How to lose belly fat naturally in just 1 week?

My experience of weight loss

A combination of a specific diet, good sleep, exercise (yoga) and reduction in stress levels helped me lose weight and reach an ideal weight.

How much weight did I lose?

One year back, I was slightly overweight by 6–8 kgs before I started this regime. I lost all of that flab in the tummy region and returned to ideal weight in the first 3–4 months of following the diet. Since then the weight is maintained with + / - 2 kgs for the last 8 months or so.

Along with losing weight, the diet has had a positive impact on my overall health. Since the diet has worked for me, I will be happy to share the diet that I am following.

What have I added/eliminated/replaced in my diet?

I have increased my intake of certain foods, cut out some of the foods and replaced some foods with other foods. The changes I have made in my diet include:

1) Increasing intake of raw vegetables (in the form of salads and juices) and fruits. I eat around 9 times a day as I have explained my diet below. Out of these, only 2 times I eat cooked meals (these meals also include some fruits and vegetables in raw form) and the remaining 7 times, I eat raw vegetables/juices and fruits.

2) Not having sugar, honey or any other sugar substitutes except for fruits. In fact, I have increased the intake of fruits to 4–5 servings a day since the time I have cut down on sugar.

3) Eliminating dairy products except for yoghurt and ghee

4) Replacing wheat or any of its derivatives (refined wheat etc.) with jowar (Sorghum)

5) Replacing refined vegetable oil with cold-pressed coconut oil and ghee

6) Replacing refined salt with sea / pink salt

7) Replacing white rice with brown rice

8) Eliminating all non-veg food

9) Eliminating all processed foods and outside food. I eat only home-cooked food

The diet I am following

The diet that I follow includes:

1) A glass of celery juice, first thing in the morning, at 6:15 AM on an empty stomach. This has worked wonders for my digestion.

2) Breakfast at 8:30. On most days it is a mix of any two of these sprouts: Matki, Moong (green gram), rajma, light brown chana, dark brown chana etc. I take any two sprouts and mix them with black pepper, cucumber, tomato and eat them. If not having sprouts then I have jowar roti or brown poha. Sometimes I have moong idlis or brown rice idlis or dosa.

3) Fruit serving at around 12:00: This is usually 2–3 slices of pineapple or papaya

4) Vegetable juice at 1:00 PM: This is a combination of any 3–4 of these vegetables: Carrot, cucumber, beetroot, spinach, cabbage, doodhi, radish, turi etc. First, I take less than half a teaspoon of each of these: Ginger paste, garlic paste, turmeric, black pepper. I add 1 teaspoon of water and mix these in a glass. Then I pour the vegetable juice into the glass and mix. Finally, I add a spoon of grounded flaxseeds to the juice and mix and have the juice.

5) Lunch at 1:30 or 2:00 PM: I start with salad which includes cucumber, pomegranate etc. This is followed by jowar rotis and vegetable curry. I finish with 1 bowl of yoghurt

6) Evening snack at 6:00 PM: I have one banana every day

7) 2nd evening snack at 7:30: I have pineapple or papaya or grapes or sapodilla or apple or any other fruit that is available as per the season

8) Dinner at 9:00 or 9:30 PM: I start with salad or sprouts. This is followed by jowar rotis and vegetable curry and brown rice (occasionally). In the summer season, I have 2 slices of mango with dinner.

9) Half an hour to one-hour post-dinner, I have the final serving of fruit for the day. This is usually Dates mithai/desert (made from dates, dry fruit and grated coconut - no added sugar) or apple or pear or watermelon or any other fruit that is available as per the season.

Health benefits of the diet

With this diet, the following are the changes that I noticed over a period of time:

1) Weight loss: I lost all excess weight and returned to ideal weight as I have mentioned at the start of this answer. I was slightly overweight by 6–8 kgs before I started this diet. I lost all of that flab in the tummy region and returned to ideal weight in the first 3–4 months of following the diet. Since then the weight is maintained with + / - 2 kgs for the last 8 months or so.

2) Acne healed: The acne problem that I am having for the last 23 years has healed by 80% in the last 1 year. I am quite hopeful that it will heal completely soon. I consider this to be my biggest achievement from the changed diet!

3) Improvement in digestion and bowel movement: Since the time I have changed my diet, my digestion has improved and there is a natural urge for a bowel movement every day (earlier I had constipation). A glass of Celery juice, first thing in the morning, has helped a lot in this.

4) Body pain has gone: Earlier, I suffered from pain in various parts of the body. For the last 1 year, I have been following the changed diet and also increased Vitamin D intake through food (D’Bello edible mushroom powder). I also do a lot of stretching exercises as part of Yoga. I also go for a walk in the evening. I go for an Ayurvedic massage, once a month. The body pain has gone. I am not sure whether this is due to a changed diet or Vitamin D or Yoga stretching exercises or Ayurvedic massage or a combination of all of these.

5) Better sleep at night: Since the changed diet, my sleep has improved a lot. I also listen to positive affirmations on mobile or Deepak Chopra’s meditation before sleeping. I fall asleep within minutes of lying on the bed. Also, I mostly get uninterrupted sleep throughout the night, which was not the case earlier.

6) Energy levels are high: Earlier, I used to feel fatigued. I used to get tired very easily with the slightest of efforts. Since the time I have been following the diet, my energy levels have improved significantly. The fatigue, tiredness have all gone. I also do Yoga for 1 hour for 5 days a week and don’t feel tired at all.

7) Overall better immunity and good health: Since the time I have been following the changed diet, my overall health has improved. Now I rarely fall ill. Earlier sore throat, running nose, blocked nose, cough etc. were quite frequent. Now with the changed diet, headaches are a thing of the past. Earlier frequent headaches (2 to 3 times a week or sometimes even more) were the norm. So, in the last 1 year, my immunity has definitely improved and overall healthwise I feel a lot better. This is the biggest motivation to continue with this healthy diet.

9) Blood reports are normal: I have been following the changed diet since the last year and I did a blood test recently for my entire family. In my case, most parameters are in the normal range with slight variations in a couple of parameters, which don’t need any medication as per my doctor. These normal parameters include lipid profile, renal profile, hemogram (Complete Blood Count), liver profile, blood sugar levels, vitamin levels, mineral levels and thyroid levels.

So, apart from weight loss, following a healthy diet has definitely had an overall positive impact on my health.

Increase in fruit intake: Sugar has to be avoided for weight loss. From what I have read on the internet, doctors/nutritionists are divided in their opinion on intake of fruits for weight loss due to the sugar content in fruits. Some suggest, while on weight loss programs, not to eat fruits as they contain sugar which leads to weight gain. While some suggest that we can take fruits as they contain natural sugar.

In my case, during my weight loss journey, I ate fruits all along while I eliminated all other forms of sugar. In fact, I increased the fruit intake to 4–5 servings a day when I eliminated sugar in all other forms. I have fruits every day as I have explained in my diet details above.

So, I feast on fruits in the absence of all other forms of sugars. Fruit intake has not led to an increase in weight. Fruit intake has not affected my health in any adverse manner. In fact, fruits are rich in fibre, vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and other nutrients that are very much essential for our body. So I love fruits and I enjoy having them.

Conclusion: To conclude, the diet that I have been following has resulted in me losing the excess flab and returning to ideal weight and along with that the changed diet has had a very positive impact on my health.

Disclaimer: I am not a doctor or a nutritionist. What I have shared is my personal experience of weight loss. Please don’t take it as a recommendation. Please consult your doctor/nutritionist for any advice on diet for weight loss.

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