HEALTH FARMING

( By Dr. Krishna Murari Modi )

< Reading Room Home
Go To:

3-Control your Weight-Diet and Exercise

Weight control, a process of losing or avoiding excessive belly fat, is based on the relationship between the feed you eat and the amount of exercise you get. The less you eat and more you exercise, the less fat you will have. Obesity can lead to several medical problems including emotional and social. Fat people are treated unkindly by others, particularly by classmates in the school. If you eat more calories than you use, they will turn into body fat. If you eat 3,000 more calories than body needs, you will gain one pound in weight. The amount of food. People who are overweight, of normal weight, or under weight may all eat the same kinds of food. Their weight difference results from the amount of food they eat in relation to the amount of energy they use. Physical inactivity can lead to obesity among all age groups especially among children and teenagers who are the most active groups. Most obese young people do not eat more than those of normal weight. In fact, most of them eat less. But they are so inactive that even with moderate appetite they eat more than they need and accumulate excessive fat. Any reducing diet must provide fewer calories. If a man needs 3,000 calories a day to maintain his weight with his habits of life, he should eat 2,000 calories a day to two pounds a week. It is generally dangerous to lose weight any faster. The foods in a reducing diet must be well balanced. That is they must provide enough of all the nutrients needed for good health. There is no evidence that extreme diets for example "low carbohydrates" or "low protein" diets, or those based on single foods have any advantage over well-balanced diets. A reducing diet should also be good tasting and easy to buy and cook. An expert nutritionist has advised that a person going on a reducing diet should get more exercise. But an obese person—even one who is otherwise healthy—should not suddenly start a programme of prolonged, heavy exercise. The strain on the heart would be dangerous. An exercise programme should be developed gradually. One good way is to start to take daily walks, increasing their duration. More demanding exercises can be added as the person becomes thinner and fitter.

Obesity

"There is no love sincerer than the love of food", said George Bernard Shaw. The obese love their food. Obesity is more common in the affluent society. Charles Dickens in ‘Pickwick Papers’ describes a character, Joe, a fat fellow who gets doused at the most inappropriate occasions. Fat people enjoy their and laziness. They feel breathless after exertion and get tired quickly.

The fat and the thin may eat the same amount of food. The thin people are more active and so they consume their calories. The fat do not, their extra calories get deposited at all the wrong places in the body. The obese are generally of a cool temperament and look healthy but they fall prey to many diseases. When a person is overweight, thirty percent of his span of life is reduced. It is better to consider 20% overweight as compared to average weight as obese.

The simplest method to know if a person is obese is to measure his skinfold thickness with the help of a calliper. Generally, it may be done on the back of the arm. If is thicker than 23 mm in men and 30 mm in women the person is obese. People tend to get obese as they get older. They reach the peak around the age of 50. We find few obese people living to an old age. They generally succumb to many obesity-related diseases.

There are two types of people who are obese. One, those who are obese throughout their grow up. Obese women gain weight with each pregnancy. They are grossly fat and may become overweight by 175%. Their fatness is more around their limbs.

The other type are those who grow fat during middle age. Life becomes sedentary, less and less active as we grow. The calorie requirement goes down. It has been estimated that the intake lessens by 43 calories with every decade in the males and 27 calories in the females. Food habits do not change with age. When the calorie requirement is reduced, we continue to consume the same amount of food. Extra calories start depositing fat in the body. This generally lead to central obesity, fat deposits around the abdomen and chest.

The fat cells increase in number and size and the process continues throughout the childhood. Among the non-obese people the proliferation of fat cells takes place for the first two years of childhood and then just prior to puberty. It has been noticed that the non-obese persons, if they are forcefully fed, they gain in weight by 20-30%. Their fat cells increase in size but not in number and as soon as the forced feeding stops, they come back to their original weight.

In the obese if the fat cells are removed through an operation as is sometimes done by some enthusiastic surgeons, in due course the remaining fat cells increase in size and proliferate and the person once again weight. When you are depressed, you tend to eat more. When you feel lonely and there is nothing to do with a lot of food lying around in the house, you tend to feed yourself. Average college going girls are generally thin. When they leave college they may get married. In a few years, they become fat. After college their physical activity decreases. Left with no other diversion and entertainment they tend to concentrate more on eating. Their desire to look glamorous is also at a lower ebb.

Socio-economic influences rather than hereditary are directly responsible for obesity. A mother who tells the child that ghee (Butter oil) is good for him is doing more harm than any hereditary cause. Psychological factors play an important role in preventing obese persons to lose weight. They eat at night, because of some guilt syndrome and body image disturbance.

A girl,22 years old, has a perfect diet during the day but at night in a semi-conscious condition she will walk up to kitchen and eat vast quantities of food. Fat children are often seen to eat a lot. A child who will eat 3-4 ice creams and drink two milk shakes on top of it is not rare.A bride was happy with her 85 lbs. on the wedding day. But 10 years later she was equally content with a body weight of 135 lbs.

Recommended weights for adults Women
























































































Height Small build Medium build Large build
171 cm 61 kg 65 kg 70 kg
169 cm 60 kg 64 kg 69 kg
167 cm 59 kg 63 kg 68 kg
165 cm 58 kg 62 kg 66 kg
163 cm 57 kg 60 kg 64 kg
161 cm 55 kg 59 kg 63 kg
159 cm 54 kg 58 kg 62 kg
157 cm 52 kg 56 kg 61 kg
155 cm 50 kg 54 kg 59 kg
153 cm 49 kg 53 kg 57 kg
151 cm 48 kg 52 kg 56 kg
149 cm 47 kg 51 kg 55 kg
147 cm 46 kg 50 kg 54 kg
145 cm 45 kg 49 kg 53 kg
143 cm 44 kg 48 kg 52 kg
141 cm 43 kg 46 kg 51 kg


Men
























































































Height Small build Medium build Large build
183 cm 74 kg 78 kg 84 kg
181 cm 72 kg 76 kg 81 kg
179 cm 71 kg 75 kg 80 kg
177 cm 69 kg 74 kg 79 kg
175 cm 67 kg 72 kg 77 kg
173 cm. 65 kg 70 kg 75 kg
171 cm 64 kg 69 kg 74 kg
169 cm 63 kg 67 kg 73 kg
167 cm 62 kg 66 kg 71 kg
165 cm 61 kg 64 kg 69 kg
163 cm 60 kg 62 kg 67 kg
161 cm 58 kg 61 kg 66 kg
159 cm 57 kg 60 kg 65 kg
157 cm 55 kg 59 kg 64 kg
155 cm 54 kg 57 kg 62 kg
153 cm 53 kg 56 kg 61 kg

To motivate an obese person is a real hard task. It calls for a lot of persuasion to keep an obese person on the right track. The height weight charts sometimes are not useful at all. Better to develop an ideal body weight concept’. This is more realistic and encourages the patient to work harder to be thin.

Fat more favoured by many diseases

Fatness is often mistaken for good health, but it is not true. A fat body harbours diseases better. Fat people generally suffer from diabetes, high blood pressure, heart ailments, gall bladder, stones, arthritis, bloating in the tummy and liver complications. These diseases produce a bigger mortality among the obese, compared to the same disease among the thinner people. But luckily all of this can be reversed. The results can be dramatic if only they reduce weight. In the U.S. out of every four persons one is on a weight reducing diet. There is great health consciousness. Thousands can be seen jogging and taking health foods.

The cholesterol level is higher among the fat persons. That is because fat deposits find their way into the blood stream. Cholesterol which is a fat while in blood stream makes the blood more viscous. It gets deposited in the lumen of the blood vessels making them thinner and making it more difficult for the blood to flow. The lumen of the coronary arteries supplying the heart also get narrowed down.

The supply of blood to the heart is reduced and there is proneness to heart diseases. The cholesterol is also linked with gall bladder stones. Super saturation of bile with cholesterol helps to form gall stones. It is more common among females who are obese, around forty and of fair complexion. Triglycerids increase in the blood. They get secreted from the liver in a larger quantity. They are responsible for high blood pressure among the fat people. Generally people who are fat consume more food and alongwith it more salt. Salt helps to retain water in the body, causing a rise in blood pressure. Generally these people consume upto 12 gms. of salt.

It is better we take3-5 gms. of salt per day. Most of the obese also get diabetes. 80% of all adult obese are diabetic in the U.S. If you have been obese for a long time you have more chances to get diabetes. They usually have less glucose tolerance. A small amount of sugar tends to raise their blood sugar level. They become resistant to insulin. Luckily, the process is reversible when the weight is reduced. Diabetes disappears quickly.

The obese tend to have a big tummy and so there is a constant pull on the spine. This causes a low back pain and early arthritis of the spine. Heavy body weight puts a strain on the knees as they have to bear the brunt of the weight. Knee arthritis is common among the obese. Generally they have a high level of uric acid in the blood. Gout is also common.

High blood pressure and diabetes cause complications during pregnancy. There will be prolonged labour when the size of the baby is big. Many of these cases will have to submit to a caesarean operation. Tumours and cancer of the uterus are more common among the old. Fat people have more problems with their tummies. Flatulence, bloating, dyspepsia, diaphragmatic hernia are common. Their liver functions less efficiently.

They have more skin infections due to a moist skin fold, more common in the groin, arm pits and under the breast. They are a bigger surgical risk. An anesthesia is more dangerous, the time taken for an operation is longer, and wounds take longer to heal.

Treatment

The treatment depends mostly on reducing the food intake, increasing exercises or both. For life long obesity, exercise and dieting both should be combined. What food you take really is not important. The calorie is a calorie regardless of its source. We should be only careful that the diet is balanced so that it does not make us ill in the long run.

A high carbohydrate diet will bring a slower reduction in obesity because with a high carbohydrate diet, there is tendency to take in more salt. More salt helps retain extra water in the body. A high protein diet helps to excrete water faster. But in the long run it brings about ketosis and acidosis.

Eating food frequently helps to remain less fat. If you eat less frequently you tend to eat a bigger quantity and the food tends to be more unbalanced. Obesity is more common in the people who eat less frequently. Fasting is done for a quick weight reduction. Preferably, there should be short fasts lasting not more than a week or ten days. Long term fasts by the obese may cause anemia, potassium depletion, ketosis, liver dysfunction and hypotension. Judicious fasting will give you health but it should be done under proper guidance.

There are three fundamental methods for reducing: fasting, dieting and exercises. It is always better to combine two of them rather than to depend on one alone. Fasting and exercise if combined can bring about a fast reduction, in weight. This should however be done under a good health farming expert. In the beginning the reduction is at a rapid rate. This is due to the loss in content of the intestines and loss of water due to salt restriction. This initial quick reduction in weight creates an illusion among the obese patients. Because this lost weight will be regained fast, when they resume their normal diet.

The real reduction takes place when the fat is shed. It is brought about when the fat calories are used by the body instead of calories supplied by customary food. Chemically pure fat has a fuel value of 4,000 calories per pound. The fuel value of the body fat is 3,000 calories per pound as it contains 25% of moisture. So a person whose size and activity requires 3,000 calories a day will lose a lb. a day. A person whose calorie requirement is 2,000 calories will lose ? of a lb. a day. The actual weight lost is a little more than the figures above as some non-fatty tissue is also lost though slowly.

When you do a complete fast, the muscles, blood, liver and other vital parts also decrease in weight. An average man taking moderate exercise and fasting can lose one pound a day and a woman ? pound a day. There are over 15 regimen diets, which are popular among the Americans. The ideal diet should take into consideration the vitamin mineral requirement of the body. it should be able to draw calories 15% from proteins,30% from fats and 55% from carbohydrates.

There are quite a few fad diets in the U.S. based on best selling books: F-plan, Atkins, Pritikins and Scarsdale. It is difficult to decide which one is the best to supply all nutrients essential for the body. It will depend on the individual. F-plan—Low fat, high in complex carbohydrates (whole grains and beans) and enough supply of vit. B12 and calcium.

Dr. Denis Burkitt, an English physician, limits fat and reduces protein, raising the intake of fibre-rich fruits, vegetables and whole grain cereals. The Beverly Hill is basically a low protein diet for first 9 days, all the food taken is by way of fruits. Then, gradually carbohydrates, fats and proteins are added. The pritikins Diet is high in fibres, to promote a good bowel movement. It contains so little fat that it may not taste good and may be difficult to follow.

High fibre food is most important in all weight reducing diets. You chew it more, you take longer to eat. Food is bulky, leaves you more satisfied, and it leaves little space for refined foods made with the help of sugars and oils. You feel less tempted and have much less appetite for different snacks and fats. One experiment has proved that when you eat rapidly you become hungry again faster than when you eat precisely the same size of meal at slower rate.

Rich fibre food holds extra water, so one extra litre of water retained will help to increase the transit time or the time taken by the food through the body and thus will relieve constipation. With a high fibre diet you excrete more calories in the stool. Tests indicate that the calorie content of the faeces amount is nearly ten percent when people are on a high fibre diet. So it is worth following the advice to chew your food as many times as the number of your teeth before you swallow. So for good health and a slim body chew, chew and chew till you can drink your solid foods and eat your liquids. Lachance, a leading nutritionist, cautions against liquid protein diet. It may cause cardiac irregularities.

He claimed that the health of Americans would improve if they simply ate more complex carbohydrates and less fat. Mote fat is associated with colon cancer. It is a good idea to follow the 4-4-2-2 formula.



  • 4 servings of fruits and vegetables
  • 4 servings of cereals and other grain products
  • 2 servings of dairy products, like a cup of milk or a glass of butter milk as one serving
  • 2 servings of lean meat poultry or fish (vegetarians can take pulses instead)

This will add up to 2/3 plant food and 1/3 animal food. It will be a great improvement in the diet of those who feast on 50% plant food and 50% animal food. Lachance says you can eat all types of food and still lose weight if you are willing to exercise. A lady sought a doctor for a prescription of Amphetamine (a drug which causes loss of appetite). The doctor took out his prescription pad and scribbled multivitamin tablet’ and handed it to her. He told her if she walked briskly 2 miles every day she would have no more trouble with her weight.

It worked and she lost a lot of weight. She should not miss a single day’s exercise. Exercise tones up the muscles, reduces appetite and improves the psychological outlook on life. Breakfast is important for health conscious people. Your are better off eating just a good solid breakfast chiefly cereals, than gorging yourself on a big dinner or lunch. The old fashioned belief that an imbalance between eating and physical exercise was the main cause for fat to develop was extremely sound.

Most people who mind what they eat and do regular exercises, still have an urge to go ‘off the wagon’, and feast on a candy or a cake. Everyone needs fun food, occasionally. A diet should be such that it could be followed for the rest of one’s life. If a balance is maintained between eating nutritious food, exercising and a fun food when the urge is great, you will be on the right track.

Advertisements tempt gullible people by in making false claims like the way to lose weight without diet to exercise. These claims are the greatest frauds perpetrated on unwary people. They go to the extent of calling dieting and exercise gimmicks. Body wraps have no effect on the body fat. They will not dissolve it. Although they will cause profuse perspiration, the weight loss effect is temporary say the Food and Drug Administration of the United States. FDA further says that a rapid and excessive fluid loss caused by these wraps can be dangerous. If causes severe dehydration and upsets the balance of important electrolytes in the body. Making a quick buck at the cost of health can be a dangerous business.

The appetite suppressants (Amphetamines) have hardly any value in the treatment. They may have an effect only during the period they are used. They do have side effects. Obesity is a life long problem so these drugs are hardly of any value. The Thyroid hormones are used to increase the oxygen consumption of the body. The weight loss is mainly due to loss of lean mass rather than the fat tissue.

Cosmetic surgery like liposuction, where fat is literally sucked out, or through excision can have a surgical risk. The effect again is not permanent. In the course of time the remaining fat cells divide and again form the fat mass. Obesity is a life long problem. We must take a life long treatment, making exercise a habit and avoiding fat and sugar as far as one can dispense with them.

Obesity: Health Farming

Start with an all fruit diet for 5,7or 10 days. Do it according to your capacity and see how you feel. Take one fruit at a time about 250 gms. at a time and 3-4 times a day. You can start with a complete fast for 5-6 days and then go on a fruit diet. Fasting will be more suitable when you are in a health farm. Take a plain warm water enema when you feel constipated.

Fruits for breakfast. Boiled green vegetables for lunch and dinner for one or two days then add some salad and one chapati made out of whole wheat flour for lunch and dinner then make it two or three depending upon appetite. Add half litre of milk for breakfast along with fruits, some curd or butter milk for lunch and dinner and fruits in the afternoon. Be liberal with fruits, whenever you feel like take a fruit of your choice, but avoid bananas. If milk and curd do not agree with you, if you want a change take moong and gram sprouts for breakfast or in the salad. Milk and pulses are a good source of protein. Take some dal (pulses) with if you like. Avoid too much salt. Salt retains water in the body. Do not use extra salt in vegetables, take curd and salad without salt.

Do not take pickles and papad, they contain too much salt. Use minimum oil, butter and ghee. Half a teaspoon of oil should be enough to cook vegetables. Do not take fried foods. Take toast dry or put very little butter on it. Prefer whole wheat bread. Avoid all white flour products, oils and sugar are high source of calories. Half kg. of butter contains 3615 calories and half kg. of sugar 1820 calories. Avoid all sweets, chocolates, cakes pastries, cream, ice creams. Once in about 15 days you may have a sweet dish of your choice. Take low calorie and high fibre food. Half kg of cucumber has 70 calories only. Half kg tomato 105 calories and half kg. apples 320 calories.

You may take non-vegetarian food in small quantity. Prefer boiled food, stewed or cooked in minimum oil. Avoid fatty meat or fatty fish. Have a good portion of boiled vegetable and salad with non-vegetarian food. Non-vegetarian food is non-fibre food so be careful. Eat more fibre diet along with it like boiled vegetables, salads and fruits. Alcohol has a lot of calories, avoid it. Avoid all aerated drinks.

Excessive tea or coffee is to be avoided. Do not smoke or chew tobacco, it will decrease your stamina to do exercise and walk and reduce the fat. Tobacco is of a high risk for heart diseases. The obese feel hungry. They should eat citrous foods like oranges or sweet limes or grape fruit before lunch and dinner. It will reduce craving for food. Do not gulp down a big lunch or dinner. Eat more often, in small quantities, it will keep craving for food in check and prevent fat deposits.

Take fruit juices, skimmed milk, butter milk, barley water, they carry less calories. You need not avoid rice or potato. You can have them every day if you want to but boiled. Roasting vegetables in the oven is better. Vegetables are tastier with the peel on. After roasted, the peel can be removed, mash them and put little salt to taste good. For roasting you may prefer potatoes, brinjal, tomatoes, parwal, ladies fingers or even tinda.

The salad may be prepared in many ways using cucumber, cabbage, tomato, carrots, radish, onions, beet root, spinach, simla mirch etc. You may prefer one big salad meal like the ones now being served in restaurants in a hundred ways. Food should be tasty, otherwise you will not have it for a long time. Walking is the best exercise. Walk every morning till you feel tired. You can cover almost 6 kms is one hour. If you have the time walk morning and evening. If you are young and strong do jogging. Swimming is excellent. Take to a vigorous game like badminton, squash or tennis. It is easier to play than walk or exercise.

When you lose weight and lose it fast, the skin becomes loose. Do friction massage with a small towel all over the body for 10-15 minutes and then take a bath. This will help the skin to get tightened once again. If will be more lively. Cold baths help reduce faster than hot baths. Take a whole body pack twice a week. Mud bath is to be tried. Rub mud over the body and sit in the sun. When it gets completely dry take a cold shower.

Take a sauna or steam bath once or twice a week. It will help to perspire vigorously. Do not try to reduce your weight fast. You may feel weak, giddy or may develop chest pain. In the first two weeks you are likely to reduce quite fast, may be 2-3 kgs weekly. Later it will come down to about 1-2 kgs a week. If you want to reduce faster, the health farm will be a safer place. Do breathing exercises. Since you have more body mass, you need more oxygen. Do pranayama, it will help relax, ventilate your lungs and help vital organs to function better. Learn to relax. Find out the best relaxation technique for your needs. Do meditation it lessens tension and reduces craving for food.

Home  |   The Library  |   Ask an Expert  |   Help Talks  |   Blog  |   Online Books  |   Online Catalogue  |   Downloads  |   Contact Us

Health Library © 2024 All Rights Reserved. MiracleworX Web Designers In Mumbai