Weight Loss

Ayurveda has targeted weight loss for thousands of years and is successful because of its comprehensiveness. Obesity is called Sthoolyam in Ayurveda. 

According to Ayurveda, there is an imbalance in digestive fire (Agni) and toxins (Ama) which disturbs the metabolism of fatty tissue (Medo Dhatu). Ama also blocks the channels of body tissues causing a vitiation of Vata Dosha, which is the energy principle of air and ether elements. This imbalanced Vata disrupts digestive fire and increases appetite. This, coupled with improper fat metabolism, leads to obesity.

Excess intake of sweet, oily and cold food causes vitiation of Kapha Dosha, the energy principle of water and earth elements, which also leads to fat deposition. Ayurveda recommendations for weight loss correct these faulty metabolic factors to maintain optimum body weight. 

Vata Dosha
Those who practice Ayurveda believe this is the most powerful of all three doshas. It controls very basic body functions, like how cells divide. It also controls your mind, breathing, blood flow, heart function, and ability to get rid of waste through your intestines. Things that can disrupt it include eating again too soon after a meal, fear, grief, and staying up too late.
If vata dosha is your main life force, you’re thought to be more likely to develop conditions like anxiety, asthma, heart disease, skin problems, and rheumatoid arthritis.

Pitta Dosha
This energy controls your digestion, metabolism (how well you break down foods), and certain hormones that are linked to your appetite.
Things that can disrupt it are eating sour or spicy foods and spending too much time in the sun.
If it’s your main life force, you’re thought to be more likely to develop conditions like Crohn’s disease, heart disease, high blood pressure, and infections.

Kapha Dosha
This life force controls muscle growth, body strength and stability, weight, and your immune system.
You can disrupt it by sleeping during the day, eating too many sweet foods, and eating or drinking things that contain too much salt or water.
If it’s your main life energy, practitioners believe you may develop asthma and other breathing disorders, cancer, diabetes, nauseas after eating, and obesity.

The Tridosha

“The concept of Tridosha, the Ayurvedic theory of physiologic regulation involving the integrated function of the three Doshas—Vata, Pitta, and Kapha—is a cornerstone of Ayurveda, named in the first chapter of the earliest text, Charaka Samhita

The three Doshas (Tridoshas) are Vata, Pitta and Kapha. Their psychological correlates which play a role in the functioning and behavior of humans is the Trigunas—Sattva, Rajas and Tamas.

These psychological attributes are not restricted or confined to humans alone, but are also attributed to almost all living beings, including the food we eat, and all other elements in the environment we live in, which are said to have a predominance of one or the other characteristic Guna/Prakriti which gives that matter its unique quality.

The Tridoshas are composed of all the five Mahabhutas, but one or the other is predominant, with the other four are in lesser dominance. There can never be a state when one or the other Mahabhuta is absent totally. All five are essential to sustain life. Proper balance among these three Doshas is essential for good health.

Vata Dosha is composed of Akasa (ether) and Vayu (air) Mahabhutas.
Pitta Dosha is composed of Tejas or Agni (fire) and Ap(water) Mahabhutas.
Kapha Dosha is composed of Ap (water) and Prithvi (earth) Mahabhutas.

When we talk about imbalance of Doshas, we say that a person is Vata, Pitta or Kapha dominated. This does not mean an absence of the other two Doshas, but that the other two Doshas are suppressed compared to the dominant Dosha. This also does not mean that a person who is either of the Dosha dominated is not in good health. That particular dominant Dosha is his natural state of being or Prakriti. It is not ill health.

The three Gunas—Sattva, Rajas and Tamas—also promote different kinds of temperament based on the dominance of one or the other Gunas. The temperament of a person can be discerned based on the “mode of worship, the type of food consumed and other activities of everyday life”.

Ways to Reduce Weight

1. The first of all make your physice a priority. Make your routine for better health? Take best care of yourself? As you focus on your health with dietary and lifestyle changes, a steady, sustainable weight loss is a natural byproduct!

2. Poor sleep leads to weight gain, make sure to get enough sleep. Research has shown that poor sleep leads to weight gain. Ensure you’re getting enough sleep by avoiding late nights. It’s also important to avoid daytime sleep, which aggravates Kapha Dosha and contributes to weight gain.

3. Take plenty of fluids, hydrate properly. Ayurveda suggest for how, when and with what you should hydrate.

• Have one to two glasses of warm water with lemon and honey in the morning on an empty stomach.
• Sip lukewarm water through the day, a natural detoxifier.
• Try herbal teas like ginger or CCF tea (cumin, coriander and fennel) or tea spiced with cinnamon, cardamom, ginger and Tulsi (holy basil). 
• Sip warm water about 45min before meals to ignite Agni and combat pseudo-hunger. Avoid drinking water with your meal. If you’re thirsty, sip warm water or ginger tea. Don’t drink water immediately after a meal. Wait for about half an hour. 
• Cut down on beverages like caffeinated tea, coffee and aerated drinks. Have herbal tea or warm water instead. 

4. Change your eating habits. 

• Eat seonal and local foods. When you eat local, organic, seasonal root vegetables in the fall and berries and greens in spring, you are in alignment with nature. 
• Avoid snacking, follow regular meal timings. 
• Eat to necessity not to taste, eat in moderation. Control your portion sizes by having a cupped hand measure of food. Don’t fill your stomach to the limit – you can stop before the full feeling hits. Ayurveda advises that a third of your stomach should be filled with solid, a third with liquid and the rest should be empty to facilitate digestion and avoid unwanted fat deposition. 
• Sit down to eat in a peaceful setting. Don’t eat on the go or gulp your food. Take the time to sit down to eat, and avoid eating while glued to the media or TV. If you can, avoid other distractions, including stress. Don’t eat while anxious or in the midst of difficult conversations. 
• Detoxify periodically. Cleansing uproots toxins and helps address many ailments, preventing their recurrence. Generally it’s optimal to cleanse in spring and fall, which is when our biannual cleanse programs occur such as the upcoming 21-Day Spring Cleanse. You can talk to your practitioner for more specific guidance on how to cleanse. 
• Take a short walk after your meal.

5. Eat foods that support weight loss

• Ayurveda has specific dietary guidelines for different types of Ayurvedic constitution and imbalances. 
• Try a Kapha-pacifying diet by favoring warm, light, bitter, pungent (spicy) and astringent tastes. Limit heavy foods, oils, sweet, sour and salty tastes. 
• Wheat and barley are specifically mentioned in Ayurveda as grains that aid natural weight loss. Steel-cut oats, millets, quinoa, old rice and amaranth are other options. 
• Enjoy high fiber vegetables like cabbage, broccoli, carrots and banana stem, adequately spiced. Leafy greens, bitter gourd, radish, lentils and legumes are great. Try a bowl of clear soup with veggies! 
• Eat fruits in moderation like apples, berries, pears, and limited quantities of nuts and seeds.
• Favor warming spices like black pepper, dried ginger, turmeric, cumin, cardamom and cinnamon.
• Avoid sweets, junk, fried, cold, frozen and canned foods. 
• Try food and spices that have a heating potency with scraping qualities, such as ginger, garlic, pepper and honey. Remember excessof everything is bad. For instance, pungent food could aggravate Pitta Dosha (energy principle of fire and water).
• If you consume dairy, replace yogurt with churned buttermilk, which aids tissue level fat metabolism, and add roasted cumin, curry leaves and Himalayan salt to taste. 

6. Excercise to sweat

Follow a balanced lifestyle, that involves daily exercise, breathwork and meditation. According to Ayurveda, exercise brings lightness, ability to work and a good appetite. It gets rid of excess fat, tones and shapes the muscles and firms up the body. Regular exercise also helps with other health conditions, improves mood, digestion, sleep and generally boosts energy. Make sure to stretch before and cool down afterwards.

7. Try to live stress free

Reducing stress is key to weight loss. Stress has been dubbed the health epidemic of the 21st century by the WHO, and that can exacerbate weight gain.

• Set a goal for slow, steady, sustainable weight loss rather than feeling guilty and stressed about weight. 
• Do Yoga. Yoga improves metabolism, and certain Asanas like Surya Namaskar (sun salutations), Paschimottanasana (back stretching pose), Bhujangasana (the cobra pose), Pavanamuktasana (the wind releasing pose) and Dhanurasana (bow pose) help reduce body weight. 
• Also try breathwork like Bhastrika (bellows breath), Kapal Bhati (shining skull breath) and Nadi Shodhana (alternate nostril).

8. Ayurvedic herbs for weight loss

• Some herbs that may be suggested include Trikatu, Triphala Guggulu, Varanadi Kashayam, Guluchyadi Kashyam, Hingavashtaka Churan, Vrikshamla, Haridra, Guduchi, Ginger, Chitraka, Guggulu, Musta, Ayaskriti, Aswagandharistam, Kumaryasavam, Guggulutikhthakam Kwath, Punarnavadi Kwath and Trivrit Lehyam. Don’t take any herbs without an Ayurvedic consultation, as an improper choice may negatively impact your health. Your personalized herbal recommendation is most effective with nutrition and lifestyle changes.