The Best Diet Plan for Weight Loss | Effective Weight Loss Diet Plan

Are you looking for the best Diet Plan to lose weight? This article has everything you need to embark on your journey to weight loss while eating an Indian diet.

The main goal is to focus on eating a balanced diet.

While the term ‘balanced diet’ is used a lot, what we mean by a balanced diet is a balance of the 3 major food groups – carbohydrates, vegetables and protein.

This can feel like a big challenge with an Indian diet. The reason is that the typical Indian diet these days is high in carbohydrates – rice, roti and potatoes and the amount of vegetables and protein is very low. Sugar is also on the high side.

Think about your daily diet, it may look a bit like this:

• Breakfast: Common options are idli, dosa, poha, chilla, upma, bread, oats, corn flakes and muesli. All are grains.
• Lunch & dinner: Rice or roti (grains) are usually the central part. Dal, vegetables and curd are some of the other main dishes components. While the proportions vary, the rice or roti is usually close to half the meal.
• Snacks: Biscuits are a part of daily life for many. This and most other snacks like rusk, puff etc are made from grains. Most snacks are sugary and/or oily also.
• All day: Soft drinks, juices, tea and coffee all contain sugar. This and any sweets you have adds up over the course of the day to a high amount of sugar.

This shows that our typical day’s eating:

• Is very high in carbohydrates and sugar.
• Has a low amount of fruit and vegetables.
• Contains a lot of oil and fat (not the good kind).
• Is very low in protein.
• Includes many processed foods which come with artificial ingredients and processed oils.

All of this is made worse by the lack of exercise and poor sleep. This is the reason that the number of overweight & obese people in India is very high. The health consequences of this are metabolic diseases like diabetes, where India is leading and is now called the ‘Diabetes capital of the world’.

Source:mint

The situation can certainly be reversed with a structured plan, effort & patience. You do not need to do anything extreme, starve or try diets like keto or paleo that require you to completely stop eating food groups. These do not work except perhaps for a short while. The key is to balance the diet while still eating according to your local culture and customs. This is certainly possible with the Indian way of eating. The goal should be to balance the main food groups – carbohydrates, protein and vegetables.

Healthy diet plans for weight loss

Weight loss will always require that you limit your overall food intake. But that does not mean that you need to obsess over calories or starve. Instead, if you focus on high-quality foods and balance your plate with carbs, protein & vegetables, then you will find that you are able to eat within limits and also not go hungry.

This way of eating allows you to listen to your body and make food choices based onhow you feel, instead of choosing foods based on calories.

Your body does not think in terms of calories, it cares for nutrients like vitamins and minerals.

So it’s important you speak the same language as your body. In fact, in the long-term calorie counting can lead to anxiety issues for some people and disrupt their relationship with food. We don’t want that. After all, food is not just nutrition, it’s also emotional and social for us in our personal life as well and in our families and communities.

When you think of a diet plan for weight loss, think of what your body needs in terms of nutrition. Addressing this will give your body what it needs and allow it to get into fat-burning mode also. Here are the main nutrients that you need to cover:

• Vitamins, minerals and fiber (from vegetables & fruit).
• Amino acids (from protein-rich foods).
• Energy (from carbohydrates).
• Good fats (from dairy, oils, ghee, nuts, seeds).
• Water.

The best Indian diet for weight loss will combine these major food groups. By learning how to balance these foods across your breakfast, lunch, snack and dinner you will find a weight loss diet that works for you and that you can sustain in the long run.

How to make a perfect diet plan for weight loss

It can be tempting to focus on the ideal breakfast for weight loss, lunch for weight loss or best dinner for weight loss.

What is more important is a balanced overall food intake in a day.

Below is an easy to follow weight loss diet chart that can be followed for a week (7 days). The portions are based on someone in the weight range of 65-75 kgs and should be used as a guide.

Please note the following points:

Some foods are noted in cups. A cup = 240ml. This is a standard unit of measure and you can buy it from Amazon, seethese options. The cup in red below is 1 cup.

• Some foods (like paneer) are noted in fist-sized quantities. A fist = your fist. Keep the food next to your first to estimate the quantity.
• We include some whey protein shakes in the weight loss diet plan below. Whey protein is an extract from milk and proven to be safe and healthy. While we do not recommend supplements, whey is the one exception given its proven benefits. But you can feel free to swap it with another protein option like greek yogurt (hung curd) in the shakes.
• You can modify this diet plan to swap one vegetable for another or to have one grain for another (rice instead of roti for example).

While we have provided a weight loss diet plan below, please use this as a guide only. There is no single ideal diet chart as a one-size-fits-all answer approach will not work when it comes to a weight loss diet plan. One’s nutritional requirements will vary based on a number of factors, including gender, height, weight, meal preferences, any medical conditions, allergies etc.

We have prepared a diet plan ideal for weight loss focusing on mainly Indian foods. This diet plan is a sample, and we would recommend that you work with aDaily9 coachto customize it for your needs.

PURE VEGETARIAN DIET PLAN

Day 1

Breakfast:

• 1 fist paneer bhurji with ½ cup tomato, onion, capsicum
• 1 slice toast
• 1 orange
• 1 cup tea/coffee

Lunch:

• ½ cup rice
• ¾ cup methi dal (½ cup lentils)
• ½ cup cauliflower
• ½ cup yoghurt

Snack:

• ½ scoop Whey fruit smoothie with ½ cup milk,
• 1 banana

Dinner:

• 1 cup veg stir fry
• ¾ cup dal (½ cup lentils)
• ½ cup jeera rice
• ½ cup green salad

Day 2

Breakfast:

• 1 cup tea/coffee
• Whey fruit smoothie (1 scoop whey, 1 banana, ½ cup milk, ½ cup oats)

Lunch:

• ½ cup rasam rice
• ½ cup cabbage poriyal
• 1 cup pumpkin and lentil stew (with ½ cup pumpkin, ½ cup dal)

Snack:

• ½ fist sauteed spiced paneer
• 1 pear
• 1 black tea/coffee

Dinner:

• Veg+soy bean curry (½ cup each)
• 1 radish paratha
• 1 cup mix veg raita (with ¾ cup veg)

Day 3

Breakfast:

• 2 adais (lentil dosa)
• 1 cup aviyal (vegetable and coconut stew)
• 1 cup tea/coffee

Lunch:

• ½ cup pulao
• 1 cup Green salad
• 1 fist Quick Paneer tikka

Snack:

• 1 Banana
• 1 black tea/coffee

Dinner:

• ½ cup ridgegourd or other vegetable chutney
• ½ cup spiced soy bean
• 2 dosas
• 1 cup yoghurt

Roti and paneer bhurji

Day 4

Breakfast:

• 1 cup tea/coffee
• 1 fist paneer bhurji with ½ cup tomato, onion, mushroom
• 1 slice toast

Lunch:

• ½ cup rice
• ½ cup beans/carrot sambar (¼ cup veg+¼ cup dal)
• ½ cup bhindi sabzi
• ½ cup yoghurt

Snack:

• 1 scoop Whey+apple smoothie

Dinner:

• 1 cup veg stew/kurma
• ½ cup rice
• ¼ cup Grated carrot salad with ¼ cup chickpeas

Day 5

Breakfast:

• 1 cup tea/coffee
• ½ cup Overnight oats with 100 gms Greek yoghurt +1 grated apple

Lunch:

• ½ cup Jeera pulao
• ¾ cup rajma in tomato/onion gravy (½ cup rajma+¼ cup gravy)
• ½ cup Ivy gourd (kundru) sabzi

Snacks:

• Broccoli and paneer tikki (with ½ cup broccoli + ½ fist paneer+¼ cup oats)
• 1 green tea

Dinner:

• Palak tofu (1 cup palak, 1 fist tofu, without cream)
• 1 roti
• Mixed veg raita with ¼ cup veg

Day 6

Breakfast:

• 1 cup tea/coffee
• 2 besan ka cheela with ½ cup tomato onion chutney

Lunch:

• Stuffed bell pepper (½ cup rice, ½ cup veg, ½ fist paneer)
• ½ cup salad (lettuce, cucumber, cherry tomato)

Snacks:

• ½ scoop Whey protein shake
• 1 cup papaya

Dinner: Eating out

• ½ fist Tofu satay
• 1 cup Veg curry
• 1 cup jasmine rice

Day 7

Breakfast:

• 1 cup tea/coffee
• ½ cup spiced soy bean, ½ cup mushroom and spinach
• 1 cup melon

Lunch:

• 1½ cup pulao (½ cup veg/½ cup rice)
• 1½ cup black dal (1 cup lentils)

Snacks:

• 1 glass coconut water
• ½ cup cucumber, tomato and bell peppers

Dinner:Eating out

• 3 slices Paneer and Veg Pizza (½ fist paneer+½ fist cheese+¼ cup veg)
• ¾ cup Caesar salad

VEGETARIAN (WITH EGGS) DIET PLAN

Day 1

Breakfast:

• 2 egg omelette with ½ cup tomato, onion, capsicum
• 1 orange
• 1 cup tea/coffee

Lunch:

• ½ cup egg rice with 1 egg
• ¾ cup dal (½ cup lentils)
• ½ cup cauliflower
• ½ cup yoghurt

Snacks:

• ½ scoop Whey fruit smoothie with ½ cup milk, 1 banana

Dinner:

• 1 cup veg stir fry
• Mutter paneer with 1 fist paneer
• ½ cup jeera rice
• ½ cup green salad

Masala omelette

Day 2

Breakfast:

• 1 cup tea/coffee
• Whey fruit smoothie (½ scoop whey, 1 banana, ½ cup milk, ¼ cup oats)

Lunch:

• 2 boiled eggs
• ½ cup Rasam Rice
• 1 cup cabbage poriyal
• ½ cup pumpkin kootu (with ¼ cup dal, ¼ cup pumpkin)

Snacks:

• 1 fist sauteed spiced paneer
• 1 pear
• 1 black tea/coffee

Dinner:

• Veg+soy bean curry (½ cup each)
• 1 radish paratha
• 1 cup mix veg raita (with ½ cup veg

Day 3

Breakfast:

• ½ scoop whey in water
• 1 adai (lentil dosa)
• 1 cup aviyal (vegetable and coconut stew)
• 1 cup tea/coffee

Lunch:

• ½ cup roast potatoes
• 1 cup Green salad
• 1 fist paneer tikka

Snacks:

• 1 Banana
• 100 gms Greek yoghurt
• 1 black tea/coffee

Dinner:

• 2 scrambled eggs
• ½ cup onion-tomato chutney
• 2 small dosas

Paneer tikka

Day 4

Breakfast:

• 1 cup tea/coffee
• 1 fist paneer bhurji with ¼ cup tomato, onion, mushroom

Lunch:

• ½ cup rice
• ½ cup beans/carrot sambar (¼ cup veg+¼ cup dal)
• 1 cup bhindi sabzi
• 100 gms Greek yoghurt

Snacks:

• 1 boiled egg
• 1 glass Coconut water

Dinner:

• 1 cup veg stew
• ¾ cup rice
• 1 fist spiced soy bean

Day 5

Breakfast:

• 1 cup tea/coffee
• Fruit with Greek yoghurt (200 gms Greek yoghurt +1 grated apple)

Lunch:

• ½ cup Jeera pulao
• 2 boiled eggs
• ¼ cup rajma in ¼ cup tomato/ onion gravy
• 1 cup Ivy gourd (kundru) sabzi

Snacks:

• Broccoli and paneer tikki (with ½ cup broccoli + ½ fist paneer+¼ cup oats)
• 1 green tea

Dinner:

• Palak tofu (¾ cup palak,½ fist tofu)
• 1 roti
• Mixed veg raita with ½ cup veg

Day 6

Breakfast:

• 1 cup tea/coffee
• 1 besan ka cheela with ½ cup green chutney

Lunch:

• Stuffed bell pepper (½ cup rice, ½ cup veg, 1 fist paneer)
• ½ cup salad (lettuce, cucumber, cherry tomatoes)

Snacks:

• ½ scoop Whey smoothie with 1 cup papaya
• ½ cup spiced soy bean/ edamame

Dinner:Eating out

• Sesame ginger baked tofu (1 fist tofu)
• 1 cup veg stir fry
• ½ cup jasmine rice

Day 7

Breakfast:

• 1 cup tea/coffee
• 3 egg omelette with ¼ cup mushroom and spinach
• ½ cup melon

Lunch:

• 1½ cup pulao (½ cup veg/ ½ fist paneer/ ½ cup rice)
• ½ cup green salad
• 100 gms Greek yoghurt

Snacks:

• 1 glass coconut water
• ¼ cup cucumber, tomato, bell peppers

Dinner: Eating out

• 2 slices Paneer and Veg Pizza (½ fist paneer+½ fist cheese)
• 1 cup Caesar salad

NON-VEGETARIAN DIET PLAN

Day 1

Breakfast:

• 2 egg omelette with ½ cup tomato, onion, capsicum
• 1 orange
• 1 cup tea/coffee

Lunch:

• ½ cup egg rice with 1 egg
• ½ cup dal
• ½ cup cauliflower
• ½ cup yoghurt

Snacks:

• ½ scoop Whey smoothie with ½ cup milk + 1 banana

Dinner:

• 1 cup veg stir fry
• 1 fist chicken breast
• ½ cup jeera rice
• ½ cup green salad

Day 2

Breakfast:

• 1 cup tea/coffee
• Whey smoothie (½ scoop whey, 1 banana, ½ cup milk, ½ cup oats)

Lunch:

• 2 boiled eggs
• ½ cup Rasam Rice
• 1 cup cabbage poriyal
• ½ cup pumpkin kootu (with ¼ cup pumpkin+¼ dal)

Snacks:

• 1 fist Quick paneer tikka
• 1 pear
• 1 black tea/coffee

Dinner:

• Veg+soy bean curry (½ cup each)
• 1 small radish paratha
• Mix veg raita (with ½ cup veg)

Day 3

Breakfast:

• 1 adai
• 1 cup aviyal
• 1 cup tea/coffee

Lunch:

• 1 fist Arabic chicken
• ½ cup roast potatoes
• 1 cup Green salad

Snacks:

• 1 Banana
• 1 cup Greek yoghurt
• 1 black tea/coffee

Dinner:

• 2 scrambled eggs
• ½ cup onion-tomato chutney
• 1 dosa
• 1 black tea/coffee

Day 4

Breakfast:

• 1 cup tea/coffee
• 1 fist paneer bhurji with ¼ cup tomato, onion, mushroom

Lunch:

• ½ cup rice
• ½ cup carrot/beans sambar (¼ cup veg+¼ cup dal)
• 1 cup bhindi

Snacks:

• 2 boiled eggs
• 1 glass Coconut water

Dinner:

• 1 cup veg stew
• ¾ cup rice

1 fist fish curry

Rice and fish curry

Day 5

Breakfast:

• 1 cup tea/coffee
• Fruit with Greek yoghurt (200 gms Greek yoghurt +1 grated apple)

Lunch:

• ½ cup Jeera pulao
• 2 boiled eggs
• ½ cup rajma in tomato/onion gravy (¼ cup rajma)
• ½ cup Ivy gourd (kundru) sabzi

Snacks:

• Broccoli and paneer tikki (with ½ cup broccoli + ½ fist paneer+¼ cup oats)
• 1 green tea

Dinner:

• Palak chicken curry (1 cup palak, ½ fist chicken)
• 1 roti
• Mixed veg raita with ½ cup veg

Day 6

Breakfast:

• 1 cup tea/coffee
• 1 besan ka cheela with ¼ cup tomato-onion chutney

Lunch:

• Stuffed bell pepper (½ cup rice, ½ cup veg, 1 fist paneer)
• 1 cup salad (lettuce, cucumber, cherry tomatoes)

Snacks:

• 1 scoop Whey smoothie with 1 cup papaya

Dinner:Eating out:

• Sesame ginger baked tofu (¾ cup broccoli/bell peppers/carrot/ zucchini+1 fist tofu)
• ½ cup jasmine rice

Day 7

Breakfast:

• 1 cup tea/coffee
• 3 egg omelette with ½ cup mushroom and spinach
• ½ cup melon

Lunch:

• 1½ cup pulao (½ cup veg/ ½ fist paneer/1 cup rice)
• ½ cup green salad
• ½ cup yoghurt

Snacks:

• 1 glass coconut water

Dinner:Eating out

• 2 slices Pepperoni and cheese Pizza (½ fist meat+½ fist cheese)
• 1 cup Caesar salad

Vegetable pulao

5 Easy weight loss tips for daily use

Here are 5 tips that will help you get the most out of the weight loss diet plan:

Tip 1: Snack on fruits

We know that snacks and sugar cravings are a real problem for most people. That is we focus a lot on solving this in our coaching programme. Fruits are a great option for a snack. You can have 2-3 fruits a day – like banana, apple, orange and any other fruit in season.

Eat the fruit, not the juice.

Chewing and eating food helps signal to your brain that you are full.

Tip 2: Water is your friend

Whether you are feeling like a snack or craving sugar, always have a glass of water first. This will help as in many cases you are actually thirsty, not hungry. We find that having a glass of water before a meal can also help some people eat more mindfully.

Tip 3: Keep cooking simple

If cooking or getting a lot of vegetables is hard, you can use raw cut vegetables like tomato, carrot, cucumber & capcisum as a side salad. Add some lime, salt & pepper for taste.

Tip 4: If you fall off the plan, get right back

There will be days when you give in to temptation and binge or a social occasion where you overeat. Do not dwell on it, you are human. The key is to get right back on track the next day.

One bad day is never a problem, the problem is when it becomes a habit.

Prevent that by getting back on plan the next day.

Tip 5: Make sleep a priority

If you do not sleep enough, you might struggle with weight loss even with a good diet & exercise. Also, poor sleep increases cravings for food and sugar and you will find that you always eat poorly late at night. Avoid all of these problems by having good sleep hygiene. It will improve your health, your mood as well as your weight loss results.

How to track your diet plan for weight loss

An important point to keep in mind is to set realistic goals for yourself when it comes to weight loss. Here are a few things to bear in mind:

BMI

Body Mass Index or BMI has been around for a long time and is a commonly used measure to check if you’re at a healthy weight. What you may not know is that the range of BMI for Asians (and Indians) isnot the sameas the global WHO guidelines. This is partly due to genetics which means that Indians are at higher risk of diseases like Diabetes at lower BMIs. Here is a snapshot of the WHO and Asian BMI cut-off points. Be sure to track your BMI using the Asia-Pacific column on the right. Normal BMI per this is under 23.

Waist-height ratio

If you’d like a more accurate measure than BMI, try the Waist-Height ratio (WHR). It’s better than BMI as a measure of health. The WHR measure says that your waist should be less than half your height. Measure your waist around your belly button, and not your trouser size.

Research over the last 30 years has shown that fat accumulation around the waist is much more problematic than elsewhere. So dealing with this is the best way to avoid health issues like Diabetes. In theDaily9 coaching programme, we use WHR and track it throughout the programme.

Rate of weight loss

It is important to focus on fat loss and not just weight loss. The body will only burn fat at a certain rate and it helps to be aware of that. You need to appreciate that the weight gain did not happen suddenly, so expecting it to disappear suddenly is not realistic. If you lose too much weight too fast, you are losing water weight & muscle, we do not want that.

In general, a weight loss of 500-750 grams per week is realistic.

While this may not sound like a lot, that’s about 2kgs in a month and in 6-12m that can help you lose most or all of your excess weight. These are the kind of results we consistently see in theDaily9 coaching programme.

Make a start with your weight loss journey using the diet plans mentioned in this article. Also track your WHR in parallel. You will find that using the plans above will help you improve your WHR and bring it closer to the goal of 0.5.

D9’s Weight loss program

We’ve worked with thousands of Indian men and women and understand the unique challenges they face when trying to lose weight or find a healthy diet plan for weight loss. You can see some of our success stories here. The Daily9 system is proven to work as an effective weight loss diet plan. The expert coaches at Daily9 have developed practical ideas and strategies that work in real life and improve the weight loss that you can achieve with Daily9. This helps with weight loss and also many health conditions that Indian men and women face like digestive issues, diabetes, PCOS, thyroid, fatty liver and joint problems from excess weight.

While there are many calorie counters and weight loss programs out there, we believe that a focus on quality & nutrition (and not just calories) is critical for any weight loss diet plan. Instead of tracking calories, we believe in tracking healthy habits at Daily9.

Most importantly, the Daily9 healthy diet plan for weight loss is practical and suits an Indian family environment. This will set you up for success with weight loss and also weight maintenance in the long run.

If you’re looking for a scientific and practical approach to weight loss, take a look at theDaily9 coaching programme. It’s the only program that helps with weight loss and weight maintenance.

About the Author

Coach Kannan

Kannan is a Precision Nutrition & ISSA Certified Nutrition Coach and a ACE-Certified Behavior Change Specialist. Kannan focuses on ideas that are scientific and also work in the real world. He is allergic to advice that is unscientific or not practical.