Don't Lose Your Mind, Lose Your Weight

Though there is already 800+ reviews, so my single opinion really does not matter. But still I want to share my experience as I am so amazed by the prompt results. I don't have any weight machine, so I can't tell you how much I have lost. But I have measuring tape and I have measured that my waist has been reduced THREE INCHES in more or less three weeks (not 1 inch per week). I didn't see much changes in 1st week. But I started feeling good within few days. I have trusted her every impractical word without doubting and implemented it. Trust me guys, losing weight or fat is not a big deal but adopting a healthy lifestyle and discipline is a real challenge as I was extremely indiscipline. To adopt a healthy lifestyle it demands a serious and sincere effort. Once you adopt it you don't have to be bothered about weight/fat loss. It will happen naturally. I never gave up. And today I am successful. After going through this book I didn't follow any cases of her clients' which suits me best but I have made my own routine according to my choices and preferences. It's not that difficult. If I can then you also can. Just read the cases carefully and try to find the logic. That's it. I start my day with a fruit. I enjoy it with a stroll on my roof under the sun. It's very pleasant as the sun is not so harsh and I complete my daily quota of Vitamin D. In my family, I don't know why everyone is afraid of ghee, oil, cheese. so, we don't use so much of ghee or oil while cooking. But as rujuta says "EAT FAT TO LOSE FAT", so I prepare my own breakfast meal loaded with ghee which I love too. Because that's the only meal where I can have my ghee peacefully. Even if I make a simple omelette, I make it with ghee instead of oil (sometimes with little ajwain, black pepper powder, few red chilli flakes and salt. thats it. isn't it very simple? and tasty too. Try it..), and from now on I never try to cook my dishes with zero oil and even low oil (ghee). Guys just throw out that olive oil or any fancy oil you have, and bring back that traditional oil your mom or grandma used to cook regular meal. I love coconut, I knew it that it's very healthy. But everyone again is scared of that magic fruit. So now I can have my coconut guilt free and I do so. I like it more to have as whole rather than in prepared dishes. So I have my coconut (a lot) as some of my in between meals. Now I always keep a pack of cheese slices in my refrigerator which I love and rujuta recommends also. My sister tried to tease me by taunting "Cheese diet", but I totally ignored her. One thing I strictly follow is that I totally avoid refined flour or maida in daily basis. I have reserved it for my junk food mistakes.. I am a bengali girl, so I can't live without my "macher jhol vat" and so I have not sacrificed my rice (white rice). I have it with my lunch and dinner guilt free. For breakfast I have wholewheat roti brushed with lots of ghee with sabzi cooked in ghee or any stuffed paratha brushed with ghee. In that three weeks I have unintentionally skipped some of my in between meals, my proper dinner time or lunchtime has been missed sometimes and I also had some indulgence of junk food (chocolates, snacks, patties etc). But still I have got excellent results. My skin is now looking fresh and glowing like never before and that too without my expensive night cream. Really, it was really expensive, and effective too. But now I don't need that. Now, let's talk about exercise. I don't have access to any fancy expensive gym. So I started doing surya namaskar every evening. As I have read in a book of BKS Iyengar (the foremost guru of Yoga) that our body remains very stiff in the morning, so you can't stretch it at its fullest, so it's better to do Yoga in the evening. So I do it in the evening. Though it's not written in this book but I have read this on Rujuta's blog that she recommends to fix a definite time in the day for exercise. I started doing only one round of surya namaskar. On the first day I was not even able to make the postures correctly. But I tried my best, and believe me I was DEAD. But next day I tried again, and next day................... Now I can perform four rounds of surya namaskar with ease. And all of these within just THREE WEEKS. I am really impressed with myself. Now I don't judge myself by a random digit displayed on a stupid weighing machine. Caution: Surya Namaskar done correctly is of immense benefits. But the same surya namaskar done incorrectly can harm you a lot. So first try to correct the postures then increase the number of rounds to be performed. And don't rush. It takes time to be perfect. These were my experiences but I also want to tell you something. Respect your body's limitations and overcome them. Just don't push your body, or give it a deadline. Just trust your taste buds, follow your heart and let your body work on its own wisdom. Love and respect your body the way it is, and your body will shower you with LOVE.

A sensible book that dealt with the science behind food in layman terms. The clarification of eating right and discouraging the 'starving approach' to lose weight is an eye-opener to many of them who are craving for the surefire weight loss ways within days. Rujuta had literally pointed out the foods and grains around us that would give better results through her 'Real-Life Examples'. Avoiding deep-fried foods, adding ghee to overcome Vitamin D Deficiency, eating 8 meals per day, are just nothing but hope and encouragement to this fitness journey which was always mysterious to many of us. The detailed explanation of fructose and the exact reason why fruit is better than its juices (due to its surface area), depicts the pure honesty of this book. The diet recall strategy is so realistic, that it makes you watch your eating habits without anyone doing it for you. Halfway through this book, I had quit drinking bed coffees or anything that gives me the kick after getting out from my bed, I had quit biscuits, chocolates and things that I binge eat. I must say, I lost the cravings for these and feel better than I used to be. On the other hand, yes from following the four principles of eating to a proper fitness regimen, I have a long way to go on this journey and I try to stick with many of the eating habits and foods that are encouraged in this book. I must say that this book is the beginning of eating right rather than the complete guide of the fitness journey. Finally, let me achieve my target and look back at this book on how it all started! Though this book is educating us in food science, the inclusion of many Hindi words to describe several aspects dulls the reader like me who doesn't know much of Hindi. It quickly disconnects the flow and dilutes the concentration while reading. Especially there is a 'Real Life example' portion which has Hindi words written in English for over two pages. This actually shows that Rujuta needs to keep all language readers in mind even if they're from India. I hope she reads this feedback and correct those portions!

I have been to nutritionists and they'll give you a diet that whether or not makes you lose weight, it'll take away your glow, make you feel hungry all the time and gradually make you feel dull, tired and irritable all the time. You will end up preparing diet soups (which often not only are calorie deficient but are also nutritionally deficient). They will make you eat 1 phula/2 phulkas at lunch/dinner and I'm sure people on the "healthier" side and hoping to lose weight have even 1/2 phulkas only when they were sick and weak!!! I actually once had a nutritionist who asked me to eat half an apple one evening, save the rest and eat the remaining half next day!!!! I'm not trying to mock nutritionists here, instead what I'm trying to say is, that Rujuta Diwekar here helps you understand foods, their composition, their nutrition and how you can manage even calorie-rich foods occasionally without increasing your body fat (not body weight). She helps you understand your body, how to increase metabolism naturally and simply modify your diet to lose body fat. I'm very inconsistent, but everytime I follow her method, I feel fresher, energetic, cheerful and thanks to her, my blood reports are better, my blood glucose levels have normalized even after eating rice and potato (eating not hogging!). This book is a must for every person trying to cut down on body fat and still feel cheerful and get healthier along the process. She gives a huge amount of information for very little cost. (Even one time nutritionist visits cost Rs.500/- these days where they don't care about your lifestyle and simply ask to to follow their standard patterns) Rujuta understand the needs to busy people who find it difficult to keep up with diets and works around their lifestyle to make the fat loss process a part of their life and not make them change their lifestyle itself. MUST BUY!!!!

This book is a gem. The efforts put by Rujuta diwekar is clearly visible. Am gonna hold this book like a baby bcoz this book is a storehouse of information. Also she has mentioned some sample diet and activity records of her clients (which is really useful). Initially I thought this book would just be like other books for example like only Gyan but no output or desired results. So I took some time to try it out. And I saw tremendous results within 2 weeks (not only physically but mentally too). I weighed 78kgs when I started and currently am 75kgs. Initially I was a person who couldn't wake up/ workout(everything seemed boring it might also be because of all my fad diets) But after I started using this gem. Am energetic all the time + work out doesn't seem boring anymore touchwood! this book is a must buy for everyone who has tried all fad diets to lose weight and yet gained extra pounds later on. Also at the end there is a Q&A section. Which answers all the questions (this section is also very informative). I highly recommend this book to all. Please stop starving yourselves and start eating right.

Recently my doctor asked me to shed the excess weight that I had gained during the course of the pandemic by adopting a healthy lifestyle. In addition to exercising, eating healthy and right became so important, and I thought I’d give this book a shot. Rujuta Diwekar is the Nutritionist who shot to fame when she helped Kareena Kapoor achieve size zero. A couple of pages into the book I was mighty impressed because here was a lady helping you lose weight by actually eating. Yes, you read that right! I’m trying to implement my learning’s from this book into my life and I can already see a positive change in me. I’ve already ditched my morning chai for a fruit, I strive to eat every 2 hours and I’m definitely trying to go back to my roots and eat more of fresh & local produce. There is so much knowledge in this book and I’m trying to implement as much as possible. If any of you want to adopt a healthy lifestyle and eat right, this is the book you should go ahead and pick for yourself. In addition you can check out the Instagram Handle of the author for health tips and diet guidelines, they are so helpful!

The book itself is informative and tries to demolish certain myths about foods that are predominantly Western in origin, or rather, modern Science. Science about food changes every generation and its very important to understand that and not live as per current understanding. This book does a marvelous job of giving a reality check to modern science as well as Western norms of healthy eating ( olive oil versus local cooking oil...coconut is the new health food!). The style is folksy and fast, but sometimes Rujuta crosses the line from folksy to appear gross. What could have made the book more factual than intuitive is to include data or research, even if quoting from other source. The one big snafu Rujuta does is to declare Mita-ahar as "sweet" food and then explains what this sweet means. Its a ghastly error. Mita means moderation. This phrase derives from Shushruta's treatise, which has the phrase - Hitabhuk, Ritabhuk, Mitabhuk - which means eat what is good, what is timely/seasonal and in moderation. The biggest takeaway for the interested is that it provides a starting point for going back into our roots to live as our ancestors did. While today the so called "paleo" diet is gaining fame, this book is the best counterpoint that our Asian civilizations are far more ancient and we did not have the hunter-gatherer DNA for several generations now !

This book of Rujuta has enlightened me with so many basic facts about nutrition and my own body which I was totally unaware of or at times even thinking them as evil part of my life. My perspective towards fitness has totally changed (for good) after reading this book. And I am investing more in her books and her wisdom for my own sake. Thank you Rujuta for writing this one 🥰

Good

Fantastic book on how to lose weight without losing your peace of mind by following crazy diets, extreme exercises, and by blindly following the new "cool thing to do"! Rujuta is articulate, and has plenty of real life examples to make the book interesting without sounding overly preachy. I really enjoyed reading the book, which promotes healthy thinking about body image, and encourages the reader to eat rather than starve. Even if you don't follow her advice to the tee, it's worth reading to get a nutrionist's insight on healthy eating.

I liked this book for a few reasons: 1) It takes us to the basics of eating right. A good knowledge of Ayurveda by the author, forms the foundation of most of the advise given. 2) Rujuta speaks boldly about the trends of the diet industry and I totally agree with her. 3) She keeps reiterating the importance of good balanced diet and exercise for healthy body and mind. Everyone these days only talks about “dieting” but not enough about physical activities. I would like to recommend this book to my family and my friends because there is lot of conflicting information easily accessible outside, but this book goes to our roots, our rich concepts of Ayurveda and it has convinced me how balanced and sustainable diet is solutions to most of our current problems of life style related health problems. Thank you Rujuta for writing this book.

Best

Rujuta has presented the info in its most basic layman form. Easy to grasp. She has broken down the minute details that can be easily understood. Must read!

After reading the book it changed my whole concept of eating and realised nutrition was too important for the body and eating regular nutritive food helped me through weight loss.