Indian Diet....conducive to InchLoss?

Lets face it: the Indian Plate does not lend itself easily to diets advocated by nutritionists world over. In this day and age when 'Carbs' are the bad-words in the diet-dictionary, one look at an average Indian meal and one can write it off immediately.

India is an unique country, probably the only one where a large part of the population is completely vegetarian traditionally. Yet, an average Indian vegetarian hardly eats any vegetables! The diet is mainly of various types of starch and fats with a bit of watery protein thrown in on the side.

Don't get me wrong: I am an Indian and I love Indian food, but my essay is about a fat reduction diet and the average Indian diet does not work too well in this respect.

As I was saying: an Indian will happily eat an Alu Sabzi [potatoes] with Roti/ Puri [Indian bread] and feel that he/she has had a complete meal. In effect, he/she has eaten a stomach-full of pure starch with starch which has been generously cooked in oils and Ghee [clarified butter]. There is also some Daal [lentil] on the side providing a hint of protein and some sweet. A non vegetarian Indian, like a Bengali, will eat fish every day, but that will be one small piece of fish every meal. Vegetables are eaten, but the choice of these is regional and limited and is always eaten with either Rice or Roti.

Thus the Indian survives on a carbohydrate and fat rich diet for most of his/her life and has done so for generations and thrived. For the majority of Indians, who toil the fields, farming with labour intensive methods, this does not pose any problem whatsoever. The massive calorie intake is balanced out [and is often lacking] by the massive expenditure of energy through the day.

But then, this little essay is not being read by those Indians, many of whom would not know how to say 'internet', but is being read by Indians in air conditioned offices whose most intense exercise is the walk from the car to the office or home. These Indians have traveled up the money ladder and are able to afford good food and servants and a lifestyle that banishes physical effort. Added to the, already rich, Indian diet; are the cokes and chocolates and ice-creams and what not.

These Indians [not all] are adding inches to their midsections steadily. The children too, hooked to their computers are getting fatter by the day and while their muscular growth is staid due to inactivity. When I was in school, in Bombay [now Mumbai] I was a fat kid along with two others in a class of 45 students. We stood out and the class made fun of us. Today, in my son's class of the same number, there are a handful of thin kids. The average is: Fat. 

The urban Indian who is plagued with this malady has to now do work outs and go for runs to keep the body from turning into a ball of fat. He/ She has to watch what to eat additionally. Failure to do so and not only does the waist line go up, but so does the risk of urban diseases of the heart, blood pressure, diabetes, etc.

One has to come to terms with times and it is unreal to expect that urban Indians will go back to tiling fields to stay fit. Exercise has to be a part of the new life and along with this a change in the diet, which will be more relevant to the physical exertions for one's life in the city.

So do I mean, soups and salads instead of roti-sabzi? For a country that has cooking traditions shaped over centuries, it will be nothing short of a crime to just throw it all out of the window as a sacrifice to the altar of fitness. Instead, one has to see opportunity in the vast variety of dishes, available, to make  vibrant diet choices that suits the dietary need and yet satisfy the pallet.

This applies even when one goes on a diet plan to get rid of the inches of fat. It makes is so much easier to come up with a variety of combinations and permutations that keep the motivation to maintain a calorie restricting diet, going.

One needs to just watch for the basic principles of restricting calories and anyone at home can design a diet that he or she enjoys following, without feeling deprived. Is this easier said than done? Not at all.

Just be cerebral about it.

PS: I will write more in my next essay on my thoughts on a inch reduction diet. Do read it if you have not already figured it out. 

Lose Fat and Gain Muscle...Introduction

 LOSE FAT AND GAIN MUSCLE

Normally speaking this is often cited as not possible at the same time; which is not far from the truth. One cannot lose and gain at the same time, the math does not work.

When losing weight, the first tissues that the body targets are the muscles and consequently the weight loss is accompanied by loss of muscle mass. At the end of the day, to lose weight one has to create a greater demand than supply for the body, which can translate into lesser calories available as glycogen than what is demanded by the body for the work that it is doing. The glycogen is first exhausted. It is then that the body decides to dig into its stores, also targeting the muscle mass in addition to the fat stores. The body strives at balance and ensuring survival. Thus reducing muscle mass additionally helps the body in ensuring that the fat stores do not get depleted quickly, as large muscles use up a lot of energy and lean mass, creates greater energy requirements for any physical activity.

So mathematically speaking, if one continues to diet and exercise indefinitely, the muscles should completely atrophy and one would move into being anorexic. However, this rarely happens. One will notice the muscle loss initially and then it seems to stabilize at a certain level, while the flab continues to deplete and soon one starts to get leaner and also tougher. Yes..if one just carries on after excess flab has completely depleted, then the muscles will again start to give. This is what happens to people who suffer from anorexia.

Again this is about balance. The body will try to maintain a level of lean mass to be able to carry on the regular physical activities that the body has to perform. This is the stabilized muscle mass that I have mentioned. Thus the effort should be to train the body to regular exercise level such that the body stabilizes at a higher level of musculature and targets the fat instead. While starting a weight-loss [or rather a fat loss] program, ample stress has to be laid on exercises that require strength and endurance. This will ensure that the muscle loss is kept to the minimum.

What will happen then, is that the fat will start to go away, the muscles will get toned and the skin will tighten. Visually this will give one the impression of added musculature as the body definition will begin to show. Although this is not any actual gain in muscle mass; mentally this shows and feels like one has built muscle.

The ultimate goal for anyone losing fat with diet and exercise, is to gradually phase out the diet and carry on the exercise. The exercise levels  inevitably increase as the body become fitter and the person's endurance levels go up. Thus, what used to feel like a tiring workout starts to feel normal and the time taken to do a workout gets shorter as days go by. This is what one should do, anyways. One cannot live on a diet all of ones life. The idea is to continue to eat healthy, without depriving oneself and to lead a healthy life of exercise, which the body needs to stay healthy.

Most people can sustain a deprived diet for a couple of months. Then the easing off stage kicks in and one notices that the results slow down; which is but obvious. This could be one time for the person to start building muscles by starting off weight bearing or isometric exercises of a greater intensity than before. Ideally this should mean that the fat burning stops, but does not increase and the body starts to concentrate on building muscle mass.

This can be phased and followed by another bout of dieting to lose flab. The difference this time will be that the muscle mass is greater than before and thus the fat burning will be quicker. There will, again, be a degree of muscle loss but the loss will be significantly lesser than what has been built, thus the net result will be leaner and bigger muscles.

Do note though, this concept is not restricted to people who dream of being body builders and the muscle that I refer to is not necessarily the massive muscles that ones sees in bodybuilding magazines.  Good musculature is what we all need to have and adds to our overall fitness.

This, in short, is the concept that I have applied to myself and so far, has worked quite well, both in terms of fitness levels and general health in addition to fat loss and strength gain. 

Happy Inch Loss