A handy guide to take the guesswork out of counting calories plus sample meal plans to help you drop pounds f-a-a-s-t.
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Dieter s Manual
f there s one thing even the most casual dieter knows for certain, it is the importance of keeping a daily track of the calories he takes in. Unfortunately, this is easier said than done. Reason: The paucity of reliable data on the caloric values of Indian foods. There are several factors responsible for this dietary roadblock: (a) the lack of significant research in the area of food analysis; (b) the fact that, unlike the West, where most of the population relies on ready-to-serve meals or packaged foods that have been calibrated down to the last decimal, we are still a people that relies on home cooking (think: a 1000 permutations, combinations and as many caloric values for a single dish!); (c) again, unlike the West, where government policy makes it compulsory for food manufacturers and restaurateurs to reveal caloric data, no such rules bind our food sellers... And so on and so forth. Given this sad state affairs, you can understand the dieter s dilemma. How is he supposed to stay within his prescribed dietary limits if, say, he can t even guess at what a breakfast of idli-sambar or a dinner of dabba gosht and parathas could bring in, energy wise? Sure, there are dozens of little booklets in the market aimed at the dedicated dieter that list foods and their caloric values, but a close analysis of these typically reveal that they are the works of charlatans. Following a diet based on such unreliable data can have serious consequences on someone who is watching his weight for health reasons. (But even the casual dieter can be unpleasantly surprised to learn that a daily intake of a