COVID-19 LOCKDOWN DIET-PLAN FOR WEIGHT LOSS WITHOUT EXERCISE

• Science
• April 1, 2020
• 2 Comments
• Dr K Jayanth Murali admin

It’s a pandemic time. Lock down’s are in place in several countries. Bingeing during the pandemic is not just about Netflix. People are ploughing through the pandemic with portions and portions of food, as stress-eating and boredom are propelling them through their lockdown provisions, and making people crazy worried about weight gain.

But, people wanting to lose weight during this pandemic have no access to the gyms and playgrounds as Coronavirus has closed all gyms due to social distancing restrictions. Although working out or incorporating exercise into one’s life, improves health and prolongs life, pandemic or no pandemic one need not go to a gym to lose weight. People are under the misconception that the only effective way to lose weight is to hit the gym or clock miles with their running shoes. Most of us fall prey to this myth, and during regular times, we get that covetous gym membership that makes us proud! More often than not, the gym becomes one of those new toys that the infant enjoys – rattled, played, slept-on, etc., only to eventually lose interest a week later! Some become the epicentre of family jokes when those gym shoes that are gathering dust inside the closet are spotted! Phew! Why this Sigh!

The very thought of working out makes people lazy. The mind always wants quick-fix solutions. With pandemic stress already weighing heavy in our minds today, our senses tango between slouching or slogging our way to fitness! More often than not, the former wins and the latter remains compromised. It’s not that people don’t want a fit self – they yearn for it, but just that the hard route makes them tired even before they get started!

Don’t Lose Heart- You can have the cake and eat it too! What if I told you could shed pounds without having to enrol yourself into any gym or working out at home?! With an effective plan made of ten easy steps, anyone can lose up to ten kgs during the lockdown without having to hit the gym or having to slog away at home. Yes, you have read it right, without having to hit the gym or any form of workout.

Don’t believe me? This plan has had many predecessors, so you definitely aren’t my guinea pig! I have patrons who have enjoyed a visible and incredible transformation within just seven days. What makes this plan different from any other weight loss regime is that it is a sustainable option. One that allows you to follow the regime long term. Seeing the changes will motivate you to keep sticking to the regime for one more day and then another and then another. Be it a wedding, a photo-shoot or the approaching summer season, with this plan you can make a visible impact that will tell your story!

I have put this in a simple to follow a pattern – A 10 Step Process. To make things easier for you, and to help keep track of how much effort you are putting in; I have allotted specific reward points to each step. The more effective an action is in reducing weight, the more you score. With every step, you accomplish, you award the corresponding reward points to yourself. The goal is to earn approximately 60 to 70 reward points each day. A minimum of 60 points equates to 1800 points per month! If one Day = 60 Reward points, then one month = 60×30 = 1800 Reward points and earning 1800  Reward points translates to five kilograms weight loss.

Remember, this chart is a goal. It is a motivation and driving force to achieve an end. It is not a Rubicon that has to be crossed. Go slow, take one step a day and build your velocity with time. An organised mind is an efficient mind. Let me kickstart your weight loss journey with the first two stages in this first part.

The first step is to chew a morsel 25 to 30 times which will entitle you to 15 reward points. Most mothers tell children not to “gobble” their food but to eat more slowly. And there is so much truth to the old saying that chewing your food 32 times will make you lose weight. Most of us believe that we are chewing our food adequately. Sadly, the truth is an average human chews just six times before gulping down a morsel. Research has proven that there is a direct correlation between chewing and weight gain. When we binge on food or eat too fast, the brain does not have the time to realise that hunger has been satiated. That makes us eat more than required; hence, the weight gain. When you eat slowly and chew properly, you eat only the amounts needed by the body as the brain gets sufficient time to register the signals of contentment from the stomach.

Horace Fletcher, “The Great Masticator”, and an American health-guru followed the mantra ‘Nature will castigate those who don’t masticate.’ His advice was to use every tooth to chew a mouthful, i.e., 32 times per morsel. The man himself chewed 100 times a minute. Fletcher, the legend known for his Yale Gymnasium experiments touted that this method of mastication could open the door to hidden strengths.

Not convinced enough? Think this then. When you chew 30 times, you give proper attention to each particle of the food. You break it down into smaller pieces. These tiny particles are more comfortable to digest when they reach the stomach. Why? Because the more time a morsel spends inside your mouth, the more saliva is released. Saliva is the secret ingredient that breaks down food as it has digestive enzymes. The more you chew, the better the digestive process, and lesser the weight gain. Processed foods cause weight gain because  they require the least amount of mastication. Think apple slices instead of applesauce. Follow the great Mahatma’s counsel ‘Chew your drink and drink your food.

The second step is using a smaller plate for meals which will entitle you to 10 reward points each day.  Everyone prefers a dish that is filled with food, and not one with a smaller, and most probably, sufficient portion. At mealtimes, people often tend to pile up their plates with food, irrespective of the level of hunger they experience. 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 desire. Thus, people end up eating a lot more than what they need to sustain themselves! When it comes to eating less, experimenters have long understood that a simple way to cut calories is to use a smaller plate. Presuming that an average dinner is 800 calories, this easy modification would result in an approximate weight loss of more than 5 kgs in a short time.

The second step of the Coronavirus diet plan, therefore, circumvents weight gain by employing 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% on a full plate with the 70 percent quantity of food that will fill 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 might crave a second or third serving but if they wait for two minutes before they go for it they find that the craving has vanished. 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 homes that used larger dishes. You can drop 9 kgs in a year just by changing plates, according to a movement called the ”Small Plate Movement”. To achieve which you may start with a dish that’s between 9 and 10 inches in diameter. I will outline the other eight steps in the weeks to follow.

We have a mindset rampant today that is obsessed about weight. While I believe it is great to concentrate on the health and well being of your body, there is an obsessive nature to weight loss that is highly prevalent in society which powers this- “You are not good enough” notion that is continually rammed down our throats. Loving our bodies and knowing that we are perfect enough as we are in the absolute remedy for any weight loss hardships that we are facing. In this regard, activities like meditation can help us love our bodies and help us get in touch with that infinite, eternal stream of energy that pulsates inside all of us.

When we love ourselves and align ourselves at an emotional and spiritual level, we will automatically eat the right foods in the right amounts and stop eating when we are full. All we need to do is to listen to your body and eat things that make us feel good, vibrant and alive. When we love ourselves, inside out, we will automatically reach for foods that are in alignment with our spiritual and emotional self, which in turn will make us feel so right and light that we will never have to go on a diet ever again.

Source from: epaper/deccanchronicle/chennai/dt:31.03.2020

Dr.K. Jayanth Murali is an IPS Officer belonging to 1991 batch. He is borne on Tamil Nadu cadre. He lives with his family in Chennai, India. He is currently serving the Government of Tamil Nadu as Additional Director General of Police, Law and Order.