Have you tried the best D.I.E.T. yet?

Our spiritual masters weren’t interested in food. They largely lived off the subtle fruits of meditation. The rest of us, however, do need food for sustenance. But, please don’t give it undue importance — neither let it consume your every thought or deed, nor let it be a part of every celebration and sorrow. Give it a place, but not a pedestal. Understand that food fills but cannot fulfill. All it can provide is passing pleasure, not lasting joy.

Do you spend time thinking about petrol or gas? Food too is fuel. It’s delicious but it has a downside as well — any excess, if not thrown out of your system, festers and causes pain, discomfort or disease. How often does one say, ‘It must be something I ate’. So, ask yourself this: How often do I allow my insatiable lower self to rule my health? Try this D.I.E.T. —  Dive Into Ecstatic Terrain.

It’s when one seeks the greater good, that the lesser loses its sheen. The approach must come from within oneself, not from hatred of one’s body, not from fear of hypertension, arthritis or any disorder that the body may already be afflicted with. Love is like an ever-watchful mother who unconditionally accepts a person’s tantrums yet has the power to restrain him from harming himself.

Similarly, look at a craving for unhealthy food as an inner storm. Yes, one’s instinct knows there’s a limit to even this resolve. But temptation shouldn’t be allowed to wriggle in. So, start the process of calming those cravings. Close your eyes and chant 108 times any mantra that you know. You may not feel it physically, but the rhythmic sound will vibrate through you gently, moving softly through every cell, changing the very composition of your being. And the stormy cravings will slowly subside.

Watch what you put in your mind. Only take in peace and joy. Suffuse every action, task, duty with full focus and complete concentration. That will automatically change and calm your breathing rhythm. You will feel the fullness of joy and peace, a nourishment derived from the energy within you.

Once you have achieved this state of calm, introduce food items low in calories but high in nutrition, such as fibre-rich bhindi (lady’s finger), palak (spinach), wholegrains, moong, mushroom, egg, curd, oranges, in your diet. Simultaneously, put your heart into cooking. Banish oil from your diet. Oil usually spells trouble.

The trick is to remember that you are on a D.I.E.T. and to eat what resonates with your best instincts, not your baser instincts.

(The writers are authors of ‘Fitness for Life’ and teachers of the Fitness for Life programme.)