Say No to Fad diets! By the experts at India Gate

The festive season is just around the corner and we can feel the excitement already. As the party invitations start pouring in, we get ourselves and our wardrobes ready for the upcoming celebrations. After all, we do want to look our best!

To most of us, the easiest way to achieve this would be to hit the gym, adopt a quick weight loss diet program suggested by a friend or pop in a few weight loss supplements that claim to be healthy. The number of diets and diet claims that have existed and are continuing to grow are mind boggling and are at most times not good for the body.

These days there is a growing tendency of individuals to look for quick fixes thereby giving rise to a growing jungle of “fad diets”. But like they say there are no quick fixes, there are none for weight loss too. While fad diets may help you lose a few kilos and calories instantly, this can have a negative effect on your body internally. Fad diets don’t work!

A healthy lifestyle and balanced diet is the only way for long term weight management, and this should be consistent. Fad diets generally suggest avoiding certain food completely, while a healthy diet will suggest healthy changes to your lifestyle and food intake. Eating healthily will come naturally to you if you change your lifestyle rather than adhere to short-term diets.

The experts at India Gate suggest simple ways you can adopt a healthy lifestyle:

Set realistic goals: Your diet plan should be gradual and realistic, something that you can follow more consistently. Unrealistic diet goals are usually a failure.

Don’t avoid just replace: Most diet plans tell us to avoid certain food like rice and bread. These food, being a staple to most cuisines are difficult to do away with completely. Therefore the best way to deal with this is to substitute them with healthy options. You can replace white rice or brown rice with sprouted brown rice which not only is healthier but tastes as good. Having higher levels of certain minerals, vitamins and active compounds, sprouted brown rice can stimulate the liver function and eliminate toxicity from your body. It can be used for any dish as a replacement for white or brown rice.

Keep healthy food at home: Unhealthy food is a big temptation therefore it is best to keep them at bay. Ensure you keep fresh fruits and nuts easily accessible, as then you are most likely to munch on them when hungry. Also, stock up whole grains, healthy proteins and fibre and avoid processed food.

Don’t curb you cravings: Cravings are unavoidable and repeatedly curbing a craving has it coming back stronger especially if it is a sweet craving. The best way to manage this is preparing healthy snack and sweets options. Replace flour with healthy options like quinoa, flax seeds, chia seeds and use honey instead of sugar. Homemade energy bars are therefore always a good option. You can prepare them using quinoa, nuts and honey. Quinoa is naturally gluten free, high in protein and iron.

Eat a healthy breakfast: Breakfast sets you up for the whole day, therefore ensure you have a healthy breakfast comprising of fruits, milk, nuts, and eggs. As mornings are usually a rush time, smoothies are a great options. you can make a smoothie of fresh fruits, nuts and seeds like flax seeds, chia seeds etc that help keep you full for longer a time.