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Happy Tummy Expert

2 weeks ago

Dear Tanishka, Thank you for the question.

 It is not necessary that you have to go to the gym to reduce weight. However, regular physical activity or exercise is necessary and beneficial for overall health as it helps in improving muscular and cardiorespiratory fitness, maintain ideal body weight, prevent, and manage lifestyle disorders as well as improve digestive health. Walking, cycling, jogging, skipping at home are some of the physical activities that can be considered. However, for specific exercise regimen to cater to specific fitness needs please contact a fitness expert.

A food craving is defined as the intense desire or urge to consume a specific food. Food is an essential component for living healthy. Our body and minds cannot survive without right proportion of micronutrients and macronutrients. A healthy diet is very important for our energy, wellbeing, to ward off diseases, immunity, etc. One of the key aspects of living a happy healthy life amongst many others is to enjoy food which is healthy, delicious and consumed in right proportions and in a mindful manner.

Being Mindful while eating is necessary to have a control over food cravings & hunger. Mindfulness is an intentional focus on one’s thoughts, emotions, and physical sensations in the present moment. Eating mindfully is when you are using all of your physical and emotional senses to experience and enjoy the food choices you make. Mindful eating encourages one to make choices that will be satisfying and nourishing to the body.

Adolescence or teen age is a critical period of our lives in which our body undergoes rapid changes, growth and development. It is very essential to consume a healthy balanced diet with adequate amount of protein and other nutrients such as calcium, iron, vitamin D etc., which will help support growth, development, pubertal changes and strong bones.

An adolescent girl should take enough calcium rich foods in her diet to support the increase of bone density and maintain healthy strong bones. Some of the calcium sources include milk, cheese, paneer, Ragi, curd, yogurt.

Reference ideal body weight and height for 19-year-old female can be considered as 48.1-59.5kg and 155.3-166.9cm height.

Please note that target weight loss is recommended to be within the reference range

Sustainable weight management requires a holistic approach which involves lifestyle management which includes Dietary modification, Physical activity, hydration, and stress management. With any weight loss plan changes take time to reflect as your body requires sufficient time to adapt to the changes in order to show results.

An ideal weight loss meal plan should include calorie deficit diet with appropriate exercise regime followed under professional guidance.

However here are few objectives to be considered when planning to start with a weight loss program.

Count Your Daily Calories

• • It is recommended to consume 500kcal less than your average, daily, current dietary intake of calories to target on 2-3kg weight loss per month (ideally 0.5kg per week).
  • This target is a healthy& sustainable way of reducing and then maintaining the weight loss.
  • The first step hence is “counting your daily calorie intakes”. Counting your daily calorie intake is proven to be effective when on a weight loss diet. You can use applications/apps freely available, that will help you count your calories to keep a track on your daily calorie intake and physical activity levels.
  • These apps will also help you to track your hydration & sleep patterns which also impact your weight.

General Dietary Guidelines for weight loss that can be considered:

• Eat a well-balanced diet that includes all the 5 food groups (cereals, pulses, fruits, vegetables, milk & milk products).
• Do not skip your meals. Have small quantity of meals at regular intervals.
• Choose healthy snacking options in between your meals.
• Monitor your portion size.
• Include protein in your diet. Some of the sources include pulses, lentils, milk, paneer, soybean, eggs, lean meat, nuts & seeds, etc. 
• Fiber in your meals can potentiate the satiating property, suppress excess hunger and control food intake. All fruits and vegetables, whole grains, multigrains, millets, nuts & seeds etc., are a good source of fiber.
• Try switching from saturated fats and trans fats to MUFA (mono-unsaturated fatty acids) & PUFA (polyunsaturated fatty acids) as they are essential fatty acids and are good for your health.
• Consume fresh, seasonal fruits as they contain many essential nutrients and are good sources of fiber.
• Carbonated and alcoholic beverages to be limited or preferably avoided.
• Deep Fried foods to be restricted. Method of cooking like baking, grilling, boiling, steaming is preferable over deep frying with excess fat/ oil.
• Minimum of 8 glasses of water should be consumed to keep yourself hydrated.
• Have your last meal at least 2-3 hours before Bed time.
• Try to follow a good sleep regimen in terms of both quantity and quality.

For a customised and personalised meal plan for specific conditions please contact your Health care professional or any registered dietician.

Hope we have answered your query.

Wishing you a great day ahead.​

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