Understanding food, weight loss and hormones

At 6.30 p.m. sharp on a Friday evening, a bunch of health-conscious individuals hustled towards the entrance of Crossword, Oberoi Mall, Goregaon, to glean a bit of wisdom from leading Mumbai-based nutritionist Rujuta Diwekar. The author of popular books such as Women & The Weight Loss Tamashaand Don't Lose your Mind, Lose Your Weight, Diwekar showed up to launch her latest book The PCOD - Thyroid Book published by Westland Books. The limited number of seats were lapped up by people of all ages and gender, women primarily, but also men who accompanied their wives, and kids, who tagged along with their parents.

Is all weight bad?
Diwekar started out with the usual spiel of ‘how the weighing scale is your worst enemy’ and ‘how weight is just a number’. However, the fact that the average Mumbaikar continues to struggle with issues such as excess fat, loss of stamina, minimal strength, etc. only proved her case. She reiterated how losing weight the wrong way is dangerous as that means “you’re also losing muscle and bone weight”. The loss of muscle and bone leads to insulin resistance (a condition in which cells fail to respond to the normal actions of the insulinhormone), which further leads to diseases such as diabetes, PCOD, hypothyroid and more.

Gaining strength is key
The solution, Diwekar emphasises, lies in getting the body to work out the right way, i.e. by adopting strength training. “If you can carry your own body weight, you’re doing fine,” says Diwekar, citing the example of women in rural areas who carry kilos of wood on their head, and thus have a slender waist.“Muscle is the only thing that works against gravity,” Diwekar reminds the audience adding, “Everything else, like fat, sags and pulls you down.”Physical activity and the right kind of nutrition are key to developing muscles and bone density, she stresses once again. An audience member, Hemangi Rane, states, “I like how Rujuta simplifies everything for you and especially, how she’s helping the Indian economy prosper by advocating local and seasonal food.” After sharing her nuggets of wisdom, Diwekar opened up the interaction to include questions from the audience. While a member of the audience asked if swimming is the right way to go, to which Diwekar said “Yes, provided you have access to healthy, nutritious food right after as swimming makes you super hungry”, a gentleman asked the author about the recent hate that dairy has received. Diwekar responded, “Milk is good as long as you know where it’s coming from.”The author then took on questions specific to PCOD and gestational diabetesbefore launching her book officially.

In a nutshell
1) Build muscle and bone weight to combat insulin resistance, which leads to PCOD and hypothyroid.
2) Physical activity such asstrength training (example: lifting weights) helps build muscle.
3) Lifting weights does not make women into men.
4) Legs need to be strong to lose tummy fat.
5) On an average, one needs 150 minutes of exercise per week.
6) Plan your exercise on a weekly basis; use a calendar if need be.
7) Parents need to be role models for their kids when it comes to workout.
8) Yoga asanas are great as long as they challenge your body to work out.
9) The best food is often nameless(and made at home) as it includes several nutrients, so don’t fall prey to fancy, “health” foods.
10) Eat local, fresh and seasonal food.