I am overweight. What should I do?

Acceptance is the first step to treatment. However the more important step is to follow a disciplined routine with regards to diet and exercise.

Are there alternative medical ways to treat obesity?

Most of the alternative forms of medicine including Ayurveda and Acupuncture almost universally agree that the best treatment for obesity is to lead a healthy life with good exercise and the right diet. So this is one disease where modern medicine and alternate forms of medicine completely agree on treatment.

Which diet should I follow?

There are a number of fad diets available online. However most of them are now not recommended or no real data is available on their efficacy.Talk to your doctor about a structured diet tailored to your BMI and your food preferences. Dieting does not mean you have to give up your favorite foods - it only means we strike a balance. Talk to us if you need help.

If so, then what changes should I make to my diet?

There are three aspects to diet-the food, the quantity and the time. As regards to the timing, it is ideal to have a heavy breakfast, a moderate lunch and a light dinner. In between meals, it is ideal to have light snack.

As regards to the food, it is best to include a large portion of boiled vegetables in your diet and to reduce the intake of fried foods and red meat. Do not fill your stomach with rice, but make sure you get a small portion of rice in your diet. Avoid taking rice and potato together or two high starch foods in the same meal. Do not eat to your stomach (and heart’s content), but eat till you are half full. Remember that you can have a snack in the next few hours. Your snack can consist of two biscuits and a fruit drink.

This way you get to have 2 full meals (breakfast and lunch) and three small meals a day (two snack and dinner). As weird as it may seem, eating multiple small meals actually help you lose weight as long as those meals do not consist of fried or junk food and aerated drinks. However if you suffer from diabetes or cardiac illness follow your doctor’s prescribed diet.

If the above diet does not help in weight los over a period of 6 months, you can then be prescribed a weight loss diet. Talk to us if you need help.   

How much should I exercise?

For optimal health, you need to exercise for at least 45 minutes a day, 5 days a week. Exercise should be of moderate intensity. A good way of measuring intensity is that you should be gasping a little for air, but should be able to talk. And,yes, the 45 minutes does not include breaks.