Ayurveda is a renowned life science that has been credited with changing lives since ancient times. Not only can it prevent diseases and ailments, but it can also cure them with its combination of herbal medication, everyday routine and yogic poses. Weight management is a field that also enjoys various Ayurvedic remedies. Some of them are as follows.

Herbs: Herbs are a way of healing used by Ayurveda, and the use of various herbs can help in hastening the metabolism for healthy weight management.

Taste: Ayurveda recognizes six distinct tastes that should be incorporated into one's daily diet. These tastes include salty, pungent, sour, sweet, bitter and finally, astringent. Each of these tastes has several properties that balance the various hormones and health factors in one's body. These tastes form the various counterpoints to alleviate all kinds of health problems, which finally help in effective weight management. Also, one must eat all the seasonal fruits and vegetables to keep the body and hormones in good balance.
 
Exercise: While a daily routine of exercise is a must in any life science, Ayurveda too propagates the devotion of at least 45 minutes to one hour towards some form of exercise. Walking is said to be the most important and effective forms of exercise, followed by several yoga poses that can help in better weight management. Also, as per Ayurveda, it is important to move after each and every meal, so that a routine of eating and activity is built into the system. 

Sleep: Ayurveda recognizes sleep or rest as one of the most important aspects of a healthy lifestyle. While good eating habits and exercise form one side of it, sleep or rest completes the triangle. One can also practice the Savasana or resting pose for a period of rest. And at least six to seven hours of sleep is a must as per Ayurveda.

Meditation: This practice helps in focusing on awareness which can instil the desired function like weight management in the body. Being mindful of what your body needs can also help in eating and exercising right.

Weight management is a lifelong process in Ayurveda.

Weight Management and Ayurveda

If you are looking to lose weight, it is of utmost importance to focus on your diet. Eating a balanced diet along with regular exercise is your key to losing weight. You need to focus on picking the right foods to lose weight.

Carbohydrates are classified into three types - simple carbohydrates, complex carbohydrates and fiber.

Simple carbohydrates consist of foods such as fruits and sugar. These foods should be consumed in limited amounts as they tend to spike your blood sugar levels. Excessive consumption of simple sugar ups your risk of diabetes and leads you to gain weight.

Complex carbohydrates are foods like whole grains, oats and millets that have a different digestive mechanism compared to simple carbohydrates. These foods are digested slowly and thus, the energy is released slowly into the bloodstream. This means that there is no blood sugar spike during the process of digestion. However, it is important that you should not consume these foods in excess. Overconsumption of these foods may lead to weight gain.

Fiber is a type of nutrient that is also known as roughage and it is present in vegetables and fruits. Fiber rich foods are cabbage, broccoli and carrots. Fiber helps in improving digestion as it adds bulk to your stool. The other important benefit of fiber is that it enhances your heart health by reducing bad cholesterol levels in the body. Fiber is helpful in weight loss as it improves satiety and promotes digestion.

Protein is another component that is emphasized on when you try losing weight. Good sources of protein are eggs, chicken, turkey and lentils. It helps in building muscle in the body, which in turn increases your metabolism rate, so that your overall calorie burn increases. It is recommended that you consume 1 g of protein per pound of body weight. Protein lets you hold on to your muscle mass which increases your lean muscle mass that burns fat.

Can Specific Proteins and Carbs Keep Weight Off?

6 ways to gain weight most naturally

Most people these days want to lose weight in order to look slim, and as a result, they often miss out on essential nutrients and starve themselves, deteriorating their health. On the other hand, some people want to put on a few pounds to look and feel healthier or simply to bulk up. Gaining weight is not strenuous and can be achieved simply by reversing some essential dieting principles. Certain basic calculations and lifestyle changes can garner impressive results.

Here are 6 ways to gain weight healthily:

1. Eating 5 to 6 meals a day

In order to gain weight, start eating 5-6 meals a day by breaking them into parts. Eating a lot at once may cause indigestion if the body fails to absorb all nutrients. Eat in small amounts, even if you are not hungry and there will be an increase in appetite from day to day. The aim should be to have a generously portioned breakfast, lunch and dinner, as well as two to three snacks in between.

2. Start weight training

If you build your muscles through weight training, it will convert the extra weight into lean body mass and also stimulate your appetite. The extra muscle increases the rate of metabolism. When you start exercising you will often experience extreme muscle soreness but it goes away in 3-5 days.

3. Load up on protein

Besides weight training, a protein-rich diet can help you gain mass. Eating a meal heavy in protein shortly after finishing exercise can be highly effective in adding extra pounds to your body. However, a diet focused only on lean protein is not helpful. It is important to make sure that your diet has plenty of fat in it. Eat foods rich in protein like cheese, meat, eggs, etc to gain weight in a healthy manner.

4. Workout your entire body

A lot of people focus only on training the muscles on their arms, chest and shoulders and this is a grave error. Firstly, it will give you a disproportionate body; and it will make you prone to injuries. Therefore, it's important to work out the entire body for a complete and balanced look.

5. Drink your calories

To reach the calorie requirement only by eating may be tough. Drinking milk, milkshakes or protein shakes with little or no sugar can be an effective way to load up on the calorie requirements.

6. Be patient and believe in yourself

Gaining weight quickly in a healthy manner is unrealistic. Every body type is different and it takes months to gain weight. Living healthy by eating the right diet will increase your strength. It is also important to keep following the routine even if you don't see any gains.

Caution: junk food and fried foods must be avoided; although have a tendency to add more fat to your body but are very low in vitamins and minerals which are essentially required to keep you really fit.

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Related Tip: The Most Powerful Way To Put On Weight - Snacking Right.

6 Ways to Gain Weight Most Naturally

4 ways to gain weight

A very low body mass index can be due to many causes including genetic, developmental and hormonal disorders and other issues with absorbing nutrients in the body. A low body mass index may also be owing to a high metabolism rate. Here are a few healthy ways to gain weight according to different requirements:

Know your calorie needs

- Calculate your resting metabolic rate with the formula - RMR = 10* weight (kg) + 6.25* height (cm) - 5* age (yr) + x [For men; x=5, for women; x = -161] Your BMR tells you how much minimum calories you will burn if you rested an entire day.

- Account for your activity by using your RMR as BMR (Base metabolic rate) and calculate your daily calorie needs by the following formulae:

-BMR * 1.2 - If you are sedentary
-BMR * 1.375 - For light exercise
-BMR * 1.55 - Moderate activity
-BMR * 1.725 - High activity
-BMR * 1.9 - Intense activity

Diet to follow

- Gradually increase your calorie intake

- Eat healthy and timely

- Have a balanced diet with heavy foods like - starchy vegetables, dense fruits, added oils and creamy soups

- Have foods rich in protein, avoid watery fruits and veggies

- Avoid trans-fats

- Do not binge, pace yourself through your diet regime

- Have dietary supplements and protein shakes

Build muscle to increase body weight

- Include weight training in your daily regime

- Compensate for extra calorie lost in training

- Do not over do it, rest is equally important in building muscle

Things to remember

- Stop eating junk food, eat healthily

- Hydrate yourself well

- Rapid weight gain may cause stretch marks

- Be careful when choosing fatty foods as overindulging in them can lead to heart diseases and type 2 diabetes

- Overeating may cause bloating, stomach aches and cramps

If you would like to consult with me privately, please click on 'Consult'.

4 ways to gain weight

If you have been that extremely skinny guy in your high school days, never getting picked for the soccer team, then it is time to fix that stubborn weight issue. Worry not, it s fairly easy, all you have to do is make changes in your diet. Diet is the primary component that can help gain weight.

Some tips you can follow and design your diet plan accordingly are mentioned below: 

Increase your appetite by eating more to gain weight. But do it step-by-step and not by stuffing yourself too much at one go. Add one extra chapatti or more rice than you normally consume, or you even start with fruits by eating an extra one every day. Ghee, oil or butter can not only help increase your weight, but it may increase weight by increasing your fat percentage in your body. Rather you can eat a proper well-nourished diet and increase your muscle mass and not only the fat accumulation in the body.

Carbohydrates are needed to gain weight but include healthier options like banana, potato, mango, whole grain, rice, etc. Instead of sugar-rich food items like chocolates and other junk food items. Carbohydrates are classified into simple and complex carbs. Reduce on your simple carbs like sugar and sweets which later on converts to fats. Complex carbs like whole grains, beans or fibre-rich vegetables and fruits can be consumed for a healthy weight gain.

Consume protein-rich food items after your workout to increase your muscle mass. And eat good fats like nuts and seeds in your diet. Eating a handful of pumpkin or flaxseeds is a good way to give your body the fat intake it needs. Though junk food items like vada pav or burgers are loaded with calories, they only increase body fat and not muscle mass. This is not the right way to go around. Every meal should comprise of carbs and protein. Post-workout nutrients and a well-balanced diet with the proper combination of carbohydrates and protein is the most important to maintain your muscle mass and weight gain process.
Sample Meal Plan -

To give you more opportunities to get the calories to gain weight, aim to eat 3 meals and 2-3 snacks a day. For breakfast, enjoy generous servings of whole grains like whole-wheat bread with beans or egg whites, paneer or Cereals and a glass of milk with nuts will be a good combination.

Mid-morning can be fruit juices, fruit milkshakes, 1-2 serving of fruit or granola bars. Lunch and dinner can be incorporated with 3-4 wholegrain chapattis with a serving of pulses, paneer, chicken or fish and a serving of vegetables with a portion of rice OR 1 bowl of khichdi which serves you with good cereal pulse combination. In between meals if you feel hungry you can have sprouts or roasted channa. Evening you can either grab a whole wheat sandwich, a whole wheat roll or a whole wheat sub.

Bedtime you can either have a glass of milk or either banana /mango/strawberry milkshake.

Right Ways To Gain Weight!

Doing everything right can still make you gain weight. Irrespective of your diligent efforts, that paunch comes in the way of your crunches. Reviewing your exercise routine, diet and overall lifestyle may have no effect on the extra kilos. The reaction to such stagnation could be as many as the conspiring causes. Backpedaling into an unhealthy way of life is what cowards choose to do. The ideal way of approaching the problem is to find out the specific factors leading to excess weight.


These few factors can make you gain weight


1. Sleep deprivation results in significant bloating: You may not be aware, but a full night s sleep is indeed necessary. When a person rests, the human body carries on with repair work. Sleep helps your body to get rid of excess adipose tissues. A person who has not slept for two to three days at a stretch or has only slept insufficiently is likely to look fatter or bloated.


2. Being perpetually depressed could be the curse: Depression can lead to extreme ends; you may either gain a lot of weight or may even lose weight drastically. If your depression is at an advanced stage a medical practitioner will prescribe you with antidepressants. Antidepressants tend to fatten you up.


3. An irritable or slow bowel syndrome can prove to be adverse: If you suffer from problems related to the bowel your tummy might show. A patient of irritable or slow bowel syndrome feels bloated throughout the day. Since they face digestive problems, their bellies protrude.


4. The gray streaks of hair could be a reason: Gaining weight could also be the result of your age. If you are above thirty-five your metabolism decreases; this results in slower breakdown of food. Exercising can help, but it usually shows meager results once you have attained forty.


5. Nutrient deficiency should not be taken lightly: Being deficient in certain nutrients can also make you overweight. Vitamin C, folic acid and potassium are some of the nutrients that actively contribute to a person s body weight. A lack of these nutrients can make you fat.


6. Edema could be the underlying cause: Edema refers to a condition where a person s body retains water. Certain parts and joints become swollen. There are medications that can help push excess water out of the body through frequent urination. If not taken care of, edema could be the reason behind weight gain.

6 Strange Reasons you are Gaining Weight

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