Failing while attempting weight loss? Here are tips to succeed in diet

Failing while attempting weight loss? Here are tips to succeed in diet

If you have been indulging in ‘flings’ with every new diet trend in the market and wondering why none of it works, then this article is for you. Here's the action plan to follow to successfully see weight loss results

Failing while attempting weight loss? Here are tips to succeed in diet (Polina Tankilevitch)

The season of fitness resolutions, diets, health goals is knocking at our doors as we await a fresh start to a New Year and like each year, we will promise ourselves (while, some also promise their partners, fitness trainers, gym buddies, nutritionists, neighbors, etc.) to do better than the previous year, to not give up. However, 95% of people attempting weight loss fail at it and that is the statistic by research (not quite a secret, by the way).

This is not to discourage you but for you to do better, you need to know the what, why and how of your body. If you have been using your ‘willpower’ to control your cravings, if you have been focusing on ‘calories theory’ (eating less, exercising more mantra), if you have been indulging in ‘flings’ with every new diet trend in the market and wondering why none of it works, then you have come at the right place.

So, take a deep breath and fasten your seat belt because we are going to take you to a place that’s been in existence since you were born but unfortunately, you are not aware of it. How would you? Social media, news headlines and food companies keep you busy (and distracted) with fake jargons so that they can sell their diets and products to you but truth be told; if you want a long-lasting solution, then, ladies and gentlemen, its time you shift your focus to the human gut microbiome.

In an interview with HT Lifestyle, Munmun Ganeriwal, Nutritionist and Gut Microbiome Specialist, explained, “Did you know that inside you, or in your gut (large intestine) to be precise, dwells an inner ecosystem- as diverse and complex as the Amazon rainforest? In fact, our gut microbiome is one of the most densely populated microbial habitats known on earth! Yet we care so little about it. If we laid the bacteria in our body end to end, they would circle the earth two-and-a-half times! Through the process of human evolution, if our bodies chose to retain these bacteria, and that too in such large numbers, then they must surely be significant, right? Yes, they are.”

She revealed, “Research shows that in some way or the other, up to 90% of all diseases (yes, obesity is a disease too) can be traced back to the health of the gut microbiome. We have turned obesity into an issue of self-control and willpower, when in reality, microbes in your body regulate the hormones that signal satiation in the brain, and an imbalance in these microbes could be making you overeat. Research reveals that the number of calories we harvest from the food we eat depends on which bacteria are in our gut. This was shown by scientists at Washington University in St Louis, who in 2013, made a major breakthrough in understanding the complex interaction between food, the human body, and its trillion microbes. In their study, gut microbes from identical human female twins were taken. Among the twins, one was obese and the other was lean. These microbes were then transferred to germ-free mice in a germ-free environment. All the mice were fed the same diet and kept in the same conditions, but the mice that received ‘obesity microbes’ became obese and started to display impaired glucose tolerance like that of its obese donor while the ones given ‘lean microbes’ stayed lean and healthy.”

She highlighted that this study made an important revelation— if we are truly concerned about losing weight, we need to stop our obsessive fixation on calories and to remember that the microbes we harbour in our gut ultimately determine the fate of our weight (and health). She cautioned, “The biggest blunder we have done so far is to reduce the human body into a two-dimensional cause-and-effect machine—that eventually gave birth to theories of eat less, move more; eat this, not that, etc. Our body-brain, microflora within us, the food we eat and various elements of our lifestyle, instead interact with each other in multi-dimensions. There cannot be anything more empowering than knowing that we have the ability—through the food we eat and the life we live—to turn around these microbes and this is what makes them so fascinating.”

ACTION PLAN

The health expert shared, “Eating your way to a healthy microbiome isn’t complicated, though let me caution it isn’t simplistic too. Let me explain. Simply eating more fermented foods and including probiotics in your diet will help rebuild a robust microbiome is a myth. Just as you cannot throw a few seeds into the rainforest and expect them to thrive, in the same way, merely eating a few cups of yoghurt will not help restore the ecosystem inside you.”

She suggested, “What is required is an integrated, whole-systems approach that will remap the gut ecology by encouraging a sustainable environment in which these organisms can flourish. This in turn will lead to better metabolism, zero cravings, and yes, weight loss too. For starters, chuck dietary monotony and embrace diversity in your meals. Variety is key. Recent findings from the American Gut Project have revealed that the more diverse your meals are, the more diverse your microbiome would be—i.e. having variety of species of bacteria. Unfortunately, instead of encouraging variety and wholesome, balanced meals, diet culture today preaches elimination of foods—gluten-free, carb-free, dairy-free, sugar-free, fat-free, and even food free fasting diets!”

She asserted, “It’s time we take note that long term, sustainable good health, and weight loss is about ‘nourishment’, not ‘starvation’; it’s about ‘inclusion’, not ‘exclusion’ but mind you simply including whole grains, lentils, fruits, veggies, etc and believing you are eating wholesome, doesn’t work either—unless you ensure they aren’t the same few kinds all the time. For example, if you have fish regularly, make sure it isn’t always basa or surmai or rawas all the time. We have thousands of varieties in our coastal waters and deep sea, but we are largely unaware of them. The same is the case with indigenous varieties of fruits, vegetables, pulses and millets as well. The good thing is trying to eat variety ends up being easy on the pocket as well! Since most of them are lesser known, they aren’t sold at an exorbitant price. A win-win situation for you, I would say. So, what are you waiting for? Hope you make a change this New Year. Good luck!”

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