While I refrain from giving any universal recommendations, this list is fairly good for most of the people trying to manage obesity.
The basic principle of eating only when there is hunger
This is simple science. That feeling you get in your stomach when you feel hunger happens when your digestive track is done processing the previous meal, and the digestive juices that help us breakdown our food start accumulating inside the stomach again, ready for you to put more food into it. Hunger…the real hunger feeling…is just a sign your body gives you that tells you it is ready to process the next meal.
If you put food into your stomach without truly feeling hunger, you may not have the necessary digestive juices that help breakdown the food, causing the food to stall and confuse your system. Without the necessary juices, the food will just start to ferment, it will not get properly broken down, and it will jus add toxins to your body out of which some will turn into fat. And forget about the nutrients of the food that give you energy and make you strong, they will not be absorb by your body!
Exercise according to capacity
Many people who are trying to lose weight sometimes end up overworking their bodies. According to Ayurveda, you want to exercise according to your capacity…you know…right before you start getting sore or losing your breath, but definitely after sweating a little!
Everyone’s capacity is different, and an Ayurveda Vaidya can help you determine the right amount and type of exercise to follow. But for simplicity purposes, just start listening to your body and observe the effects of your workout. Some people may lose a lot of weight after long or intense workouts, but then their joints’ lubrication start to dry out and they feel pain or cracking of the joints. This is just an example of consequences of exercising above your capacity. Again, listen to your body; it will guide you!
Refraining from heavy, cold foods
In Ayurveda, there is something we call the “digestive fire”. This fire is not just the heat in the stomach that helps breakdown our food, it also pertains to the juices we spoke about earlier. Imagine you start a camp fire with some wood you find around. What will happen to that fire if you throw ice cubes to it? It reduces. What happens if you add too many heavy logs into that fire? It puts it out! And just like I mentioned earlier- no fire (digestive juices + heat) no digestion, no nutrition, no energy…just toxic accumulation.
Following the circadian rhythm still holds true.
In older civilizations before electricity existed, it was very common for people to get up as the sun started rising and go to bed as the sun set. With the different advancements (more like illogical changes) we have made in society, we have stopped aligning ourselves with nature. Not only do we have electricity now that allows us to see better at night, giving us the ability to continue with more activities, but we also have more distractions and reasons to want to continue “enjoying” our day after a long day at work.
Very recently three scientists earned a Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their study of the circadian rhythm, and how they were able to prove its direct link with the overall health of a person. They found that in many cases of ill people, the simple change of going to bed at a proper time and waking up early was able to reverse their illnesses without any other kind of medicine or medical intervention. And to think Ayurveda has known this for thousands of years. It is time we start learning more about the wisdom Ayurveda has to offer us.
For more personalized recommendations on how you can lose weight, schedule an appointment with me! 510.556.3738, manju@ayurhitam.com