9 simple ways to knock out the kilos in summer

Here’s what doctors often recommend to keep fit this season
1. Ensure you get seven hours of sleep
Much before you set upon a diet, make sure to get sufficient amount of sleep — ideally seven hours. Not getting enough of sleep can actually result in a hungry you. Yes, you read it right. Sleep deprivation causes ghrelin — an appetite-stimulating hormone — to shoot up. This results in a craving for carbohydrates, causing a rise in glucose and insulin. Besides, leading to fat storage, it also triggers off nocturnal eating.
2. Know your food
It’s for nothing that the stomach is considered the barometer of good health. And therefore it is necessary to know your food, as it can make all the difference to your intestinal lining. Avoid foods that bad bacteria, which include sugar, gluten, and dairy product. Ensure there is enough protein and high quality fats like coconut oil, olive oil and nuts. Eat pre-biotic foods (like onion, garlic, honey) and pro-biotic foods (like yoghurt and khimchi) for the gut.
3. Chew and sniff your food

This old-fashioned advice may seem at odds in today’s fast-paced life, however it will still come back to haunt you at the most unlikeliest times. Eating and chewing your food slowly helps to make you feel full, causing you to eat less. Another way to trick your brain to feel full is to smell food. It is the most inexpensive or hassle-free way to achieve satiety, especially for those who have a problem remembering to drink water or buy alternative health food to feel full.
4. Your plate makes a difference
Who’d have thought that the size and colour of your plate also plays a role in your weight loss. But studies have found out that the more similar the colour of your plate is with the meal, the more you tend to consume. Similarly, eating from a big plate also results in the same thing. So make sure to stock up on smaller plates and in colours that contrast with the food. The colour blue has been found to have had positive effects on eating habits.
5. Eat near a mirror
One way to trick yourself into eating less is to install a mirror in the dining room. This way you’ll be able to watch yourself eating, the things you’re eating and make you consider if that’s how you would like to continue. Also, ensure that the dining hall is well-lit. Contrary to romantic notions, a dimly-lit room will induce you to eat more.

6. Drink a lot of water
Everyone is aware of how water is essential to a human body and in losing weight. Doctors often recommend to drink more than a litre of water everyday, as a lack of it would cause a breakdown in the metabolic process. And a smooth metabolic movement helps to burn calories and keep your weight in control.
7. Skip the treadmill
For fitness buffs treadmill is their answer for everything, while others swear by their aerobics. Doctors, however, recommend to take on high intensity interval training (HIIT) instead. This means, combining walking with running; in doing that you burn more calories in less time. You can also try jumping or skipping, which have been found to be very effective in losing weight. Or join an exotic fitness regime like kalaripayattu or capoeira to add a fun element to losing weight. The idea is to not let your body get used to a set regime and avoid a plateau situation that hampers weight loss.
8. Stop eating after 7 pm
One tried-and-tested formula that weight-watchers swear by is to stop eating after 7 pm. And, believe it or not, some actually recommend you to skip breakfast twice a week. This, they believe, allows the body to go without eating for 14 to 16 hours, reduces insulin levels and burns fat.
9. Stock up smartly
It’s not just your diet that should have more of vegetables, but also your fridge. So ensure that it is full of fruits and veggies to help eat healthily. And make sure that you are not shopping on empty stomach as you’ll be tempted to buy unhealthy and unnecessary food when you are hungry.