hello.

although it is a frequently asked question , but i dare to ask again at this forum , iS there any method , herb, tea etc to melt my excess fat ?

(please consider it seriously . i know benefits of exercise and i do also)

thanks

Hello Adam

I am not aware of anything that 'melts' the fat, but if you find out, do come back and tell us all. I wish there was such a thing, then we could all eat to our hearts content!

Mamta

Small Changes, Big Results—7 Simple Steps to Start Losing Weight

Don't over-think your weight-loss goals: If you are trying to lose weight, small changes can in fact lead to big results. The easy eating adjustments below will not only help you drop pounds, but also load your diet with lots of good-for you nutrients.

Always Eat Breakfast

Studies show that the simple act of eating breakfast each day can help you lose weight—and keep it off. Eating early in the day not only jump-starts your metabolism, but also keeps you from replacing those missing calories with mindless munching or binging at lunch later on. To get the most out of your morning meal, choose healthy foods including whole grains (such as oatmeal or whole wheat toast), lean protein (like turkey bacon or an egg), low-fat dairy (think skim milk or low fat yogurt), nuts, and fruit.

Don’t Skip Meals

Breakfast is just the beginning. Many people watching their weight make the big mistake of eating too little during the day, which can lead to feeling hungry and over-eating in the evening. For best results—and more energy—try not to go longer than three to four hours without eating. Eat three balanced meals a day plus a few healthy snacks that contain a healthy balance of protein, carbs, and fat to balance your energy-in (food) with your energy-out (activity).

Fill up on Fiber

Eating foods that are high in fiber helps you to feel full for longer, and that’s good news for you and your waistline. To help you reach the recommended 25 to 35 grams of fiber per day needed for fighting disease, constipation, and obesity, always pick whole grains over processed white ones. Switch from white bread (1 g fiber) to whole wheat (3 g fiber); a cup of regular cooked pasta (2 g fiber) to whole wheat (6 g fiber); an 8-in. flour tortilla (1 to 2 g fiber) to an 8-in. whole wheat tortilla (5 g fiber); an ounce of corn flakes (0 g fiber) to an ounce of raisin bran (4 g fiber) or All Bran (15 g fiber). Always choose whole fruit instead of fruit juice, avoid peeling fruits and veggies, and include more beans and legumes in your daily diet.

Keep Trigger Foods Out of the House

Whether it's donuts, chips, cheese, cookies, or ice cream, we all have them—the trigger foods that damage our diet. And since willpower wanes when we're tired, hungry, thirsty, or emotionally distraught, keeping these foods in the house is a really bad idea. Studies show that out of sight is out of mouth, and since cravings are often fleeting, you’re a lot less likely to indulge if you have to actually leave the house to do so. Instead, keep your home stocked with healthier snacks like fruit, veggies, nuts, popcorn, and whole-grain crackers, and you’ll find yourself eating more of the good stuff without even trying.

Don’t Drink Your Calories

Liquid calories are hiding in your coffee drinks, your cocktails, your sodas, and your sports drinks. And while calorie-laden drinks may quench your thirst, research proves they don't fill you up and satisfy your hunger as well as the calories from solid foods. So when you down a high-calorie soda, juice, or other calorie-rich drink before or during a meal, you may not eat less food later on to compensate. What to do? Drink water. Calorie-free and refreshing, water is a key player in the weight-loss areS

Limit Packaged Foods

Most packaged foods are processed time bombs of fat, calories, sodium, and toxins. In fact, three-quarters of the sodium, and most of the trans fat and added sugar Americans consume come from packaged foods. Instead, focus on the fresh, whole foods found in the perimeter of the shopping market. Most important, don’t let enticing marketing claims on packaged foods fool you into thinking they’re something they’re not. Some claims are misleading, some are unregulated, and most are downright confusing. Instead, ignore the big type and flip the package over to investigate the ingredients and health information. Look for products that are low in saturated fat, trans fat, and calories, but high in fiber and nutrients. Keep in mind that if there is more than one serving in a package, you may need to multiply to get a realistic idea of what you’ll be getting.

Eat Out Less Often

Restaurant meals have about 50 percent more calories, fat, and sodium than the same dish prepared at home. Even healthier restaurant choices like grilled chicken, fish, and veggies can be swimming in calorie-laden butter and oil. And let's face it—when you're eating out it is almost impossible to resist all the appetizing (and fattening) foods and desserts on the menu, not to mention another round of cocktails. The solution? Don't try to be a stay-at-home hermit because you'll inevitably fail—instead, dine out less and indulge one night a week or on special occasions.

About H.K. Jones: H. K. Jones is a registered dietitian, freelance writer, and nutrition professional based in Washington, D.C.

HK Jones....thanks for the sensible tips on weight management.... It all makes sense... common sense

Every day new products appear on the shelves and the advertising that goes with it is putting more pressure on the shopper to buy buy buy.

Personally I do feel that more responsibility needs to be taken by those in power (yes politicians) to legislate on allowing tighter regulations as to the contents and labelling of food products on the supermarket shelves. The food lobby in this country is just too powerful and I fear the pollies do not have the ticker to take on this large powerbase.

So in the end it is down to education and consumer awareness

Cheers

JL

I'm currently working on the back to front method of eating practice !

Start the day with your largest meal (kick starting your system) and working to your smallest meal at the end of the day! A woman in the media a few years back took this to its extreme where she was living by having roast dinners and such for breakfast and ending with cereal for her evening meal. Which worked really well for her and helped her loose and control her weight.

Steve

Eating in reverse is not as silly as one thinks.... I remember hearing a CardioVascular surgeon talking on the airwaves after a visit to a region of China where longevity is the norm that the local custom was to:

"Eat like a king for breakfast, eat like a prince for lunch and eat like a pauper for dinner".

However I personally feel that a full roast dinner for breakfast is taking it a little too extreme.

REgards

Being overweight is becoming more and more of a problem. In most developed countries there is more rich food around to tempt us. Simple things like muffins with a cup of cream coffee probably have half your daily requirements. The biscuits we scoff with afternoon tea or cans of Cocacola with a packet of crisp that we eat without thinking, all add to the problem. A hot chocolate/ creamed coffee bought with a large pack of buttered/sweet popcorn at a cinema are eaten without a second thought. Why we have to eat while watching a film or a play? I have never understood this practice! We do a lot of eating without thinking, snacks put in our mouths without realising how much extra they are!

The 7 step by HK Jones make good sense and have been advocated by most nutritionists for a long time. But do we hear them? No!

Convenience foods are making manufacturers rich but giving us obesity. People often ask me how to make a curry that tastes like a restaurant curry? My answer is that if you want to eat restaurant food, go and eat there. It is fine eating it now and then, but not for everyday home cooking. It has too many calories, it is too rich and full of cholesterol, don’t do it.

You watch a TV chef making something simple like gravy or a sauce. They put a huge block of butter in it. You see them frying onions in oil, they are floating in it. You see them making a dessert, it is full of sugar, double cream, and various other high fat/cholesterol ingredients. They taste good but are not good for us, if we eat them often enough.

Ready made foods have very high calori content. If they are low fat, they have high carbohydrates. We are fooled by the word ‘low’ into buying them. They are full of additives too, not good! If they are labelled properly, we don’t read the labels, we have to learn to read them. Perhaps there should be a media drive to teach people to read the labels. Read the label of something simple like a cereal box. You will be surprised by their sugar and salt content.

Back to front method of eating also makes sense. Many thin people do that. Unfortunately, most of us, myself included, have our largest meal in the evening. Not good for us, but we do it traditionally and there is no drive to change it. I like JL’s "Eat like a king for breakfast, eat like a prince for lunch and eat like a pauper for dinner" from China

HK Jones, come back and write something about reading the food labels.

Mamta

Food Labels !

You almost need to be a food scientist to understand those !

Its a complicated world of legal jargon and twists of the tongue, made to keep the general public from realising what they are really buying.

An example, you see a product labelled "100% FAT FREE" with a picture of a field and plants growing. You think, great this is healthy and with no fat I can probably eat a lot of it with no ill affect! However things like sugar are fat free, so you could label a bag of sugar as "fat free" and wouldn't be breaking any rules.

Now you can begin to see the problems with food labelling that at first glance you don't notice. You get other things like "no added sugar" fruit drinks, they could be loaded with sugar that occurs in the product naturally but as they don't add anymore then they are telling no lies.

Speaking of fruit drinks there is another way of misleading the consumer, by simply using names that aren't recognised or sound better than they are. Don't says its got 20% sugar in the product, say its got 20% fructose (thats fruit sugar, which is basically sugar). Better still use a product like honey to sweeten something (which again is basically sugar) but now sounds like you are getting something healthy because its got 20% added natural honey for pure natural goodness.

"Sugar free", ah another one that makes it look like a diet/good for you product! Well lets just point the obvious out, a block of lard is sugar free!

Thats the simple and obvious things you need to be aware of, but you also need to realise that often things that are good for you become stored fat in your system if you have too much in too short a space of time. Your body needs things like carbs (ie potato, bread, rice, pasta) and in the right quantities it helps you function correctly. The same goes for protein (fish, meat, nuts, pulses) but again even though you can get 100% super lean fat free protein, if you eat too much of it your body can't use it, so stores it as fat!

I could go on, but will leave it there for now...

Steve

I know Steve, isn't it just mind boggling!

When I was first told I had borderline diabetes, I was referred for a couple of group sessions on adapting to suitable diets and drinks. This included reading diet labels. What I was taught was that instead of reading what it says on the front, go to the back and read for ‘per 100 gm’ instead of per portion. Also, if a food has less fat, it generally has more sugar and salt to make it tasty/preserve. Salt content is extremely variable and often overlooked. I am planning to sit down and write a credit sized card guide one day, which I can carry in my purse and which tells us maximum of each important ingredient allowed/suggested for a healthy diet. My memory is getting bad, so I have to have it with me ;-)! I will do it one day, but just don’t get the time. I am in the process of sorting out pictures at present, have just given Kavey 2 CD’s full, to put on the site when she gets time, bless her!

Best wishes

Mamta

Sounds like a good idea, its a great pity we actually need something to decypher what the label means. Realistically it should be plain and understandable on the label !

ps Can't wait to see the extra pictures.

Adam

Can I check whether or not the article above is your own?

If so, there's no problem including it here.

However, if not, I'm afraid we can't include it in the forum, even with author name/ credit as we do not have permission to reproduce it.

You can either include a link to the page with the article or even contact the author and ask for their permission to reproduce it here.

Please let us know and, if need be, we can delete the above post and you can repost just a link.

Thanks

Kavita

Thanks .

Yes this is a right approch but sorry i havent the name of writer , because i am a medical student i am also intrested in the field of nutrition ans time by time if know some details i save in my computer,you can consult with any nutritionist in your team but i assure you these information are authentic and help full.

regards

The clue is in the name "break" "fast", you have been fasting overnight since your last evening meal and your body is starting to need things to keep it going. Your blood sugar levels start to dip and this is what makes you feel hungry.

Slow release carbohydrates from things like porridge oats, help raise your blood sugar levels and keep them at a balanced constant level over a long period of time, stopping you feeling hungry and giving into snacks during the day. Avoiding anything that gives you a sudden rush of energy followed by lows in blood sugar levels which create cravings should be avoided. Things full of sugar and fats like fried breakfasts, toast with butter, bread and jam, sweet breakfast cereals (or with added sugar) should be avoided for this reason.

However this cannot be held as a constant for all people as someone doing massive amounts of physical work may need much more for breakfast and then an extra snack to keep them going and still burn it all off.

Steve

Adam

Sorry, in that case I've had to delete the post.

If you can find the link to the website where you found the article, you are very welcome to share it here.

Thanks again,

Kavita

Steve - I've just found & printed off your spiel on Labelling. Thanks.

No worries

Steve

Discussion on this subject could go on forever.

I wanted to add my two cents here on interesting information that attracted me regarding losing fat, or the burning of fat.

According to the naturopath, there is a substance that has thermogenic properties, called fücoxanthin, which supposedly results in the loss of fat.

Do a google search on this topic to get more information about the theory and products.

As far as herbs go, this should fascinate you. I was watching an Indian tv show last night and they had a short segment featuring an Indian doctor who was speaking in an Indian language about how to lose weight. The way to do so was exotic to this western viewer. One of his recipes called for a combinaton of cumin, fennel, hing, alum, and ajwain powder to be mixed with water. He also gestured with mudras (hand/finger positions) to be used during walking. It was fascinating to watch this approach!! To get more information, do a search for "ayushakti."

I have heard that carbohydrates can work with inefficient insulin processing to convert into fat. So, to lose weight, for some, the way to go is to cut down on carbs and increase protein, not necessarily on fat, as the body needs certain fats.

There are so many theories on this subject ranging from "eating for your body type" to eating according to your genetic background. I'd think the ayurvedic approach might make among the most sense as it acknowledges differences from body to body and prescribes an approach for that uniqueness.

Fortunately there are solutions for creating delicious Indian food in a healthy way. Do you know that ayurveda recommends ghee (clarified butter) as a healthy fat? Yes. There's more to using food in a healthy and medicinal way than a superficial judging of a food being good or bad because it falls into "sound-bite" categories (how about that for a mixed metaphor?!).

I wish there was an editing function so as to allow a poster to edit their previous post!!

I left out the name of the naturopath referred to in my last post - it was Jordan Rubin.

I also identified ghee as clarified butter. I just read one of the posts distinguishing the difference between the two. From an ayurvedic perspective, I don't know if such a distinction is still made.

Hello Lapis

I just deleted your posting by mistake. Instead of clicking on reply button, I pressed the delete!!! I am very, very sorry :-(.

You were talking about Ayurvedic principles being untested I think. This is not strictly true. There are a few good Ayurvedic colleges in India that run on very similar lines as medical colleges, teaching anatomy and physiology of human body, all about herbal and other natural products in medicine, as well as a basic knowledge of modern medicine. They have 4 years degree courses, I think.

The problem is that Ayurvedic practices have become part of household remedies in India and there are many, many unlicensed practitioners, who read a few articles and think they have become experts. Good Ayurvedic practionars are quite effective in treating many conditions, though not all.

Many things that I have learned via my mother and other family members over the years, do work. There are of course many a false claims, often made by unlicensed people, that give it a bad name. That said, it could certainly do with some controlled/double blind trial, like in modern medicines.

Mamta

no worries, Mamta, I kind of regretted saying what I did. I probably went over the top, and may well admit that some of the time it may do little harm, and maybe some good; but I am also aware that some of the 'medicines' are 'kill or cue'and certainly harmful. Lets leave it there, and get back to what this forum does best ;?)