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Even before you clicked on this article, a voice in your head was telling you it’s “yet another weight loss diet”, “yet another fad”, it won’t work”. 

Let me tell you, that this article is not about weight loss fads or crash diets. We don’t believe in it as they are unsustainable and not good for the body. Our philosophy is to prepare the body from within to improve the weight loss journey the natural way, like it is supposed to

First things first, why is it so hard to lose weight?

There are many challenges associated with weight loss for women today. 

We are busy. Busy work schedules or full-time taking care of their families leave no time to follow the diets or go to the gym.

It’s hard to be on a diet when the whole family is eating parathas in front of you. Or worse still you are cooking!

Many diets in the market are unsustainable. The powder formulas don’t really taste good, leave you craving for those ‘aloo parathas’ after. 

Lastly, lack of patience. Weight loss is a long journey. It takes time.

But unfortunately, none of these are good excuses. Your self-care is your top priority. Understand what weight loss is and take the simple steps mentioned in the article to get on. Trust us, we have made it easy 

Second, you are not alone in this: 

We did a women’s Health project with 600 women in March 2020. 38% of women mentioned “weight loss” as a problem. 38% is not small, more than 1 women in 3 around you are struggling with managing their weight. 

Part of the problem here is of body image, but more fundamentally, weight gain can lead to the body not being functioning to its optimum, fat being stored in the body that is hindering metabolism and absorption of good nutrients, and lethargy. Now that’s something to fix.

There are almost 20 lakh articles on weight loss  published online every month!

Before we move to solutions, How does the body gain weight?

When it comes to the way the body functions, and weight gain you need to remember just a simple equation of Energy. 

“Energy Intake – Energy Expenditure”

Energy intake = Food/calories consumed

Energy expenditure= Energy spent by the body in basal metabolic rate and additional energy burnt doing physical activities

Weight loss happens when energy expenditure is greater than energy intake. 

Weight gain happens when energy intake is greater than energy expenditure. 

And you Maintain weight when energy intake = energy expenditure. This is energy balance. 

Now you would say some people don’t lose weight, even when they don’t eat much and some people don’t gain weight even while having loads of butter daily!

This discrepancy happens when the body is not functioning optimally, metabolisms are suppressed / hyper activated. Hence lets move to the next and most important part, ‘What is the best way to lose weight’

What is the best way to lose weight? 

Weight loss has three components: 

 (1) Burn fat (2) Improves metabolic rate and boost energy (3) Appetite control 

1. Starting with “Burn Fat”, our favorite!

The average Indian woman needs a minimum 1900 calories everyday to meet their health needs. Extra calories (more than what is required) if consumed are made into fat and stored in special compartments in the body called the Adipose tissue. 

If one continues to consume extra calories for a prolonged period of time, the fat storage in the compartments builds up and physically expands making the body gain weight. To lose weight, the adipose tissue should reduce in size. 

Umm..But now: You can shrink it with the help of fat burning ingredients, that tell the tissue to stop accepting/taking up more fat for storing and remove the extra fat from the tissue.

Drumroll: Announcing Ingredients best known for fat burn: 

Garcinia cambogia

Also known as Malabar Tamarind. The outer skin of this fruit contains Hydroxy Citric Acid (HCA). HCA directs the adipose tissue to produce less fat, stops it from accepting more fat for storing and breaks down extra fat to remove it from the tissue.

Additionally, it tells the intestine to make a hormone called Serotonin which curbs cravings and reduces appetite.  Wow!

Green coffee

Green coffee is raw unroasted coffee beans. It contains Chlorogenic acid which tells the adipose tissue in the body to manufacture a hormone called Adiponectin. This hormone breaks down the fat and reduces fat storage in the body. It has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant benefits in addition to the burning fat.

Green tea (Matcha)

Matcha is finely ground and processed green tea leaves.  

It contains a component called EGCG or Epigallocatechin Gallate which has the potential to burn fat in the adipose tissues. It helps burn more body fat when combined with intense exercise, thus enhancing weight loss.

2. Improve metabolic rate and boost energy

Metabolic rate tells how fast your body burns food or calories to release energy. It varies from one person to the other.  

Have you wondered how your girlfriend eats lots of sweets and doesn’t gain a kg while one tiny bite of chocolate goes to your waist and makes you gain weight? The answer is your girlfriend has a higher metabolic rate. 

So, you must be wondering… Am I stuck with this slow metabolic rate for good? NO. 

Announcing ingredients that will help improve metabolism

B Vitamins (B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B9 and B12)

All the above B Vitamins work synergistically, hence collectively known as  B-complex vitamins. B Vitamins help boost the metabolic rate in the body. Adequate amounts of these vitamins in your diet help convert more carbohydrates, proteins and fat into energy. The energy released is then used for physical activity 

Chromium

Chromium communicates with the pancreas to manufacture more insulin. An increase in insulin ups the metabolic rate which means more food/calories is converted into energy resulting in weight loss.

Ginger and Aloe Vera are two ingredients which are known to increase your metabolic rate. 

Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera)

When one is under stress, then metabolism is suppressed. The body gets into fight or flight mode, and uses less energy to break down food. Ashwagandha soothes the nerves and relieves stress, improving metabolism. turn, soothes the nerves and relieves stress.  

3. Appetite control

 The ideal diet to lose weight should be:

Appetite control is a challenge for everyone trying to lose weight. Is it possible to eat less quantity of food and not feel hungry for a long time?!

Yes, if you have a diet rich in protein and fiber. Such a diet has high satiety value for a certain portion size and doesn’t make you consume more food/ calories often during the day. 

Below are some ingredients which control appetite to aid in weight loss:

Pea protein 

Protein tells the stomach to produce less of a hormone called Ghrelin in the body. Less of Ghrelin in the body means reduced appetite. 

Protein also directs the intestine to produce more quantities of 2 hormones called GIP and GLP-1. More of these two hormones in the body automatically reduces your hunger and makes you feel full.  As a result, you end up consuming less food/ calories to lose weight. 

Prebiotic fiber- Fructooligosaccharides

Fructooligosaccharide fibers offer satiety, as it takes a long time for the gut bacteria to break it done. This ultimately suppresses the appetite.  

Prebiotic fibers like Fructooligosaccharides offer additional benefits: Reduces constipation. 

Also helps increase the number of ‘good’ / beneficial bacteria while reducing the growth of ‘bad’ bacteria in your gut. These ‘good’ bacteria feed on prebiotics to provide nutrients beneficial for health. 

So, if you reached till the end

You are taking away great learnings about weight loss and 14 ingredients that work together to help the process. Don’t starve but nourish your body to weight loss.

Check out &Me’s GoSlim with all the above ingredients in a natural, no preservative format. Again, don’t expect to see results in a week / day. It might take 3- 6 months, but you will see sustainable benefits.

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