<div>Just the title of this piece will be enough to make many of you read it. So many of us have tried to lose weight, given up, tried again, then given up again, either due to our hectic work schedules or due to demotivating results. You exercise, eat properly, but are baffled by the scale. So what’s really going wrong? Here are the five most common reasons why your weight is not budging. Correct these and you will see fabulous results!</div><div> </div><div><strong>You’re not sleeping enough. </strong>Yes you read that right. You can do everything right, but if you don’t sleep for seven hours, weight loss will stagnate after a bit, and refuse to go. Sleep helps us rejuvenate and repair, and helps kill hunger pangs. So make sure you ditch the early morning flights, and sleep it out.</div><div> </div><div><strong>You’re exercising every day. </strong>Hey, wait a minute, you need to exercise every day to lose weight, right? Wrong. If you’re a man, you need to do aerobic exercises like walking, jogging, cycling 45 min, six days a week. If you’re a woman, you need to exercise for 45 min, five days a week. The rest days for men ensure that muscle fatigue doesn’t set in. The rest days for women ensure that hormones, responsible for weight gain, are pacified. </div><div> </div><div><strong>You’re linking exercise and food</strong>. Exercise burns fat and kills the bad cells. Proper, high fibre food kills the bad cells and excretes toxins. Both are NOT linked. So if you have had a fabulous workout, it doesn’t mean you can take an extra helping at dinner. Especially if you’re over 35 years, 80 per cent of your weight loss and good health will come from food. Exercise will make you more energetic, alert and healthier. Using exercise to eat your favourite dessert then is detrimental to your weight loss plan.</div><div> </div><div><strong>You’re eating your water calories. </strong>Thirty-five per cent of the time when our stomachs feel empty, we just need a glass of water. So instead of reaching for a snack, try drinking water first. This means that your food intake can be cut by 35 per cent and help you lose weight.</div><div> </div><div><strong>You’re eating a late dinner.</strong> Everyone knows this, no one follows it. I have seen people lose up to half a kilo every day when they eat a light dinner by 7 pm and nothing after that. The old adage holds true: a king’s breakfast, a queen’s lunch and a beggar’s dinner. Please. Follow. That. It’s the MOST effective way to lose weight.</div><div> </div><div>Write in to me about your weight loss after following the above. I’m sure many of you will have dropped a few kilos quickly!</div><div> </div><div><strong>Question Of The Fortnight</strong></div><div> </div><div><div><em>Send in your questions to askrachnachhachhi@gmail.com</em></div><div> </div><div>I work in China and my ageing parents are in Nasik. What can I do to ensure they stay healthy and avoid emergencies? </div><div>— Vishesh Amrit, Shanghai</div><div> </div><div>Dear Vishesh,</div><div>As we grow older, our digestion becomes weak, leading to deficiencies that cause degenerative diseases. Ensure you order a good multivitamin for 50-plus adults, a good B-vitamin supplement to be taken after breakfast, and a calcium citrate + vitamin D supplement to be taken one hour after dinner. Also, educate them on eating higher quantities of raw foods to keep them healthy. Tie up with a hospital locally and get them to keep emergency numbers handy.</div><div> </div><div><em>The author is a certified nutritional therapist and WHO certified in nutrition. She is the writer of Restore, a book on how to fight diseases for working professionals</em></div><div> </div><div><div>(This story was published in BW | Businessworld Issue Dated 10-08-2015)</div><div> </div></div></div>