Ayurveda for weight loss: kichri, spices, basic rules

A common “popular” plan suggests making kichri, a thick stew-stew made of cereals and spices, as the only dish on the menu. Well-wishers recommend sitting on such a diet for two or three weeks, promising that after this time you will see in the mirror a person who has miraculously found harmony, and with it harmony. But do not rush to the nearest Ayurvedic shop for ingredients. Kichri has been known for a long time as food suitable for people of any dosha (in Ayurveda, doshas are called three main body types; it is necessary to build your diet in accordance with the balance of the elements filling the body of vata, pitta or kapha. For more information about the basic rules of nutrition for doshas, ​​read our article “Weight loss according to Ayurveda”). However, this versatility does not at all make Indian stew a remedy that replaces the whole of Ayurveda and helps to lose those extra pounds.

Yogis brought fashion for kichri from India, and with someone’s light hand they began to attribute non-existent properties to this food, ”the expert continues. – In Sushruta Samhita, one of the main Ayurvedic texts, it is clearly stated that kichri is a heavy food that takes a long time to digest. And everything that is digested for a long time contributes to weight gain. Of course, the kichri has many advantages: it is very well balanced in terms of protein, carbohydrate and fat content and is suitable for those who work hard and subject themselves to intense physical activity. But nowhere in Ayurvedic sources you will find information that kichri is suitable for a weight loss diet. “

Healthy Food Near Me asked Elena Oleksyuk several questions, primarily of concern to those who are interested in the help of Ayurveda in gaining a slender figure, but are not yet ready to completely and recklessly share the rules of life discovered by Indian sages.

How does Ayurveda relate to excess weight and what does it associate its appearance with?

Charaka Samhita, an authoritative treatise on the teachings, informs its readers that being overweight contributes to the development of diseases and shortens life.

In Ayurvedic practice, we often look not at the weight in the form of numbers, but at the size of the clothes. Because this is not a joke or a myth – there are people with heavier bones (this is one of the signs of the predominance of kapha dosha in the body), and fat, as you know, is lighter than bones and muscle tissue. It is best to focus on how a person looked and what size of clothing they wore between the ages of 17 and 25 as a conditional starting point. During the subsequent years of life, it is allowed to add up to 5 kilograms – by weight and visual assessment.

You can also use modern formulas to calculate your body mass index (BMI). If it is above 24, then it is considered that there is too much, but you always need to look at a person – does he really have an excess of mass, or is it rather about the features of the constitution.

From the point of view of Ayurveda, the main reason for being overweight is overeating. This problem does not surprise anyone today. City dwellers are guided not by the physiological feeling of hunger, but they eat simply because the time has come – lunch break, then there will be no time to eat, have not eaten for a long time, it is time to eat, etc. Many have unnecessary snacks, and in offices they often drink tea with sweets.

Ama first accumulates on the intestinal walls, and eventually spreads throughout the body and “settles”, as a rule, in those organs that are genetically weak and causes the development of chronic diseases.

Other reasons for the accumulation of excess weight can be noted non-compliance with the rules of food intake – eating on the go, in the company of the TV or reading books and magazines, talking while eating, insufficient chewing of food. Also, the formation of toxins and weight gain, according to Ayurveda, is promoted by the consumption of cold foods and an excess of fried, animal fats, refined foods (including flour, white sugar, pasta, etc.). Stress and hormonal imbalances make people fat too.

How is it customary in Ayurveda to deal with extra pounds?

The easiest and most affordable way is a mono-diet in the format of fasting days. According to Ayurveda, unloading is most beneficial on Ekadashi. This is a Vedic fast that falls on the eleventh day after each new moon and full moon. If you wish, you can easily find Ekadashi calendars for your region on the Internet.

If we talk about more serious methods, then this is, first of all, panchakarma – a complex system of procedures of individually selected natural Ayurvedic preparations that allows you to balance a disordered body.

To combat excess pounds in Ayurveda, they use special bitter teas for weight loss, and they also practice a special massage with hot bags of herbs and udvartana, massage with hot herbal powder. Sometimes, in one such procedure, you can lose up to 3-4 kilograms! “Branded” Ayurvedic remedy for cellulite – local steaming.

What secrets and rituals of Ayurveda can be profitably borrowed without even practicing the teachings?

Is Ayurveda for Russians? After all, our products are very different from Indian ones.

Ayurveda is not only possible, but also needs to be adapted to the peculiarities of the area where you practice it. The teaching divides foods not only in accordance with the balance of doshas: any food can be harmful or useful, depending on the climate in which the person who is going to eat it lives.

“For example, rice does not grow in our country, so it is not very good for us: it promotes the formation of mucus and the accumulation of excess weight. In the climate of central Russia, potatoes are better than rice, – explains Elena Oleksyuk. “But since it’s a starchy food, don’t eat potatoes for dinner, and when you cook them in the morning or for lunch, be sure to add turmeric, black pepper, garlic or onions to” reorient “and balance the harmful qualities of starch.”

For those looking to lose weight, Ayurveda recommends eating foods that are spicier, more astringent and bitter – and these flavors are easiest to achieve with the help of spices. For example, in order to add exotic food to food and at the same time help your body get rid of excess, season food and drinks with spicy ginger (ginger for weight loss has proven itself well), hot red and black pepper – these spices “feed the digestive fire”, promote perspiration and increase the heart rate, that is, they burn fat. Handle spicy foods with caution if you are prone to stomach pain or intestinal upset. 

Astringent, or the tart taste is carried by such well-known seasonings as cinnamon, turmeric and mustard seeds. Astringent foods are believed to be good for emotional overeating in the first place. If you eat stress, spice up a vegetable or bean meal with a pinch of turmeric!

Bitter taste – the first assistant in the fight against cravings for sweets. If used in moderation, bitterness will not disgust the eater and, on the contrary, accentuate the natural taste of the dishes. Try natural chicory, including in the form of salad greens, gentian herb as a seasoning for meat and fish dishes, citrus zest as an addition to vegetables and desserts. Also, grapefruit remains the carrier of bitter taste, well known in weight loss. However, do not forget that Ayurveda recommends eating fruits separately from other foods. 

Although the Kichri diet, according to a specialist, is unlikely to make you lose weight miraculously, this dish, nevertheless, is a classic Ayurvedic food, tasty, healthy, filling without heaviness.