A DIET Plan - EATING with science not false weight loss promises

At 6.47 pm Ravi burst into the clinic, sweating profusely he apologised for being held up in traffic. Leaving work sharp at 6 pm that evening to make his appointment with the Nutritionist, thoughts rushed through Ravi’s head,” I am only 26, the company doctor said I am pre diabetic, and my cholesterol levels are that of a 60 year old man”. The doctor asked him to eat better, exercise more and get less stressed. Easy for a man who has to talk to patients for 20 mins. Ravi thought I code 20 hrs. a day and earn more money than him.

Ravi looked haggard  when he stumbled into my consultation.  I greeted Ravi with a chirpy tone, only to be met with a grunted Hi!  Here was a worried 26 year old with the body of a 60 year old. 

So RAVI what’s the problem?? I ask…..Ravi proceed to give me his batting average over the next 45 mins… 

270 High Cholesterol, normal is 200 ( Doc I love butter chicken, I eat outside everyday especially roadside junk)

HbA1c( something  like a glucose memory test of 3months and how you have been abusing your body…you SHOULD get this test done),  his was 6.8….my grandmother had 6.2 when she passed away at 82.

Overweight by 7 kgs, Yeah Doc! I am not bugs bunny… I eat only one huge meal at NIGHT…no time.

 Can’t climb 3 flights of stairs, confesses to the occasional binge drinking & smoking on weekends( 4 beers and 12 cigarettes Friday, sat, sun. Every day),

a boss that thinks he’s a godfather and Ravi his mop boy( apparently Ravi has dreams of smashing the keyboard into his bosses face….leaving behind 3 loose teeth) Ravi’s official timings are 6 pm to 4 am, but apparently it’s more like 3 pm to 8 am in the grave yard shift…holy smokes….I LOVE my job as a nutritionist….10am to 6pm.

And as I am about to close his sheet, he says..Oh yeah…I can’t take a DUMP properly these days…..I am CONSTIPATED and feel really Shitty everyday…!!

Ravi is a theatrical person as I am now discovering his facial expressions match those of his symptoms…Constipated look is what he now shows  …

I finally Summarised “Ravi as a nutritionist I meet hundreds of cases like YOU every year and your shitty lifestyle & metabolic conditions are reversible…manage it …manage your stress …..The moment I said this a huge grin appears on RAVI’s face as we near the end of his clinical assessments.... Almost like he has unburden himself. Finally I see a brighter side of him and a smiling avatar on this cool dudes face..

I went from Zero to Hero in a moment, before Ravi shot back to earth with another painful confession , “Doc I am married, I hardly have the energy for lovemaking, My wife and me are married for 2 years and we are not able to conceive and fertility tests say that my sperm count is Screwed…!!”

My Mind is now racing to link all the bytes of data that Ravi has given me. I am trying to code faster than this geek wizard….I pause, take a sip of water….ask Ravi if he wants some green tea, he says…no….DUDE!!! I proceed to lecture him of the benefits of green tea( FAT BURNER, SPERM COUNT BOOSTER, CHOLESTEROL BUSTER, EYE ENHANCER, STRESS BUSTER) all whilst linking the key causes to RAVI”S MAN MADE SELF IMPOSED dilemma.  I ask for a moment to step outside to catch my wits. I bump into Suhasini Viswanathan, my youngest prodigy dietician & diabetes educator…."Su I need you to check the specks on this patient"…her pupils dilate with shock….A sign I normally see with SU when she is alarmed….” Here it comes “ OH MY GOD!! 26 years old and this is the chart” ....that’s the 17th patient this month with specks off the roof….Cholesterol off, diabetes off,  BMI off, Fat off….she trails off….walking away from me….Just before exiting she yells……NUTRITION BOOTCAMP!!! For him…..Will handle his case as she mumbles off!!

I re-enter the room to smell of freshly brewed Green tea. My cup is steaming as I see RAVI pensively looking into his swirling light green liquid. This tastes good Doc!! Yeah I replied grimly it’s brewed only for 30 secs in hot water not boiling and a teaspoon of Jamun Honey. It’s a special Diabetic honey. Ravi is hooked….Where can I buy some doc....go on-line I say ….mynutramart.com is where I get it.

Okay Ravi Let me outline the reasons of your problems and how a nutrition plan and exercise plan carefully constructed around your hectic lifestyle will be your only option of redemption ..

Let me list them categorically so that your actions can be mirrored to drop the causative agents…

Anomaly	Probable cause	Remedy I	Remedy II
CHOLESTEROL	Lots of fats in diet( Bhujiya, samosa, canteen cooked food in palm oil,	Do not buy any packed food or junk foods from supermarket and stock them. It tempts you	Pack a homemade tiffin box( six layers for six small meals), change to olive oil
Triglycerides	No Exercise and bad food	Walk for 40 mins every day. Walking burns more fat than running	Eliminate all Maida based foods( biscuits, naans, fried foods etc.)
H1 Abc	TOO MUCH SUGAR and WHITE RICE	Eliminate all sugar, all sweets, no aerated beverages, Limit TEA< COFFEE with no sugar or STEVIA as a sweetener( its herbal)	Visit a diabetes educator Nutritionist. Plan six meals a day. Change to complex carbs and low GI foods. Use Brown rice instead of white rice. It has a low glycemic index.
Overweight	Eating 1 meal a day( this causes the body to starve and then store FAT to greater amounts.	Eat 3 main meals planned to your calorie requirement. Discover your  capacity for Nutrition rather than eating blindly for taste and fullness. Insert 3 snacks that are fruit or vegetable based	Insert Negative calorie foods into your diet. These are foods that are FAT BURNING and provide valuable nutrients but no calories. Ex. APPLE, Pineapple, watermelon, Boiled Egg whites, Carrots, cucumbers. Easy to pack in a tiffin box.
Breathlessness	SMOKING	QUIT IT!	Consume 2000mg of Vitamin C per day with 6 mg of Astaxanthin
Fertility	Food & Body not tuned for top of the line sperm production	Lots of antioxidant foods, beetroot, pomegranate, Jamun, Amla, a tablespoon of Litchi Honey.	Lots of cold water, Glutamine and Whey protein 10 gms a day post walking.
CONSTIPATION	Not enough Water & FIBER	Keep a 2 litre bottle near your computer mouse. Drink every 45 mins a glass Remind yourself with a mobile alarm. Challenge yourself to go for a pee 6 times in the office hours	Eat 2 apples as snacks during the day so you eat smaller meals. A bedtime have3-4 prunes or a small teaspoon of Pysellium husk( ISABGUL)

Ravi’s eyes misted with tears when he heard that if he followed this plan to the tee within 100 days we would begin to see positive changes in his body.

I am not too sure about the exercise bit DOC!! I told him to call a trainer and fix 12 sessions a month with the trainer. This way a person is monitoring you and motivating you at all times or join the office GYM with a  BUDDY…challenge yourself to a holiday in Goa. Set goals in 6 months. Loser pays for the holiday…..It never fails to work….better still enrol for the INSANE SUPERHERO WORKOUT…in 8 weeks you are guaranteed to get a killer body.

Ravi is now on the edge of his seat….motivated and drumming his fingers…..suddenly his fingers snap…you know what doc….I am going to ROPE in  Priya…on this vacation idea..She too needs to get into shape…my wife needs this more than me as she too has as stressful a work schedule as me….

Ravi leaves the clinic with a smile, a bounce and  a lighter burden knowing that his health is literally is in his hands….His Nutrition plan was 20 pages long and he was keen to do his planned shopping. I hear him on the mobile as he enters his Car, “ Priya get home soon, and we are going Grocery shopping and making babies next month”.

A few weeks later Ravi walks in for a motivational session and checks his fat percentage. His plan apparently is working with ease. As he steps on to the scale there is a silent confidence in his smile….what’s up RAVI I ask…. He cheekily smiles ..says DOC…I feel like a ROCKSTAR….beep the meter calls out his reading……congrats Ravi you have lost 2% body fat and 4 kgs of weight. As we sit down his blood test are delivered to my desk…Oh WOW!! I exclaim…you are a GOOD STUDENT!!! His blood parameters had all moved downwards!! 4 months of this I can see the GOA holiday happening…

Ravi’s wife sitting next to him is a little jealous as I can see….Priya now confesses…Ryan he has been so disciplined in the last 8 weeks., that I am feeling motivated to do the same. You see I have PCOD( poly-cystic ovaries) and a thyroid issue. I have been on medication but since we got married and I moved to this next software job I have gained 9 kgs and doctor says I am 16 kgs overweight…… I do not want to burden my unborn child with my indiscipline’s of life.

I reply…Your right genetically mothers are at huge fault for their kids obesity factors if they themselves are overweight during pregnancy or eating unhealthy. You know what Priya, we need to get your blood tests done to ensure what’s happening in your biochemistry and then go through the Body assessments as well as your nutrition habits. Then we will work on changing the way you eat!

Priya pulls out her blood test instantly…..ALREADY DONE ..She exclaims….from the corner of my eye I see our Registered Dietician Rashmi Cherian, who specialises in female hormones walk into the room. "Mrs Priya, can we start your assessments" says the no-nonsense dietitian ….and escorts her away.

Ravi turns to me and says…."she is watching me every day and wondering how she can benefit from changed nutrition schedule and supplement program…In fact she has replaced my Tiffin schedule ( Visit Itiffin.in An Intelligent Meal Plan Ordering service in Bangalore for my new concept in eating healthy) with hers too and we now both walk 3 times together in the evening whenever we can or early morning when we both get back from work. It’s a new 45 mins of talk time we actually get and for the first time in our marriage we are bonding!"

Ravi completes his counselling session with me, with re affirmation of his goals, a few changes in his nutrition plan as he got a transfer to a morning shift!! His Circadian Rhythms are going to thank him in the future( Why Circadian Rhythms). I leave Ravi to see how the assessments with his wife are doing.

As I walk in, I hear Priya crying softly…..” Rashmi, I have not been able to lose weight for the last ten years. Ever since I was a teen I was overweight. “  My biggest problem is my Sweets and my love of baking and feeding my husband…and now he refuses to eat what I bake for him……WAHHHHHHH..He no longer loves me….”

I am about to do a 360 and exit the door I just walked in, and Priya confronts me” Ryan, I love what you have done for Ravi….but I don’t know what to do now….” Ravi is a new man and I am afraid I will not be able to change….

BOY OH BOY!!! I am thinking couple nutrition counselling is like being a divorce lawyer especially if both are foodies and overweight!!!

NOW NOW Mrs Priya…..” Ravi loves you beyond measure…he just told me how he loves the 45 mins walk 3 times a week you both get….and that your bonding as a couple on a mental level too….not to mention he said something about feeling like a rock star in Bed”…..PRIYA’s tears suddenly are replaced with a Blushing GRIN!!!

He said that!!!.Priya croons…..I ask, "Rashmi, what’s our Game plan?,.. I switch gears as I need to get this couple healthy…women can be difficult in counselling sessions…."

Rashmi replies in her serious counselling tone "Ryan her Thyroid readings are off but are being treated by the doc, VIT D and B12 levels are low, Folic acid is down and her Cholesterol is also through the roof."

I can see her tears beginning to brim and quickly exclaim…” OH wow!! 50% of the battle is now done! And I see a retreat of the tears replaced with curious excitement….” So you’re saying I can lose weight”

Off course…..VIT D and B12 are responsible for so many metabolic systems and your thyroid being treated is a big boost to your metabolism.  Since you mention you had PCOD condition we want to eliminate all the TRANSFATs in your diet….

Huh? WHO FAT she goes. Trans fat Priya is a type of oil that when reheated its becomes a bad fat and is not good at all for the female hormones. In summary if you and Ravi want to make a baby, I suggest you stick to Rashmi  nutrition choices of oil and recommendations. In fact till you conceive and delivery your baby …NO OUTSIDE FRIED FOODS AT ALL….That’s a BAN.

Later after this session, Rashmi confronts my uncompromising stand on leniency of the food chart. I say Rashmi  "They want to loose weight, have babies, she has PCOD, she has a sweet tooth, husband is a pre-diabetic,  and any deviations will result in no positive results as HUMANS we need around 67 days to make new habits".

Food is consumed 5 or more times a day…..we need to have over 300 meals before a habit or choice or taste is acquired and accepted as a new way of life…Rashmi…who taught you to eat….you mother out of love…not our of capacity or medical requirement…..WE NEED TO TEACH THEM TO EAT TO THEIR CAPACITY AND if they fail with us, they will believe that NUTRITION OR DIET does not work…..We have a lot riding on convincing people that DIET AND EXERCISE change medical conditions for the better. The WHITE COLLARED AC KEYBOARD PUSHING, COFFEE DRINKING, SLEEPING AT DAYTIME generation is in dire need of correct advice and as a Nutritionist I suggest that you have this uncompromising  stance…..

Priya looks a little perturbed at my insistence of no deviation….Even at Parties…Doc!! YES ..I boom and as I leave Rashmi to complete the counselling…” PRIYA, weight train 3 times a week with a trainer, yoga 2 twice a week and walk with your Husband as per his schedule….Workout together…. And for your love of BAKING….Rashmi will send you 10 recipes of low calorie, Low GI savouries…..

I’d like to see a carrot cake next month when I see you….."

CHAPTER 2

Three months later, I am late for my appointment…..as I push the glass door to clinics reception, my olfactory senses detect  mouth-watering smell of Carrot Cake…..I smile….PRIYA & RAVI are seated together in a counselling room with Suhasini and Rashmi in the room eating cake!!! I walk in to a room of laughter….SO who’s trying to corrupt my dieticians….

PRIYA is already up and defending herself by throwing her arms around me saying…..thank you thank you……I spy Ravi out of the corner of my eye gleaming , short hair, arms looking pumped and as PRIYA pulls away I see a visibly fitter Priya…. DOC I have lost 5 kgs… and feeling so fit.

Suhasini says…."RAVI is no longer pre diabetic with a score of 5.9 on the HbA1c, and all other parameters are normal".  RAVI interrupts…and down by 4 more kgs….Our GOA TICKETS ARE Booked and Priya is paying…

Rashmi quickly adds to the good news that all Priya’s deficiencies are in place and that her Doctor is very happy with their progress.

So are you Happy now Priya? I ask… she replies…Over the moon…In fact doc, My elder sister is now jealous of the way we have changed in the last 100 days and is wondering what secret SPA treatment we are on…..

PRIYA and Ravi visit us every month for assessment and new nutrition plans.  Their reason is that a visit to the nutritionist keeps them motivated and on track. As I write the synopsis of this case and close the medical case and open a Holistic Case,  I  seem at unease.  There are over 60 million white collared youngsters out there working with the same conditions as RAVI and Priya.  WE are becoming a superpower…but an unhealthy superpower of 30’s and 40 year olds who are obese, diabetic and hypertensive….Everybody will be wealthy and all needs will be met. But many of us will die young because of our indiscipline to being healthy and living wisely. Our kitchens and mind-sets need a new plan…

TO GET YOU AND YOU FAMILY ON A LIFE CHANGING NUTRITION PLAN PLEASE CALL ME ON +919743430000 or email me at ryan@quanutrition.com. Please mention this article in my blog to get a special family discount at QUA NUTRITION. 
WE counseling families via phone or SKYPE all across the world via our Satellite Clinic.

- Names and Identities have been changed of our clients  to maintain Privacy and confidentiality of our clients.