Maintaining ones weight during a months vacation in India

Long time since I wrote so here goes.

As we all know its very easy to let loose in India and just pig out and gain weight and often fall sick of an eating overdose. I can speak for myself and I can tell you that my stomach size has definitely shrunk...maybe not physically but I cannot stomach four parathas for breakfast and follow it up with another four for lunch. eating right and less is still the key that will work here.


I found my sponsor right at home. My mom...never forces me to add ghee to daal and rotis. Never forces me to eat sweets. But when i go home I definitely relish the things that mom prepares absolutely the best tasting in the world. [1] Idlis [2] Bhakris [3] Murukkus [4] Coconut Barfis


The secret is to still control quantity and select the time of the day when I would have these. All my breakfasts were the following choices
- Fruit  (Mostly bananas)
- Cereal
-  Poha
- Idlis

I would have the Bhakris always for lunch. Often a coconut barfi after lunch.

I almost always had a 1-2 murukkus a day at tea time with my tea.

Dinner was frugal with some home made porridge and milk

Another thing to do is to take as many opportunities to walk as possible, at least in the internal routes. To keep that little bit of exercise going.

While going out to eat at restaurants or at people's houses, just stay with munching carrots and salad and some lemonade. I used to eat prior to going out so that I don't feel attracted to nice smelling foods. I have better control over my tongue now but for a newcomer to this lifestyle its difficult.

And remember don't believe people when they say "Its holiday...You can pig out with no restrictions."

All this frugal eating, does it cause low energy ? Most certainly NOT. In fact in this present visit to India, I was working four to five hours a night to stay current with my office stuff. So less food translates to an alert mind. Also staying awake each night helped to beat the jet lag on my return. I never really changed my mental clock.


And another thing...India is often too warm to have a scotch or wine if u prefer these drinks and could often mess up the system. A beer is a better drink for the weather if u must let down your guard and get that C2H5OH in your system :-)

Very tasty and nutritious of the shelf breakfast cereal

I have been having this with my morning tea for the past two weeks. I found it in Trader Joe's. Its called High Fiber Cereal. 

A (almost) buttered toast thats delicious and not that many calories

So once in a while a (almost) buttered toast is a treat and also a nice mid day snack or a snack before I go to the gym. This is what I use for making it. I toast a slice of Sprouted Barley bread (Trade Joes) thats about 70 calories. Spread a teaspoon of 2% fat sour cream on it. Think of it like old fashioned freshly made white butter but far less calories. Sprinkle some salt and pepper and enjoy every bite.

Another great veggie protien source

I used to always love eating Rajgira laddoos which are available easily and are very popular in the state of Maharashtra in India. As I was eating them (at first guiltily because these ladoos contain sugar/jaggery) I decided to read more about them and learnt that Rajgira is called Amarnath. 100g of this cereal comtains 15g of protein. Thats impressive.
Well, I am going to start getting this flour and seeing I can make tortillas or dosas out of this.

Importance of being hydrated at all times

I have realized the benefits of drinking lots of water throughout the day and keeping myself hydrated at all times. I used to drink one liter of water soon after walking up in the morning (after brushing my teeth). This is over and above the water I drink during the course of the day. I used to feel fresher than ever all day. One thing I can say with certainty is that I get lot fewer headaches as a result of keeping myself hydrated.

Point of no return

What I realize after being in this new eating style for 16 months is that its virtually impossible to go back to the old eating style. Not that I want to but even the couple of times I felt like indulging at a party or at a restaurant. Both times it resulted in a bad stomach upset. Whether it was Italian ravioli or Indian Samosas outside. The only kind of restaurants that I can eat with no fear of a stomach upset these days is Sweet Tomatoes / Fresh Choice. Also I can safely indulge :-) in the tapioca pudding - my favorite.

Healthy teeth as a side effect

A year into my new eating habit, I visited the dentist for my regular cleaning. I was pleasantly surprised when the dentist told me that there was very less plaque on my teeth. He attributed this to my eating lots of raw veggies like carrots, celery, radish and fruits such as apples.