Best Indian Diet Plan for Weight Loss
Are you looking for the best Indian diet plan to lose weight? The rules are simple. All you need to do is start eating right. But in India, this can feel like an insurmountable challenge, given our food culture and dietary habits. For instance, a typical Indian meal is high in carbohydrates and sugar – we eat a lot of potatoes, rice and sweets. We also love our snacks and can’t imagine a day without our fix of namkeens and bhujias. We pressurize our friends and family into eating too much, as a sign of hospitality and affection, and consider refusing an extra helping a rebuff. To top it all, we’ve never embraced physical exercise as essential. It’s no wonder that India is battling a growing obesity problem.
But the answer doesn’t lie in shunning Indian food in favour of foreign ingredients or fad diets. You’ll find that the best Indian diet plan consists of foods you’ve already got in your kitchen and that you can lose weight by making a few changes to your diet.
Table of Contents
Understand the Science Behind Weight Loss
Weight loss and gain, revolve around caloric consumption and expenditure. You lose weight when you consume fewer calories than you expend. Conversely, you gain weight when you consume more calories than you expend. To drop those excess kilos, all you need to do is eat within your calorie budget and burn the required number of calories. A combination of the two works best suggest experts. Get your daily requirement of calorie consumption and burn based on your lifestyle and dietary preferences, by signing up on HealthifyMe.
However, simply determining how many calories your body needs isn’t enough. After all, four samosas (600 calories), two slices of pizza (500 calories) and two gulab jamuns (385 calories) may be within your daily requirement of 1500 calories, but these unhealthy food choices will eventually lead to other health problems like high cholesterol and blood sugar. To lose weight the healthy way, you also need to ensure your diet is balanced i.e. it covers all food groups and provides all the nutrients you need necessary for good health.
The Best Indian Diet Plan for Weight Loss
No single food provides all the calories and nutrients the body needs to stay healthy. That’s why a balanced diet comprising of macronutrients like carbohydrates, protein and fat along with micronutrients such as vitamins and minerals, is recommended.
The best Indian diet for weight loss is a combination of the five major food groups – fruits and vegetables, cereals and pulses, meat and dairy products, and fats and oils. Knowing how to divvy up the food groups, allocate portion sizes, and the best/ideal time to eat is also important.
1200 Calorie Diet Plan
A lot can be spoken about what goes into an ideal diet chart. However, one’s nutritional requirement varies based on various factors. It could change depending on gender, for example, male dietary requirements vary from that of a female. Geography can play a role as well, with North Indian diets being largely different from South Indian ones. Meal preferences come into play since the consumption of food by a vegetarian or a vegan differing largely from that by a non-vegetarian.
However, we have put together a diet plan for weight loss with Indian food. This 7 day diet plan, 1200 calorie diet plan is a sample, and should not be followed by any individual without consulting with a nutritionist.
Day 1:
- After starting your day with cucumber water, have oats porridge and mixed nuts for breakfast.
- Have a roti with dal and gajar matar sabzi for lunch.
- Follow that up with dal and lauki sabzi to go with a roti for dinner.
| Day 1 | Diet Chart |
| 6:30 AM | Cucumber Detox Water(1 glass) |
| 8:00 AM | Oats Porridge in Skimmed Milk(1 bowl) Mixed Nuts(25 grams) |
| 12:00 PM | Skimmed Milk Paneer(100 grams) |
| 2:00 PM | Mixed Vegetable Salad(1 katori) |
| 2:10 PM | Dal(1 katori)Gajar Matar Sabzi(1 katori) Roti (1 roti/chapati) |
| 4:00 PM | Cut Fruits(1 cup)Buttermilk(1 glass) |
| 5:30 PM | Tea with Less Sugar and Milk(1 teacup) |
| 8:50 PM | Mixed Vegetable Salad(1 katori) |
| 9:00 PM | Dal(1 katori)Lauki Sabzi(1 katori) Roti (1 roti/chapati) |
Day 2:
- On the second day, eat a mixed vegetable stuffed roti with curd for breakfast.
- For lunch, have half a katori of methi rice along with lentil curry.
- End your day with sauteed vegetables and green chutney.
| Day 2 | Diet Chart |
| 6:30 AM | Cucumber Detox Water(1 glass) |
| 8:00 AM | Curd(1.5 katori)Mixed Vegetable Stuffed Roti(2 piece) |
| 12:00 PM | Skimmed Milk Paneer(100 grams) |
| 2:00 PM | Mixed Vegetable Salad(1 katori) |
| 2:10 PM | Lentil Curry(0.75 bowl)Methi Rice(0.5 katori) |
| 4:00 PM | Apple(0.5 small (2-3/4″ dia))Buttermilk(1 glass) |
| 5:30 PM | Coffee with Milk and Less Sugar(0.5 tea cup) |
| 8:50 PM | Mixed Vegetable Salad(1 katori) |
| 9:00 PM | Sauteed Vegetables with Paneer(1 katori)Roti (1 roti/chapati) Green Chutney(2 tablespoon) |
Day 3:
- Breakfast on day 3 would include Multigrain Toast and Skim Milk Yogurt.
- In the afternoon, have sauteed vegetables with paneer and some green chutney.
- Half a katori of methi rice and some lentil curry to make sure you end the day on a healthy note.
| Day 3 | Diet Chart |
| 6:30 AM | Cucumber Detox Water(1 glass) |
| 8:00 AM | Skim Milk Yoghurt(1 cup (8 fl oz))Multigrain Toast(2 toast) |
| 12:00 PM | Skimmed Milk Paneer(100 grams) |
| 2:00 PM | Mixed Vegetable Salad(1 katori) |
| 2:10 PM | Sauteed Vegetables with Paneer(1 katori)Roti (1 roti/chapati) Green Chutney(2 tablespoon) |
| 4:00 PM | Banana(0.5 small (6″ to 6-7/8″ long))Buttermilk(1 glass) |
| 5:30 PM | Tea with Less Sugar and Milk(1 teacup) |
| 8:50 PM | Mixed Vegetable Salad(1 katori) |
| 9:00 PM | Lentil Curry(0.75 bowl)Methi Rice(0.5 katori) |
Day 4:
- Start Day 4 with a Fruit and Nuts Yogurt Smoothie and Egg Omelette
- Follow that up with Moong Dal, Bhindi Sabzi, and roti.
- Complete the day’s food intake with steamed rice and palak chole.
| Day 4 | Diet Chart |
| 6:30 AM | Cucumber Detox Water(1 glass) |
| 8:00 AM | Fruit and Nuts Yogurt Smoothie(0.75 glass) Egg Omelette(1 serve(one egg)) |
| 12:00 PM | Skimmed Milk Paneer(100 grams) |
| 2:00 PM | Mixed Vegetable Salad(1 katori) |
| 2:10 PM | Green Gram Whole Dal Cooked(1 katori)Bhindi sabzi(1 katori) Roti (1 roti/chapati) |
| 4:00 PM | Orange(1 fruit (2-5/8″ dia))Buttermilk(1 glass) |
| 5:30 PM | Coffee with Milk and Less Sugar(0.5 tea cup) |
| 8:50 PM | Mixed Vegetable Salad(1 katori) |
| 9:00 PM | Palak Chole(1 bowl)Steamed Rice(0.5 katori) |
Day 5:
- Have a glass of skimmed milk and peas poha for breakfast on the fifth day.
- Eat a missi roti with low fat paneer curry in the afternoon.
- End the day with roti, curd and aloo baingan tamatar ki sabzi.
| Day 5 | Diet Chart |
| 6:30 AM | Cucumber Detox Water(1 glass) |
| 8:00 AM | Skimmed Milk(1 glass)Peas Poha(1.5 katori) |
| 12:00 PM | Skimmed Milk Paneer(100 grams) |
| 2:00 PM | Mixed Vegetable Salad(1 katori) |
| 2:10 PM | Low Fat Paneer Curry(1.5 katori)Missi Roti(1 roti) |
| 4:00 PM | Papaya(1 cup 1″ pieces)Buttermilk(1 glass) |
| 5:30 PM | Tea with Less Sugar and Milk(1 teacup) |
| 8:50 PM | Mixed Vegetable Salad(1 katori) |
| 9:00 PM | Curd(1.5 katori)Aloo Baingan Tamatar Ki Sabzi(1 katori) Roti (1 roti/chapati) |
Day 6:
- On Day 6, have idli with sambar for breakfast
- For lunch, roti with curd and aloo baingan tamatar ki sabzi
- To end Day 6, eat green gram with roti and bhindi sabzi
| Day 6 | Diet Chart |
| 6:30 AM | Cucumber Detox Water(1 glass) |
| 8:00 AM | Mixed Sambar(1 bowl)Idli(2 idli) |
| 12:00 PM | Skimmed Milk Paneer(100 grams) |
| 2:00 PM | Mixed Vegetable Salad(1 katori) |
| 2:10 PM | Curd(1.5 katori)Aloo Baingan Tamatar Ki Sabzi(1 katori) Roti (1 roti/chapati) |
| 4:00 PM | Cut Fruits(1 cup)Buttermilk(1 glass) |
| 5:30 PM | Coffee with Milk and Less Sugar(0.5 tea cup) |
| 8:50 PM | Mixed Vegetable Salad(1 katori) |
| 9:00 PM | Green Gram Whole Dal Cooked(1 katori)Bhindi sabzi(1 katori) Roti (1 roti/chapati) |
Day 7:
- On the seventh day, start with besan chilla and green garlic chutney.
- Have steamed rice and palak chole for lunch.
- End the week on a healthy note with low fat paneer curry and missi roti.
| Day 7 | Diet Chart |
| 6:30 AM | Cucumber Detox Water(1 glass) |
| 8:00 AM | Besan Chilla(2 cheela)Green Garlic Chutney(3 tablespoon) |
| 12:00 PM | Skimmed Milk Paneer(100 grams) |
| 2:00 PM | Mixed Vegetable Salad(1 katori) |
| 2:10 PM | Palak Chole(1 bowl)Steamed Rice(0.5 katori) |
| 4:00 PM | Apple(0.5 small (2-3/4″ dia))Buttermilk(1 glass) |
| 5:30 PM | Tea with Less Sugar and Milk(1 teacup) |
| 8:50 PM | Mixed Vegetable Salad(1 katori) |
| 9:00 PM | Low Fat Paneer Curry(1 katori)Missi Roti(1 roti) |