In India, losing weight can feel like an insurmountable challenge, given our food culture and dietary habits. For instance, a typical Indian meal is high in carbohydrates and sugar – we eat a lot of potatoes, rice, and sweets.
We also love our snacks and can’t imagine a day without our fix of namkeens and bhujias. Even we encourage our friends and family into eating more, as a sign of hospitality and affection, and consider refusing, an extra helping a rebuff. To top it all, we’ve never embraced physical exercise as essential. So, it isn’t a surprise that India is battling with a growing problem of obesity.
But, the answer doesn’t lie in shunning Indian food in favour of foreign ingredients or fad diets. Moreover, you’ll find that the best Indian diet plan consists of foods that you’ve already got in your kitchen and which will enable you to lose weight by making a few changes to your diet.
Understand the Science Behind Weight Loss
Weight loss and gain revolve around caloric consumption and expenditure. Simply put, you lose weight when you consume fewer calories than you expend and you gain weight when you consume more calories than you sweat.
To drop those extra kilos, all you need to do is eat within your calorie budget and burn the required number of calories. So, a combination of the two works best suggested experts.
However, simply determining how many calories your body needs isn’t enough. After all, four samosas (600 calories), two slices of pizza (500 calories), and two gulab jamuns (385 calories) may be within your daily requirement of 1500 calories, but these unhealthy food choices will eventually lead to other health problems like high cholesterol and blood sugar.
To lose weight the healthy way, you also need to ensure your Indian diet plan is balanced i.e. it covers all food groups and provides all the nutrients you need necessary for good health.
The Best Diet Plan for Weight Loss
No single food provides all the calories and nutrients that the body needs to stay healthy. That’s why a balanced diet consisting of macronutrients like carbohydrates, protein, and fat along with micronutrients such as vitamins and minerals, is recommended.
The best Indian diet for weight loss is a combination of the five major food groups – fruits and vegetables, cereals and pulses, meat and dairy products, and fats and oils. Furthermore, knowing how to divvy up the food groups, allocate portion sizes, and the best/ideal time to eat is also equally important.
Weight Loss Diet Plan Chart – Day 1
- After starting your day with cucumber water, have oats porridge and mixed nuts for breakfast.
- Next, have a roti with dal and gajar matar sabzi for lunch.
- Follow that up with dal and lauki sabzi along with a roti for dinner.
Weight Loss Diet Plan Chart – Day 2
- On the second day, eat a mixed vegetable stuffed roti along with curd for breakfast.
- For lunch, have half a katori of methi rice along with lentil curry.
- Next, end your day with sautéed vegetables and green chutney.
Weight Loss Diet Plan Chart – Day 3
- Breakfast on day 3 would include Multigrain Toast and Skim Milk Yogurt.
- In the afternoon, have sauteed vegetables along with paneer and some green chutney.
- Half a katori of methi rice and some lentil curry to make sure you end the day on a healthy note.
Weight Loss Diet Plan Chart – Day 4
- Start Day 4 with a Fruit and Nuts Yogurt Smoothie and Egg Omelette
- Follow that up with Moong Dal, Bhindi Sabzi, and roti.
- Complete the day’s food intake with steamed rice and palak chole.
Weight Loss Diet Plan Chart – Day 5
- Have a glass of skimmed milk and peas poha for breakfast on the fifth day.
- Eat a missi roti with low fat paneer curry in the afternoon.
- End the day with roti, curd and aloo baingan tamatar ki sabzi.
Weight Loss Diet Plan Chart – Day 6
- On Day 6, have idli with sambar for breakfast
- For lunch, roti with curd and aloo baingan tamatar ki sabzi
- To end Day 6, eat green gram with roti and bhindi sabzi
Weight Loss Diet Plan Chart – Day 7
- On the seventh day, start with besan chilla and green garlic chutney.
- Have steamed rice and palak chole for lunch.
- End the week on a healthy note with low fat paneer curry and missi roti.
Along with a balanced Weight loss diet chart plan, these habits will help you stay healthy:
- Instead of three large meals, try having three modest meals and a few snack breaks in controlled portions for the day. Spacing your meals across regular intervals prevents acidity and bloating and also keeps hunger pangs at bay. So, quit your junk food habit by making healthier snacking choices in your indian diet plan.
- Indians eat dinner later than the other societies across the world. Since metabolism slows down at night, a late dinner can lead to weight gain. Experts recommend you eat your last meal of the day by 8 pm.
- How does drinking more water help you lose weight? For starters, it’s zero calories. Also, drinking a glass of water can help curb hunger pangs. Have six to eight glasses of water daily to lose weight and also find a list of drinks that will help you lose weight
- A person needs at least 15 gm of fiber every day, as it aids digestion and heart health. Oats, lentils, flax seeds, apples and broccoli are some great sources of fiber.
In conclusion to everything stated above. you don’t necessarily have to ditch your regular food habits or make massive changes to your diet, all you need is to follow the best balanced Indian diet plan to get fit!