Yoga Diet & Obesity

Yoga proposes quite a few ways to get rid of obesity. These include exercises, the practice of Yogasanas, and pranayamas. Suggested below are a few.

*Regular exercises such as running, swimming etc
*Yogasanas such as Paschimottanasana, Bhujangasana, Sarvangasana, Halasana, Dhanurasana, Veerasana, Trikonasana and Ardha Matsyendrasana.
*Together with Yogasanas Sun salutations are very effective for weight reduction
*Pranayamas, cleansing processes such as Agnisar and Uddiyana Bandha help enormously

Yoga food habits for Obesity

*Have fixed timings for lunch and dinner
*Time difference between meals must be at least 4 hours.
*Have a low fat meal, with fiber rich vegetables and fruits.
*Decrease quantity of fats, excess calories, sweets, milk, butter, cheese etc in meals.


Here are some interesting things worth knowing. Carbohydrates can be divided into the good and bad carbs. Bad carbs are simple carbs such as sugars and refined flours. In weight control, we suggest you get rid of them completely. Good carbs are complex carbs such as whole grains. They too can be eliminated or reduced drastically for up to a week; but should then you should add them back. However, take care with gluten-containing grains. This is because of gluten's sticky quality. As a matter of fact, taking the last three letters off of gluten would make the name itself extremely descriptive.

Likewise, it is best to avoid wheat altogether during your weight control program since, of all grains, wheat has the highest gluten content. Other gluten-containing grains include barley, oats, rye, spelt and kamut. Corn is also best avoided since it is a common allergen, as is wheat. The best whole grains for obesity control are millet, quinoa, amaranth, buckwheat and kasha.

Since obesity control is largely about detoxification, it would help to know that fresh, organic vegetables are also great detoxifiers. Salads made of fresh herbs are an excellent choice during summers. In the cold weather, vegetable soups containing herbs and spices make an excellent and nutritious meal. You can use steamed veggies anytime, and fresh vegetable juices are, likewise, excellent. Vegetables also go well with grains and beans. They can be blended together, or a small handful of grains and/or beans could be added to vegetable soups. Some vegetables like sweet potatoes and winter squash are heavier and more nourishing and should, therefore, be used sparingly.

In warm weather, the obesity diet would comprise lemon water upon waking, fresh fruit for breakfast, rice and steamed vegetables with bean sprouts for lunch, salad for dinner and pure water and dandelion or burdock tea between meals. In winters, try a warm lemon drink in the mornings, kasha for breakfast, grains and bean combinations with cooked veggies for lunch, vegetable soups for dinner and warm water or ginger tea between meals.

You will soon notice that, once emptied and cleansed, your system is once again ready to receive its full quota of full nourishment. Take it easy, though or you could bloat up once more. Regular practice of Yoga can definitely help reduce the obesity. However you must learn specific Yoga Techniques that are more effective for in weight reduction.

Yoga Menu Plans

Even though there aren’t any fixed menu plans in Yoga you could use these guidelines to maintain dosha balance in your body and restore their balance as required, regardless of your basic constitution. The three doshas (or humors in the human body) are also known to influence the movement of thoughts, feelings, prana flows, nerve impulses, and fluids in our body.

Yoga recommends:

1. Warm food, moderately heavy textures, added butter and fat.
2. Salt, sour, and sweet tastes, as they are considered soothing and satisfying foods.
3. All soothing foods are considered good. As far as possible, have warm milk, warm soups, hot cereals, cream, butter, stews, and fresh baked bread. Also increase warm, nourishing foods since these are good for stabilizing the doshas in the body. On the other hand cold foods like cold salads, iced drinks, raw vegetables and greens aren’t very good for persons with vata imbalance.
4. In Yoga, breakfast is highly recommended. Have breakfast which is warm, milky and sweet like hot cereals such as cream of rice or wheat.
5. Have hot or herbal teas with snacks late in the afternoons. Keep away from drinks high in caffeine.
6. Have warm, moist foods like cooked grains and cereals, hot oatmeal or steaming, hot vegetable soup.
   Yoga considers warm milk good. If you like, you can add a little sugar or honey to it.
7. Always have warm or hot water instead of iced water or iced drinks.
8. Go in for salted nuts which are heavy and oily as opposed to dry salty snacks.

Grains

Prefer	Reduce or avoid
Oats (as cooked oatmeal cereal, not dry)	barley
cooked rice	buckwheat
wheat	corn
	dry oats
	millet
	rye

Vegetables

Prefer	Avoid or reduce
Asparagus	Brussels sprouts
Beets	cabbage
Carrots	cauliflower
Cooked vegetables	broccoli
Cucumber	celery
Garlic	eggplant
Green beans	leafy green vegetables
Leafy greens in moderation	tomatoes
Onions, cooked	mushrooms
Onions, cooked	peas
Radishes	potatoes
Sweet potato	peppers
Turnips	sprouts

Note: All the above vegetables are alright if they are cooked with oils, but for cabbage and sprouts.

Fruits

Prefer	Avoid or reduce
Apricots	apples
Avocados	cranberries
Bananas	pears
Berries	pomegranates
Cherries
Coconut	The above fruits are OK cooked
Fresh figs	Avoid dried fruits, in general and unripe fruit (especially bananas)
Grapefruit
Grapes
Lemons
Mangos
Papaya
Peaches
Pineapple
Plums
Sour oranges
Sweet fruits
Sweet melons
Sour fruits
Stewed fruits

Beans

Prefer	Avoid or reduce
Chickpeas	None.
Mung beans
Pink lentils
Tofu (small amounts)

Dairy

All Dairy is acceptable

Oils

All oils are acceptable. Then again, sesame oil and olive oil are considered particularly good.

Sweeteners

All are acceptable

Nuts and Seeds

All are acceptable in small quantities. Then again, almonds are considered best.

Herbs and spices

Almost all herbs and spices are acceptable within moderation, with emphasis on sweet and/or heating herbs and spices. Then again, you must avoid using spices in large amounts. Curtail or avoid the use of all bitter and astringent herbs and spices like: coriander seeds, fenugreek, parsley, saffron, turmeric.

In summation

Breakfast is normally considered desirable. Have hot, sweet and sour foods. Decrease quantities of dry and bitter foods. Increase warm or hot water and drinks, raw nuts and nut butters. Use spices: cinnamon, cardamom, cumin, ginger, cloves in moderation.

Yoga Food Plans for Disease management

Before we enter into the heart of Yoga food plans and how they can help disease management, let us admit that, in spite of adopting and strictly following the most pure and nutritious diet, some people still tend to fall ill. Oftentimes the reason for this is the natural relationship between our bodies and minds, in which our minds is always in a dominant or controlling position over our bodies. Subsequently what is in the mind, its belief structure, is even more important to our physical health and vitality, than the foods we have. It follows, therefore, that if you are diseased, in spite of a good diet and good life habits, your disease may be the result of some latent psychological factors.

Before addressing recommended Yogic specific foods, it is imperative to examine the relationship between food and health. It seems futile to argue the question of overeating. All who have as eaten too heartily can remember the results from their own experiences. Lassitude, a bloated feeling, pain, sickness, is all plain at times. Inwardly, the clearest results are a distended belly, displacement of large and small intestines and formation of excessive fat, together with all their attendant health threats.

It follows, therefore, that is important to learn to control our food consumption. By doing so – and this is regardless of what kind of food you eat – you can contribute a lot to a long and healthy life. Overeating is one of the main causes of disease and, a subsequent, premature death. It has been proven in research after research that, the most common denominator in the lifestyles of people who live long, is that they all ate sparingly. The lesson to be learnt is that if you wish to live long, eat less.

Yoga even advocates occasional fasting, especially when you fall ill. By doing, so we give our digestive system a break. You can see nature’s own benefits of fasting in the animal kingdom. When animals fall ill, they stop eating and rest and fast till their body naturally repairs itself and they are well again. Fasting on raw fruit and vegetable juices, from a couple days to two weeks, is a regular Yogic remedy for a number of ailments. When you start to fast you could feel very uncomfortable or even ill during the first few days. This is due because many toxins are being released into the system. But soon after, your energy levels and vitality will return. A word of caution though – Don’t go overboard with fasting. Prolonged fasts call for supervision.

Given below are 5 Yoga principles for the prevention of disease

1. Exercise to stimulate circulation. This could be any form of exercise but the best are asanas provided by Hatha Yoga.
2. Right breathing to suck in an ample supply of oxygen to fuel the body and deliver lots of Prana.
3. Both physical and mental. This includes good sleep, plenty of daytime rest and meditation.
4. Natural wholesome foods. These are preferably organic and Sattvic.
5. Positive thinking and the developing mind concentration.