The Maharishi Ayurveda Approach to Weight Loss
Maharishi Ayurveda Approach to Weight Loss: 5 Easy Steps to A
Healthier Weight
Although different people have weight problems for different
reason, these 5 tips address fundamental lifestyle habits that
affect virtually everyone. The really good news is that these 5
powerful tips are easy to implement and can bring about great
changes in your life and health once in place.
Point 1. Eat a light evening meal with easy-to-digest foods.
Everyone dealing with weight loss issues needs to know that it
is virtually impossible to make serious progress if you continue
to eat large evening meals with heavy foods!
I cannot emphasize this point too much. Ayurveda describes that
digestion is less strong in the evening, plus lying down to
sleep a few hours later further slows down digestion, metabolism
and circulation. The body simply cannot assimilate large evening
meals properly. The result is that much of the food is digested
poorly and eventually creates toxins, fat and excess weight. For
most people using the approaches of eating less during the day,
herbs, pills, special powders and drinks, and even exercise
cannot overcome this most serious of all weight loss mistakes.
Especially avoid in the evening: cheese, yogurt, rich desserts,
red meat, leftovers of any kind, cold foods, processed foods
Avoid or reduce in evening meals: fowl, fish, desserts
Evening meals should be vegetarian, hot, light and liquidy. If
you are significantly overweight the foundation of the evening
meal should be 1) non-cream soups, 2) grains cooked in water
(for example rice, quinoa, cous cous, barley), and 3) vegetables
either steamed, roasted or sauteed with small amounts of extra
virgin olive oil. If you must have dessert, I recommend cooked
fruit desserts made with only small amounts of organic sugar.
2. Eat the largest meal of the day at lunch with a wide variety
of warm, cooked food.
Lunch is the time our bodies can best digest and properly
assimilate larger quantities of food due to the fact that
digestion is strongest at noon and we have many active hours to
metabolize the food before we sleep. Lunch is the most important
meal of the day and the meal we most need to plan and prepare
for.
Lunch should be warm, cooked foods with a wide variety of tastes
and dishes. Warm food is essential as it can be more easily
digested and assimilated. Cold foods suppress digestion
(remember your chemistry- cold temperature suppresses chemical
reaction, and digestion is chemistry!) The result of regular
meals of cold foods is indigestion, the accumulation of ama
(undigested molecules that clog the channels,) and weight gain.
Having a wide variety of foods is essential for nutrition and to
prevent the body from developing food cravings-the downfall of
many a well-meaning diet plan. Food cravings often occur because
of imbalanced diets that included only a few food types. Diets
restricted to mostly carbohydrates or protein or fat eventually
lead to undernourished tissues that rightfully send hunger
messages to our brain. Even though we have just finished eating
a large quantity of food, parts of our body are still truly
malnourished and hungry. Unfortunately if we don