What ‘dieting' does NOT mean

Dieting is popularly perceived as hardly eating or shunning away from normal food. How many times have we popped our eyes balls with the thought of 'dieting'! Does the fear kick in because we think it’s torture impossible to sustain or not practical enough?

Well, let me expose some of the ridiculous myths associated with the word 'dieting' before you decide for yourself. I will also share a simple formula to create your own diet chart and urge you all to make dieting your way of life rather than simply a crash diet to satisfy the most common weight loss goal. 

You will enjoy learning this; 

Dieting does not mean having just boiled food: It's always a good practice to eat home-cooked food but not necessarily boiled food! Just be aware and control the ingredients you add to your calories, dieting is a simple art of science, trust me, you can eat anything under the sun if it is done in a quantified manner!

You don't have to eat the same food every day: Dieting allows you to have a variety of food of your choice! There are so many apps that help in counting calories in just a click! Thanks to technology, I make the most of it! I'm on fittr. 

You don't have to give up on your favourite dishes: You can have your favourite foods and desserts by simply being smart about how much and what goes into the preparation. There are umpteen no. of smart food replacements eg: Stevia for sugar, 0 cal natural sweetener!

You don't have to begin eating chicken & eggs: There are enough veg and non veg options to fit nutrients in your diet. Although I am a non-vegetarian, I really enjoy  a veg diet just cause it's convenient and quicker to cook 😋

You don't have to give up on all of your favourite snacks: Once you get into the flow, you will discover how simple it is to fit in your favourite snack as well. There are zillions of quick and easy recipes you can try your hands on. At some point you will feel you are eating more than you usually do and also gradually inching towards your fitness goal.  

Dieting does not mean a heavy breakfast and a light dinner: While this may help you in better digestion, this concept plays no role in dieting and weight loss! You don’t even have to stop eating rice at night! The total calorie intake at the end of the day is what really matters! 

Consumption of protein supplements is not a must: You don't have to consume whey in order to complete your daily protein requirements, it's a good option but definitely not a must.  With whey, it's just simpler to calculate your macros. Alternatively, you can easily avoid whey and have your proteins included in your regular meals by adjusting macros accordingly.

You don't have to stop eating carbs:  Well well, carbs are not the culprit; overeating it is 😉 Include a decent portion of carbs as per your body requirements. I will share the formula to calculate this at the end of this article.

You don't have to stop eating sweets/chocolate too: Yup! You read it right. You may still have your desserts even while on diet by just making smart choices.

This list can be never ending. What diet actually means, is to eat everything but in quantified portions as per your body requirements.

Here is a simple formula that may seem tough to follow at the start but you will gradually get used to it and enjoy the process once you see your sweet progress.

Formula for weight loss:

You need to follow a Calorie Deficit diet along with weight training.

Download the Fittr app, Calculate your TDEE  from the Diet tool option-->BMR Calculator. 

TDEE: Your Total Daily Energy Expenditure | BMR: Basal metabolic rate

1. Set your daily calorie intake: Consume 200-300 Calories less than TDEE.

2. Split your macros:

• Keep your protein consumption at 1.2 to 1.5g per kg of body weight
• Fat at 0.6-0.8g per kg of body weight, and
• Adjust remaining calories with carbohydrates.

1g Protein / 1g Carbohydrates = 4 Calories | 1g Fat = 9 Calories.

Example: 

Suppose your body weight is 70 kg, and your daily calorie intake is set at 2200 Cals.

Protein (say 1.5g per kg of body weight) : 105g [70 x 1.5g]

Fat (say 0.6g per kg of body weight): 42g [70 x 0.6g]

Adjust remaining calories with Carbs: 

2200 - [(105 x 4) + (42 x 9)] = 1402 Cals. Now divide this by 4, (1402/4) = 350.5g

So your Protein is 105g, Fat is 42g, And Carbohydrates is 350.5g. This totals to 2200 Cals.

Note: If you've been consuming very little protein, then you can start with 0.8-1g per kg and increase gradually till the recommended intake.

 3. Create your diet chart: Check calories for chosen food items (Proteins, fats & carbs) for the day and add any food items of your choice within your macros.

4. Training Plan: You don’t necessarily need to join a gym to exercise, resistance training is a must to avoid muscle loss and is totally doable with your own body weight, at home, any time of the day. 

5. Track your progress: Track your progress (weight & inch loss) after 7-10 days 

If you lose weight then stay on the same calories until your weight loss/progress stops.

If you gain/maintain weight: Decrease few more calories. Recheck progress again and proceed in accordance.  

6. Follow up: If you have been consuming low/very low calories with no change in weight, then start consuming around your BMR and increase 150-200 Cals every 7-10 days until you hit your TDEE. You may gain some weight but don't panic, as it's important to improve your metabolism first. After this, start creating 200-300 calories deficit from TDEE and proceed accordingly. 

Tada!!!!! Simple eh 😍 

Become your own nutritionist. Lets begin with step 1-3 today.