3 Golden Words for Weight Loss

Most councellors will tell you that the 3 "golden words" for weight reduction are - exercise, diet and water. The secret is to do all three together, and that's where most of us go wrong.

Some of us sweat it out at the gym for hours everyday and believe that we can eat anything and still lose weight. When no apparent weight loss occurs, we get discouraged and abandon the exercise program.

Some others throw themselves with all their might on to the dieting wagon - only fruits, only boiled vegetables, Cabbage Soup diet, South Beach, Atkins diet, Morning Banana diet, idli diet, lemonade diet etc. But they don't exercise - they're either too lazy to exercise, or can't find the time.

But the most common mistake that most of us make is to not drink enough water.

(Photo courtesy: http://airtightnoodle.wordpress.com)

Walking is one of the best exercises as it uses most of the muscles of the body at one time, can be done by one & all, and best of all - it's completely free! Aerobics, swimming & jogging are other effective cardiovascular exercises. What's important to remember though is that any cardiovascular exercise is effective only if it is done continuously for 20-30 minutes, 5-6 times a week.

Dieting does not mean keeping yourself hungry. On the contrary, it is essential to keep your body satiated so it does not go into starvation mode, binge on food, and then store it all as fat. There's merit to the '5-6 small, nutritious meals a day' theory that nutritionists & fitness experts keep drumming into our ears. It is also important to eat plenty of fibrous foods, such as fruits, vegetables, wholegrain stuff, a good amount of protein and minimum fatty food.

Water aids weight reduction in various ways - it flushes the toxins out of our body and gets the bowel moving. Eating fibrous foods is of no use if it's not accompanied by sufficient water intake, as fibre needs water to get things moving!

Now I just wish that losing weight was as simple, effortless, and most importantly - as quick - as writing this post was!

Walk When You Talk :)

Seems like Idea knows what they're talking about in their new commercial. Walking is an easy way to burn calories in order to lose weight and decrease body fat.

The number of calories you burn depends on how fast you walk as well as how much you weigh. Apparently, research suggests that a person needs to burn 2000-3000 calories through physical activity every week to control body weight - which works out to be about 60-90 minutes of walking per day.

The minimum duration for which a person must walk in order to lose weight is 30 minutes. Shorter bouts of walking can improve one's overall health but is unlikely to lead to weight/fat reduction.

The good part though is that the 60-90 minutes of exercise can be spread out into small bouts of 15-20 minutes at a time. Walking short distances instead of driving / taking a cab, taking the stairs instead of the elevator, parking your car at a farther spot in the parking lot etc. all help.

Walking can be complimented by making small reductions in one's calorie intake such as skipping desserts after meals, using skim instead of whole milk, replacing sugar with an artificial sweetener etc.

However, if you feel that you cannot start with 60-90 minute walks, you can start with 15-20 minute sessions and add a few minutes every week. The important thing though is that once you manage to lose weight through any form of exercise, including walking, you must continue with it for the rest of your life in order to keep the pounds from piling back on!

Tone Up!

Here are some easy tips for losing weight and toning up your abs, legs & back. I recently read them somewhere. They do not require enrollment at a gym and can be done at home or outdoors.

• Walking briskly or jogging for 30 minutes daily.


• Whenever possible pulling in our stomach as much as we can, holding for a few seconds and releasing. This is a great way to tone our abs. Similarly, squeezing and releasing our butt will help in getting firmer hips.


• Lying on our back with our feet raised up towards the ceiling (at an angle of 90 degrees to the floor), lifting our hips towards the head in a back & forth movement will tone up lower abs.


• For some of us, our body tends to store fat on our back. To lose that flab, lie down on your stomach, facing downward. Place your palms on your back below the waist. Slowly pull your shoulders up and back, keeping your feet on the ground. Repeat 20 times.


• To firm your legs, stand with your hands on your hips or resting on a wall (for support). Raise your right let to the side of your body as high as you can. Keep your back straight. Bring your leg down without touching the floor. Repeat 20 times. Do the same exercise with your left leg.


• Drinking 10-12 glasses of water daily helps flush out the toxins from our body and give us a glowing complexion.


• And of course, easier for some but very difficult for most of us - avoiding sweets and fried food as much as possible :)