With people being in the middle of a pandemic, health and nutrition have come to gain importance in our lives more than ever. In 2020 and 2021 people have increasingly realised the importance of good health and nutrition and have made their new year resolutions accordingly. As we come halfway through the year, celebrity nutritionist Rujuta Diwekar started the series ‘All about weight loss on her Instagram handle and shared some valuable tips on healthy weight loss through it.
Why the weight loss series by Rujuta Diwekar?
Rujuta shared on her Instagram that as six months passed by and the rest of the year remains, she has decided to help people achieve their weight loss goal this year by imparting knowledge on the right way to lose weight without having to spend too much money. As people often get off track of their goal because of being misguided, Rujuta said that she aimed to help people with some sustainable weight loss measures.
What is bodyweight?
To lose bodyweight, we need to understand what it is. According to Rujuta, two things contribute to body weight- Fat weight and Lean body weight. While fat weight refers to the weight that fat contributes to our body, lean body weight is the weight of our bones, muscles, tendons, organs, hair and nails in our body.
She said that as we age, the fat weight in our body starts to increase and the lean body weight starts to decrease simultaneously. This makes us look older, weaker and unhealthier. She also said that when we try to opt for ‘quick’ weight loss measures and desperate methods like keto, fasting, by removing all fat from our foods and intensive workouts, we end up expediting the process. As a result, we end up looking weaker, older and fatter than ever due to such temporary measures.
What is the correct method to lose weight?
As per Rujuta, the correct method to lose weight is the sustainable method. The method in which the diet and the fitness regime can be comfortably followed by people not only for the next two months to fit in ‘that dress’, but for the next five years and maybe for the rest of one’s life to live healthily. By sustainable weight loss, she meant successful weight loss, where the lost weight does not come back. She said that most people go through unsuccessful weight loss where the weight one loses is gained back, this time more than the initial weight and with more diseases. Temporary measures opted by people only result in temporary gains and the fall back then is greater than ever.
She revealed how sustainable weight loss is a long-term process but it’s the only successful way in which one can lose weight, where the weight one loses doesn’t come back and the person becomes healthier than before. Symptoms of different health conditions like bloating, indigestion and constipation get better and the person experiences better hair and skin quality, better digestion, regulated sugar levels, proper menstrual cycles and many more things. In this process, the lean body weight goes up and the fat weight comes down.
Rujuta said that weight loss through the sustainable way will lead to long-term gains in terms of losing the fat weight and gaining a healthier life, but one won’t notice any major differences in a short time. For this reason, she discouraged the use of a weighing scale and said that using one wouldn’t help a person to keep track of the fat weight loss and lean body weight gained. Rujuta emphasised, “Bodyweight is not a measure of fatness and surely not a measure of fitness”. She told how weighing scales only give us a ‘number’ which is useless in indicating weight loss and good health of a person.
If not weight, then what do you need to measure?
When we adopt sustainable weight loss measures, our metabolic parameters like blood sugar levels, blood pressure, digestion, fertility and cholesterol levels improve and we can live healthily. Rujuta said that all these parameters cannot be measured on weighing scales and hence, it makes them useless in indicating the good health of a person. Instead, she gave us three things that we can measure to check the status of our fat weight, lean body weight and our health.
1. Measure the waist and the hip: Rujuta said that measuring the waist to hip ratio is an important indicator of the sustainable way to lose weight. She instructed to place three fingers on the upper edge of the naval and measure the slimmest part of the waist using a measuring tape. Then measure the broadest part of the hip using a measuring tape and record the figures. She said that all illnesses that strike because of weight gain can be avoided if the waist size in women is typically under 35. “If you’re a woman, the waist to hip ratio should be between 0.7 to 0.85 and for men, it should be between 0.85 to 0.95”, she said.
2. Take the sit and reach test: For this test, you need to place a chair in front of a wall. Then sit down on the edge of it and not to the back. Stretch your legs straight and by keeping your shoulders straight and your hands stretched forward, try to touch your toes. For ensuring your chest and shoulders are up straight, keep your face straight and don’t look down. Measure the distance to which your hands can reach your legs and write it down. The distance has to be measured from your toes to the place where your hands can reach. The toe represents 0, the areas above it like the ankles and the knees represent -ve and the distance beyond your toes represents +ve.
3. Measure your resting heart rate: The resting heart rate has to be measured the first thing in the morning before even getting up from the bed. There are two ways to measure it. One, where you can clip an oximeter to your finger before getting up from the bed and by counting backwards from 10 to 1 you can check the figure and note it. The other method is where you can check your pulse on your neck or your wrist before sitting upright on your bed.
Rujuta told to measure these three things which she considered more effective in determining your weight loss and health condition. She said to keep in mind that the way one measures these things and they should remain constant to get an accurate measure.
