You don't need crash diets

Bharat and Shalan Savur explain why it is important to eat well to stay in the pink, physically and mentally.

A crash diet is bad for the body and mind. The body cries famine every time you drastically reduce your calorie intake.

It slows down metabolism as a survival measure. You get: a slow metabolism that has you putting on more weight — if you were 10 kilos over your normal weight, now you can be 15-20 kilos over it once you stop crash-dieting. 

A crash diet also often causes humongous hunger pangs that demand instant gratification and have you stuffing your mouth. You get: an out-of-control, appetite-control mechanism and your satiety level rises to those ridiculous “why-am-I-always-hungry” heights.

The mind becomes irrational. It starts hating the body. Hate creates within a bottomless pit of emotional hunger — wanting love, wanting approval, wanting a thin body. Sense goes out of the window. Sneaky eating binges as though the furtive calories won’t have any effect.

So listen and understand. When a distressed person came to the Master for help, the Master said, “Do you really want a cure?” The person replied, “If I did not, would I come to you?” Asked the person, “Why do they come?” The Master answered, “Not for a cure. They find it arduous. They come for relief.”

And the Master explained, “Those who want a cure without effort are like those who favour progress provided they can have it without change.”

My answer is this: Seek lifelong bliss, not short-term relief. Be willing to change your lifestyle. It need not be a drastic change, just small steps, small omissions, small enlightenments:

*Make every calorie count. Let every calorie bring in key nutrients — carbs, proteins, vitamins, minerals. Build your body, strengthen it, nourish it, and empower it.

*Invest in yourself, not in fattening foods.

*Each time you say no to temptation, bless yourself: “May I always be so strong and committed to my well-being.” A blessing caps an effort and makes it into a habit.

*Realise that you are careful so that you may be carefree. Often, being careless is mistaken for being carefree.

*Know: A mere five-kilo fat loss makes a big positive difference to health.

*Keep your carbs up: Potatoes, rice, corn, beans, rotis are the ideal energy food.
The starch breaks down to provide rich glucose. It keeps the brain ticking, mood elevated and body energetic. Carbs also ensure that the protein is spared from energy production and used for building strong, lean tissue. So never cut out carbs from your diet. Eat smaller quantities every three hours to keep yourself fuelled without weight-gain.

*Cycle for 32 minutes daily to rev up metabolism and mood. Weight-train thrice a week to build lean muscle and confidence.

*Choose high-fibre foods. The fibre in fresh fruits and vegetables act as beautiful fat sponges, absorbing 50-150 calories of food daily and eliminating it from the body. Alongside, ensure you drink 1.5 litres of water for a thorough cleansing.

*Be comfortable with yourself. Don’t follow the faddists; do what you know to be life-enhancing. Wear comfortable clothes rather than branded ones. Get this: you’re the brand, not your costumes.

*Nourish your spirit too — write, sketch, heal, sing, travel, stand-up comedy, dance. Step into the field of your passion—it is the field of your spirit. You’ll know you’re nourishing your spirit when you feel a rising joy, when you slip into timelessness, when you experience neither hunger, thirst nor fatigue. Yes, a contentment diet. It fuels, fills, fulfills forever. It never crashes.The writers are authors of the book Fitness for Life.