NutritionIdeal Balanced Diet: What Should You Really Eat?
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Renu PuriWhat you can expect from this blog
Nowadays the value of a new year’s resolution is equivalent to a new year’s delusion, people set goals, especially weight loss goals, and defer from them within a short time frame. If you set unrealistic goals or perceive weight loss as food deprivation, then you will find it difficult to adopt a healthy lifestyle. After all, it only seems rewarding if one can excel at something that they truly enjoy doing.
At niwi.ai, we have always been asked this question - How should I stick to my new year weight loss resolution?
In this blog, we will be sharing a detailed explanation of why people fail to continue with their new year's weight loss resolutions and some great tips to get that amazing summer body!
You will also be learning some great ways to avoid those hunger pangs and tricks to keep you focussed throughout your weight loss journey so you can focus on what matters the most - your motivation!
Introduction
Diwali went by a spark, Jingle bells have rung, and now the new year is all set to arrive with a bang! For a lot of us though, one thing has stayed constant throughout these festivals - Our grit to fantasize about weight loss while binge eating fast food. Let’s face it, our minds are wired in a way that lets us feel that the holiday season is all about indulging and the new year is where you would aim to reset your toxic food cycle.
Enough schooling for today, we understand that you are human and as humans, temptations can take over us. We can oftentimes be very hard on ourselves, especially on our outer appearances. What we fail to understand is that constantly criticizing and condemning our outer appearance takes a massive toll on our mental health. That is why we always like to remind our readers and our clients that the first step to going on a weight loss journey is acceptance and self-love. Confidence is key, it is imperative to be happy in your own body for physical and mental empowerment.
Why do you need a “new year’s resolution”?
The new year calls for a new mindset and a fresh start to your goals. It allows you the freedom to set goals and follow through. A new beginning paves the path to a better, more fulfilling lifestyle. If there’s a time to genuinely keep up with your goals, the new year is when you could do it most efficiently!
Let this year be the year where you would take complete charge of your health by transforming how you perceive health and nutrition. In our experience and expertise in the realm of health and nutrition, improving your diet does way more than any method of weight loss. When it comes to improving your overall health, nutrition should take the steering wheel and the rest should follow.
If you’re an avid reader of our blogs, you probably know by now that we don’t leave any stone unturned to share quirky client stories with you all as we believe that one can learn from others’ experiences and connect with their stories. This time around as well, there is no exception.
This is the story of Dolly, a 30-year-old Punjabi client of ours from Delhi. Dolly came to us 2 years back days before new year’s. Let us try to draw a mental picture of Dolly for you all. The most accurate description in my mind right now is the lovechild of poo from K3G and Sweetu from Kal ho na ho, yes that’s our dolly!
Dolly is someone who is an inborn fashionista, in fact, she is someone who wants to get married just for the sake of her bridal trousseau and pretty pictures. She also loves food, although chatting could be a close second. She proudly embraces her love for food and once even shared with us that her biggest disappointment in life was when she lost a pani puri eating contest.
Well, now that you can imagine how sweet Dolly may be as a person, let us tell you why she came to us. “ I am 30 kgs overweight and I feel like my life is over”, “ What is wrong Dolly?”, our senior dietitian asked her, “ I need to lose weight and get fit, the other day when I was talking to my cleaning lady, I barely spoke 2 lines and started panting. If it continues to be this way, I might not be able to hold conversations or talk, which is like my most favorite thing in the world.”
Now Dolly was like most of us, tried a celebrity-endorsed fad diet, and saw quick results but eventually, the weight plateaued, and binge eating continued. We worked closely with Dolly, recommended our diet programs to her, and allowed her to organically lose weight without compromising on her weakness - delicious meals. Cut to now, Dolly is happily married, is within her desired weight range, and still loves to talk, eat, and pose. Dolly’s example is an embodiment of the fact that you can be yourself, love what you do, and still lose weight in the process.
So since the new year is around the corner, our registered dietitians at niwi.ai want to share some points to really help you achieve your weight loss new year resolution in the best, most efficient way possible :
While every individual case is different and every body, its challenges, strength, and weaknesses vary, there are some general principles that are foundational to better health through better nutrition ➖
1) Hydration is key!
The rule of thumb for you should be to drink 6-8 glasses of water daily. Don’t drink up in one sitting, rather have it in portions throughout the day. When a person drinks too much water in a short period of time, the kidneys cannot flush it out fast enough and the kidneys become waterlogged, so take your time while drinking it.
A lot of times, thirst can mask itself as hunger. So make sure to drink water before eating and wait a while to really check if you’re hungry or just thirsty.
2) Be in an organized environment
If you're setting yourself up for failure, you are bound to fail. This can be in many forms - let’s say you have hunger pangs at 9 PM every night and at around 2 PM every afternoon you make sure to purchase all of your favorite unhealthy snacks to satiate your cravings for convenience sake. This way, you will find it much harder to succeed at eating right and changing your lifestyle as you’re consciously making the wrong decision.
By thinking that a lifestyle change is more like a “punishment”, you are setting yourself up for failure. This would eventually lead you to eat more junk when you feel like it's caging you. The worst part in such situations is the aftermath - How bad you feel about yourself after the episode of overindulgence.
Instead of keeping such foods available in your pantry, keep healthier snack options like roasted nuts, fruits, seed mixtures, or any snacks that have good fats and low sugar.
3) Meal Planning
Meal planning is the simple act of planning your meals ahead of time. When you start deciding what you want to eat when you are hungry, you're much more likely to end up making poor choices as opposed to a pre-planned meal where you have already decided what you're supposed to eat.
Meal planning is great in so many ways! It saves you so much time, money, and energy while letting you have more control over your food intake. If you have pre-planned your meals, it is very unlikely for you to get off track with your diet and follow a calorie deficit diet.
We all make bad decisions when we are ‘hangry’ (hungry + angry), so if you want to genuinely stick to your weight loss goals, make sure to plan in advance!
4) Order of Eating
We know what you are thinking, “order of eating? what in the world does that have to do with weight loss?”. Well, you see if you have your meals in a particular order, it can have a lot of effect on the glucose spike of the meal.
It is said that eating in this order - vegetables first, protein and fats second, and starches and sugars last can reduce the glucose spike of the entire meal by 75%. In fact, even when you go outdoors, avoid having the complementary bread that they serve in restaurants before your meals. It causes a huge sugar spike. Instead, have it towards the end of your meal.
Sweetened drinks can also cause your blood sugar level to spike. So if you’re looking to order that delicious peach iced tea, make sure to have it towards the end of your meal to maintain a steadier glucose response.
5) Quality of Sleep
For many decades now, different kinds of research have been conducted to establish a connection between sleep and weight loss. Conclusions from many of those research papers have elucidated that restricted sleep and poor sleep quality may lead to metabolic disorders, weight gain, and an increased risk of obesity and other chronic health conditions.
The mantra for sleep should be quality over quantity always. If you get sound sleep for 7 hours as opposed to disturbed, interrupted sleep for 9, you will feel much more energized and refreshed with the former. Lack of sleep is also linked to enhanced appetite as it tends to increase ghrelin and decrease leptin in your body making you feel hungry, even when you’re not.
We suggest being disciplined towards your bedtime and regulating your sleep cycle, this way you will have lesser chances of staying awake due to your pre-set routine.
6) Having an Accountability Partner
Get you an accountability partner, someone who teams up with you and pushes you to be the best version of yourself, someone who can instill the principle of discipline and responsibility in your routine.
People in alcoholism recovery programs are tagged to accountability partners as they understand the importance of achieving the goal as a team versus doing it alone. Much like that, food addiction may also require you to have an accountability partner as, believe it or not, food addiction is also a real thing and affects a lot of individuals.
Our habits around eating become automatic and we continue to indulge in bad nutrition decisions unless actively corrected. That is why at niwi.ai , we understand the importance of being accountable to someone and having that person who motivates and pushes you in your times of weakness. We have successfully helped thousands of our clients to reach goals that they were unable to achieve alone.
Why do New Year weight loss resolutions fail?
A lot of folks make new year's resolutions but only a small percentage of them are able to keep up with it. Why is that, you may ask? For a fruitful outcome, it’s key to decipher the purpose of pursuing the goal. Are you doing it to uplift your self-esteem? Is it for better health? or are you trying to be a better version of yourself? Once your goals are clear, you can maintain them easier.
1) No Planning
Planning is very important, not just for meals but for your daily routine. You need to plan out a focused regime and stick to it. If you don’t get out of your comfort zone, whether it is meal planning with healthy and nutritious foods or heading to the gym to do some yoga, you will not see results.
2) No Assistance
As mentioned above, having no accountability partner will make sure that you stay on track. A lot of people back out of their new year's resolution ideas as they feel like they aren’t answerable to anyone. The “lack of accountability” leads to an “if it is meant to be it will be” attitude which is not a conducive attitude to have, especially with regards to your weight loss diet and journey. If you are hesitant to seek professional guidance, think of someone close who can help you say no to that bar of chocolate or a friend who can diet or exercise with you. Look for someone with similar resolutions and work on being the best version of yourself!
3) No Motivation
Motivation is the driving factor for any successful outcome. If you lack motivation, you would not have the zeal or the commitment to follow through. In fact, you would feel like it is a burden or a punishment to keep up with your goal. We encourage people to keep a reward system for achieving milestones. Let's say you can promise yourself a vacation upon losing 10 kgs, or a wholesome treat in your favorite restaurant upon losing 5 kgs. Something that keeps you motivated and on track.
4) High Expectations
If someone sets a resolution of losing 30 kgs in one month, no matter how hard they try, they can never lose it in a healthy, sustainable manner. It is very important to set realistic goals to stay clear of frustrations, disappointments, and resentment. If you are totally oblivious to what goals you should set, you should consult a registered dietitian who could help set those goals for you and help you seamlessly navigate through your weight loss journey.
5) Failed Experiences
Without the right guidance, people hop on to fad diets with utmost passion, and when they see their weight plateau or don’t see the desired results, they lose hope and quit the diet to continue living the way they do, making peace with the fact that this is going to be their life now. This is what stops them from trying to seek guidance or start a legitimate diet as they feel that there would be no results.
New year, New me?
Nothing makes us happier than seeing our clients live their best life. We can proudly say that after decades of experience in the health and nutrition space, we have helped thousands of clients achieve their new year's health resolutions - be it weight loss, muscle gain, reversing pcos, or other health issues like diabetes, etc.
Do you have a goal set for a transformation in this new year? Do you feel like you have had enough of living in an unfit body? Do you feel like you are ready to embrace change? Do you feel like you want to live your life as the best version of yourself? Let us have the privilege to invite you for a conversation to discuss your weight loss goals for the coming year and bring your dream body to life!
Ready for a health revolution? Join us on our mission to transform the nutrition landscape!
At niwi.ai, we have helped thousands of clients transform their lives and feel stronger, more energetic, and definitely more confident in how they look and feel, by improving their relationship with food!
