The sun is shining bright on top of our heads and how glad are we! It was indeed a long spell of winter and now that it is gone, we can finally step out of our quilts and jackets. As we all know, in winters our metabolism takes a dip, which makes it difficult to shed weight. You also tend to crave more in winters, as it is your body's mechanism to keep you warm and fueled against the harsh weather. In summers, you have brighter chances to lose the excess kilos you have been trying to get rid of for so long. You are out in the sun more; increased vitamin D exposure has been linked to weight loss. You are physically more active in summer and there are so many summer fruits and veggies that can help you fight the flab. Moreover, mornings are the best time to put in all effort to lose weight. Not only can you set your metabolism racing but also burn calories throughout the day.​



Here are some diet tips that could help rev up metabolism naturally and aid weight loss this summer:


1. Drink Plenty of Fluids
In summers, it is very essential to stay hydrated. Since you perspire a lot in summer, you end up losing out on a lot of water. Therefore, you must make it a point to keep sipping into water time to time. Water is very essential to carry out important body functions. If the plain taste of water gets too monotonous for you, you can have other summer hydrating drinks too like aam panna, coconut water, jaljeera and nimbu paani. If you keep yourself hydrated, you would be full for a longer time. If you are feeling full, you are less likely to binge. Drinking water also helps aid smooth digestion.

2. Load Up On Seasonal Fruits And Vegetables
Summer comes loaded with fruits and vegetables that are rich in antioxidants and fibres that are known to promote weight loss. Among fruits, you must make room for all summer melons, cantaloupe, watermelon and musk melon. Among veggies eat plenty of gourd vegetables like lauki and karela. Freshly cut cucumber makes for a nice low-calorie snack you can add to your diet.

3. Eat More Probiotics
Make sure you fill your diet with natural probiotics like dahi and kimchi. They are good for your gut, they are light and easy-to-digest too. Dahi helps keep you cool too, and is a good source of protein, vitamin D and calcium.

4. Keep your dinner light
It is a good idea to keep your dinner light (Think: soothing soups, stews, salad, grilled goods). As the day progresses, our metabolism decreases. It also gets difficult to digest heavy foods later in the day. Poor digestion hampers the elimination process, which takes a toll on the metabolism. A healthy digestion is key to weight loss.

5. Avoid deep-fried foods
Avoid fried and oily foods and opt for more steamed, grilled and roasted foods. These foods are difficult to digest and are also packed with many excess calories that get stored as fats.

Try these easy tips and tell us how effective they have been to your weight loss journey.

Your metabolism is something that can really test your patience, it can make weight loss a cakewalk or make your work harder for little or no results to show for it. So, what exactly do we mean when we say that 'metabolism slows down as you age'? What is metabolism and how can we boost it by managing what we eat?

Herbs for Metabolism, What to Eat to Boost Metabolism
While regular exercising and eating a balanced diet may go a long way in boosting your metabolic rate, adding few herbal ingredients in your diet may bring world of a difference.

1. Cinnamon

"It speeds up your metabolism by better utilization of carbohydrates and prevents the body from storing fat. Have cinnamon tea couple of times in a day especially with a high carb meal," shared Shilpa Arora Nutritionist.

2. Ashwagandha

This ancient Ayurvedic herb is excellent for boosting stamina, metabolism and tackling insomnia.Ashwagandha helps in balancing hormones and can even heal thyroid issues helping you lose weight. The powder can be mixed with milk and consumed twice a day.

3. Turmeric

A lot has been written about the good old haldi doodh and its miraculous health-benefiting properties. Curcumin present in turmeric helps in burning fat effectively and boosting your metabolism.

4. Cumin water

This remedy is extremely effective for weight loss. It revs up your metabolism and facilitates burning calories. "Boil a teaspoon of jeera in a glass of water and drink first thing in the morning for best results," shares Shilpa.

5. Black pepper

Adding black pepper to your regular diet is probably the easiest way to polish your metabolism. From your morning eggs and your cup of steaming chai to a bowlful of soup, curries or dals, you can add black pepper to just about everything. Just a pinch of black of pepper in your meals will help strengthen your metabolism..

6. Fenugreek

"Fenugreek seeds are a good source of mucilaginous (gumlike) fibre that soothes and protects the digestive tract from free-radical damage. A tonic and antioxidant, fenugreek seeds also help boost metabolism," as mentioned in Dorsling Kindersley's Healing Foods. Some of the best ways to include the goodness of fenugreek in your diet is by adding fresh fenugreek leaves in your meals.

काहीही आणि कितीही खाल्लं तरीही वजनच वाढत नाही अशी किमान एक व्यक्ती प्रत्येकाच्या ओळखीत असतेच ! गोड असो किंवा स्ट्रीट फूड .. तोंडाला हमखास पाणी सुटेल अशा पदार्थांवर ताव मारूनही शरीरावर मूठभरही मांस न चढणार्‍यांचा तुम्हांला हेवा वाटत असेल.. अनेकजण त्यांच्या सिक्रेट फीटनेस प्लॅनवर लक्ष ठेवून असतात, तुम्हांला या मोठ्या रहस्यामागचं गणित समजून घ्यायचं आहे का? मग हा सल्ला नक्की वाचा.

शरीराच्या बेसल मेटॅबॉलिक रेटवर वजन घटणं किंवा कमी होणं अवलंबून असते. व्यक्तीपरत्त्वे प्रत्येकाचा हा मेटॅबॉलिक रेट वेगवेगळा असतो. काहिंचा नैसर्गिकरित्या हा रेट उत्तम असल्याने एखाद्या पदार्थावर ताव मारल्यानेही त्याचा आरोग्यावर परिणाम होत नाही.

Basal Metabolic Rate म्हणजे काय?

Basal Metabolic Rate म्हणजे शरीर आरामदायी स्थितीत असताना किती प्रमाणात उर्जा वापरते याचे गणित. आराम कोणतेही शारिरीक कष्टाचे काम करत नसतो तेव्हाही नकळत शरीर काही उर्जा वापरत असते. शरीराकडून श्वासोश्वासासाठी,हृद्याच्या पंपिंगसाठी, मेंदूच्या कार्यासाठी काही उर्जा वापरली जाते.

ज्या व्यक्तीचा हा BMR रेट अधिक असतो त्यांच्याकडून आरामदायी परिस्थितीत असताना अधिक कॅलरीज बर्न केल्या जातात. म्हणूनच अधिक खाऊनदेखील या व्यक्तीच्या वजनावर त्याचा थेट दुष्परिणाम दिसून येत नाही.

वयानुसार व्यक्तीचा BMR कमी होत असतो. मात्र मसल मास वाढवल्यास ते वाढण्याची शक्यता असते. म्हणूनच लहान मुलं प्रौढांच्या तुलनेत अधिक गोड पदार्थ खाऊ शकतात.

बारीक आहात म्हणजे हेल्दी हा निव्वळ गैरसमज
भारतीयांमध्ये सहज वजन वाढण्याची शक्यता कमी असते. त्यामुळे आपण बारीक आहोत म्हणजे आपण हेल्दी आहोत असा काहींचा समज असतो. हेल्दी असणं आणि फीट असणं यामध्ये फरक आहे. त्यामुळे शरीराचे स्वास्थ्य जपण्यासाठी प्रत्येकाला व्यायामाची गरज असते.

कसं असतं हे गणित?

सारख्याच वजनाच्या, उंचीच्या, वयाच्या आणि सारख्याच प्रमाणात अन्न खाणार्‍या भारतीय आणि युरोपियन व्यक्तीला तुम्ही पाहिल्यास, भारतीयांमध्ये युरोपियन्सच्या तुलनेत शरीरात फॅट्स निर्माण होण्याच प्रमाण अधिक जाणवेल. यामुळेच भारतीयांना कार्डियोव्हस्कुलर म्हणजेच हृद्यविकाराचा धोका अधिक असतो.

म्हणूनच खाण्या-पिण्यावर ताव मारूनही वजन वाढत नसणार्‍या आणि म्हणून व्यायामाचा कंटाळा करणार्‍यांनो, वेळीच भानावर या आणि व्यायामाला सुरूवात करा.