Ayurveda’s Comprehensive Guide on Weight Management! General Health/Immunity
Ayurveda’s Comprehensive Guide on Weight Management!
MARCH 30, 2023

Guide to Weight Management in Ayurveda

Our body weight defines how healthy we are. For example, if you weigh 50 kg and are 6 feet 2 inches tall, your BMI may show you are underweight. If you are 5 feet 2 inches tall and weigh 80 kg, your BMI may label you overweight.

But is that all about healthy weight management?

The concept of healthy weight management goes beyond BMI. First‌, it depends on how comfortable you feel at a particular body weight. Second, it depends on your lifestyle to maintain your preferred body weight.

If your lifestyle choices for weight management are healthy, you can say you are healthily maintaining your body weight.

But what is healthy? And what is unhealthy while managing weight?

Here’s a comprehensive guide discussing ayurvedic weight management‌. If you wish to maintain a healthy body weight, this post can help you.

Ayurveda’s Perspective on Weight

Before learning about ayurvedic remedies for weight loss and weight gain, let us see what Ayurveda says about weight management and obesity.

Ayurveda suggests:

  • Uncontrolled body weight can be related to ‘sthoulya or medo roga.’
  • According to Ayurveda, Agni, and Vata, vitiation leads to Visamagni (erratic digestion).
  • Agni and Pitta vitiation lead to Teekshnagni (overactive metabolism).
  • While Agni and Kapha vitiation can cause Mandagni (slow metabolism), which can increase body weight.
  • Excessive consumption of sweets, oily, and cold foods can lead to Kapha vitiation. This also results in fat deposition.
  • When the metabolism slows down (Mandagni), and the Kapha dosha is imbalanced, Ama (toxins) get accumulate in the body, which can disrupt the functioning of medho dhatu (body fat).
  • So, the root cause of obesity lies in the disturbance of the Kapha Dosha and Medho Dhatu, which can be considered as the primary culprits responsible for this condition.

The faulty fat metabolism may become optimized by following the tips for Ayurvedic management of obesity. This is necessary and helpful for maintaining a healthy body weight.

Ayurvedic Weight Loss Secrets & Weight Gain Tips

Weight management is comprehensive. Whether you are underweight, trying to gain weight, or overweight, trying to lose, the process takes time. There are no healthy shortcuts to losing or gaining weight.

Indeed, various chemical methods, surgical methods, and extreme starvation or carb consumption may create some quick results. However, they can adversely affect your overall health.

Often, people go on extreme calorie deficits, aiming to lose kilograms in a week. This might have adverse effects on the body. It can make you feel low on energy, hindering your day-to-day tasks, dramatically lowering your blood pressure, and affecting various other bodily functions.

Similarly, substantially increasing your carbs and protein intake also isn’t healthy. Your body may not ‌process this overconsumption. Results - diarrhea, unhealthy gut, and other digestive concerns.

Also Read: Guide to Improving Gut Health & Digestion with Ayurveda

Ayurveda suggests a healthy lifestyle and healthy eating habits for weight management.

The next section will discuss Ayurvedic weight loss management and weight gain tips.

Weight Management & Nutrition

Whether you want to gain or lose weight, Ayurveda takes a holistic weight management process. Here are some tips on Ayurvedic treatment for weight loss and Ayurvedic treatment for weight gain.

Ayurveda to Gain Weight

While complex carbohydrates and unhealthy junk food can help you gain weight in a few weeks, this can adversely affect your body's health and shape.

Instead, Ayurveda offers natural methods to help you achieve healthy weight gain goals. Here are some tips:

  • Regular workout: Let’s break the widespread myth - workout isn’t necessary only to lose weight. When we work out, our body gains its natural shape. And when exercise is coupled with a healthy diet with sufficient carbohydrate and protein intake, the muscles in our body grow.

    However, skipping a workout and consuming carbs can increase unwanted body fat and the risk of obesity and similar concerns.

  • Include healthy foods rich in protein and carbohydrates: No, pizzas don’t count. But, of course, eating junk occasionally (once in two weeks) can be acceptable. However, for healthy gains, adding paneer, soybeans, cheese, buttermilk, milk, eggs, grains, wheat, etc., to your diet is crucial.

    If you also start working out each day, your metabolism improves. This will help you manage your weight.

  • Increase your appetite: Regular exercise is one way of increasing your appetite. You can also consider adding mild spices such as cinnamon, ginger, garlic, and cardamom to your diet in small quantities.

    These spices help stimulate the appetite.

  • Be mindful: One of the primary reasons people quit working out or their efforts to gain weight is absent-mindedness.

    Confusing, right?

    We may rarely recognize it, but our body reacts the best when our mind is focused.

    If you spend hours at the gym but aren’t mindful of the exercises, your body may not react as desired. This also happens because of improper breathing rhythm.

    Correct this, be mindful of your workout and eating habits, and you will see results.

  • Maintain a healthy digestive system: If your body doesn’t digest the food you eat correctly, your chances of gaining weight will diminish.

  • If you suspect your digestive system to be unhealthy, consult an Ayurvedic doctor.

    Consuming Kerala Ayurveda Triphala tablets after food or as directed by a professional can help manage constipation and digestive concerns. As your gut becomes healthy, your metabolism will also improve, helping you shed those extra kgs.

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Ayurvedic Fat Loss Methods

Some may suggest eliminating carbohydrates and going on an extreme calorie deficit to lose weight.

Asking the important question - “is that healthy?” NOT AT ALL!

When you give up on calories like this, your body’s energy levels drop, your digestive system goes haywire, your sleep is disturbed, hair concerns can crop up, skin care problems may arise, and you may feel easily irritated, stressed, and anxious.

You lose muscle, so your body will not be healthy or lean! Rather, it’ll be weak.

Instead, you can use the following Ayurvedic tips to lose weight naturally:

  • Set times for meals: Ayurveda suggests proper timing for all meals. Breakfast should happen before 10 am and should not be too heavy. Instead of consuming cold milk, cold cereal, or smoothies that are heavy to digest, consume light, warm, and freshly cooked food.

    The optimal time for lunch is between 12-2 pm (right when the sun is at its peak). This is because the stomach’s digestive fire, “Agni,” is most potent‌. Follow up your lunch with spiced buttermilk instead of curd.

    Dinner should take place between 6-8 pm and should be light. It’s advisable to avoid cold dairy products such as buttermilk, and curd, starch-containing foods such as pasta, and rice, excessively spicy foods, and greasy or oily foods.

    This will give your body enough time to digest the food. Plus, it can help maintain a healthy sleep cycle and digestive cycle.

  • Exercise daily: Whether you wish to gain or lose weight, exercise is essential.

    If you can burn more calories than you consume daily, you can lose weight each day (in fractions, of course).

    This will help you split your ultimate weight loss goal into smaller steps.

    Exercise is also crucial for maintaining heart health, directly linked to obesity. Kerala Ayurveda Liposem is a powerful blend of natural Medohara herbs like Vrikshamla, Guggulu, Arjuna, and some fat-scraping herbs. It's an Ayurvedic fat burner that can help manage weight by reducing fat and eliminating bad cholesterol.

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  • Drink hot water or green tea daily: Hot water or hot green tea can help pace your metabolism and detox your body naturally.

    Sipping a cup in the morning and one at an hour’s gap after lunch can help improve digestion and aid weight loss.

    Varunadi Kwath by Kerala Ayurveda is a popular natural remedy for weight management. This Ayurvedic medicine for weight loss is a blend of more than ten natural ingredients, including Varuna, Bhallathaka, Sahachara, Agni, Bilva, & Sigru, all of which are commonly used in Ayurveda for weight loss. Varunadi Kwath is known to improve metabolism and promote thyroid health, which can help with weight management.

Panchakarma for Weight Management

In Ayurveda, weight management is approached holistically. Panchakarma (Ayurvedic treatment procedures) can be used for weight loss and weight gain management. This comprehensive therapy detoxifies and rejuvenates the body, balances the doshas, and promotes overall well-being, making it an effective tool for managing weight-related issues.

Panchakarma for Weight Loss

  • Udwarthana - Udwarthana is one of the traditional Ayurvedic massage for weight loss that uses herbal powders. The massage involves applying herbal powders to the body and rubbing them against the hair growth direction. This technique helps to eliminate excess fat and reduce cellulite, leading to weight loss and enhanced skin texture.
  • Swedana - Swedana (sudation therapy) is a traditional Ayurvedic treatment that involves inducing sweat to remove toxins and promote weight loss. During the treatment, the body is heated to promote sweating, which helps to release toxins and burn excess fat.
  • Virechana - Virechana is an Ayurvedic panchakarma procedure that uses a herbal laxative to eliminate toxins from the body, improve metabolism, and promote weight loss. The process of purgation helps to cleanse the digestive system, improve metabolism, and eliminate excess fat from the body.

Panchakarma for Weight Gain

  • Abhyanga - Abhyanga is a popular Ayurvedic massage therapy that can be a great way to help with weight gain. This practice involves using warm oil to massage the entire body, which can help increase circulation, improve digestion, and stimulate the lymphatic system. Doing so can help nourish and strengthen the body, promoting healthy weight gain.
  • Annalepam - Annalepana is a unique swedana procedure in Ayurveda. It combines medicated milk, special rice, and herbs to nourish the paste. This paste is then applied externally to the body to help strengthen and nourish the body tissues, muscles, and other soft tissues.

Also read: A Comprehensive Guide to Panchakarma and Its Benefits

As an Ayurveda treatment for weight loss and gain, Panchakarma therapy is a holistic approach that can offer numerous benefits for weight management. The above mentioned techniques can detoxify and rejuvenate the body, balance the doshas, and promote overall well-being, making them practical tools for managing weight-related issues. However, it should only be performed under the guidance of a qualified Ayurvedic practitioner to ensure that the treatment is appropriate for your specific health needs.

Herbs for Weight Management

The world of Ayurveda is brimming with natural herbs offering hundreds of health benefits.

Even for weight management, several herbs can be helpful. For reference, here are two lists (with herbs for weight loss and with herbs for weight gain):

Ayurvedic Herbs for Weight Loss:

  • Fenugreek
  • Pepper
  • Ginger
  • Guggul
  • Triphala
  • Gurmar
  • Garcinia

Ayurvedic Herbs to Gain Weight:

Key Takeaways

Losing or gaining weight to get the body of your dreams can be challenging‌. However, it isn’t unachievable. This blog shares a comprehensive Ayurvedic weight management guide to help our readers understand weight loss and weight gain and how they work with Ayurveda.

Let’s ‌look at what we learned:

  • Losing or gaining weight healthily is impossible without a proper diet and workout routine.
  • Weight management is more about what you eat than how much you exercise.
  • Ayurveda suggests various tips to gain and lose weight naturally.
  • Ayurvedic herbs such as fenugreek, pepper, ginger, Guggul, Triphala, and Garcinia can help you lose weight.
  • Herbs such as ashwagandha, satavari, etc., can help you gain weight.

Hopefully, this information helps you manage your weight as per your desire.

Frequently Asked Questions

Panchakarma therapy can detoxify your body from its core. Procedures like udwarthana, swedana, and virechana, using authentic Ayurveda medicines and oils, can aid in weight loss. However, it's crucial to seek guidance from a qualified Ayurvedic practitioner to ensure the treatment suits your unique health requirements. For details, ‌connect with our team. We’d be happy to help.

For desired results, one should only eat light while going through the process. The foods should be easy to digest and not comprise unhealthy oils or preservatives.

A diet that can help bring your body’s Kapha to its optimum levels can also help you lose weight. Also, if you are trying to lose weight, you must avoid consuming sugar.

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Ankitesh

Jan 24, 2023

Weight loss




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