Weight loss is a goal that is hard to achieve while being a dream for many people. Reducing fat and overweight can be hard to achieve with ordinary diets that are restricting, tiresome, or unsustainable. Here is when you should start looking for a different approach to losing weight. Implementing an Ayurvedic diet that is holistic, personalized, and enjoyable for weight loss can help you in the best ways possible.
Ayurveda is a 5,000-year-old system of medicine that focuses on balancing your doshas, or energy types. It promotes an eating habit in which you need to eat foods that are harmonious with your dosha type. You can optimize everything, including your digestion, metabolism, energy levels, and overall health, through an effective Ayurvedic diet.
A well-curated diet by the best Ayurvedic doctor in Dubai for weight loss also encourages you to eat with awareness, relief, and joy. One major step in any Ayurvedic diet will be to avoid processed, artificial, or harmful food items. We will go through an explained version of an Ayurvedic diet for weight loss: foods to include and avoid in the coming section of this article.
Understanding the three main doshas in Ayurveda is the foremost step you need to take before getting into a weight-loss diet. Vata, pitta, and kapha are the tree doshas that are connected with the energy and balance of the human body, according to Ayurveda.
Vata is the energy of movement; Pitta is the energy of metabolism; and Kapha is the energy of structure. Each dosha influences how a person digests food, reacts to stress, and maintains weight as per their qualities, strengths, and weaknesses. It is important to follow a diet that suits your dosha while helping balance your energies. Let's go through some general guidelines for each dosha type and the kinds of food items you should include and avoid from the diet.
People with vata as their dominant dosha tend to be thin, light, dry, cold, and restless, with a fast metabolism but also weak digestion. Eating warm, moist, nourishing foods that are easy to digest is the right way for them to lose weight easily. Raw, cold, dry, or light foods that can aggravate the nervous system and cause gas, bloating, or constipation should be avoided to achieve the right balance and weight-loss objectives.
Food items to include in the diet
You can include grains that provide carbohydrates for energy and fiber for digestion. Cooked vegetables that are rich in vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants can support the immune system and the skin. Dairy products have a soothing effect on the vata nervous system while being high in protein and calcium, which strengthen the bones and muscles.
Nuts and seeds are high in healthy fats and omega-3 fatty acids that nourish the brain and the nerves while providing protein and minerals for growth and repair. Besides, fruits that are high in natural sugars boost the energy levels and mood of Vata people. They also have a cooling effect on the body and help balance the dryness of the vata.
Food items to avoid
Food items that are either too dry, light, or rough for digestion or too gassy, bitter, or astringent for taste can cause indigestion, constipation, or anxiety in vata people. Some of the foods you should avoid as a vata person include salads, popcorn, crackers, beans, cabbage, broccoli, apples, pears, or cranberries.
Pitta people can burn calories easily due to a strong metabolism, but they also get hungry with a strong appetite quickly and tend to be medium-sized, muscular, hot, sharp, and intense.
Eating cooling, refreshing foods that are moderate in quantity and quality is recommended for them to balance pitta. Food items that are spicy, sour, salty, or fried foods that can increase their heat and inflammation could be included.
Food items to include in the diet
Grains that are cooling, nourishing, and satisfying also help balance the acidity of Pitta people. You can keep the body cool with vegetables that are high in water content and have a cleansing effect on the body. Some dairy products can reduce the inflammation and irritation of the pitta while soothing and lubricating the body. You can keep the body hydrated with fruits that are juicy, refreshing, and delicious.
Foods to avoid
Food items that are either too hot, sour, stimulating for digestion, too acidic, fermented, or salty for taste should be avoided. These kinds of foods, including garlic, onions, vinegar, cheese, yogurt, meat, seafood, coffee, alcohol, or chocolate, can cause heartburn and ulcers.
People with Kapha as their dominant dosha have a slow metabolism but also strong stamina, by which they can gain weight easily but also lose it slowly. Their bodies tend to be large, heavy, moist, cold, and calm.
Eating light-stimulating foods that are low in fat and calories and avoiding sweet, sour, or salty foods that can increase their water and mucus is necessary for them to balance Kapha.
Food items to include in the diet
Light, dry, and warming grains are the best choice for kapha people since they help stimulate the metabolism and reduce the sluggishness of kapha. You can choose vegetables like cabbage, cauliflower, or radish that are bitter, pungent, and astringent. These help in the detoxification of the body and clear the congestion of kapha.
Dairy products that are low in fat and calories and high in protein and calcium could be included since they help digest the excess mucus and water of Kapha. Sour, tart, and refreshing fruits are the best choices for Kapha people because they help activate the liver and blood circulation.
Foods to avoid
Always avoid foods that are too heavy, moist, and sticky for kapha digestion or too sweet or bland for kapha taste, like rice, oats, and pasta.
Vegetables like potatoes, pumpkin, or zucchini are too starchy, soft, and watery, which increases the kapha dosha and causes bloating, mucus, or diabetes in Kapha people.
Dairy products like cream cheese or ice cream are too rich, fatty, and cold, which can clog the channels and lower the immunity of kapha.
Fruits like bananas and pineapple are too sugary, dense, and oily, which aggravates the kapha dosha and causes obesity, candida, or cholesterol.
You can lose weight while improving the overall health of your body by following an Ayurvedic diet. Always stay alert by listening to the requirements of your body and providing as per those needs. Here is a table of food items you can include in your weight-loss diet according to your dosha.
