jump from one corner of your room to the other 10 to 20 times. This exercise is a very satisfying cardio exercise you could try and significantly affects weight loss. 

Just Dance - If all these differ from your cup of tea, raise the volume and dance your way. This enjoyable time-out reduces stress, improves the body's vital energy flow and reduces weight. 

Strengthening Exercises

Spot Squat Jump: Sit in a squat position with hands folded behind. Stand and sit in the same spot for 10 to 20 times. This movement reduces fat accumulation in the thighs and hip. 

Push-ups: Lie prone in a prank position and do push-ups; if you want to add spice, try clapping your hands while switching positions. This strengthens the shoulders and shapes the arms. 

Boat Pose: This simple yoga pose can significantly strengthen and reduce your weight around the waist and thighs.

 Bow Pose: This is called Dhanurasana in Sanskrit. You ideally lie down, raise your back, and hold your foot with both hands, shaping it like a bow without an arrow. This is an excellent strengthening exercise for the entire body. 

Having said this, being physically active throughout the day is more important than being active only for a few hours. 

Wait a minute, now how do you understand if all these suit you? What if your thyroid imbalance and strengthening exercise make you more tired? In such a case, you need professional help. Let us see how professional help is essential in weight loss. 

Seeking Professional Guidance

In Ayurveda, weight loss is not considered a separate health issue but is called 'Sthoulya'. Metabolic disorders cause 'Sthoulya'. True to that, experts also agree that weight gain may be due to fat or fluid accumulation. 

For instance, weight gain after pregnancy is usually due to more accumulation of interstitial fluid. In such a scenario, a fat reduction regimen may not help. It would be best to have more cardio, body detox and flexible yoga to reduce weight. 

A detailed medical history analysis is critical to customise your weight loss treatment. You may need collective help from all these professionals.

Ayurvedic Expert

To analyse your body type, explain your tendency towards weight loss and weight gain, and identify the cause. 

Dietician

To help you identify the right choice of foods to fit into your diet. Dieticians may also suggest therapeutic diets to help further with weight loss. 

Yoga Expert

To provide you with a tailored yoga schedule that can support your weight loss 

Health Coaches

To monitor your progress from time to time and connect you with other experts if needed 

You can find all the professionals mentioned above in our NIRVA HEALTH CREW!

Conclusion

So next time, tell your mirror - 'I need to start understanding my body first; let me consult a weight loss expert' - this is the perfect way to begin your weight loss journey. 

Ensure you get a body analysis to discover what is expected of your body, a medical analysis to diagnose the cause of your weight gain, an Ayurvedic expert consultation to explain your body type and finally, a dietician and yoga expert to bring your old self back. 

The rope connecting all of the above is keeping good mental health and telling yourself that 'you are going to do it, no matter what'.