Scientific Weight Loss – Lose 10 Kilos in 30 Days!
Part – 2
The Journey Continues
Welcome back to the most effective diet plan ever! We covered the initial phase of this simple fitness regimen by following the first two steps, out of a total of ten, in my previous blog entry-Kick Start The Journey, where we challenged the body to shed those extra pounds that’s always hanging around like yesterday’s baggage. All of this, without ever setting foot inside a gym!
Let’s continue to lose all that accumulated fat and get fit!
A Quick Recap
As explained earlier, this diet plan has been divided amongst four blog posts so as to make things simpler for you. In this blog, we will detail the next three steps – 3, 4 and 5, that gain 10, 7 and 5 reward points respectively. Before we move on to the next stage, let’s have a look at the main highlights of this truly wondrous diet plan.
- There are 10 steps to follow.
- Each step has a particular weightage or reward points assigned.
- The Short-term goal – Accomplish 60 reward points/ day.
- The Long-term goal – Reach a total of 1800 reward points in 30 days.
- The Prize – Lose approximately 10 kg in a month!
We all know that achieving smaller goals is easier and quicker. This is why I have specifically broken down the entire diet plan to help trim all that fat, pronto. After having read through the first part, you now know why it is necessary to chew your food 25-30 times before swallowing and keep small breaks between servings.
Now, let’s dive forth and push this amazing journey onwards.
Step III. Use a Smaller Plate
Reward Points: 10
Everyone prefers a plate that is filled with food, and not one with a smaller, and most probably, sufficient portion. At meal times, people often tend to pile up their plates with food, irrespective of the level of hunger they experience. Apparently, this is a phenomenon that is all too common! According to a recent study that was published in The Journal of Applied Experimental Psychology, most people feel satisfied only when they have filled 70% of their plates with food. Why do we do this? It is because we subconsciously anchor the serving size to the scale of the plate and not to our hunger. Thus, people end up eating a lot more than what they actually need to sustain themselves!
The third step of the diet plan involves circumventing this situation by using smaller plates, like half or quarter plates. As long as they are not full-sized plates you are good to go. Imagine the difference between food that takes 70% of a full plate with that which takes the same on a half/quarter plate!
If you are sceptical and are speculating that a smaller plate just means second or more servings, then rest easy. For most people, the first serving will be more than enough to satiate their hunger. There might be a few who would require a second or third serving to meet the required calorie limit.
The study I quoted above also details an experiment conducted on over 200 households in Syracuse for four months. The result proved that the members of households that were given smaller plates had lost at least three pounds more than those in households that used larger dishes.
An inside tip – Don’t exacerbate fat gain by your actions. Just choose the smallest dishware.
Step IV. Eat Psyllium Husk
Reward Points: 7
The fourth step involves ingesting two tablespoons of Psyllium husk before every meal. Psyllium husk, or what is colloquially known as Isabgol or Ispaghula, comes in two varieties: tablet and powder. While the tablet is easier to ingest, the powder form is more popular. 30 minutes before every meal mix a spoon of Psyllium husk in half litre water and then gulp it down. Assuming, you have two main meals a day the total comes to one-litre water and two tablespoons of the husk.
How does Ispaghula help in dieting?
Once ingested, Psyllium husk expands inside our bodies. This makes us feel full which in turn decreases the feeling of hunger. Consequently, when we sit down to eat, we end up taking smaller portions, consequently resulting in weight loss. Why am I stressing on taking the husk before a meal? It’s because research has shown that drinking water during a meal could hamper digestion. Small sips of water do not affect us but, drinking more than a glass can lower our digestive powers. Over and above by taking the husk before a meal you give it time to absorb the water and expand further in the stomach.
The Best Time to Guzzle Down Water
Studies recommend drinking water either 2 hrs after having a meal or 30 mins before one. The more you drink during a meal, the lesser will be the amount of gastric enzymes that are secreted. This means the undigested food is absorbed by the stomach and that’s when you get the horrible heartburn we all abhor. Acid reflux is not a good end to a scrumptious meal. Another reason you should avoid water with a meal is insulin level. It increases if you imbibe water with your food, which in turns raises the probability that your body will store fat.
An inside tip –Begin with just half a tablespoon of the husk and then slowly reach the two tbsp goal. There is no need to rake your body over the coals. Fat loss is a marathon, not a sprint.
Step V. Salad as a Pre-Meal
Reward Points: 5
The fifth step of the diet plan is not just healthy. In fact, it is absolutely drool-worthy! Before every meal you take, chop two cucumbers add some cinnamon, mustard seed (ground) and ground pepper to it and prepare to relish this simple yet delicious creation. You can alternate between tomatoes and cucumber to add variety. Remember to use fresh and raw vegetables. They are not only full of minerals and vitamins but also have a meagre calorie count.
With this simple salad, you add volume to your meal along with the vital fibre that is required to help digestion. When you add quantity to a meal with such nutritional powerhouses, you will consume less high-calorie foods. The high water content in both cucumbers and tomatoes further fills up your stomach. As a result, you eat smaller portions of the fat-heavy main course.
An inside tip – A sine qua non to keeping up with such a diet is to enjoy what we eat. To this end, make the salad both visually appealing as well as tasty, by garnishing the raw vegetables as per your taste, making it tingle all your senses. You will enjoy the salad more and hence work towards maintaining a well-balanced diet.
If you follow the five steps I have outlined so far (three that I have listed here and the two in the first blog post), you will gain a potential score of 47 points per day! This is more than half of what you will need to achieve in a day.
Fervently hoping to lose weight does no good. Make these steps a part of your daily routine.
To continue your journey of losing 10 kgs in a month, just mosey along to the next three steps, that I will put across in my next blog entry.
See you soon!
Jayanth Murali lives in Chennai, India. He personally helps people improve their health and gain lean body mass through various intermittent fasting protocols as well as time restricted feeding.
