FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

I can tell you the diet that works the best for me but that may not be the diet that works best for you. Diets are a bit like soul mates. There is a one perfect one for each of us. We just have to find it. My most effective weight loss diet is one with no rice, butter, sugar and white flour in any form (including cakes, biscuit bread, and pasta). If I have given up these things I lose weight. My most effective detox diet is Dahi Papaya (page 156). And my favorite diet is The Champagne Diet. page 168 Find your best diet to find the best you.

I would love to say there is a magic pill out there take it and you will be thin. You will have to either cut the calories or start moving. Those who are fit work at it. No such thing as a free lunch or a fit body. But weight I like anything else in life you have to work at it. It takes hard work and discipline. But there are few things better to invest your time and energy in than having a healthy body. So get on with it you have only your weight to lose

It not healthy to be overweight either. I am not advocating a starvation diet. I am advocating a healthy diet and a happy weight. I don't think there is anything wrong in eating healthy and denying yourself fatty food to maintain your weight.

Happy weight is a weight your are happy with or at. It's a weight your body mind and soul have made peace with. It's not a size zero but it is also not ten kilos over your height weight average. It's a healthy weight.

I believe a diet is more effective in weight loss than exercise. Lot of people after exercise tends to reward them with food which can be counterproductive. A one hour hard work out can be totally nullified by a cold coffee with ice cream or a muffin. People tend to overestimate how many calories they have burnt. If you can exercise and not give yourself license to eat whatever you want than it will lead to weight loss. A combination of the two is the ideal scenario. In your teens I believe that just by making a few changes in your diet and getting into a regular aerobic/cardio routine you can lose weight. In your twenties you need to cut back further on your diet and exercise. Post thirty you have no choice but to cut back quite severely on your diet and exercise to stay fit. I want to clarify something most people think of diet as a four letter word. It isn't. In our urban lives now we are eating way more calories than we ned Because the food that is available is so much more calorific. Avoiding them is considered a diet. But really a lot of these processed foods are meant o be eaten in limited quantity.

Weight often plateaus. You have to give the body time to adjust to your new weight. The best thing you can do in this scenario is keep with your new healthy routine and not give up. Most people give up once the weight starts plateauing. It is VERY demotivating to do everything right and not see the scale move but it is the real test. You have to stay on the right track and the weight loss will begin again. If we are talking about a plateau after ten kilos or more then you probably need to make a few changes such as intensify your exercise and change your diet slightly. As it means the body has gotten used to the routine and needs some changes/shocks to continue with the weight loss process. Either way does not get off the program.

This is just not true. If you do a diet. Any diet. It will work. Weight loss is a simple equation less input more output. But this very hard so the frills of fancy diets and workouts to keep us motivated and on track. So follow a diet religiously and it will work. Like there is nothing like a little bit pregnant there is also nothing like I am sort of following a diet. If you follow a diet half its not going to work as effectively as it is designed to. If you say you are following a diet and are good the whole day but reward yourself with a bar of chocolate or a samosa at the end of the day you are not on a diet. Your diet is broken. Stop and start diets are the worst cause they confuse the body. Be honest with your diet and it will work.

This is a common problem. In some senses losing weight is so much easier than keeping it off. But it has to be done. Unfortunately weight loss is not a destination. Most of us me included see it as a destination. Yippee! I have reached my target weight destination now can the holiday with all inclusive buffets and no bar on desserts begin. It doesn't work like that because weight loss is a journey. Being conscious about food and exercise in a world where we are indulged with lazy luxury and fatty processed food is a necessity. Being fit in our current society is hard work we are assaulted with temptation and there are so many demands on our time. You just have to work hard to avoid temptation and find the time to workout. I know of someone who has a 500 grams golden rule. Same weight same diet. 500 gram up then they cut back for the day. 500 grams down they indulge. This formula only works for maintenance not for loss. I have done lot of pages on this page 183 and page 198.

Ok this is a tough one. I struggle with this too. Travelling really throws away routine. The only way to deal with it is planning. I plan for travel. I plan snacks so I don't eat plane food. I drink a lot of hot water rather than tea or coffee as that is easily available in board rooms. Plan my working lunches, the usual takeaways have some healthy options like slimmers sandwich at Barista, Subway, and even the veggie burger at MC Donalds (last choice, no fries). And skimmed milk cappuccinos. If is a buffet just try to pick the healthy stuff and don't over eat. Try and fit in a work out early in the morning. Working out in a new city can be exciting. I do this. If I have a very early start then I compensate with Surya Namaskars in my room whatever time I get back. They are fast; don't require much space or any equipment. Even 25 are good. Weigh yourself on return and compensate. I have lots of tricks that help on pg 198 and some special ideas for holidays which you can apply to business travel as well on page 221.

The week is structured and thus easier to plan. You have to stick to your diet even on the weekend in a weight loss program. There is no day off. Maintenance you can have a day off but not in a weight loss program. Plan your weekends and make plans with your friends and family that do not include food. Don't plan dinner, plan dancing. Don't plan lunch, plan shopping. Don't plan tea, plan a walk.

That's fantastic. But is she going to be less fantastic if she is a happy weight? She can only be more full of life and energy rather than less if she is at her happy weight. I strongly believe a fit you is the best you. Because being thin is not so much about looking good as it is about feeling great. It's about balancing the body and being in harmony with it.

Telling someone you love that they are fat is not easy. But it is something that can only be done/said by someone who really loves you. And you must help your loved one even at the cost of being eaten up by them. No one likes to be told they are fat. My mother always told me and for many years our relationship was defined by this. I have done a special chapter on this in my book. It's called Thintervention. page 215

Its true you can only lose weight when you decide to do it and it comes from within. It never happens when people force you to do it. Every time I have lost weight drastically there has been some heartbreaking incident that has truly wobbled my fat. I have done a detailed study of what motivated me at each turn. I have listed them in the book under Motivators, page 197. This time the motivation to lose weight was my kids. I want to be the best mother to them. I couldn't do that at 104 kilos.

Well once you get into the rhythm of it then Surya Namaskars just flow. At the risk of sounding like a yoganic I actually start feeling the energy flowing through me. It becomes dynamic meditation for me. But it took time to get there. I didn't not start doing 100 SNs overnight. I built it up slowly. I think the energy flow happens when the SN movements become part of muscle memory and you are not focusing on which leg to bring forward. I do 100 in about 16 minutes. After a long break it can take me up to 20 minutes but that is all. I have talked about this in detail on page 148.