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Weight Loss and The Outside Food

Discussion in 'Indian Diet & Nutrition' started by shivachoubey, Jun 9, 2010.

  1. shivachoubey

    shivachoubey IL Hall of Fame

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    Few days back I went for a lunch at my friend's place. There were group of people. The usual reaction when people come to know that I lost 20 kgs (which I don't tell but my friends do) is that I will be asked about the diet I follow and how can they start with loosing weight. I tell them start by giving up outside food, eat whatever you want to eat at home and limit the outside intake. I never fail to get this reaction "oh no, thats difficult." OR "I seriously cannot give that up".

    Now here is the fun part, the same people are ready

    1.To follow a specific diet which will ask them to avoid a certain food group.

    2. To follow a diet which will ask them to stop eating after a time in a day.

    3. To spend money on a dietitian who will tell them the same thing plus would restrict them further.


    But these people are simply not ready to give up outside food and start eating home made healthy food.

    One super intelligent soul in that group asked me "why are you calling restaurant food bad. Me and my colleague eat thali every day for lunch at this restro and its like homemade thali. You should give it a try. Its like home made and healthy". It took me a minute to give him the answer, how could a person call a meal laden with oil healthy???.

    So, lets see why restaurant food is a big No while dieting.

    1. 1 tsp of oil has 40 calories, its a general knowledge. Try frying onions in 1 or 2 tsp of oil and then try frying them in 2 table spoon of oil. It takes a longer time to cook with less oil because oil gets hot and cook food, a less oil will cook food slower than more oil. No one in the restaurant has time to cook your veggies slow.

    2. Oil is evident in all the gravies that you eat. The proof is in front of your eyes.

    3. If you think ordering a whole wheat tandoori roti is of any good then think again. Its a little better than ordering a butter naan but it is laden with calories.

    A) The portion size is more than the roties that you cook at home, its thicker.

    B) One friend of mine was famous for her chapathies. They were soft and would melt in the mouth. Her way of kneading the dough was to use lots and lots of oil. Once the dough was kneaded she would again spill 1 cup of oil on it and work on the dough till the oil vanished. When I ate those chapathies I could never say that so much oil was involved in kneading the dough. The gluten of the dough is always developed with fat. The more you work on the dough with fat the more softer the outcome will be. The yum naans and the tandoori roti are such soft and delicious outcomes.

    4) Its general knowledge again that burgers, french fries, pizza are laden with calories.
    Now here are the few questions that might pop up in your mind

    Are you in your senses Shiva?? I need a break from home made food. It gets dull and boring and I am human I get tempted.

    No one is asking you to sacrifice it for life. The initial period is to break the addiction. If you are in the habit of eating the outside food on weekly basis Or 2 times a week, a complete No will get you out of the habit.

    Give it up for few days and you yourself will see the difference in weight. The weighing scale will speak for the weight. Once your habit is broken you can introduce it again in your lifestyle but you yourself will be cautious.

    In past it was a must for me to eat 2 -3 times in a week. Sometimes too tired from office to cook, sometimes craving for that kind of food, sometimes bored, sometimes depressed, sometimes sad, sometimes happy and want celebrate. You name it and there will be an excuse. Now, its not a big deal. Its twice in a month. I just tick in my calender when I eat out so I keep a track.


    Homemade food is boring

    No it is not. It is as interesting as you can make it.

    Ok, but I just need to eat out.


    Then be smart. You cannot have everything in life. You yourself know you need to give up few things to lose weight. So make a choice do you want to lose weight OR do you want to keep eating out and make no difference to your weight.

    If eating out opt for

    A) Idlies, uttampam, dhokla, khandavi. These cannot be much adulterated with oil.

    B) Subway sandwiches again are a good option, just stay clear from mayo and cheese with the sandwiches.

    C) If you are a non- vegetarian asked for grilled stuff.

    D) Steamed rice with stir fried vegetables.

    I break down at the sight of food.

    Then you should not be that weak. My mouth used to literally start watering with the smell in the restaurants and by the time food came I used to be so hungry. Where food was concerned I had no will power. I used to hate myself so much for being so weak.

    But you are weak only for the few occasions after that you are absolutely strong. I clearly remember mine.

    A) The very first one when I had started my weight loss. My husband is a big samosa fan and so am I. So he ordered samosa and insisted that I take a bite. The smell was killing me from inside. I told him I'll just go and look at few things in the mall. He was upset that I am leaving him all alone while he eats but I requested him. I just walked and did window shopping till he joined me. That incident is etched in my mind. Do you know why??? because I was almost about to break, it took me all my power to say no to one bite and walk away. once I walked away I was fine.

    B) The second one was that of my cousin and DH having burgers one after the other while I sat drinking coffee (I had told about this earlier). Why is this etched in my mind?? because that day I sat there without taking a bite and I did not walk away. I realized that I do have a will power. It might sound stupid to you but to me that day was a revelation. Burgers used to be my biggest weakness and I sat through 4 of them being eaten by two family members.

    C) When I was n Delhi my sister, my BIL and my DH used to have a blast with Nizam's kathi kebabs at least twice in a week. Those kebabs smelled heavenly and looked deliciously gorgeous. We would all go in a car and they would enjoy the kebabs sitting in the car. I sat through them, with all that tempting smell. Why is this etched in my mind??? because this is my biggest thrill. I was the strongest here. All three of them would go for 2 kathi kebabs each. And I kept saying NO. They tempted me no end but I stood my ground.

    My sister said "how can you say No to these, I can never satisfy myself with 1, I need 2 of these". Though she is not over weight I pointed out to the double chin that was coming up, she was shocked and kept looking in the mirror. By the time I was about to leave her place she told me "How could I ever eat 2 of those, even half is so filling".

    To me this is my tried and tested secret. My cousin is down by 5 kgs only by giving up outside food, my BIL has lost lot of weight by doing the same, my DH does nothing in terms of exercise but he has lost so much weight why?? because in our house outside food is banned. We also do not keep the phone numbers for home delivery.

    So you see it works. It worked on me and it worked on people I know.

    If you want to lose weight at any cost then why not save some money and eat at home.

    We all get tempted and we all fail but the real winner is who stands her ground in spite of failing and in spite of being tempted. We all want to run and we all fall but the real winner is who stands up in spite of falling.

    We all stand in a crowd that says YES and wants us to say YES but a real winner is who says NO in a group of people who say Yes.
     
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  2. shivachoubey

    shivachoubey IL Hall of Fame

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    Oh My god. Its enough to make a person faint.
    Thanks for sharing your experience, its a real eye opener.

    In past when I was unsuccessfully struggling with weight loss I had a friend, she also wanted to loose weight. I would eat salads and would break down in evening to grab some outside food where as she ate home made food and said no to outside food. She lost 5 kgs only by this practice and I lost none. I never saw her going hungry or giving up her delicious food. So this experience was always etched in my mind.

    This time around I decided to give it a shot and it worked.

    Thanks sweety for being so kind to say you are my fan, I am really honored. You made my day dearie.

    Have a good day ahead.

    God Bless you.

    regards

    Shiva
     
  3. amihere

    amihere Platinum IL'ite

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    Dear Shiva another wonderful blog from you, I sometimes wonder how you get so many ideas to write on weight loss..you be a dietician cum trainer and you will be a super duper hit,I am sure :D

    Next week we friends are heading to BBQ nation for a treat and I am so confused what to have. I usually take lunch from my office food court.Now a days I take it from home since I leave late with my DH. So weekdays lunch is always from outside for me, but I try to take chapathiz and sabji thus reducing wherever possible..and offers any sweet given with dish to my friends who are happy to receive and I am happier to give.(But I always give with a disclaimer that: "You are adding it to your waist so take it only if you want it."

    Also usually on weekends when we go out we use to indulge in the sin of great icecreams and now we have put a full stop to it since both of us are working towards a fitter body.
     
  4. radhaparth2000

    radhaparth2000 Platinum IL'ite

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    Hi Shiva,

    I fully agree with your views. My DH loves to eat food outside and my weight slowly started increasing after wedding. I gained 10 kgs in 5 years :). Then I realised I am going in the wrong direction and the first thing we did is stopped eating outisde.It made a drastic difference in our weight and to our credit card bill. I made DH see the oil that floats and gravy and the less oil that we can use at home to make the same thing. Cutting outside food is the first step to weight loss. But have a quick query, I am unable to say 'no' to outside food when going out with office collegues and my team. Though I order sendisly with Soup and salad, Is there anything I can do to avoid it?
     
  5. neha_garg11

    neha_garg11 New IL'ite

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    Hi Shiva,

    Whenever i visit Indusladies site. First of all i check whether you have written any new blog.You are a superb motivator. I really adore you for that. By following your blogs i have reduced 4kg and 25kg to go. Do write such post.
     
  6. sumshru

    sumshru New IL'ite

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    Dear Shiva,

    Just by reading your blog, I have been following religiously my diet for past 15 days. I am hopeful to reach towards my goal if i continue to carry this on as it is going right now. Just wanted to convey it to you..Thanks a lot...you are my inspiration.
    Have a good day.
    take care.
     
  7. Lalitha Shivaguru

    Lalitha Shivaguru Platinum IL'ite

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    Dear Shiva,

    Yet another wonderful blog...

    Sorry to have not updated you but down with a viral.. With my sound box totally gone and temperature I just do not have the energy to sit today. Yesterday could not eat anything my throat was hurting me badly so had outside idlis only..could not help dear. But today I just could have lunch with rice. I was feeling bloated. Not sure because of the sickness or because I am used to chappathis now. Took an off today and at home. Just plan to sleep snugly.

    You know something nowadays I do not eat sweets if anybody brings home before I used to finish it off. Few days back when I went to pick my dd from classes, she wanted to have chaat. I bought her one and I just stood there enjoying her eating. She was surprised that I didnt order one for myself!
     
  8. Ridha

    Ridha Senior IL'ite

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    hi,
    a very inspiring blog,as expected..........now whenever i wanna eat outside i think twice.me being a southindian,usually make idli,dosa etc at home.so whenevr i go out i prefer north indian food or arabian food..........i used to think that tandoor roti is healthy nd always prefered that over rice varieties..........never thought abt the hidden oil..........thanx for making me realize thta.........
    regards
    ridha
     
  9. vijianand

    vijianand Senior IL'ite

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    Shiva,

    This is like breaking down all the fine points for wt. loss!!!! I come back to read all your blogs again and again. I am writing down a food diary and I can see how the food variation are effecting/affecting me.
    THis is a real eye opener for people , who love outside food. Thanks for all the inspiration and practical pointers you provide!!!!

    Regards,
    Viji
     
  10. shivachoubey

    shivachoubey IL Hall of Fame

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    Most of us do not realize but we do have food addiction. I myself was addicted. When I was in mumbai, everyday after office me and my DH would go and eat something outside. It would be as little as a samosa or pani puri or sandwich when I tried saying No to it I felt very deprived and weak and so I broke.

    I never thought I could give up outside food. You know Ami what mistake I was doing. In mumbai I had join a gym and would take salads for lunch, evening I would break down and eat something out and then dinner again I would have something little. In 1 year of joining the gym I lost 1 kg only.

    This time I had a proper bf, proper lunch and proper dinner and no outside food and I lost 20 kgs.

    I decided to make my food delicious and tempting so that I stay on track and so that my DH stay on track too.

    Temptations are always difficult to give up. Its similar to ask an alcoholic to give up alcohol. But then I think giving up outside food is far far better then giving up normal homemade made things that we are used to.

    How is your gym going Ami???

    Have a great day ahead dear friend.

    regards
     

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