Win the Race to Lose
So what’s in for you? Well,you plod along just like the tortoise on a health plan That involves
a sensible
1,300-1,400 calories-a-day meal plan, and exercise that encompasses a 30 to 40 – minute brisk walk besides a combination of yoga and pilates. It’s as good as zero maintenance , and well, you do lose the flab, albeit slower than other diet plans. And at the end of the week,there’s your reward:You can use one meal per week to sin, to tuck into what you’ve craved all week. I
f the Tortoise Plan sounds more do-able than other ‘hare-brained’ plans, here are some more guidelines.
1 Follow a
55:25:20 ratio of carbs, proteins and fats . If you can’t do that in one meal, spread it out over the day. So you can eat
rice and rotis.
2 List out 30 of your favoruite foods. Half of these should be health foods. For the other half , scout the internet, buy cookbooks or ask food experts for quick, low-calorie versions of the dishes you used to eat. Help yourself to a moderate serving of these.
3 If there are some calorie – filled ingredients you must have, use them for flavouring rather than as a main course.Can’t say ‘No’ to cheese? No pizza, but grate a teaspoon of cheese on a crusty toast. Using chicken bits to enhance the taste of a bland soup smacks of tortoise wisdom rather than a gravy – rich chicken curry that can only be had with mounds of rice.
“The cool thing about sticking to a sensible, calorie-curtailed diet –that also takes to indulge your food cravings- is that your digestive system gets used to it completely after some time, “ Combined with exercise (a half hour brisk walk, 15 mints of stretches, yoga and Pilates ),
weight loss can be around
half a kilo a week.
A TYPICAL TORTOISE PLAN
DR ANUREKHA’S SAMPLE MENU FOR 1250-1300 KCAL WEIGHT LOSS
Vegetarian Meal
Early Morning: 1 cup tea with ½ tsp sugar
Breakfast : 2 tbsp oats/dalia/wholewheat bread
1 cup skimmed milk
1 orange
Lunch : 2 wholewheat chapattis
1 cup curried vegetables/low fat paneer
1 cup dal
A good helping of salad
Early Evening : 1 glass buttermilk
1 cup tea with ½ tsp sugar
Dinner: 1 bowl tomato soup
sprouts chaat
1 ½ cup noodles/pasta with mixed vegetables
Non vegetarian
Early morning: 1 cup tea with ½ tsp sugar
Breakfast: 1 cup skimmed milk
1 slice wholewheat bread
1 boiled egg
1 sweet lime
Lunch: 1 ½ cups rice
1 cup mushroom and babycorn stir fry
1 piece chicken with gravy
Green salad
Early evening: 1 glass butter milk/1 fruit
Dinner: 1 bowl chicken soup
Baked fish(one bekti fillet)
1 cup pasta with mixed vegetables