Scales don't lie

A couple of weeks ago a friend said in return for a favour I would need to tell her the secret to losing weight with this "dessert-eating, huge-meal diet regime" I'm doing. So, after a week of dinner parties, pizzas, donuts and chocolates — with negligible exercise (if mall walking for shopping can be considered exercise) — when I gingerly stepped on the weighing scales Friday morning I was pleasantly surprised. The ticker had moved to the 85kg mark — three kilos below what I started. My jeans (which I'd bought in better times) that refused to button up without a monumental struggle now sat snugly around my waist — and with the help of a belt. "Actually, as I'd mentioned earlier, because of your body type, you will be losing inches faster than weight. But, if you had also done the exercises I'd advised, the results would be much better," Dr Chandy reminded me. Touché. "Another thing is that the effect of the Ayurvedic therapies is not necessarily seen during the time you are undergoing them. They activate the fat metabolism so the effect will be there for a long time. So you tend to lose more in the days that follow". Ah, so it must be the bone-crushing, jaw-clenching Udvarthanam massage I'd had earlier at work. We revisited the issue of huge meals, which continued after a brief spell of smaller portions. I wanted to know how the meal size was determined. "Normally between 1,800 to 2,200 calories are needed for a person who is not doing very heavy work," Chandy explained. "Regarding the calculation of calories, there is an international standardised food calorie chart that mentions how many calories there are in different foods — fruit, meat, cereals, vegetables, etc. After considering this, the calories of each portion are calculated". Nor should one skip the meals, which I often did. What would you expect if you were served half a kilo of meat at one sitting (not counting all the salad)? "Don't skip any meals — this is the first law in any diet regime. Three meals should be eaten," Chandy continues to explain. "Usually people tend to have heavy lunches and dinners. These should be restricted to the allowed calories. And we are taking care of that by serving you lunch and dinner. Breakfast can be chosen by you from the suggested options, but preferably don't make it too heavy". Chandy says a 70-80 per cent results can be achieved if someone holistically follows the Balance Wellness programme which is custom-created keeping in mind the person's body type, age, type of job, exercise regimen, food habits and lifestyle. Apart from the food, the past month wasn't very different from any other. But I feel a lot lighter and less fatigued. I have less migraine. I can walk the half kilometre from free parking to the office without feeling I'm on a trek. And more importantly, I'm glad the programme has encouraged me to return to yoga and meet old friends there. Food is something I cannot give up and even though Chandy has promised to advise me regarding what I can eat at home, I'm not too confident about that. But the yoga is there and I'm seriously considering the Ayurvedic massages. This should keep me going till my sense of boredom-in-routine kicks in again and forces me to look for more exciting activities.