Eating in the Age of Dieting

This book focuses on showcasing the benefits of the traditional Indian diet and busts a lot of fads that break down food into substituents like carbs, sugars, fat etc. I discuss my learnings below.

Food

  1. Eat local food - food that is grown by local farmers. It goes way beyond just food and it supports the local economy and agriculture.
  2. Eat seasonal food - our bodies have been attuned to eat what is grown and available since generations and it has its own benefits. These days everything is available all the time thanks to cold storage but seasonal food is cheaper, it is local and good for the body's cycle during the season's weather.
  3. Respect traditions and festivals around food - festivals like Sankrant, Lohri, Holi have their own foods to be eaten that are in sync with seasonal agriculture harvest.
  4. Do not only believe on Western studies - studies like this take a long time to conclude and media may pick up things in between that may not be complete and sound advice. E.g. 70s was all about fat being bad and now fats are accepted as good source.
  5. Rather than breaking down food into its constituents, focus on the effect the food has on your body and mood. Eating is not only for the body but for the mind as well. A good food can go a long way in removing stress, keeping hormones balanced which are all very good indicators of long term health.
  6. Crash and fad dieting does worse to health than balanced food. Cells starve and this can lead to problems like diabetes because of insulin resistance. Focus on eating healthy food in quantities that satiate. Eat consciously, listen to signals from the body and mind. Treat eating like meditation and not just something to get over with.

Health

  1. Weight loss is overhyped. Body weight is not a reliable indicator of health - body composition is. Focus on getting fitter, not thinner.
  2. Rather than focusing on indicators like weight or heart rate or sleep timers - focus on signals from the body - how happy, energetic and positive you feel. Bowel moments are an underrated indicator of digestive system health.
  3. Control what you can - focus on building a routine around exercise rather than wanting the results faster. This has a compounding effect over a long time.
  4. Walking is not an exercise. The best form of exercise is the one that strengthens the muscles. Include strength exercise in your regimen before doing anything else.

Quotes

The Upanishads describe sukha, or happiness, as a state where our senses—sight, smell, touch, sound and taste—are all aligned with one another.

If you asked me what the world’s healthiest diet is, i would say it is the one that keeps you connected with: 1. Farms 2. Forests and 3. Family heritage.

If you are listening to anybody other than your stomach for advice on determining quantity, you are doomed to stay fat.

Losing weight on the scale doesn’t automatically reduce the risk of heart diseases, obesity, diabetes, etc. In fact, it can put you at a higher risk if the methods that led to the weight reduction were fundamentally incorrect—like starvation, over-exercise, surgeries or pills.

The best exercise is one that engages you physically, mentally, emotionally, and on levels even deeper than that. It is something that you look forward to on a daily basis, it is the reason you eat dinner on time, it is the reason you hit the bed early. It is the reason you wake up even before your alarm goes off.