What is the correct way to look at your weight and health?

Weight is an issue that is discussed at every place, it is discussed at parties, social get-togethers, weddings, and any social do. People are either trying to lose weight or trying gain weight, so the uppermost question in everyone’s mind is how do I attain my target weight? In some developed countries there are every imaginable product and service available, and yet obesity levels have only risen even in those countries. People are spending time and effort to lose weight and yet we see obesity on the rise and ill health on the rise, lifestyle disorders like heart attacks, high blood pressure, and diabetes are only rising everywhere, so are we really as a society getting healthier or simply flying off track?

Before we are able to answer this question the bigger question is why people want to lose weight in the first place – The answer to this question also has the hidden reason for where we are going as a society.

Is our weight the correct determinant of a healthy body?

Health is something we all recognize as freedom from disease, overall physical appearance, stamina, fitness levels, and emotional and mental health as a complete definition of health. People confuse actual health with just a weight issue and try to reach a number at any cost which is supposed to be their ideal body weight. In this obsessive frenzy of just getting to their “ideal “ weight they are starving, eating appetite depressants, medications, over-exercising, unscientific gadgets, eating powders and mixes which promise quick weight loss, getting to Ayurvedic and other medications, or using laxatives and diuretics excessively.

This is a classic case of vanity gone haywire, where we are willing to compromise on the very basics of health to just somehow reach a particular body weight with no thought to the consequences. The motivation and obsession about body weight are not towards getting healthier but simply to possess a body that can fit into certain clothes – our egoistic vanity overrides wisdom in this age of fake appearances. How does it matter if the bones become weak, or the liver packs up if one can get into small-waist jeans as soon as possible?

When slimming is seen only as an extension of beauty then health is thrown out of the window and anything goes…

Medical advice is irrelevant, ethical science is a small irritant to be discarded, and science and wisdom can be given a quiet burial.

The basic intention of any decision is the most important part of the decision. If the intention is superficial the results can be temporary and with side effects, and the process is flaky and defies logic or scientific ethics. If any society wants to genuinely get healthier it has to remember the key mantras of health!

The Key Mantras of Health

Eating natural unprocessed food like whole grains, multigrain, pulses, grams, etc
Eating a variety of foods and not restricting food choices to just a few foods
Eating enough fruits and vegetables
Drinking enough water
Eating nothing excessively or in extremes
Exercising every day for at least 1 hour (sports/yoga/running/swimming/gymming etc )
Sleeping enough
Eating on time
Changing behaviors and attitudes towards healthy eating and exercises
Putting the changes into practice – as they say execution is the key to success

And finally giving it time and consistency, we have to learn to be patient with ourselves and the process, in this digital age, we can not make the weight go away at the click of a mouse so patience is still a virtue.

What is the Vedique Diet?

Envisioned by Dr. Shikha Sharma, the Vedique Diet is India’s #1 Doctor-driven, scientific weight loss & disease management programme. It is an amalgamation of the best practices of science-backed Ayurvedic nutrition and modern nutrition. The programme follows the philosophy of the Ayurvedic understanding of body composition (prakriti), and the way food and the environment react with our body.

The programme has helped over 46000 patients lose weight, fight diseases, and become healthier over the past 20 years.