Imitation Is Wrong, Health Is Right: Dr Anjali Hooda

We find the internet divided on achieving a right physique, getting flat abs and body positivity. What's your take on it?

Internet posts are misleading as many strive for six pack abs which takes extreme dedication and countless hours of workout which is not sustainable for majority of people, i think body positivity should focus on healthy body rather than a type of body, imitation is wrong, health is right.

In order to lose weight, people start avoiding certain kind of food and always worry about the calories they take rather than enjoying the food. How to maintain a healthy relationship with food with keeping a count on your calories intake?

Calorie counting is inaccurate and a thing of past, focusing on healthy eating and no restrictive diet is a long term plan for the best, unless you have a disease due to which you cannot eat a certain type of food, the plate should include all food groups most of the time.

You share inspiring stories of people on social media, undertaking your program and transforming themselves. What according to you is the first step towards weight loss or receiving your set goal?

First step towards weight loss is to identify the your current diet and slowly taper the processed and condensed calorie foods, then take advice from a qualified individual how to incorporate better eating habits that match your lifestyle, include some basic sustainable exercise that doesn't over tire your body. Focus on volume of healthy foods rather than condensed calorie junk foods which even small in amount can be very high in calories and sabotage your weight loss efforts.

How to balance quantity and quality of food for managing correct weight?

As I said volumize on low calorie foods like vegetables and fruits, minimise grains but stick to lentils and local produce from your area. Quality of food is very important as food is information not just calories. Every time you eat body changes in response, so if your diet is rich in junk foods rather than natural foods, the inflammation to the body can become irreparable.

We know how diet and exercise affect weight gain or weight loss but the role of hormones are not much discussed. How much role does hormone play in the weight loss journey?

Hormones play a major role in weight loss, ghrelin is a hunger hormone and its production can get disturbed with bad eating habits, it goes up causing more hunger and the vicious cycle never ends. Hormone like insulin can become resistant in its action if the system is overloaded with sugar and simple carbohydrates like bread, pasta, white rice and maida. Even sex hormones can play an important role because the lean muscle can decrease as we apporoach menopause or andropause. Male hormones like testosterone and female hormones like estradiol are very important for youthfulness, muscle mass and strength and vitality. They can drop prematurely if the eating habits are incorrect. Replacement of hormones is very popular in older people all over the world to maintain youth and vitality. Hormone dysregualtion can also cause depression, fatigue, loss of sleep and activity. So a healthy diet can restore majority of hormones. Thyroid hormone is extremely sensitive to toxins and we see so many people with hypothyroid which is also a major cause of weight gain throughout the young population .