Lose Weight, The Right Way

“Honey, does this dress make me look fat?”

Now, we all know, that there is no right answer to that question, but there are a few answers for how to lose weight in a healthy, simple manner. Though I am of the personal belief that weight and the body image attached to it are one’s personal choice, a lack of “wobble” does give a boost to one’s confidence.

Here are 10 habits to form and tricks to use, to lose those extra pounds.

1. Exercise is the most important. That being said, one doesn’t necessarily have to have a rigorous gym routine to lose some weight. It’s more important to assess and manage your metabolism and adjust what you eat and when you eat accordingly. Ginseng is a great metabolic stimulant in addition to its properties as an adaptogen and immune booster.

2. Set The Pace Of The Day with a short brisk walk, some calisthenics or Yoga. This helps switch your system “On” and prepare it for the energy it needs to generate during your day, energy that comes from stored fats, in addition to the food you eat. Follow up your walk with a cup of Green Tea, with Ginger, Lemon and Honey. Green Tea is am anti oxidant, while ginger helps the body cleanse itself and burn stored fat. Vitamin C helps keep the liver healthy and flush it of fats. Honey makes a good healthy sweetener in addition to its many restorative properties.

3. When, What and How Much? Answer these in the context of your diet, When do you eat, what and how much. Mostly, people blame weight gain on the quantity of food but the timing is equally important. Fix the time for your three meals and stick to it. If you find yourself hungry in between, try eating something high in fiber, like a nice oatmeal cookie.

4. Dinner is a very crucial meal of the day. Most of us end up over indulging after a long dayswork. While it is perfectly fine to eat as much as the body demands, one needs to give it time to speak up. Eat with relish, savor each bite, take your time. You must all have noticed, that you always realize that you’ve eaten too much, after the fact. That’s because it takes a little time for the body to signal that it’s full. So give it that time. Server yourself from the kitchen and leave the serving bowls there. The walk back for seconds, rather even thinking about it will give you enough time to figure out what your stomach’s saying.

5. Go For A Stroll. Just like in the mornings, don’t let your metabolism slack off after dinner. All our Grandparents have been sticklers to the post meal “walk”. It’s a simple thing to do, be it on your terrace or your garden. It helps stimulate digestion and more efficient use of the fuel you just ingested.

6. Sometimes after a meal, especially dinner, I’ll end up craving food. Manage those cravings smartly as those are where we end up eating highly calorific and super sweet stuff.
Try Crystallized or Candied Ginger. It’ll give you a nice little sugar boost, and ginger happens to be a natural purifier and it helps the body burn fat better.

7. There are a few other things you can incorporate into your daily diet, which will help you get the svelte look you crave. Most of these already find place in our daily food, but you could knowingly add them to the mix. Cinnamon, helps stimulate your metabolism. It has also been found to significantly reduce blood sugar levels. Frankly, I love how it tastes, and will often chew on a stick. Works as a nice breath sweetener too.

8. Black Pepper‘s name gets dropped quite frequently, because it has a lot of positives to offer to the human body. It contains a Piperine, a substance that helps block the formation of new fat cells.