The Indian Diet

The Indian Diet

Being a British Asian, the staple diet whilst growing up was traditional Gujarati food. This generally consisted of chapatis, curry, rice & a lentil dhal.

Fast forward more than 20 years my perception of the way the diet is eaten has changed. This post is a reflection of my own views based on my experience & what I think. It’s always going to be debatable & everyone will have his or her own thoughts on it.

The Gujarati diet is one all children have been brought up on for generations & it’s a part of our DNA. My mum & many of the elder generation always moan as to why I don’t eat the traditional food. Don’t get me wrong I do love my home cooked fresh Indian food but it doesn’t work for my body & goals I wish to achieve. Let’s face it; eating a Gujarati diet isn’t going to give you abs!

What has changed over the generations? Looking back at the days when my mum grew up in India their general lifestyle was extremely active from cleaning, cooking, & having to walk everywhere. Any work they did carry out was laborious & in the heat.

If you look at the bigger picture it equates to the below:

Input = High Carb Indian Diet

Output = Laborious work & no form of transport.

Your output is matching the input or greater, which would mean weight remains constant or weight loss. The food that was being eaten was being used efficiently & not to mention all the ingredients were fully organic back then.

Fast forward to the present, you consume a high carb Indian diet at night but where is it going? It’s eaten & then you’re sat in front of the TV where the food is not being used as energy. Food today is nowhere near as fresh as it use to be. In order to have fresh food it’s advised to opt for organic however; due to the cost it’s not always feasible for everyone.

In a nutshell, the older generation wants to carry on consuming the same diet with no output as well as no sense of portion control. When my mum asks me why I don’t eat the traditional Indian food it because it’s the worse thing I can eat post a workout & it’s too heavy to eat pre workout.

Each meal you eat should contain a portion of protein, carbs & fats. Let's take a typical Gujarati meal. Firstly veg doesn’t have anywhere near the amount of protein you should consume, carbs should be a small palm size of which on average most people consume 2 chapatis and a portion of rice. Fats should be a tablespoon of olive oil or coconut oil. How much oil has your mum used to cook those curries & the carbs eaten are well over the allowance. Basically, the whole meal is overkill with no sense of portion control.

Now there are some people who are genetically lucky who can eat it every evening & it doesn’t affect their weight much. If you’re looking to get into shape its worst diet you can eat especially if you’re not exercising.

The one upside to Indian food is that it’s always freshly cooked with fresh spices. However there are certain aspects that have been lost with the times:

Output has drastically reduced

Lack of portion control

No measurement used when using fats/oils when cooking any dishes.

For those of you who do love your Indian food, it’s not the end of the world! I did come across a book written by an Indian nutritionist called Rujata Diwaker; she is also responsible for turning Kareena Kapoor into a size 0!

You’re probably wondering how it all works. To give you a brief idea below are some of the concepts she applies to her plans.

→ Eat every 2 hours but small meals

→ You can eat your Indian dishes but portion controlled & cooked in a healthier manner.

→ Exercise is non-negotiable.

→ Eat within 15-30 minutes of waking.

→ Eat freshly cooked food.

She does have a list of no-go foods but there is also a cheat sheet as to how to go about it if you want to cheat on them. Yes, this includes all junk food including mithai & fried food!

Her concept is what most nutritionists will tell you but its been applied to the Indian diet. As well as this she also talks about portion control & learning to retrain your stomach.

If you wish to read more about Rujata Diwekar I suggest reading her books Don’t lose your mind lose your weight & Women & the weight loss Tamasha. It tackles everything from weight loss; mindset & dealing with the many phases of life we women go thru. She also offers tailor made packages if you're looking to lose weight on her website.

http://www.rujutadiwekar.com

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Personally eating an all-Indian diet doesn’t work for the goal I wish to achieve, however; I do like to indulge on it occasionally such as a cheat day.

I find the British diet of lean meat such as chicken & fish with vegetables & healthy carbs works well for me. There’s not to say I can’t make a chicken curry in a healthier manner.

I could have decided to follow an Indian diet after reading Rujata Diwekar books however it just doesn’t work for me. As to why it doesn’t is that I don’t have time to eat every 2 hours let along cook fresh food for each of those meals.

People live busy lives where it involves work, commuting, kids, squeezing in a workout & managing a home. With all that to fit in, it becomes hard to then go home & make a full-blown Indian meal every evening. The rat race lifestyle means we want convenience & healthy eating which is quick & simple.

Personally for me, wrapping a piece of salmon in foil which takes 15mins to cook in the oven with some steamed veggies or a sweet potato is much quicker than cooking a Indian meal. As well as this the amount of washing up that is accumulated with Indian cooking vs making salmon & veggies is vast!

This is what works for me & I’m someone who hates spending hours in the kitchen on a weeknight so it needs to be quick, simple & healthy.

Why did I write this post? I wrote it because the older generation does need a wake up call & I’m aware not everyone has bad habits. However I’ve also seen my fair share of bad eating habits & lifestyles to accompany it! So when you hear that they’re suffering from health issues it really doesn’t surprise me. The diet needs to be adapted to the current times. When are you eating it, how are you cooking it & are you exercising?

The mentality of its too late is an excuse! No matter how old you are it's never too late to make changes to your health & body. Remember mind over matter!

“It’s not a diet, it’s a lifestyle change.”

Coco Chick xxx