Though diets and preferences vary throughout India, most people follow a primarily plant-based diet. Around 80% of the Indian population practices Hinduism, a religion that promotes a vegetarian or lac to-vegetarian diet.

The traditional Indian diet emphasizes a high intake of plant foods like vegetables, lentils and fruits, as well as a low consumption of meat.

However, obesity is a rising issue in the Indian population. With the growing availability of processed foods, India has seen a surge in obesity and obesity-related chronic diseases like heart disease and diabetes

This article explains how to follow a healthy Indian diet that can promote weight loss. It includes suggestions about which foods to eat and avoid and a sample menu for one week.

A Healthy Traditional Indian Diet

Traditional plant-based Indian diets focus on fresh, whole ingredients — ideal foods to promote optimal health.

Why Eat a Plant-Based Indian Diet?

Plant-based diets have been associated with many health benefits, including a lower risk of heart disease, diabetes and certain cancers such as breast and colon cancer

Additionally, the Indian diet, in particular, has been linked to a reduced risk of Alzheimer’s disease. Researchers believe this is due to the low consumption of meat and emphasis on vegetables and fruits

Following a healthy plant-based Indian diet may not only help decrease the risk of chronic disease, but it can also encourage weight loss.

What Food Groups Does It Include?

The Indian diet is rich in nutritious foods like grains, lentils, healthy fats, vegetables, dairy and fruits.

The diets of most Indian people are heavily influenced by religion, particularly Hinduism. The Hindu religion teaches nonviolence and that all living things should be valued equally.

That’s why a lac to-vegetarian diet is encouraged, and eating meat, poultry, fish and eggs is discouraged. Vegetarianism do, however, eat dairy products.

A healthy lac to-vegetarian diet should focus on grains, lentils, dairy, vegetables, fruits and healthy fats like coconut oil.

Spices such as turmeric, fenugreek, coriander, ginger and cumin are at the forefront of traditional dishes, adding rich flavor and powerful nutritional benefits.

Turmeric, one of the most popular spices used in India, is celebrated for its anti-inflammatory, antibacterial and anticancer properties

Healthy Foods to Eat

There are many delicious foods and beverages to choose from when following a lac-to-vegetarian diet for weight loss.

What to Eat

Try incorporating the following ingredients into your daily meal plan:

Vegetables: Tomatoes, spinach, eggplant, mustard greens, okra, onions, bitter melon, cauliflower, mushrooms, cabbage and more
Fruits: Including mango, papaya, pomegranate, guava, oranges, tamarind, lychee, apples, melon, pears, plums, bananas
Nuts and seeds: Cashews, almonds, peanuts, pistachios, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, watermelon seeds and more
Legumes: Mung beans, black-eyed peas, kidney beans, lentils, pulses and chickpeas
Roots and tubers: Potatoes, carrots, sweet potatoes, turnips, yams
Whole grains: Brown rice, basmati rice, millet, buckwheat, quinoa, barley, corn, whole-grain bread, amaranth, sorghum
Dairy: Cheese, yogurt, milk, kefir, ghee
Herbs and spices: Garlic, ginger, cardamom, cumin, coriander, garam masala, paprika, turmeric, black pepper, fenugreek, basil and more
Healthy fats: Coconut milk, full-fat dairy, avocado, coconut oil, mustard oil, olive oil, peanut oil, sesame oil, ghee
Protein sources: Tofu, legumes, dairy, nuts and seeds

Meals and snacks should focus on fresh, whole foods flavored with herbs and spices.

Additionally, adding non-starchy vegetables like greens, eggplants or tomatoes to your meals will provide a boost of fiber that can help you feel satisfied for a longer period of time after eating.

Weight loss diet is a big concern for many and is often the first priority in their fitness plan. Weight loss is not easy and it requires discipline, efforts and patience. It can be achieved by a healthy lifestyle which includes the right diet as well as regular physical activity. Most people have a misconception that a weight loss diet requires drastic diets such as intermittent fasting, 10 week diet, keto diet or health supplements such as medicines or pills. However, this is wrong. One requires a balanced diet with the right proportions of all food groups. More often than not, the food that person is accustomed to eating since birth is the best diet to lose weight instead of trying out different fancy foods.

An Indian diet chart for weight loss in 7 days is very effective because Indian meals are very balanced as they include proteins, fats, carbohydrates and fibers in required proportion. There are some nutritious foods such as grains, lentils, healthy fats, vegetables, dairy and fruits. Since there are a number of ways to cook Indian food, healthier options can always be found. Also, many of Indian traditional spices and herbs are extremely healthy such as chilies, turmeric, garlic, cinnamon, cardamom, ginger and basil leaves.

An Indian diet chart for weight loss for female is especially gaining momentum now as with more women working at both offices and homes need the right amount of nutrition and a well-balanced diet.

Are you looking for the best Indian diet plan to lose weight? The rules are simple. All you need to do is start eating right. But in India, this 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 namesakes and bhaji. We pressurize our friends and family into eating too much, 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. It’s no wonder that India is battling a growing obesity problem.

But the answer doesn’t lie in shunning Indian food in favor of foreign ingredients or fad diets. You’ll find that the best Indian diet plan consists of foods you’ve already got in your kitchen and that you can 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. You lose weight when you consume fewer calories than you expend. Conversely, you gain weight when you consume more calories than you expend. To drop those excess kilos, all you need to do is eat within your calorie budget and burn the required number of calories. A combination of the two works best suggest experts. Get your daily requirement of calorie consumption and burn based on your lifestyle and dietary preferences, by signing up on Healthily.

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 diet is balanced i.e. it covers all food groups and provides all the nutrients you need necessary for good health.

Easy Tips To Design Diet Chart For Healthy Weight Loss

Most of us have read the bestseller The Secret, which says that the more we focus on something we don’t want, the more of that unwanted thing we get. Frustrating! Especially when it comes to our attempts at weight loss, trying this, that or the other weight loss diet. Some women are perennially on a diet because apparently their ideal weight is forever out of their reach. Nothing supernatural about this. It stands to reason that the more we think I can’t have that cake, the more our mind focuses on that cake, rather than the healthy alternatives on our diet chart. The craving increases unless we binge…and then we feel guilty.

1 – To diet or not to diet?

A diet plan reminds us that we’re on a diet; that brings with it feelings of deprivation. Better to call it a healthy eating chart or a balanced weight loss diet. A healthy eating pattern that you can sustain, without constantly fearing food and obsessing over calorie count, is the only thing that can bring about permanent weight loss for women, who tend to have more body fat than men for biological reasons.

2 – The Indian balanced diet plan

What to include in the balanced diet chart a.k.a. healthy eating chart? It doesn’t have to be sprouts and salads only, though those are certainly good for you. The renowned nutrition and wellness expert Rujuta Diwekar told her audience once that the food a person grew up with was the food to which the body would respond to the best. Therefore, for Indian women, what works best for permanent weight loss is an Indian balanced diet plan.

1. Make small tweaks

Cut down on the packaged and processed foods; they’re usually loaded with sodium, which may lead to bloating and a higher risk of heart problems. Whenever possible, eat fresh produce, as we always did in India, and make your juices by throwing diced fruits and veggies into the blender. Eliminate the white (rice, sugar, bread) and go for brown. Pick wholewheat atta over refined flour.

2. Eat seasonal fruits

Eat seasonal fruits from the local market instead of exotic imports found out of season. Seasonal fruits usually are rich in the compounds that the body needs for that time of the year, e.g. guava and orange, rich in Vitamin C, come to the market in winter, just when you need that vitamin to guard against the common cold.

3. Stir-fry instead of deep-fry

The occasional samosa won’t bust your weight loss plan, but on a daily basis, stir-frying is a far better idea than deep-frying, as you can keep the calorie count low without sacrificing taste.

4. To increase the basal metabolic rate

Eat several small meals a day. This gives the body repeated assurance that more food is coming -it stops hoarding calories and happily burns fat. A small meal isn’t a bag of crisps and vending machine coffee; its a fruit, or a small portion of trail mix (dry fruits and unsalted nuts), or a small bowl of daal with a roti, or a bowl of oats.

5. Do some lightweight training

This builds muscle tone, giving the body a more sculpted look, and increases the basal metabolic rate. A daily workout with light weights – make it a low-intensity workout, if you cant do more – prompts the body to go on burning calories long after you’ve stopped exercising. Even 5-10 minutes a day is a lot better than nothing. It doesn’t take much to re-orient your lifestyle and achieve permanent weight loss. Think of it as perfect weight, made in India.

Unhealthy Foods to Avoid

Choosing foods and beverages that are highly processed, loaded with sugar or high in calories can sabotage your weight loss efforts.

Not only are items like candy, fried foods and soda not good for weight loss — they aren’t good for overall health.

Eating too much processed food and products laden with sweeteners can increase the risk of chronic diseases.

For example, drinking sugar-sweetened beverages like soda, fruit punch and juices every day has been associated with increased risks of diabetes, obesity and heart disease

Plus, consuming unhealthy foods can make it harder for you to lose fat and maintain a healthy weight.

For optimal health, minimize the following foods or avoid them altogether:

Sweetened beverages: Soda, fruit juice, sweetened tea, sweet lassi, sports drinks
High-sugar foods: Candy, ice cream, cookies, rice pudding, pastries, cakes, sweetened yogurt, high-sugar cereals, digestive biscuits
Sweeteners: Jagger y, sugar, honey, condensed milk
Sweetened sauces: Salad dressings with added sugar, ketchup, barbecue sauce, sweetened curries
High-fat foods: Fast food like McDonald’s, french fries, chips, fried foods, bhujia
Refined grains: Products including white bread, white pasta, biscuits
Trans fats: Margarine, vanaspati, fast food, highly processed foods
Refined oils: Canola oil, soybean oil, corn oil, g rapeseed oil

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