Ayurvedic medicine, is a traditional method that promotes internal cleansing for improved overall health. Our 16 Ayurveda Weight Loss Secrets stem from Ayurvedic remedies and are an excellent choice for those starting any diet as they are considered to be among the safest of all methods for losing fat and building a healthy lifestyle.
With our hectic lifestyles, and easy access to fast foods, it’s no real surprise to discover a few additional pounds have crept up on us. The good news is there are natural holistic remedies that can make the process of weight loss a lot easier, safer and healthier.
If you are a few pounds overweight or if you need to move many kilos, adding the methods taught within Ayurvedic practice will help you fight the fat, lose the weight and, more importantly, will help you keep it off.
According to Ayurveda, our health and well being is governed by three different energies, known as doshas.
The 3 Doshas are:
- Vata
- Pitta
- Kapha
While we all have our own unique combination of all three dosha energies, we usually have an abundance or are heavily influenced by one, or two.
If you struggle maintaining your weight, or find it difficult to lose weight, you will discover that this is almost always due to an imbalance of your Kapha Dosha energy.
To lose weight and shed excess body fat, you need to follow a dosha eating plan. This includes making changes to our diet, eating healthier foods and ensuring you participate in regular exercise.
The difference between normal diet programs and the Ayurveda Weight Loss Secrets, is that you must ensure that the changes you make to your diet and lifestyle are aimed at balancing the kapha in your body.
I believe the reason that so many people fail to shed weight, even after rigorously applying themselves, or those people who find they gain the weight back once returning to regular food patterns is because healthy eating and exercise alone is not providing the correct balance of dosha energies.
If we fail to balance Kapha, by reducing or increasing, then your enormous effort of dieting and exercise may be wasted. Luckily balancing doshas and Kapha is not difficult, once you know how.
Our content is reader-supported. When you buy through links in our posts we may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. We do not accept money for reviews. Learn More
What Is Kapha? Ayurvedic approach to weight loss.
Kapha is an essential energy. It is the energy responsible for strength, stability, protection and immunity. However you need to find and maintain the correct balance for your unique energetic makeup.
The reason? Excess Kapha quickly leads to weight gain.
Kapha has an energetic nature of protection. This means we revert to our survival instincts and wants us to keep hold of and store excess energy as fat. This survival instinct for storing fat ensured our ancestors had an energy source that would keep them alive during times of hardship.
Our modern circumstances means you are unlikely to ever encounter this hardship. However because Kapha is a protective energy, it is why you will find it hard to shift stored weight.
If you do not reduce kapha you will gain back any lost weight quickly. If kapha is not reduced then it naturally reverts back and maintains it’s desire to store any excess energy.
Symptoms of Kapha Imbalance – ayurvedic weight loss tips
The common reasons for imbalance in Kapha are:
Sleeping too much, and taking too little exercise;
Over indulging or taking an excess of heavy food or cold foods;
Over indulging or regular excess of sweet and/or salty foods;
Eating food groups that reduce digestive functioning (common known food groups are those that are heavily processed i.e. white bread);
Over eating on a daily basis or regular cycles of binge eating;
Eating at irregular or inappropriate times of the day;
Skipping breakfast and lunch and eating only an evening meal; *1
Accumulation of toxins stored in our tissues, due to poor diet, leads to simulated and rapid production of fat cells.
Note *1 – Skipping meals is counter productive. While it may seem that you are consuming fewer calories and eating the right types of food it will lead to kapha build up. The body literally doesn’t know when it will get its next meal, so goes into protection mode and stores fat.
Reduce Kapha With An Ayurveda Weight Loss Secrets Daily Routine
1. Portion
Eat smaller portions of food at more regular times throughout the day. To reduce kapha aim for 5 to 6 smaller portions every 2 to 3 hours, rather than 2 to 3 large meals every 4 to 5 hours.
You may find that you do not reduce the amount of food you eat over the day, instead you spread the intake more evenly and allow the body to find comfort in regular nutritious servings.
2. Fire In The Sky
Many of us enjoy the “main meal” of the day. And this can be slightly larger, but only slightly!
To reduce Kapha we need to enjoy this main meal around midday to 2pm. This is when our digestion is at it’s strongest.
Ayurveda teaches us that our internal digestive fire, or metabolism, is strongest when the fire in the sky, or the sun, is at its strongest. And we know, wherever we are in the world the sun is strongest at the middle of the day.
3. Warm & Soupy
Include warm soups as meals in your diet as often as possible. The reason for this is because they are very easy to digest. To reduce kapha we need to ensure we boost our digestive process.
4. Vegetarian Proteins
Try to achieve 30% of your daily intake being made up of vegetarian proteins. A small amount of white meat is acceptable. However it is important, especially when you begin, to avoid red meat wherever possible.
Proteins help to keep us feeling fuller for longer. The meat based proteins are harder for us to digest which is why plant proteins are preferable.
Some good and easily found plant based proteins include: Seitan, Tofu, Edamame, Tempeh, Lentils, Chick Peas, Green Peas, Spirulina, Soy Milk, Oatmeal, Chia Seeds and Nuts.
A wonderful recipe, that is both plant protein based and a warm soupy meal is Moong Dal Chaat.
5. Wholegrains – Ayurveda Weight Loss Secrets
Our Kapha reducing daily diet should include no more than 20% of wholegrains. This could include the porridge recipes that are made from wholegrains such as millet, quinoa, buckwheat, corn, etc.
Eat your wholegrain foods grains from morning to mid afternoon when digestion is strongest. Avoid all processed grains and cereals and keep intake of breads to a minimum.
6. Fruits & Vegetables
Fruits and vegetables should make up at least 50% of the food you eat. Include as much variety as possible. It is important when reducing Kapha to not replace sugary foods with overly sweet vegetables and fruit.
Keep your intake of the overly ripe, meaning usually sugar rich, fruits to a minimum and reserved for when you need a sweet treat.
7. Processed Food
On a diet to reduce Kapha we need to remove all processed foods from our diet.
The reason is that processed foods are heavily loaded with sugar and salt. Both of these impact weight loss and are the downfall of any healthy eating regime.
8. Salts
Salt is an important part of our diet. We do need some salts in our diet to stay healthy, however when Kapha reducing we should aim to gain this salt from a small amount added while preparing and cooking meals.
This means not adding raw salts to food after cooking.
The best salts that support our Ayurveda weight loss secrets are Black Salt, or Himalayan pink salt.
9. Spice – Ayurveda Weight Loss Secrets
A healthy Ayurvedic weight loss program should include a moderate amount of spices (all spices).
For a diet to reduce Kapha you can use any of the traditional ayurvedic spices in your cooking. One of the best Ayurvedic Remedies for losing weight is 1 or 2 daily servings of Water and Methi, Ajwain, Kali Jeeri Powder.
Include cinnamon for weight loss as well as turmeric, ginger, fennel, cloves, cardamom, cumin, fenugreek etc.
10. Dairy Foods
Kapha is a heavy energy. A key aspect of our Ayurveda Weight Loss Secrets is to limit heavy foods.
Some dairy foods are ‘heavy’. This includes cold milk.
When trying to reduce Kapha you should only consume warmed unhomogenized cow’s milk, yoghurt added to cooking (keep this less than ½ cup per day), and definitely no ice creams, custard, or heavy creams.
11. Cold & Chilled Drinks
Remember that a diet which aims to reduce Kapha means we need to keep our digestive system burning.
Avoid all chilled or cold drinks. These extinguish our digestive fire immediately.
The best drinks to take are warm herbal tea or warmed filtered water.
12. Stimulants
While many people enjoy alcohol and coffee, when reducing Kapha we need to cut these from our diet completely. This is crucial and is one of the absolutely essential and “must include” Ayurveda weight loss secrets to reduce Kapha.
13. Sugary Food
Avoid sugar and all of the artificial sweeteners.
The reason is twofold. Both are heavy to digest and sweetness (even the taste of the artificial sweeteners) increases kapha.
If you need to use a sweetener, use a small amount of honey. However if you do, make sure the honey is not heated, as when heated it produces ‘ama’ or toxins that build up in our tissues.
14. Salads – Ayurveda Weight Loss Secrets
One of the best of our Ayurveda Weight Loss Secrets is also one of the easiest to include.
Salads!
Salads are light and dry, so they are the opposite of Kapha. The best time to eat any of the salad groups is mid-morning to mid-afternoon when our digestive fire is strongest.
15. Warm Water
Really simple, but ultra effective is a simple warm water “spiced” drink.
For each cup of warm water add a small squeeze of fresh lemon juice and pinch of black salt.
You should only consume 1 cup per day and take it first thing in the morning, before eating.
16. Exercise
Yes! It had to be here. On all weight loss programs we need to exercise frequently.
To reduce Kapha we need to take a minimum of 45 minutes per day. This is essential.
The best Kapha exercises are the gentle forms. Those that can be done over an extended period, include stretching and maintain body-mind balance. Examples are walking, yoga, Tai Chi and Qi Gong.
Ayurvedic Herbs For Weight Loss.
There are specific Ayurveda weight loss herbs and herbal formulations that you can add to your diet to boost weight loss and reduce Kapha. Popular examples of homemade ayurvedic powder for weight loss are:
- Ashta Churna,
- Trikatu Churna,
- Hinguvachadi Gulika
- Triphala Guggulu
One of the most popular is Patanjali Ayurvedic medicine for weight loss.
Best Ayurvedic Medicine For Weight Loss.
Ayurvedic detox (panchakarma) is beneficial when trying to accelerate weight loss.
It gives our digestion a chance to rest, while clearing the toxins from our system.
Ayurvedic detox helps to reset a healthy metabolism and supports our body to find its natural balance.
One of the best Ayurvedic Detox ingredients is the simple Turmeric root.
Turmeric Tea Detox For Weight Loss
Turmeric is not just a herb used for culinary purposes. You can gain amazing health benefits simply by drinking turmeric paste diluted in warm water every morning.
This helps to improve digestion and metabolism, and an essential step when using the Ayurveda Weight Loss Secrets.
Here are some of the other amazing health benefits of drinking turmeric water every morning on an empty stomach.
Promotes weight loss.
Drinking turmeric water, or turmeric tea, prevents fat accumulation and has a very positive impact on the process of weight loss.
Curcumin, found in turmeric, has been found to prevent fat accumulation in the adipose tissues. While there are many home remedies for weight loss, the curcumin found naturally in turmeric makes this spice an excellent natural choice to burn belly fat.
Improves digestion and metabolism.
Another surprising health benefit of drinking turmeric water is that it improves digestion and your metabolism. This is due to the turmeric enhancing our body’s ability to produce bile, which is crucial to a healthy digestive system.
Relieves arthritis symptoms.
Curcumin, found in turmeric, has anti-inflammatory properties. It has been shown to help relieve rheumatoid arthritis symptoms.
Protects your body from infections.
Turmeric contains antibacterial, antiviral, and antimicrobial properties that make it an excellent natural alternative to protect the body from various infections.
Keeps you looking young.
Drinking warm turmeric water can help slow the ageing process and prevent premature aging due to free radicals in the body. This is largely due to the presence of curcumin, which can eliminate free radicals effectively.
For weight loss, here’s how to make turmeric tea for quick weight loss.
Turmeric Tea Ayurveda Weight Loss Secrets
Ingredients.
- 1 tsp Turmeric paste.
- 1 tsp Ginger paste (optional).
- 1 cup Water.
Preparation method.
Place one cup of water in a small saucepan.
Add the turmeric and ginger pastes, stir and bring the water to a boil.
Turn off the heat and let the turmeric tea cool down to room temperature.
Your belly fat burning tonic is now ready to consume. Make sure to strain it before drinking.
In addition, to boost the Ayurveda weight loss secrets and benefits of the tea, you can add turmeric to your everyday diet. Add it to your vegetables, milk, smoothies, and salads to improve health and kickstart your weight loss.
Remember, as with any weight loss program, we must ensure our diet is healthy and we add light exercise to our daily routine.