Frequently Asked Questions

Are you worried about something? Stress and worry could make you lose weight. It is also possible that you are anemic. Are your menstrual cycles regular with a normal flow? Get yourself checked thoroughly by a physician once, to rule out the possibility of any illness. You may also want to try some multivitamin supplements, which might help you to some extent. Eat a healthy diet and exercise regularly. Also, get good rest. Nothing beats a healthy life style in making you feel good and beating the weakness.

Two most important things that would help you achieve this goal are regular exercise along with a proper diet. Walking also can work wonders for maintaining good health and also lose weight around the hips, buttocks and thighs. Doing an aerobic workout and practicing yoga can also help you reach your goal. Regular exercise can prevent or delay some diseases like cancer, heart disease, or diabetes. It can also perk up your mood and help depression, too.

There are no short cuts to weight loss—it is an integrated program including a healthy diet with a regular exercise program. There are several weight loss products available in the market today. You may want to try them out, if you wish so. But, I would not like to comment on these products. As I already said, nothing substitutes a proper diet and regular and rigorous exercise for weight loss. Exercise could be rigorous walking, aerobic exercises or yoga or even better, a combination of all these. Regarding becoming fair: complexion is hereditary and there is not much we can do about it. But, if your skin has got tanned, you could try using skin lightening products. To prevent further tanning, use sunscreen with SPF of at least 15 regularly, and avoid going out in the sun, especially between 10 am and 4 pm, when the sun rays are of maximum intensity.

Trying to lose weight quickly might sound great, but might work deleteriously. Diet pills, fad diets and fasting may help you lose weight rapidly, they can lead to muscle loss and injure the heart and other organs. Instead, follow a regular and healthy diet program: see what are the foods you regularly eat, cut down on the fat consumption and reduce your carbohydrate consumption. Avoid junk food and soft drinks. Start your day with a healthy breakfast, like cereal or oatmeal. Exercise regularly. A combination of healthy eating and regular exercising is the best way to lose weight.

Ideally, you should be about 52–68 kg based on a BMI range of 19–25. It is good if you can lose about 10–12 kg. There is no shortcut to weight loss. The best way is to follow a strict regimen of regular exercise and a proper diet. Try brisk walks, aerobic exercises, yoga or a combination of all three. You could enroll in a gym, since working out in a group might be more motivating than doing it alone. Also, eat healthy, avoid junk foods and fried foods. Consume foods which are rich in protein and fiber, a low in fat. Most importantly, do not try fasting or fad diets, as they can adversely affect your health, causing problems like muscle loss and cardiovascular problems.

You have got your dieting strategies all wrong! Never skip breakfast. Instead, have a healthy and sumptuous breakfast. Cut down on your lunch and dinner. Regarding going to a gym, you have to make time. Having no time is no excuse! I would also want to stress on one more thing—do not resort to fasting and fad diets to lose weight on a fast track mode. These can affect your health very badly, leading to muscle loss and cardiovascular problems.

Try regular jogging/brisk walking. This would definitely help you lose weight in the hip and thigh region. Also, try and join a gym to get regular work outs. Swimming is also very good. Another important aspect is eating healthy food. Avoid oily, fried foods and also junk food like pizzas and burgers. If you are a rice eater, reduce the quantity of rice. Replace it with chapathis. Eat a lot of vegetables and fruits. Try eating small quantities at frequent intervals. Do not fast or try fad diets, since these adversely affect your health: can even cause cardiovascular problems.

You should follow a strict regimen of a proper balanced diet and exercise. Do not drastically diet since this could adversely affect your health. It could cause severe muscle loss and also lead to cardiovascular problems. You could join a gym, which is more motivating, since you would work out in a group. I suggest that you see a dietician for the right diet plan. You could also consult a physician to find out if there is any medical problem, which is the cause for your obesity. Whatever the problem, it can be managed. So, don’t worry.

You need to tell us for how long you have been having Thyronorm 50 before we can provide a more accurate solution to your problem. I understand from that you have said that you are having a condition called hypothyroidism. Hypothyroidism contributes significantly to weight gain, so it is very likely that a lot of the weight that is making you obese will be shed away with the correction of the thyroid hormone levels. It is important to understand that your focus needs to be on gradual weight loss, planning for 3–4 kg of weight loss in the initial few months while your body recovers from the deficiency of thyroid hormones. Never resort to crash-diet measures as they may have deleterious effects on your body in the long run. A well-balanced diet along with regular exercise is a must to attain optimal weight loss. For more details on healthy weight loss, do check our articles on weight management and diet in the given link: http://www.indianwomenshealth.com/Healthy-Weight-Loss-222.aspx. However, do keep us posted if you need any further help in this regard.

It is very important to take your medicine regularly and need to have follow-up visits with your doctor to make sure you have the right dose. Dose of the medicine may keep changing from time to time depending on your hormone level. Blood tests are usually taken every 2–3 months (or as per your doctor’s suggestion) to check your thyroid hormone level, and the dose may be adjusted accordingly. Getting too much or too little dose of the medicine may cause problems. If you are not taking enough, you may start having symptoms of hypothyroidism including gaining weight. So we would recommend you to share your concerns with your doctor. Do follow the weight loss strategy as we have mentioned earlier in response to your last query.

You should focus on attaining the ideal weight for your height based on your body frame. You can use our calculator to check your appropriate weight for your height at: http://www.indianwomenshealth.com/BodyWeightCalculator.aspx. There are four types of female body shape—banana, apple, pear and hourglass. Since your body shape is primarily determined by genetics and hormonal factor, you cannot do much about it. Despite this, you can still apply targeted exercises and diet to shape and tone up your body, no matter what body shape you have. For more details, please read our article “Body shapes” which discusses about body shapes, specific exercise and diet for each body shape. Here is the link: http://www.indianwomenshealth.com/Body-Shapes-221.aspx.