A gastric surgeon recently recommended on national television that skipping breakfast is key to losing weight.

I wonder if he’s tired of stapling stomachs, creating bypasses, sucking kilos of fat cells (or whatever other services he provides), and having repeat customers in his office or on his operating table?

Due to the rates of obesity “expanding across the country”, with figures of 63% of Australians being overweight or obese (with various side effects which impact on our health and well-being), I agree that something has to change and I think it’s worth taking a few minutes to consider the doc’s recommendations.

As he mentioned, the contributing factors to our body’s weight are (& I think there’s a couple more…)

• how much we eat
• what we eat
• when we eat

It’s reported that in western 1st world countries, we currently eat 100% more than our bodies actually need.

The over supply in abundance is all around us – we can get anything we want whether it’s in season or not… the special things we used to treat ourselves to for occasions such as birthdays or Christmas are consumed whenever we want.

There are no periods of ‘short supplies’ that our ancestors had, and our health is showing the effects.

As a yoga health coach, I thought it would be good to have a look at this doctor’s recommendations from an Ayurvedic Medicine perspective.

This is a poo-poo of his recommendations… but knowledge is power right?

Do you know why, what he’s suggesting works or may not work for everyone? That’s where you will gain the deeper understanding and be able to make a healthier and wiser choice – not just follow this concept for a few days or weeks until the next ‘diet plan’ is promoted in the media.

DOC’S REGIMEN

1. ‘eating window’ from 1pm-7pm only (RATIONALE – eating throughout the day doesn’t allow for insulin levels to drop… translates to insulin resistance which leads to obesity)

​2​. restrict intake of refined carbohydrates

​​​3. only drink water, green tea and black coffee

​​4. spend the remaining 18 hours without consuming food (RATIONALE – allows the body to stop insulin production)

​​5. use the morning to exercise on an empty stomach

MODERN TAKE ON ANCIENT AYURVEDA

​1. eat during daylight hours, no more than 3 times a day, with lunch as the main event (RATIONALE – our digestive fire follows the earth’s fire i.e. the sun. So when the sun is hottest and highest in the sky, our digestion is at its peak)

​​2. eat according to the seasons – what is in ready supply, and add spices to support your dosha

​​3. only drink water between meals, and aim to finish caffeinated drinks by 10am or 12pm at the latest (RATIONALE – aim for meal spacing instead of meal stacking; and allows 10 hours for caffeine to be processed promotes sound sleep)

​​4. aim to complete the evening supper (lighter and smaller meal) at least 2-3hrs prior to bedtime to allow for minimum of 12 hours of fasting overnight (RATIONALE – gives the body time to digest before reclining and room for deeper digestion overnight)

​​5. tap into the morning energy to move, breath, cleanse & eliminate prior to eating anything to ready your body for nourishment (RATIONALE – create a clean slate for the new day ahead)

The points summarized here on the right-hand side are all part of the Healthy Eating Guidelines, one of the habits from the 10 habit Easeful Vitality health coaching program.

The points summarized here under the ‘Modern Take on Ancient Ayurveda’ are all part of the Healthy Eating Guidelines… one of the habits from my 10 Habit ~ Easeful Vitality, Health Coaching Program.

There are many ways to support and promote a healthy and happy body and helping it to release unnecessary weight by adopting these eating tips is a step in the right direction.

For more info or support – check this out