The Best Weight Loss Strategy: Q And A With Ms. Sarah Farooqi

There is always a better way to lose weight. One that doesn’t involve fad diets, starvation periods and has balanced nutrition is always a winner. Today, we will talk about the best weight loss strategy for your body.

Ms. Sarah Farooqi is a leading dietician at Shapes and Founder at Better You. Sarah’s special interests include weight management, obesity, diabetes, heart disease and hypertension.

She helps her clients manage a balanced diet and a healthy lifestyle. 

In this session with oladoc, she talks about weight loss in detail: What leads to obesity, the best weight loss strategy, the importance of diet and exercise, emotional eating, and various bad habits that lead to weight gain.

Q.1. What are some reasons people regain weight after dieting?

Well, the first and most important reason is if you are following a fad diet. Fad diets are all those diets that claim to give you a quicker weight loss, such as apple diet or cabbage soup diet. Such diets are quite popular. And even though, you will lose weight but that is just your water and muscle weight and not your “fat weight”.

After being on such fad diets, one also becomes prone to binging. Once you lose weight after a fad diet and resettle in your usual food habits, you start to gorge on foods you previously missed out on. The binging then results in weight gain.

Another reason why people gain weight is when your body bounces back from a starvation mode. After you finally start eating from a period of an extremely low-calorie diet, the body stores the excess calories as fat.

Q.2. How can we choose one diet plan?

There is no one diet plan for everyone. Everyone’s body is different. Weight plans are decided according to a person’s weight, height, age and body type. I would like people to advise to not go for quick fixes or to google for any diet plans. Always consult a nutritionist for a customised and proper diet plan rather than any suspicious supplements or medicines.

Since fat storage takes quite a while to get added on the body, it also takes a  while to get rid of it. Balance your portions, eat healthily and exercise. 

Q.3. How does emotional eating make you gain weight?

When you are following your weight loss journey, we may be following a specific diet that limits your carb intake. You may find yourself craving sweets, chips or processed food. This is also called stress or emotional eating. You look for comfort in food and start emotional eating.

To counter this, look for a hobby or an activity that keeps you from craving unhealthy foods. You are not hungry, you are just bored.

Q.4. Which is more important: diet or exercise?

Both diet and exercise are important to lose weight. 80% weight loss is achieved by a proper diet plan and 20% of weight loss is achievable by exercise. If you are only following a strict diet and not doing any exercise, you would lose weight but it would be a slow process. Weight loss can be accelerated by a good diet plan and exercise.

Q.5. How do I begin to lose weight?

If you have decided to lose weight, it is important to set your mind towards a goal and have strong will power. And this is not exactly rocket science and if you put your mind towards it, it’s not that difficult. 

The first change that you have to make is to change your habits. What you can do is to restrict the food you are already taking. Similarly, keep a good water intake and eat at appropriate times. In addition, exercise to shed weight faster.

If you want to learn more about weight loss and management, watch the full interview. If you want to lose weight, consult a nutritionist immediately.

You can book an appointment with a top nutritionist in Karachi, Multan and Islamabad through oladoc.com, or call our helpline at 042-3890-0939 for assistance to find the RIGHT professional for your concerns.