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Are you in the Yo-Yo-Club?

Why do most of us fail in our effort to stay slim?

WATCH YOUR WEIGHT Exercise matters

We diet, jog and pay up for gym workouts. We feel fit, assume we look slim and manage to wow colleagues. And then we slack off, and watch in alarm, the needle racing up the weighing scale to reach beyond where we started. Whatever happened? Nothing e xcept we’re the latest members of the Yo-Yo Club.

Why do people, otherwise so successful in whatever they do, fail in this one effort? How is it we are unable to sustain weight reduction? Check these out.

* Eating the wrong things. Eating too much, too frequently. Or for emotional reasons.

* Bio factors: It’s genetic. Everyone in the family looks “prosperous.” All you can do is avoid making it worse.

* Great expectations: the get-slim industry never tells you there is no one-size-fits-all diet; losing weight rapidly is not healthy, what you need is a life-long diet-and-exercise programme. * Lack of exercise: * Insufficient support: For a brand new lifestyle (diet, walks, eco-holidays, swimming?), you need a nod from people around you. How do you say “no” to the samosas in your office?

* Motivation: How determined are you to stay within your weight zone? Regained weight gets terribly attached to you. And then there’s the mother of all reasons. An NRI believes a major cause of bulging Indian obesity is an Indian mother’s love. “In the sport of offspring feeding, she is unparalleled,” he says. “She gives herself high points for feeding her “ladla/ladli” snacks fried in saturated fat, mithai and a multitude of carbs. Resistance is futile.” “Ghar ka khana” cooked with love may have more fat than a “double cheese burger” but still has fewer side effects,” says Siddharth. “I envy those family pot-bellies. I don’t have a chance to eat “amma kaiyala sappadu” (food cooked by mom) so often.”

Is there a way to combat mom’s gastronomical commands? Yes, Saying ‘no’ to extra food and dessert, and if forcibly served, leaving it. Or eating slowly, making it last till everyone’s finished. Shefali, a nutritionist, believes with some effort, we can share our awareness with our families. But a long-suffering wife snaps, “It boils down to being “mothered” all the time. Be it food or a career decision, Indians are not a confident and independent lot. Parents have to have a say!”

What does the NRI do at his mom’s table? “I gave up long ago. Meal after meal, I loosen my belt and clean my plate. I work out twice as much the week after. For the few days I am with her I can’t break her heart. To mothers everywhere…you’re the best.”

GEETA PADMANABHAN

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