(Here’s republishing Vandana Malik’s weight loss battles from our archives – a woman who attempted every fad diet in the book and made discoveries she never thought she would. This is the final part of a 10-part-series.)
So, was I able to make a lifestyle change, which was within the realm of reality and one that I could sustain?
The answer is yes.
But it was not possible without the guidance of my nutritionist, who I discovered just by chance at the clinic where I was going for physiotherapy sessions.
I saw a soft spoken lady sitting there gently attending to her clients. Her unassuming demeanour attracted me (of late, I had interactions with some celebrity dieticians who had a very aggressive personality and a similar approach to weight loss).
Too caught up to read? Listen to the story here:
Her’s, on the other hand, was a more practical approach. Her main concern was to attend to the acute indigestion that I was suffering from – acidity.
Let’s fix your inside first (digestive system) rather than the outside (weight). High level of acidity is not healthy and needs to be addressed immediately.Nutritionist to Vandana Malik
Acidic bodies do tend to store fat and that could be one of the reasons for my weight gain. She assured me that I would lose weight once the acidity was brought under control.
Her approach is simple: Eat foods that are alkaline in nature. However, since everyone’s body reacts differently to different food types, she monitors the progress twice a week.
Hence, it is easy to make adjustments to the diet, if required. So through trial and error we arrived at a diet that worked.
The Diet
She told me to eat a banana or a slice of toast first thing in the morning along with warm water. She said this would help to soak the acidic juices that build up during the night as the stomach has had no food since dinner. Most people invariably start their day with tea and/or biscuits which may cause high levels of acidity.
This is followed by a healthy breakfast of a bowl of oats made with more water, less milk – skimmed – with 1/2 tsp of sugar and 4 almonds.
Lunch is a combination of salad and a healthy carb like brown rice, one portion of protein (dahi) and a bowl of vegetables.
In the evening, I have a cup of green tea and any seasonal fruits.
Dinner could be pretty much the same as lunch: Good carb (bajra roti), vegetables and any one protein (dal, paneer, chicken, egg white, fish).
I can even have – hold your breath – a piece of chocolate, if I’m craving something sweet.
Her emphasis on exercise is not too much – just an hour a day of swimming/walking/gymming is good enough.
The diet would change slightly if the acidity came back or if the weight loss became stagnant.
This coupled with the acupuncture treatment helped me tremendously. I started to shed the huge amount of weight I had gained after the second surgery.
I was also taught how to manage my weight. It was suggested that I follow a simple principle: If I have binged on food which is fattening and cheated on the diet today, then I am to make sure I eat correctly for the next couple of days in order to contain the weight gain.
Whether attending a wedding or trying to get rid of the holiday weight, this temporary weight gain has to be corrected immediately, and it has to be an ongoing process else the weight will permanently stick to your body.
So this is what I follow now.
I do visit my nutritionist Neelam Chandhok, when I feel I’m not able to arrest the weight gain. And I religiously follow the detox process that my acupuncturist Preeti Chande has recommended, along with the treatment to boost my metabolism. Not to say that I have not gained weight again, but I am happy to share that I have been able to correct this gain by following their advice.
So, dear readers, this has been my journey and struggle with losing weight over the past 30 years.
And as I sign off today, I have to confess that it is never a dietician that fails. I have often heard people say, “ this dietician did not work for me or this one did”.
The truth of the matter is that it is we who fail.
The approach of various dieticians may differ, but their aim is only one – to ensure that every client is slim and healthy. So let’s not pass the buck onto the dietician.
Remember the buck stops with us.
(Vandana Malik will be writing in with what she calls a new weight loss “attempt” every week for readers of FIT. Watch this space for more!)
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