4 Tips for Watching Your Winter Weight

The Ayurveda Experience January 05, 2016

Winter is a time when we eat more carbohydrates, fats, and proteins to keep us warm. Nothing wrong with that! It is nature’s way.

The holiday season filled with sweet foods, alcohol, and excess portions of foods may have added some weight around the middle of the body or made you feel a little bloated or somewhat sluggish.

According to Ayurveda, weight gain comes from A, sitting too much; B, eating too much; and C, moving too little, says Vasant Lad in his book A Complete Book of Ayurvedic Home Remedies.

With the New Year here many women feel the dread of dieting, the exuberance of a new diet plan, or the guilt of not following last year’s resolution to diet.

We all know diets don’t work. I’ve lived long enough to know and have tried many myself. They are only temporary fixes, and 90 percent of people who diet gain their weight back.

Here are some SIMPLE, time-honored truths from Ayurveda that DO work:

1. Aim to walk at least three to four times per week for 45 minutes (not a walking-the-dog pace). My daily walk has kept me trim over the years, and its invigorating pace brings my mood up. Today when I began my walk in the park, I had a thought that invited me to walk the path as if it were my first time there. The wonder it created for me was rejuvenating. I saw birds and nests I had never seen before. I was grateful to have had that shift in my consciousness.
2. Aim to eat your largest meal at lunch. You may have heard this before, but have you tried it? For your husband who likes that steak at dinner, let him know you will be trying this out and ask him to join you (unless he does the cooking, of course, and he can make anything he wants!).
3. Take the herbal help Digest Tone from Maharishi Ayurveda which has triphala, a gentle colon cleanser.
4. Here is a beautiful digestive tonic recipe from The Ayurvedic Institute in New Mexico that will regulate and stimulate your digestive capacity and kick-start your inner fire, otherwise known as agni in the Ayurvedic language:

– 1-quart water
– 1 pinch of cayenne
– 2 handfuls of ginger root
– 1-2 tsp 4ock salt
– 1 Tbsp sucanat or other sweeteners

Boil all together for 20 minutes. Cool slightly, and drink with a squeeze of lime.

Food is nurturing, food is medicine, food is energy, and food is love from Mother Earth.

Eating according to your energy type in Ayurveda and eating according to your appetite will naturally allow your body to let go of the unnecessary weight.

Ease your mind about dieting, and approach the new year knowing your Ayurvedic energy type for optimal health.