Common Mistakes When Trying to Lose Weight according to Ayurveda

In the hustle-bustle of life, people pay very little or no attention to our eating habits. This negligence results in nutrient deficiency, obesity, and low immunity, leading to many health conditions. As people become more aware of the adverse effect of their poor lifestyle choices on their health, fitness is everyone’s priority now. But many of them cannot see the results despite putting in so much effort. One reason could be that we are chasing the western diet, which is unsuitable for the Indian lifestyle. On the other hand, the Ayurveda weight loss diet has more potential to help reach various health goals, but people don’t follow it effectively. In this blog, we’ll focus on what mistakes people make on their weight loss journey according to Ayurveda.

Concept of Ahara in Ayurveda

Diet plays a vital role in enhancing your health and protecting it against viral infections. Following an Ayurvedic diet for weight loss means eating wisely, which involves what to eat, how to eat, when, and how the food is prepared.

Significance of Ahara

In Ayurveda, food is referred to as Ahara. It is an essential pillar of life that helps live a long, disease-free, healthy life. Ahara is equivalent to medicine when consumed properly. Eating food that suits our Prakruti, enhances digestion, and supports life improves our physical health and aids our mental well-being. There is no medicine as effective as food because a proper diet can alone make a person disease-free.

The connection between Ahara and Prakruti

Ayurveda suggests that Ahara should be chosen according to a person’s Prakruti (the natural dosha composition of the body). Understanding your Prakruti will help you know the dominant dosha in your body. It will reveal whether your body is Kapha dosha, Vata dosha, or Pitta dosha dominant. But correcting the dosha imbalance alone won’t help much. Along with balancing the doshas, it is also important to consider the dominant dosha in your body. If your Ayurvedic diet chart for weight loss is planned as per your Prakruti and the dominant dosha, it helps your doshas to be in harmony, prevent any health diseases, and help you stay fit and fine.

Failing to do so disturbs your natural composition, weakening your immune system and making it prone to many viral infections. Improper ahara, which is not aligned with your Prakruti, may also lead to severe health issues.

This is one mistake people make that prevents them from reaching their health goals. Besides this mistake, people unknowingly follow bad dietary habits that affect their weight loss journey. In the next section, we’ll discuss weight loss mistakes according to Ayurveda.

Weight Loss mistakes according to Ayurveda

People try different diet plans to live healthy without considering their Prakruti. In this process, they miss out on good dietary practices and what food keeps your body fit. This requires them to reconsider their lifestyle habits and make necessary tweaks.

Here we have collated a few common mistakes people make while on a weight loss journey.

Not changing your diet as per the seasons

Ritucharya is the most crucial part of the Ayurvedic lifestyle. According to Ayurveda, one must change their lifestyle according to the changing seasons. Every season affects our bodies differently. This also affects our Prakruti and causes dosha imbalance. Changing lifestyle and eating habits helps our body prevent dosha imbalance and protect against viral infections and other threats to our health. This allows us to be in good physical and mental health, thereby living a disease-free life.

Wrong food combinations

Incompatible food pairing or Viruddha Ahar can upset our dosha balance and cause health issues like indigestion, bloating, and gasses. This happens because some food items are warm, and some are cold. Teaming such food items causes discomfort, which affects not only our health physically but mentally as well. Food combinations like milk, banana, curd and citrus fruits, melons, and grains are the most wrongly paired food items.

Not following the right time to consume food

Following proper eating, time can help your body be in good health. Having a heavy breakfast, moderate lunch, and light dinner helps the digestive system to function optimally. For instance, when you sleep, your stomach is empty for more than 3 hours which is why having a heavy breakfast helps your body to get energised. Similarly, during the night, eating a light dinner helps because your body is resting and does not pressurise the stomach to work more than required.

Incorrect body posture while having your food

We were often told as kids that we should never stand and eat. It wasn’t just a childhood lesson but a very unhealthy lifestyle habit. Ever wondered why? According to Ayurveda, your eating posture plays a vital role in digestion. When you are eating while sitting, you are more focused on your food, whereas when you are standing and eating, you are distracted. The digestion process is proper when sitting and helps you enjoy your food. Otherwise it affects your digestion process leading to many gut issues.

Try the Ayurveda-inspired lifestyle!

Consuming the right food combination at the right time and in proper portions helps you manage a healthy weight and keeps many health conditions at bay. If you look forward to managing your weight naturally, we are here to help you. At Ayuvi, we are a team of expert Ayurvedic Vaidyas and nutritionists who will help you understand your body type and chalk a path that suits it and supports your weight management goals.