The Simple Indian Weight Loss Diet Plan

The Indian Diet Chart For Weight Loss (For Females and Males)

​This sample Indian menu is so flexible that you can follow it lose weight in 7 days, two weeks or even continue for the full month.

“Whoa, Wait A Minute, Where Are The Other Plan/Menu Options?”

They are at the bottom of this page in a separate PDF file which also contain recipes.

Now, did you notice that the menu in the lunch and dinner is almost same, and in fact, the breakfast also doesn’t differ significantly.

YES IT’S DELIBERATE.

Because, here is the number #1 weight loss tip for you…

Yes, you heard it right.

It DOES NOT matter what “diet” you are on. If you can stick with it, it will give results.

The real doozy is WHETHER you can stick with it. That’s where the usual dieters fail.

No one can eat from a diet chart all their lives! and no one should.

To better understand this problem, you need to understand some basics of your body, your weight, and what part nutrition plays.

Your Weight and Your Body

Nature has its own rules and regulations, and we humans, especially we Indians are programmed to flout those rules and regulations.

We are obsessed with breaking laws and realize the repercussions only when we start suffering from the after-effects of our actions. Rising obesity among children has become one such of the biggest concerns in India since the last couple of decades.

Obesity, in simple terms refers to being overweight and is directly proportional to our undisciplined lifestyle. 

Obesity is accompanied by a lot of disadvantages, that affect our very existence and is a silent killer. Obese people are at a high risk of suffering heart attacks and/or strokes and are highly susceptible to diabetes.

Obesity is scientifically calculated using a simple defined formula, which involves the calculation of body weight and height. This is called the BMI or the Body Mass Index.

A person with a BMI between 20 and 25 is considered to be slim while a person with BMI between 25 and 30 is thought about as to be normal or fit.

The problem arises when a person has a BMI above 30. Such people are termed to be obese. It is a condition that demands attention or it can lead to several destructive diseases.

There are other disadvantages of being obese. The body loses its shape and with it we lose our confidence. A shapeless body makes us feel uglier and with time we start losing interest in many things, which we enjoyed once. The choice of clothes becomes limited and gives rise to a feeling of impatience.

The sudden loss of many things results in depression and at times, this has proved to be fatal too.

The silver lining is that this problem can be resolved, but we need to devote time and have patience. Just like this situation didn’t arise overnight, dealing with it also needs a lot of patience and the results will follow.

Summary

Always watch what you eat. No, that does not mean that you keep yourself under the radar 24 hours a day.

But you need to know when to say no.

Being obese is never a pleasant feeling. You should avoid putting on excess calories at all costs. For that, you will need to maintain a certain discipline in life.

You will need to make some lifestyle changes, which may be hard but are totally worthwhile.

There is plenty of downside to being fat, the list is endless. As mentioned earlier, not only do you suffer from various health problems; you get confidence issues too, Once your self-confidence is shattered, it takes a long time to restore it.

Rather take control of your life as soon as you can by sticking to our 30 day weight loss diet and maintain the discipline in the future too.

Let us look at the natural ways we Indians can adopt to lose that belly fat, with our diets, that has wrecked our ability of being a better, healthier and a good looking person!

Eating “Less” Will Not Help…

Contrary to popular belief, fat loss is not possible to sustain through starving yourself.

When you starve yourself, you aim to reach the “calorie deficit” zone, where your calorie consumption is less than the amount of calories your body burns.

So you should lose weight this way, right?

Wrong. 

By doing so you just slow down your metabolism, bring your basal metabolism rate to a lower level, so when you do start eating again as before, you don’t maintain the new weight, you start gaining!

This is because the body has a new “normal” metabolic rate (the lower one) which YOU forced it on to…

Of course when we say a weight loss diet plan or chart, we don’t expect you to eat ONE type of food each day and lose weight at the end of the week.

That’s not possible.

You need to ensure that your body gets the right kind of nutrition during this span. Here are a few guidelines that will help you do so:

The Problem Lies With The Modern, Urban Indian Diet Plan

It was known in Indian since ages that the root of all diseases, obesity included is unwanted food intake.

Research has proven that our consumption of junk foods has sky-rocketed in recent years.

Fast foods that are preferred by most of us only add to our woes, and avoiding them completely can be a big factor in reducing your unwanted weight.

Also, processed foods contain a high amount of sodium, which causes water retention problems, resulting in bloating of the entire body. This makes you look bloated and bulkier.

Burgers, pizzas, chips, hot dogs or pastries contain huge amounts of calories that take much longer to digest.

Sure, it won’t be easy to get rid of the temptation to gorge on the junk food you have been consuming more often than not.

But, if you can control your urges, you will surprise yourself with outstanding weight loss results. After a while, it will become easier to stay away from these foods, as a healthy diet will become a part of your lifestyle.

“Hey Indian, Eat Your Vegetables!”

Our mom wasn’t wrong when she used to say “Eat your vegetables, beta”!

Vegetables contain many vitamins, proteins, carbonates and fibers. These are healthy for our body and help us maintain our calorie intake. Consuming steamed vegetables also helps maintain the appetite and this habit goes a long way in keeping you fit and losing weight in a healthy way.

Additionally, they are packed with nutrients and minerals that will help boost the body’s immunity to fight against diseases.

A bowl of green salad everyday with low fat or no dressing should be a part of your daily meals.

Remember, the more vegetables you eat, the more weight you will lose.

Consuming fibers also help in an easy bowel movement. Moreover, do not forget to eat your green leafy veggies. They are known to protect you from all kinds of digestions problems, while providing your body with the required amount of energy needed through the day.

Leafy veggies like spinach, lettuce etc. should be consumed at least 4 days a week. These veggies can be used to make a great detox juice too.

Tasty Fruits Make For Perfect Additions To Our Indian Diet (Even For Weight Loss)

Like vegetables, fruits too are rich in vitamins and fibers. Replacing regular meals with low GI fruits helps in maintaining a low calorie intake.

Fruits are also have a very high nutritional value as well as are useful for maintaining a soft, clear and healthy skin.

Replace your daily dose of coffee with a glass of fresh fruit juice, preferably with minimal or no sugar.

Tropical fruits such as kiwi, apples, pineapple, berries etc. are packed with anti-oxidants, which not only reduce weight but also make you look younger.

Though fruits have many healthy properties, it is advisable to avoid high-sugar fruits such as mangoes, bananas or custard apples.

The fructose level in these fruits is quite high, which only results in you gaining, and not losing weight.

A bowl of assorted fruits everyday can keep your body hydrated for long, making you look radiant throughout the day.

The Diet Plan For Weight Loss – ‘Go Natural’, Fellow Indians

Yes, this is the best way out.

Go natural with your food.

With time, we have lost touch with what nature has provided us in abundance.

Look at all those things that are seasonal in nature.

Seasonal veggies and fruits are there for a reason, nature WANTS you to eat them!

Other ways you can “go natural” is by using homemade tomato puree instead of the one you get in the market, which has added preservatives.

You can also make homemade jams, where you can replace the refined sugar with some honey or maple syrup.

Avoid freezing your vegetables for too long as it may lose its nutritional benefits. Buy fresh fruits and vegetables for preparing your meals.

Forget Gluten Free, Eat Your Grains!

The whole gluten free craze is… well simply a craze!

Among the top 22 countries, Indians rank as one of the lowest to have a risk for celiac disease (the main gluten sensitivity disease). See this picture.

The risk is less than 0.33% of you being sensitive to gluten.

So if you are eating wheat and other grains throughout your lives without any significant side-effects (digestive issues, rashes, bowel troubles), then forget the whole gluten free hoopla and go for the grains.

Grains are a great source of nutrition and also a great source of dietary fiber.

Over the years, there has been a lot of contention over the nutritional qualities of grains and also whether they really help in weight loss or not.

Certain fat loss diets claim that grains are not as helpful as we thought they were and they only lead to weight gain.

While this may remain a debatable topic for years to come, as per the Harvard School of Public Health; A person who consumes one bowl of oatmeal or flakes everyday tends to lose more weight than the people who don’t.

So, your favorite breakfast of cereal and fruits may be good for your weight loss program after all. At the same time, do not go overboard with the quantity of grains you are consuming each day and also watch your portion size. Excess of anything is bad, and grains are no exception to this rule.

Do not let it get to a point, where instead of knocking off those pounds, you end up gaining them.

Protein For Fat Loss

We cannot stress this more. Especially in our country, India, it was recently surveyed and concluded that over 80% people do not have the daily recommended amount of protein in their diets.

Protein rich foods like eggs, chicken, fish, soy, beans and sprouts are very important to build muscle in your body. Some researchers are of the opinion that a person needs to consume at least 60-80 grams proteins each day for effective weight management.

If you are on a weight loss program, doubling your protein intake will help you lose more weight in a shorter span of time (by curbing hunger, yet preserving muscle mass).

If you happen to be a vegetarian, you need to ensure that your daily meals consist of a lot of beans, sprouts, cottage cheese, soy.

Being a vegetarian can take a bit of more effort to add protein rich foods in your meals compared to non-vegetarians who can fulfill their protein requirements by eating meat and fish.

Alternatively, you can also drink a glass of protein shake each day for gaining the required amount of protein for your body.

Peanuts Can Help

Nuts in general are extremely high in fiber, but cashew nuts or walnuts contain high amount of fats that you need to avoid. Peanuts are your best bet when it comes to consuming nuts. Peanuts are rich in anti-oxidants and contain disease-fighting characteristics.

As per a study conducted in Loma Linda University in California; contrary to popular belief, consuming nuts at least 4-5 times a week can reduce a person’s cholesterol rate by almost 12%.

Snacking on a handful of roasted peanuts every day or including peanuts in your meals can provide your body with plenty of zinc, copper and iron.

This is extremely useful in the proper functioning of your brain as well as immune system.

Importance Of… Cheating!

Snacking on a homemade energy bar, made using honey instead of sugar, eating a couple of cubes of dark chocolate or an occasional piece of cake will help reduce your cravings.

A small treat here and there always helps you stick to your diet program.

Remember, this is the key… STICKING to your program. If you can do that, success is almost guaranteed.

However, do remember not to go overboard with your cheat meals.

Draw a line, by reminding yourself not to splurge on cheat meals and that they are purely being used as a morale boosters.

Eat A Small Meal Before Eating Out

The best way to avoid eating unhealthy food at the party is to snack on a small meal about 30 minutes prior. This way, you will not feel the urge to gorge on different fattening foods at the party.

Start with soups and then move on to starters. Until you reach the main course, you will be almost full and may want to skip it completely. Controlling your cravings, especially when you are faced with a tempting spread at a party, can be immensely difficult.

The aforementioned method is a smart trick to help you avoid giving in to your unhealthy temptations.

Summarizing…

The best way to reduce weight instantly is to go natural with what you eat and drink. Here is a brief approach for having the right foods throughout the span of your diet.

Eat a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables. Having a fruit for breakfast and for snacking in between meals is the best way to go about it. This will address the nutritional needs of the body and also help you keep your weight in check.

Your meals should be rich in grains can provide your body with the much needed fiber. Always opt for food made from whole grains – like whole grain bread, whole grain pasta, brown rice, oats, corn, millet, barley etc. One serving of multi-grain every day is extremely important You need to go low on your carbohydrate intake and increase your protein intake instead. Eat protein rich food like eggs, poultry, dairy, soy etc.

You can certainly consume some healthy carbs like sweet potatoes or brown rice but avoid bad carbs through French fries, pizzas, pastas or anything made from white/refined flour.

We all end up eating over eating at parties. After all who can resist the temptation on gorging on the delicious food? If you are particularly hungry before you hit the party, you will end eating more. But if you have a small meal or snack on nuts or apples before the party, you will end up eating very little.

These are small and simple tips that you need to follow with your eating.

Instead of trying to find the “perfect Indian diet plan”, try to correct your daily nutrition, ensure a bit of portion control and just these two will ensure that you see success within a few weeks.

What to Drink

While on a weight loss diet, we seem to think we just need to watch the foods that we consume. This is not the case though. You need to watch your beverage consumption too.

Indians are notorious for drinking calorie rich beverages like soft drinks, fruits juices, etc.

Exchange your unhealthy soft drinks and caffeinated drinks for some healthy and fresh juices and smoothies (NOT packaged ones!)…

In fact, the correct smoothies can be used to substitute entire meals. Experiment with the ingredients to make something that will be healthy as well as palatable for you.

Keep these instructions in mind when you pick up a can of beverage. Remember, water trumps soft drinks and juices any day!

The Power Of Green Tea

The antioxidants present in green tea are proven to help burn fat. Herbal tea, when taken without sugar, produces the best results of fat burning. Herbal tea or the green tea pulls out the toxins and the nitrogenous wastes from our body. This helps in reducing weight considerably.

Compared to a regular cup of coffee or tea that contains almost 400 mg of caffeine, there is just 25 gm caffeine found in green tea.

A cup of green tea contains almost zero calories. Sipping on green tea thrice day can also get your

metabolic rate to move faster, thereby helping you to lose weight easily. While it can certainly be a detrimental factor in weight loss, remember that merely green tea is not going to help you achieve your weight loss goal.

Drink Your Water!

​245 calories from a bottle of soft drink or zero calories from a glass of water… you take your pick!

Water is the cheapest and the most effective way of keeping your body hydrated and it also helps with the digestion process.

More often, people with water retention problems think consuming less water will help them cure their condition.

In fact it’s just the opposite.

Water retention is all the more a reason why you should be consuming more water.

A person, to remain healthy, needs to consume at least 2-3 liters of water each day.

Along with the quantity of water, it is also important to know when to drink water. You need to drink at least two glasses of water, 1 hour before and 1 hour after consuming your meals.

This helps in burning your calories faster.

Stay Away From Calorie-Rich Beverages

Another major culprit in making us Indians lose our shape is the carbonated soft drinks we drink, in the form of packed juices and fizzy drinks. These drinks are laced with a lot of extra calories which harm us.

Replacing these carbonated drinks with natural juices can be a big boost in our fight to contain obesity.

Natural juices are rich in nutritional values and relatively low on calories. We know it is easier said than done.

But avoiding the empty calories will not just help you lose the extra kilos; it will also rid you of an unhealthy habit.

If you ask us, fruits are better than natural juices. Fitness experts often advice that eating whole fruit rather than drinking a juice is a much healthier option.

What’s so unhealthy about caffeinated beverages you ask?

Several tests conducted over the years have shown that fizzy drinks are known to be extremely harmful for your teeth.

In an experiment conducted to measure how fatal these fizzy drinks are, the researchers immersed a human tooth in a glass of a fizzy drink. It was seen that just after hours of immersing the tooth in the glass; it started eroding away and got completely dissolved in the drink after a while.

So to summarize this “drinking” section, remember to consume at least 2-3 liters of water each day to keep yourself hydrated. Ensure that you have two glasses of water at least 2 hours before you have your meals. It is not only important to drink water throughout the day, it is also important to know when to drink it.

Avoid any caffeinated drinks. Replace those steaming cups of coffee or tea with green tea or fruit infused water. Most people think that consuming caffeine will refresh them and it does so, but only for an hour or two.

Consuming caffeine leaves you dehydrated and exhausted. Switch to healthier alternatives.

What NOT To Eat ON An Indian Diet Plan For Weight Loss

Just because dieting doesn’t mean you starve, it also doesn’t mean your gorge on any food you set your sights on. Remember, not all foods are healthy.

To successfully achieve your weight loss goal, you not only need to make sure that you eat the right things; you also need to avoid all the unhealthy food.

When you are on a diet, you may have intense cravings for unhealthy foods. Just keep in mind, the more fattening, unhealthy things you consume, the harder it will be for you to achieve your goals.

Here are some foods that you should avoid at all costs: Avoid Snacking on junk food:

There is no alternative to homemade food. Those snacks should be strictly avoided. Burgers, cookies, French fries, finger chips, fried food etc. are big factors in making one obese and result in gaining excess weight without any intimation.

In short, simply avoid these kinds of food and stay healthy. What harms our body the most is the oil used to make these foodstuffs.

Reused oil contains exorbitantly high amount of cholesterol, which is a primary factor when it comes to gaining weight.

This doesn’t mean you have to starve yourself. 

Snack on a few nuts or fruits whenever you feel hungry. Replace that bag of fries with something much healthier, like a bowl of raw veggies like carrots and cucumbers.

Making lifestyle changes may seem like a very daunting task at the start, but when you realize its worth, it will be much easier than you thought.

Reduce Sugar Consumption

Too much sugar intake is harmful to our body. To decrease weight, we should abstain from consuming too many sweet products, yes, those niceee Bengali sweets are like atom bombs for us overweight Indians!

Also try and avoid adding sugar in your daily cup of tea or coffee. Instead, opt for healthy fresh fruit and vegetable juices, with no added sugar. If you absolutely cannot do without sweetness, add some Stevia or honey to your juice or smoothie.

Refined sugars contain a lot of empty calories. These empty calories neither provide any nutrition to your body, nor help you in losing weight.

In fact, excess sugar can result in the development of love handles on your waist, which will take a long time go away. If you wish, you can replace sugar with a teaspoon of honey which is a better alternative and has a lower fructose level.

Reduce Consumption Of Salt (Sodium)

Man we Indians love our salty foods, no?

But we Indians ALSO know (remember the hypochondriac Amitabh Bachchan in Piku!) that consuming too much salt is also not a healthy food habit, as salt contains huge amounts of sodium.

It has been scientifically proved that intake of excess sodium results in easy weight gain.

Processed foods such as noodles, beans, spaghetti or pickles have an excessively high salt content.

People who regularly consume these foods are more likely to suffer from illnesses like hypertension, which may further leads to heart attacks and/or strokes.

Reduce Binge Eating

How many times have you heard of modern Indian women binging on ice-creams and cakes, just because they are going through a break-up?

We bet very often.

Binge eating is a very dangerous habit that neither helps you get over heartache nor help you lose weight.

If anything, it can only make your situation more miserable than it already is. If you feel that you want to eat a specific type of food, it is merely a craving and not a hunger pang.

If you see snacking as a way of escaping your problems, why not binge on fruits or nuts, which are a better and healthier alternative to chocolates or cookies.

Reduce Consumption Of Refined White Flour

You do not need to go completely gluten free if you are trying to lose weight with this Indian diet plan.

But what you need to do is minimize your intake of flour and consumer whole grain flour instead of the Maida, that is plain, refined white flour.

The flour that goes into making pizzas, white bread or pastries is extremely difficult to digest and may pile up in your body in the form of excess fat.

Replace the regular bread with whole wheat or brown bread, which has fewer calories and more fiber.

Finally, Don’t Starve… Rather Watch Your Portions

One of the most effective techniques to lose weight is eating your food in slightly smaller quantities… or what we call eating till you are 80% full.

Instead of eating 2 or 3 sumptuous meals a day, break you meals into portions of 6-7 smaller meals throughout the day. (However, that DOES NOT mean that eating many meals versus 2-3 meals is “better”.)

The smaller the portion of your meal, the easier it is for your body to digest the food.

Also, limited proportions keep you feeling lighter and more active throughout the day.

Do not reach out to a snack unless your stomach craves for food. Many a times, people end up gaining weight by simply munching on food items even when they are not hungry. This can only result in a person piling up more weight.

Finally, Summarizing What NOT To Eat…

The above mentioned food items are a complete no-no, not only when you are on any weight loss program, but for each one of us!

However, you can’t get rid of them all at once.

Here is a detailed look at how you can approach the diet :

During the first week, start cutting down on junk food and if possible avoid it completely. It can get difficult at the start but it will get easier with time.

The second week will require you to cut down on your bread intake. Basically, stay away from anything that contains all-purpose flour.

Similarly, start cutting down on your sugar and sodium intake. If you are used to gulping down coffee or tea, ensure that you use sugar only once. Replace the white sugar with brown sugar. When you cut down on packaged food, you automatically cut down on sodium.

Continue this all throughout the third week too. In the meanwhile watch your portions too.

Eat more often but eat in less quantity.

By the end of the fourth week in this easy weight loss diet plan, you would be off all the food items that were leading to your weight gain.

Yay!

Conclusion And How YOU Can Lose Weight…

Yes, losing weight may seem like a daunting task; however, you need to keep in mind that following a healthy routine, a simple weight loss diet plan and making a few lifestyle changes can easily help you achieve your goal.

When you embark on the journey to shed weight, you need to make sure that your journey is planned well.

After all, halfway you don’t want to realize you are on the wrong road.

Eating healthy and exercising shouldn’t be considered as short term means to get to your goal.

Your aim should be the adoption of a healthier lifestyle with fat loss and getting lean as a favorable by-product.

Remember, if care is not taken, it is very easy to gain the weight you lost with so much pain. Sometimes you end up gaining more than the weight you started out in the first place!

Through this blog post and our other resources, we wish to promote a healthier lifestyle and help you combat obesity and lose weight. Our aim was not to scare you into taking action but to present you with facts and advice that will help you get into shape and get healthy.

Keep in mind that a healthy mind comes with a healthy body.

We thank you for reading this (rather big) post and as you to download the actual Indian fat loss diet plan and recipes below.

Stay fit, stay healthy… for life!