The question which comes to every Tom, Dick, and Harry mind, “When will I lose the weight?”, “When will I get back into shape?” We are so obsessed with weight loss that we hardly think above this. The other day, one of my friends met me in the garden and told me that after one month she has to attend some family gathering and for that she has to lose at least 10 kg weight otherwise she will not be able to get into her favourite skinny black dress. She was so desperate and pleaded, that she will do anything to get rid of those extra kilos and was expecting me to help her with some stupendous diet plans that will create a marvelous effect in a month. As a nutritionist, I daily encounter such cases; however, this is just one of the incidents. I’m sure most of you will agree with the same perception of weight loss.

Everyday standing in front of the mirror and thinking “Bas Itna Sa side se Chala Jae to baat ban Jae (love handles)”. Do you think losing weight is all about looking thin or getting back into the “S” size? Then let me explain this to you, it is far beyond that. Weight gain in itself is a menace; every gram of extra fat deposit on the tissue or organs is jeopardy on our vital body parts. Obesity is one of the major reasons for life-threatening diseases like diabetes, heart disease, osteoarthritis, and gallbladder stone, stroke, and a lot more. As the problem in itself is so massive how one can have a short cut or magic pills for that matter to overcome what they have accumulated (obesity) over many years. People land up in crash diets, moreover, within a few days they feel so lethargic and stressed out that they start eating mindlessly due to disruption in hormones and eventually gain more weight than lose.

We need to understand that there’s a world beyond weight loss and magic pills tamasha. The loss should be in terms of fat and improving the overall well-being rather than looking skinny. The key to success is determination and patience moreover; it takes time to get the result which has to be gradual. So, one has to be consistent and disciplined to achieve the goals. The focus should be on lifestyle modification, adopting healthy habits that can be sustained throughout life.