For weight reduction I recommend a miracle formula or three special words walk, water, and diet. The great secret is to make sure that you do all the three together. The biggest cause for failure in weight reduction is that though we have all heard that these three words are important, nobody makes them happen together, we have one group of people who are enthusiastically working out in gyms or jogging in a park and believe that they can eat anything and still lose weight because of their heavy workout.

We have another group which is going for strange diets like only fruits, only boiled vegetable, only cabbage soups, idli diet, lime juice diet etc. They don't exercise, of course, they are too busy, don't like getting sweaty and sticky or maybe too weak to exercise. And finally of course 95 % of them don't drink enough water either. Both these groups will initially see some marked weight loss but after a few kilos it stops and they get frustrated and miserable. I have tried all this myself for 28 years and now in the last 5 years have personally counselled thousands of people and found that there is only one way to lose weight and that is to walk 20-30 minutes daily, drink 2-3 liters water and eat a regular balanced diet with plenty of fiber and no fatty food at all.

The secret is to do them all together. Walking is one of the best exercises as it uses 90% of the muscles of the body at one time. Also it can be done by one and all. However if you enjoy aerobics, swimming, jogging, it is fine but you have to be doing it continuously for 20-30 minutes. In a gym workout, please make sure you are on the treadmill for about 20 minutes continuously. Please note it is not enough to exercise only 3-4 times a week, 6-7 days a week is a must.

	Sanjeev - Before

Walking has to become a part of your life like brushing your teeth or bathing. Often I hear that people who have been trying to lose weight and walking regularly, suddenly stop their walk and say that they are busy shifting house or tide up with a project so they are not going to walk for 10 days. This is one of the worst things one can do. When a person has walked regularly for about a month they build up a higher metabolic rate, burning more calories and losing weight and looking trim.

A break in the walking for 7-10 days causes the metabolic rate to go down again and for this to come up, even if you resume the walk, it will take a whole month. During this time you will see rapid weight gain. Therefore at any cost make sure you don't miss your walk. If you are used to 45 min. or an hour and you are pressed for time, do at least 20 min, but don't miss the walk. If you are ill take a break for 2-3 days but other wise give walking top priority in your daily schedule. It is one of the greatest tonics to good health and fitness. Even if you are underweight or trying to gain weight, walking is a must for one and all!

	Sanjeev - After

However difficult it may seem, please make sure you are drinking 2-3 liters of water.Even if you are walking and dieting, the weight loss is less if the water is less. The reason is if you are dehydrated all your muscle movements are slow and you burn less calories per day. Also a waste product called ketone is formed when fat breaks down and this has to be flushed out of the body so water is essential in weight reduction. Water is also seen to improve your mental capacities, keeps your body smelling fresh and cleans you of all pollutants and wastes. Water is the second great tonic to health, wealth and happiness.

Sanjeev Joshi age 42, director of Yantra Solutions Pvt Ltd., joined us for a weight reduction programme in 2001 November at the age of 40 years. He was able to lose 20 kgs starting at 94kgs and going down to 74kgs in a period of 5 months. He lost weight at a steady pace of 3- 4 kgs per month. The secret was the Miracle Formula of Walk, Water and Diet. He is a regular squash player but travels extensively every month so when out of town he would walk and be as careful as possible with his diet. The best part is Sanjeev has kept in touch with us for the last 2 years and still comes in to check his weight, usually once a month. He still travels extensively and has kept his weight between 74 -77kgs. I once asked him what is the motivating factor for keeping the weight down and his reply was the feel good factor besides the Rs.30,000 that he spent buying a new wardrobe of clothes.

Note: Please also read " A Choice " , "Miracle Menu" and "Diet Principles"