Dear Roopashree,
I have two cases where I need your help.
1. My daughter, who is 16 years old, was a state level swimmer until two years ago.
At that time, her diet and exercises were at a very different level.
She suddenly decided to quit swimming. This led to weight gain and she became 60 kg; her height is 5.2 feet.
She then started some exercises, watching YouTube, etc, and went into self-starvation mode in order to reduce weight.
We didn’t realise that she started throwing food. It continued for months while she doubled her exercise to twice a day.
As a result she not only lost 15 kg in a year, but it also stopped her periods for a year now.
Can you help us with this problem?
2. For myself, I am 44 years old, height 5 feet, weight 60 kg and a big belly.
I like to eat spicy food so maintaining just soup based diets becomes difficult beyond a day or two.
Can you guide me on what diet programme I should follow to reduce 7 kg in next five months?
I have a family occasion coming up in Feb 2022, for which I want to be ready.
Shalini Shukla

Let me tackle this individually.

Let’s look at your daughter first.

We often define health by weight. While it is certainly an important factor, body functions -- whether hormonal, digestive and/or nervous -- are equally, if not more, important.

Given the major shifts in your daughter's routine, both during her swimming days and workout days, her body must be going through a lot. And let’s not forget the hormonal changes happening during this age.

I would suggest that she takes a mental break from thinking about diet and exercise for at least 2-3 months.

This does not mean she should overeat and not do basic physical exercises. Instead, opt for a balanced diet (lots of fruits and less of grains and processed foods).

Include a little physical activity (not workouts) but more playful activities. Light walks or basic jogging, yoga or any other sport of her choice like badminton, etc, will keep the body remain active without stressing the hormones.

She can also start basic pranayama (deep breathing exercises) to balance her energies and lower stress levels.

As far as her menstrual issues are concerned, I would suggest you meet an ayurvedic practitioner. They will identify if there is any possible imbalance of the elements and recommend ayurvedic medicines if required.

Shalini, let’s look at your concerns now.

A big belly can be due to many reasons -- excess fat retention, water retention, bloating, etc.

You should focus on addressing the root cause and not on weight loss through strict dieting.

I suggest you follow some basic principles of food intake, starting with a detox for your stomach.

Have a glass of petha (white pumpkin) juice (recipe here) in the morning. Avoid eating anything else for an hour. Do this for a month.

Avoid fried food and restrict non-veg and heavily processed foods during this period.

You can eat a full meal, but avoid eating after sunset.

Spices can be therapeutic as well as harmful, depending upon consumption.

If you practice yoga, then do Kapalbhati pranayam for 5-10 minutes in the morning.

Half an hour after your meals, go for a stroll.