Apr 19, 2012

My Take on Weight Loss - Be Sensible. Be Happy.



I am inspired to write this post today after reading an article on the blog of an Indian author. I have not read her book(s), so I don't really know much about her as an author, but I've only just been following her blog and this particular post of her's has compelled me to write.

The subject of weight loss is very close to my heart. Food, nutrition, exercise (you know the whole story) are concepts I've worked hard at, failed, tried again, failed again for many, many years. I have lost oodles of weight and put it all back again. If anything, I've learned a lot from the process. I've even learned to make peace with the situation, as is evident if you read a previous post of mine on food and eating habits.


Img Credit: Helga Weber

Before I go any further, I'd just like to clarify that I am by no means a 'thin' person as defined by society. I may be called chubby, fat, or even obese, depending on individual perceptions. I choose (well, at least I try hard) not to classify myself; I am what I am. I have made my peace with the fact that my body structure dictates how I look and not the latest trends (did you know that size 0 is no longer fashionable?). I always have been and will be a curvaceous woman. That is the truth. 

So coming to this author's article, she's penned down a few (long list of) strategies for herself to be able to lose weight. Reading it made me sad, because I have been down that road. I've written such lists too, tried to be strict with myself, tried to force myself into a certain type of behaviour, but it never did work. Much later did I realize that my entire approach was wrong. Now, I mean no offence to this writer, because her list might actually work for her, and I hope it does. Some of her points are quite sensible, but some I can't bring myself to agree on. I'd like to do a sort of response to her thoughts, based on what I've learned through my experience. I may be wrong, I may be blinded by my perceptions too, so please feel free to disagree with me. 

Today, my approach towards health and fitness is very rational and sustainable. Here's what I think/do/follow:

1. Calories

The concept of calories is very logical and scientific. It's mathematically correct that if your body's BMR is 1500 and you eat less than that, you should be able to burn the deficit in a certain number of days. However, this is not the only factor governing what your body chooses to burn or store. There are additional factors such as hormones that work their magic too. Did you know that there was a week when I pigged out on potato chips and my body burned it all? And there was another time when I was on a strict diet and actually put on weight. 

Img Credit: nutrition education


It's important to realize that if your body wants to store fat, it will and if it wants to burn it, it will. The body has its reasons for functioning the way it does.Your best bet is to be sensible and feed it with healthy/wholesome food, eat when you are hungry, and stop eating when you are full. Playing the calorie game is too stressful. It's better to learn to pay attention and understand what your body needs.








2. Sugar Cravings

Let's face it. Many of us are addicted to junk/sugary foods. So am I. I have spent years trying to control myself like a mad woman. But control only makes it worse. There was a time when I did not touch sweets for an entire year. You'd think that would have helped me. Yes, I didn't put on any weight. But when when the year was up the cravings got so huge that I ended up pigging out big time. 

Img Credit: tanvach

What we need to do is get to the root of the issue here. I watched a documentary called 'Hungry for Change' that explained it pretty well. It is really not our fault, we are not bad for craving sugar and fat. In reality, we are genetically programmed to do so. Where there is fat, there is survival - is the law of the jungle. It's just that hundreds of years ago, there was less fat to eat and more (physical) work to do. Today, the fat is everywhere, in abundance, and we don't really have to lift a finger most of the time. It's not wrong that we crave sugar, it's wrong that we have so much of it around to eat. That is unnatural. Don't blame your palate or yourself for being a foodie. Everybody is one. Things like food and sex are naturally meant to be pleasurable, in the interest of the protection and procreation of life.




3. Saying No

Does not work. Even observing a 2-year-old will teach you this. The moment you say 'no', you know you want it all the more. It's fundamental, really. We always want what we can't have. So forget about saying no to seconds, no to leftovers, no to that divine chocolate cake, no to anything you love. Instead, concentrate on saying yes. Say yes to carrots, yes to beets, yes to greens and also to other vegetables, fruits, grains, legumes, pulses, eggs, nuts, seeds and dried fruit. This is another concept I got from 'Hungry for Change'. Focus on what to add, not what to remove from your diet. Abrupt changes and fanciful diets are very difficult to maintain in the long run. Instead, focus on building good eating habits for life. Understand what your body loves.

Img Credit: achichi
Allow me to illustrate. M and I first put oats into our lives for breakfast. We didn't focus on improving any other meal. It was just oatmeal for breakfast, day in and day out. We hated it, we cribbed about it, we even craved and had some puris once in a while. But then we always kept going back to the oats. After about 3-4 months, we started to health it up a bit more by adding nuts, pumpkin and flax seeds and dry fruits to it. It tastes so yummy today to us that we don't really want to have anything else for breakfast. Plus, it's so easy to make and it keeps us very energetic. Now that the morning meal is taken care of, we have moved on to dinner. We're trying to incorporate Jowari Roti (Millet flat breads) into our night-time meals. It's not easy, as expected. But we're working on it.

Img Credit: needoptic

The concept here is that eventually you are filling yourself with so much of good food, that the bad foods will be automatically pushed out. It won't happen in a day or a week or a few months even, but eventually it will. And when they do go out they will mostly stay out. You will be able to have just a bite of cake and stop at that. It won't be a struggle anymore. 

After having said all this, I don't think I need to explain why the 'starve now, eat later' strategy will never work. Telling yourself to stop now and eat once the weight is gone will not work. You know why, right?





4. Exercise

From point number 2, we understand that two things about our lives are different from the lives of our ancestors. The first is the abundance of food, which we've covered. The second is the lack of physical activity. Our muscles are just not strong as they can be. Many of us are at bad levels of fitness.

So what's the solution? I don't know for sure, but I can tell you this: again, you are at your body's mercy. Some people lose weight if they simply walk to the market and some don't even after slogging at the gym for hours. Exercise is not magic. It will not guarantee that a certain number of kilos will be shed off for sure if you exercise for so many hours, so many times a week. And yet, it is important to get plenty.

Img Credit: synergybyjasmine
What kind of exercise to do? How many hours to do it? I would say that the same principle applies here too: listen to your body. Start off slow, don't be over ambitious. Avoid saying, 'the wedding is in three months and I have to lose 24 kilos so two kilos a week.' It doesn't work that way for most people. The most important thing is to fall in love with your physical activity. If you're crying to go to the gym, it may work but it's not going to be sustainable. If you hate walking, you're probably not going to do it for the rest of your life. Take up the activity you enjoy most and is easy for you to make time for in your busy schedule.

Listen to your body: in time you will understand when it is tired and you have to stop, when you can push it to go that little bit more, and when you must keep it moderate. A work out session must leave you feeling refreshed and rejuvenated, not beat up. Plan to exercise for a lifetime, not just until you lose weight.


5. Stress/Emotions

This is something I'm still trying to figure out myself, so I'm not going to pretend like I understand how to deal with them. I do know that of course, they play a huge role in a person's health. I also understand it's a vicious cycle. Bad foods (lack of nutrition) make you cranky, and crankiness makes you reach out for bad food. Adding more nutrition may be a good place to try and start to break the cycle.

Like I said, it's all still a work in progress, I'm still learning as I go but this is what I've been able to figure out so far. I'm not in a hurry to lose weight, to reach any 'number', and I am really tired of wanting to look like someone else. It's out of this sheer tiredness that I gave up - not working on myself, but I gave up on those ridiculous and impossible expectations. I don't want a thin photo on my fridge, I don't want to compare my body with anyone else's. I don't know if it'll work, but I'm certainly a happier person for it.

Do you have anything you'd like to share or add?


35 comments:

  1. lovely post!! The best I've read on this topic so far. Its very real and workable! :) Thanks a ton!

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    1. Thanks so much, Rohu. I'm so very glad to hear you say that! :)

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  2. Getting up and applauding *clap clap clap*

    Whenever someone tells me that they are starting to think of weight loss, I go like "Oh nooo! Not that alone..please don't go there!". And I mean it! I think it is a malicious road that does more damage than what was when we went in. And then, there are those few lucky ones who simply need to take a resolution to eat less, work out more and lo! within two weeks they are going down. Really makes me jealous and frustrated because here I am, who wasted my entire teen years on this evil thing.

    Eat less, exercise more - Is it really that simply? Hell, no! I esp. loved what you had to say about calories. I have been there. There used to be a time when I would eat just once a day and still not lose weight and wonder what more could I really do?

    Today, I have come to conclude that these things just happen. Like you said, 'If it has to burn, it will' and the best help we can do to it is not get obsessed with weight loss because it only makes things worse and topples the whole equation badly!

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    1. @Sinduja: Hehe, gosh you've got me all smiling with that first line. Thanks a ton, girl!

      Yes, I find discussions over weight loss with most people very tiring too. Especially when they are all charged up about silly things like the GM diet, or worse, water diets. I really want to hold their shoulders and give them a good shake. But all I can do is smile :) You are so right, trying to lose weight unnaturally causes more damage to the body.

      I am so glad to hear you speak so sensibly on the subject!

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  3. Agree on point # 2
    Sugar is one of the contributing factors. Combine 2 & 4 and one will find results (I am still trying) :-)

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    1. Hi Haddock! Welcome here, thanks so much for stopping by. I beg to differ on your use of the word 'results'. I feel they are irrelevant, as health cannot really be measured. What is the measure of good health? Simply eat well and keep yourself active and your body will behave the way it is supposed to :D

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  4. Sumitra,

    Another amazing write-up. I so agree to each of this.
    Firstly, let me tell you, you are one beautiful woman (not just the photo but also your writings) and so don't even bother about the diet :P

    Secondly, I agree with the whole paradox of refraining from something to only wanting it more. It has happened with me with chocolates. I am a strictly no-"diet" person but I had this urge to become slimmer for my wedding and so cut down on chocolates and tried pacing my food in a wrong way perhaps. I ended up with gastric issues and felt uneasy. I love milk products and unfortunately it incldues cheese that I gulp down like maincourse but it has never affected me. So, ya, I guess, ti is all about udnerstand and listening to your body.

    Another thing is before I moved to Singapore, I ued to eat crazily at home and never did it show. Now, I need to watch what I eat to know what is the change that is taking place and where.

    Loved reading this post. But then, that's no surprise right? :)

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    1. @kismi: Hi! A heart felt thank you for those wonderful words. Cannot tell you how much I appreciate them :D

      You are right, there is simply no way to force yourself not to eat something, in the long run it will catch up with you. I made a similar mistake too, I stopped eating rice/carbs to lose weight, which I did, but I ended up ruining my digestive system. It took a long time to recover. By which time I put on weight again :D

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  5. Your title sums it up - Be Happy and Sensible. I see so many people working their mouths off about hitting the gym for hours daily and then moaning and cribbing in pain to ultimately learn that nothing positive has come of it.

    I believe in keeping it basic - eating regular and timed meals, using the stairs however long they are and walking as much as possible. I think half the problems can be avoided by just doing the simple things right.

    Very interesting post, you have done full justice to it.

    Cheers :)

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    1. Hey, AS. You are right, there is absolutely no use in cramming hours at the gym. It is in no way a sustainable plan for life. What will happen when these people don't have so much time to spend at the gym anymore? It's obvious, right? Love your 'keeping it basic' philosophy. Makes a lot of sense.

      You know, I've gone through that as well, I've been in that phase were I was a gym-junkie too. I once met this girl from my work place who was twice my size and the only exercise she would do is to ask the cab to stop a few kms away from her home and walk the distance. I asked her if she would like to join me at the gym, and her answer was simple - I don't want to start a workout that I won't be able to sustain for a long time. At the time I thought she was finding excuses, but now I realize she was making sense after all.

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  6. sometime back (a few years ago- when i was a college kid) when i was at a high of 125kg, i had an ecg taken and the look on the doc's face frightened me..but even that was momentary...i couldnt stop myself from enjoying my food..i mean i always rationalized what is the point of studying/working/earning if you could not enjoy the things you wanted to? but then realization dawned on me that i was probably a bit overweight when i was reminded not-so-subtly by girl after girl who turned me down. there was a mag called Mens Health in which i managed to read an article about a guy, i dont remember his name..he had acted as a hero in a film called James by Ram Gopal Verma..he told in that interview about how he had lost 40kgs weight by starving himself. i followed his diet prescription- water, water and more water...i starved myself with the thoughts of all those girls who had insulted me..and i lost 33kgs....i started hanging out/dating the thinnest girls i could find..i had absolute contempt for fat people who could loose weight- i looked on them like junkies who cant kick the habit...like a reformed addict i was so damn proud of myself and insulting of others...i realized my errors soon and came back to earth - but that period taught me a lot about myself and about societal conditioning. i am a tolerable maintainable weight right now and i dont mind dating large girls- i think i have come a full cirlce now and am at peace with myself

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    1. Hi, Ganesh! Welcome, I'm glad you stopped by.

      Wow, you have quite an interesting story there. Ah, the water diet, I know someone who did this too to lose weight. As you already know, it's not such a great idea. In fact, it's a terrible one :D

      I love your honesty here: "like a reformed addict i was so damn proud of myself and insulting of others." I've been there too, sadly. Very happy to learn that your perception towards 'size' and women has changed and that you are at peace. Isn't that what we're all looking for ultimately?

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  7. Nice post da...wanted to read one of your blogs since a long time..finally I made time...

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    1. Hey Kiru! Long time, thanks for reading ra. I've been thinking about you for a while. I'll e-mail you soon. Heck, I actually miss you man, wish we could meet up. When are you coming next?

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  8. Well, I've always believed in Oscar Wilde's words: "The only way to resist temptation is to yield to it." ;)
    In my opinion, the more we think about technicalities of it all the crazier we get; calorie count, BMI, et al. As Baba John Abraham once said, "Don't control calories; burn them." As simple as that.
    Nice article. Very informative.

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    1. @Karthik: Thanks for stopping by again. Love those words, and so true they are. You are so right, the more we think the more out of control it all gets. Haha, love the "Baba's" words too, doesn't get more sensible than that!

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  9. love how practical u are in ur outlook. i have been there, done that. lost 20 kilos, put on 10, list 10, put on 20, lost 12. still trying for the last 8. now i have given up. and yes, i do think chritina hendricks and adele are gorgeous. if u dont that's ur problem, aint it?

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    1. @Confusedyuppie: Welcome here! I love your handle, I think I could use it as well, as I'm mostly confused to.

      Wow, your's is truly the yo-yo story. Amazing how your body has put up with all that! You know, this is actually one of those rare places where 'give-up' is a good thing. This reminds me of an interview I watched the other day of a woman who lost 30/40 kilos and had the last 10 to go. They just wouldn't go at all. Then she saw a picture of herself and thought, 'My God, I actually look good'. And that's when she made peace with herself and gave up on the last 10. Which is very, very sensible. I mean, keep doing things right, and if they have to go they will. Curvy women sure are gorgeous!

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  10. My take on weight loss - Lose the weight in your head first! :)

    You have a gift of articulation, Sumitra! I am still haunted by that death post you wrote. Truly profound it was.

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    1. @Vikas: Long time, nice to see you here. :D You always come up with the catchiest of lines hehe. I hope there's nothing in my head that I need to 'lose'.

      And thanks! That death post is something I keep going back to as well, it was perhaps one of the most soul-baring things I've written.

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  11. i agree on many points for sure. i am exactly like you too, never been "skinny" and don't think i ever will be. i was the slimmest during a few years in college but even then, i never really felt slim. so it's a lot in the mind, and a lot in the way you perceive yourself. i still fight the battle, lose it more than win it, but ultimately, choose happiness (mostly) and health (at least once a day) over anything else when i choose my meals.

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    1. @Nags: Glad you agree. Just like you, in my 'slimmest years' I always felt that maybe I could/should be slimmer. Only recently have I started to enjoy/admire the way I look, the way I am. You're absolutely right, it's all in the way you perceive yourself.

      As a great cook, I'm sure you would agree that dishes turn out the best when they are cooked out of love. I find the same thing with eating, when you eat with a lot of love and relish (as opposed to mindless TV-watching and not paying attention to what you put in your mouth), it leaves a great feeling within the body.

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  12. I liked the title of the post more than the post itself :)

    I have said it earlier and have no qualms on saying this again - Your writing does not distract. Usually, I do not feel like reading long write-ups but yours engage the reader.

    That said, I agree to most of your techniques on weight loss. Personally, I put up weight and lost it in the same momentum. Drinking water when you feel hungry does the trick most of the time. The body forgets the food craving and water is good for flushing out toxins so it is a win-win situation. Also, along with this walking did the trick for me. Walking to the nearby grocery store, evening walks on weekends and even the walk back from office from the bus stand to home - all this made me lose my accumulated fat and made my waist slimmer. No, I did not cut on the food a bit, I still eat as a hungry lion :D

    -Visha

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    1. hey Visha! Hehe, I actually had written the entire post and then spent 15 minutes wracking my brains for a suitable title. So I'm glad you liked it :D

      That is a huge compliment there. I feel the same way about long posts. I have to work hard to finish reading them. But sometimes I just have so much to say I end up writing long ones too. I worry a lot that readers are going to lose interest with so many words. What you said makes me feel so much better!

      Hehe, like I said in the post, some people can just walk to the market and lose weight :D I am one of those people who can't. Every body is made differently, I suppose. The water part - yeah, sometimes thirst comes masquerading as hunger, so drinking water will fix it. But if you're still hungry then you need to nourish yourself. Glad to know you haven't cut down on your food :D

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  13. Hey, I totally agree with you and have been trying to feed that idea on the near and dear who go for these fad diets. But , no one listens.
    I ve been through the diet thing, but then the body craves and craves and I binge on sugar and junk to get over the craving.
    Instead I told myself that I am not gonna control.. started in baby steps ike drinking coffee without sugar and not eating much of the sugary stuff. Now I do not like too much of sugar in anything . Coffee with sugar tastes awful.
    And I lost weight without me doing much about it. And the weight did not return so soon either.
    Good one, glad that there are others who feel almost the same as I do..

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    1. @Pepper Tadka: Hi! Welcome here, glad that you stopped by. You are so right, once we stop controlling and simply take small steps, the bad food will be forgotten eventually.

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  14. I don not know how to tell you, how much sense this post has made. Its so different from all the "weighty" posts and articles we read. Now I know what I was doing wrong and what direction I need to take :) :)

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    1. Hey Purvi! Great to see you here after a long time. Glad to know this post made sense to you. Hope it helps you :)

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  15. Apt title and an equally engaging post... :) First time here and enjoyed it fully. I lose interest very easily if I read posts longer than my attention span, which is very less btw, but this one kept me glued and hats off to you for that. My problem on the other hand is weight gain... losing weight is just not an issue for me...

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    1. Hi Jaspreet! Welcome here, I'm glad you stopped by. Thanks a lot, makes me feel so good to hear that you enjoyed this post. :)

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    2. Pleasure is mine.. :) I will keep coming back.. :)

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  16. your blog is just apt for a healthy living.........the best part tht u hav written is about sugar cravings and exercise.........

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  17. What a mature post and so apt for the size fixated breed that oscillates between binging and starving.

    Most of us relate weight loss with happiness. It doesn't work that way, never will. How you feel is way more important than how you look.

    I exercise, I try to eat healthy but I never deprive myself. You live only once, don't you?

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  18. Hi Sumitra,
    I am Vijay, author of Life Meets Digital Blog. I nominated you for the 'Versatile Blogger Award' in the capacity of your blog lover. Please check out http://lifemeetsdigital.blogspot.in/2012/05/versatile-blogger-award-thank-you-note.html. Congratulations !

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  19. I found some great information in your blog. This blog is very useful and helpful to me. Thank you for sharing this information with us informative .. I love your blog……

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