Will Yourself Slim

Everyone everywhere today seems to be talking about being slim and trim. Youngsters, adults, senior citizens – they’re all reading about it, talking about it, thinking about it and even worrying about it. But not everyone seems to be doing something about it.

Discussing a matter is one thing – actually getting down to brass tacks and doing something about it is quite another. Motivation is the magic word for getting onto the track of achievement. One should have the desire to do a thing, otherwise it can’t be done. This desire should spring from one’s own consciousness, because nobody can force one to do anything effectively, unless one really wishes to do it.

So, too, in this matter of losing weight. Nothing anybody can say or do can really get a person going – she can be inspired or encouraged, but the real wish to act has to come from within herself.

A slender person certainly feels and looks more energetic.

So, if you are really serious about losing weight, the real motivation for your journey towards your goal will have to come from yourself. Once you have found a factor strong enough to motivate you, you will then have to draw upon your inner reserves of strength and your will-power to keep going till you succeed. Remember, if you really want to do something badly enough, you will find a way of doing it. To understand this we have to look around ourselves to see the number or differently-abled people who have triumphed over their disabilities to achieve their dreams. It is their burning ambition to fulfill their desires that eggs them on, and their tremendous will-power that keeps them going.

That’s how you have visually impaired men and women climbing mountains and crossing the Channel, paraplegics and quadriplegics painting and writing, or a Sudha Chandran dancing exquisitely and powerfully on an artificial limb.

What an inspiring example these heroes set us! It’s enough to make us feel pretty small about not being able to even do a relatively simple thing like losing weight!

The first step is always the most difficult one. Once it’s taken the rest follows almost naturally. It’s just a matter of putting one foot in front of the other, and then keeping at it! And before you know it, you’ve reached your destination!

But one needs an incentive to take that first step. And incentives come in varying forms. For some, it could be the wish to avoid health problems like high blood pressure, heart trouble or diabetes, just to name a few almost certain outcomes of obesity.

It could also be the desire to look (and feel) good that prompts some of us to shed our extra kilos, for there is no denying that a well-maintained body gets appreciation from everyone. Also, an individual is not restricted in her choice of outfits of she is slim. She can carry off any dress and look smart.

Obesity makes an individual look older than she is, while slimness can actually make one look younger than one is. This has the pleasurable result that one receives compliments and this enhances one’s self-esteem. Unfortunately, obesity is reason enough for some people to direct uncharitable remarks and nasty, needling statements at those who are overweight.

A slender person certainly feels and looks more energetic than an overweight individual who has to carry around all that excess baggage. So, pick your motivating factor, and go to it!

Though it seems incredible, it is a fact that most of us allow ourselves to go the way of all flesh, through the scales (in the sense of medical and other advantages) are heavily tipped in favour of remaining slim and there is virtually no benefit to be derived from overweight. Yet, most of us have to literally brainwash ourselves to think slim!

In most cases, it is our sedentary lifestyle that is to blame. The next villain is faulty eating habits. Both these enemies have to be tackled simultaneously for really dramatic results. Trying to amend one without addressing the other would not prove half as effective, and could even be harmful, as in the case of severe dieting.

Which obese woman doesn’t dream of becoming svelte and slim? But for most of us it remains just that – a dream! Though it only takes will-power and determination to make the dream come true.

Before going any further, let me hasten to add that we are not referring to obesity thrust on individuals by hereditary factors, or due to gland malfunctions or any other physiological causes, or as a side-effect of certain unavoidable medication. These can only be treated by doctors. We are talking about the classic case or excess weight due to wrong eating habits and insufficient exercise.

The words “diet” and “exercise” are enough to put most people off, particularly those of the “yo-yo” variety, who embark on ambitious diet or exercise programmes and then abandon them midway, only to return them again and so on, ad nauseum. Obviously the motivating factor has not been strong enough for them. If it had, the will to reach their goal would have been stronger.

I have gone through the agony of being skinny and then positively fat. I then experienced the ecstasy of growing pencil-thin (an avoidable extreme) and then stabilized somewhere in between. So I can fully understand the difficulties involved in losing those extra kilos.

In my case, it was cattiness on the part of people that motivated me. I wanted to prove a point – and I kept that aim before myself whenever I was tempted to give up. Soon, it became my life’s mission and I was drawn into exercise wholeheartedly. Let me share some of the things I have learnt with you all:

BEGIN TODAY:

 Tomorrow or tomorrow morning, quite literally, never comes. Evenings and today will do just as well, once you get into the mood to fight the battle of the bulge.

Keep your motivating factor clearly before you, deriving strength from it whenever you’re in danger of succumbing to the easy way out. Picture yourself trim and smart, wearing that outfit you‘ve had to deprive yourself of, because you couldn’t possible carry it off with all those bulges.

Put notes telling you to “keep thin”, “Get thin” etc. in all key places – the fridge, the biscuit tin etc. You could also pon pictures of glamorous models all over the place. Charts pinned on the wall in the kitchen are also useful reminders.

EAT RIGHT:

You need not starve yourself. In fact, that’s the surest way to ensure losing out. Also, you run the danger of growing weak and losing valuable nutrients. There are foods which you can pile on your plate without piling in the calories.

Eat healthy foods such as salads & sprouts

Fruits, salads, sprouts, and lightly sautéed vegetables, made in a non-stick pan are filling, yet light. Fried foods and sweets are a big no-no. But you can scarcely manage without sugars. So take your sugar requirements from natural sources like fruit, rather than synthetic ones like confectionary or mithai.

You need to work out daily caloric requirement, so that you lose not nourishment, but weight. Calorie charts are freely available and you can plan your menu accordingly. But it is always advisable to get the final go-ahead from your doctor or dietician, before embarking on any diet (I prefer to call it controlled eating).

SMALL IS GREAT:
Keep your servings small, your plate small, your mouthful small. Chew as slowly as you possibly can. It is a fact that the brain takes time to signal a feeling of fullness to us, so that often we find ourselves feeling uncomfortably bloated after a rapid meal. The brain hasn’t had time to indicate that we should stop, so fast have we been eating.

If we eat slowly, on the other hand, we are able to get the message in time to stop when we should.

Also try to be in a relaxed frame of mind while eating. If you try and calm yourself down before you gobble up a plate of food, you will find you can eat more slowly and enjoy it more.

There are other small tricks to stretch a little a longer way. For example, instead of topping your slice of bread with the egg, try eating both separately and see how much more fuller you feel.

Again if you eat rice, take a small portion of rice and thoroughly soak it with daal, it will spread so much that it will cover your entire plate, and you will end up eating less calories and more proteins.

On the other hand, eat only when you are hungry and stop the moment you are satisfied. We shove in food indiscriminately into our ever eager mouths. Instead look at the food and ask yourself if you really want it or need it.

BURN THOSE CALORIES:

No matter how much you alter your eating habits, it will only be an exercise in futility unless you add some form of exercise. This is necessary to burn up the calories you consume. Also, if you lose weight simply by dieting or controlled eating, you may end up flabby, with your skin hanging in unsightly folds.

Exercise tightens the muscles and improves body tone, leaving you taut and strong. If we consume more calories than we use up, they simply keep piling up in the form of fat. If we are lucky, we may just about manage to maintain our current weight by eating less, but not exercising.

But if we really wish to lose weight, we not only need to consume fewer calories, but we also need to work out more so that we actually begin to melt away the accumulated backlog.

THE DOCTOR KNOWS BEST:

Any form of exercise should be undertaken only after consulting a doctor, or at least a fitness expert. This is especially so in the case of those who have hitherto led sedentary lives, are above 34-40, or have just convalesced from an illness or operation.

Any sudden form of unaccustomed exertion can damage the body, especially sensitive areas like the back, ankle, knee or waist. Increasingly, that old staple, the brisk walk, is finding favour with fitness experts. This is especially so in the case of older people, since this is one form of exercise they can continue till the end.

Walking is a moderate, yet effective form of exercise which does not unduly strain any part of the body. But in order to be effective as far as weight loss is concerned, it has to be brisk and regular. It is a good aerobic exercise and can do wonders to an individual.

YOU CAN SNACK: If you are the type who feels puckish in between meals, despite having had a proper amount to eat, the way out is to eat a little less at meal times and make up later. But snacks should certainly not be savouries or sweets or junk foods.

You could munch on fruit, carrot sticks, salads, sprouts and other high-fibre foods. High-fibre foods are very good for the digestive system and for health in general.

GET A WEIGHING SCALE: Keep a regular check on your weight and measurements. Initially, it may take a while to lose the first few kilos, but once you begin losing, it is likely to get more rapid. Again, after a while, it may slow down. But keep at it and you will succeed.

Sometimes the weighing scale may not register major weight loss, but your clothes will tell you the truth. This is because, while exercising, one is likely to build up muscle, while losing flab.

As mentioned earlier, exercise goes on to firm up sagging and loose areas, and to tone up the body, while mere dieting may make you end up losing muscle, so that though the weighing scale may show less weight, you are actually endangering your health.

BE REALISTIC: If you keep to a regular, moderated diet pattern, you are less likely to go on a binge. It is when you consistently deny yourself that you feel the need ot cheat on your own self!

But if, despite all your efforts, you do end up over-eating on an occasion, don’t give up. Just as missing one meal or fasting for one day doesn’t lead ot weight loss, so too, over-eating on one day doesn’t make you fat. But don’t make a habit of it.

In the final analysis, the thing to remember is your goal. Be motivated enough to follow your plans through. Test your awesome reserves or will-power – and no one can stop you from succeeding. So here’s to a more svelte you! All the best!

(Guest Post by Lekha R.)