Weight loss in india questions!?

karmaquest

I guess I`m a little nervous.

I am a Uk size 22 - and I`m very tall. I am worried that when I get to India I will face a lot of problems with people staring at me or being rude about my weight.
I am very tall and therefore carry my weight very well, but admit that I would like to lose at least 3 or 4 stone in 6months travelling around India. thats about 20 - 25 kilos.

In your opinion do you reckon I could do this. Im vegitarian anyway and even though I`m not doing trekking I guess through sweating naturally and the heat i hope the weight will fall off me.

Last time I went to India i lost 2 and a half stone. About 9 and a half kilos.

Any adivce on how to deal with it would be great as I`m worried.
thanks.

Nick-H

Hmmm... did people stare at you before? I don't know that the weight thing would bother Indians any more than the simple fact that you are and English woman.

If you lost weight before, then you probably will again. We have discussed this elsewhere and I thinkt he concensus was that sweating, in itself, is not a great weight-looser.

I loose weight in India: perhaps sweating is a factor, but whereas the heat kills my appetite, I have more to do and am more active...

__________________
.


Just one member of the IndiaMike Mod Team

crvlvr

ignore the staring or get used to it. It is bound to happen. no indian will make any rude comments about your weight. people there are quite impressed some who carries a few extra pounds and looks "healthy and prosperous"

you will lose more weight stay off the sweets while in india,

Anders

I lost arund 20kg the last time I was in India.
But getting stared at happens to everybody.

Mango_Frutti

health diet and exercise, is and always be the way. try walking 4 hrs aday and move to 6 or 8 hrs. go on a fruit diet. watch out for too much paneer butter etc, high in fat.

btw. try to relax, no one will make fun of you.

traceyam

I know what you're saying. That was about my size when I was in India and I'm 6'. I'm also a vegetarian.

People will stare because you're tall and/or white, but not because you're overweight. There are overweight people in India, too, especially in the middle classes and cities, and an overweight caucasian tourist is hardly an unusual sight! Despite Hrithik Roshan's influence, fitness doesn't enjoy the popularity in India that it does in many places in the West, and being overweight isn't seen as a demonstration of a lack of character or an indication of immorality, as it often is in the West. I doubt anyone will say anything about your weight at all. No one did to me. No one even seemed to notice. Wearing a salwar kameez will help - it is flattering to nearly every body type.

As for losing weight, travellers typically do a lot of walking, and that will help. If you can opt to walk short distances instead of taking a rickshaw or bus, you'll save money and get to see that much more, too. Make sure to bring good walking shoes that are well-broken-in (with at least 20 miles on them) before you hit India.

As with anywhere you'll still have to watch your diet. There is plenty of fat in Indian food and the ever-present chai is addictive. You won't be eating fresh salads and steamed veggies like you would at home. Drink plenty of water instead of chai or soda, and eat fresh fruits (that you can peel) as often as possible. Daal and rice are inexpensive, relatively low-fat, and a good combination of protein and carbs.

__________________
"Don't you sometimes wish the arctic was strawberry flavoured?" -- Thermoman

hoshii2000

I have a few pounds to lose myself.

I am plan to go on the Dehli Belly diet when I get there. : )

guerik

Like Tracey mentioned, a lot of food is very high in oil and chai is super-high in sugar. I still lost 5kg last time I was there though, and I was on the "lots of chai, lots of mittai" diet (which I highly recommend- it's delicious!) but lost the weight from the huge amount of extra exercise I was doing.

lotus blossom

i nearly always lose weight in india, after i get sick and cannot stomach indian food for several days. i love indian food but it is true that a lot of unhealthy ingredients often go into making it.

i eat an organic vegetarian diet myself. my first trip to india i was told by an ayurvedic doctor that i worked with in jaipur that most of the produce is likely organic. it was distressing to read an article the other day to the contrary, that indian agriculture is sprayed with 20 some odd chemicals that have been banned in the u.s. oh dear...

while at the ayurvedic clinic i worked with the more affluent indian women who were concerned about their weight. chapatis seemed to be one of the bigger problems among them, along with of course, the sweets. diabetes is a very large and growing problem in india.

you may consider seeing an ayurvedic doctor or even getting some panchakarma while in india. they could give you some helpful guidance.

__________________
Not all who wander are lost

imhere0905

Thank goodness, I thought I was going to be putting on heaps of weight, I actually find indian sweets, way too sweet for me, I'm worried about nuts, I love nuts.. btw what is "mittai"

kiranlal

According to ayurveda traveling can reduce the body weight, so rome around the country you will loose weight, and in india people consider over weight as a good health situation.
because most of the villagers are lean or small in size.

__________________
A big world and small people

guerik

mittai = sweets. so you'll be safe from those at least, by the sounds of it.

(i was doing a hindi assignment on the subject of sweets, so it was all in the name of research!)

imhere0905

And what great research it must have been! Where are you doing your Hindi studies at?

guerik

Through ANU but we had an off-site course based first in Dehra Dun and then near Uttarkashi.

Dehra dun me, sab se achi mittai hai! Seriously the best stuff I had over the whole trip (may have had something to do with the cooler climate, high turnover, or ISO9000 certification of the sweetshop- I kid you not).

imhere0905

Nice, ISO9000 cert on a sweet shop, how funny! I've heard of it in a pharma co but not a sweet shop