
Welcome back to the NewME newsletter, Gutman Squad!
Before I start, I want to ask you: Have you implemented the learnings from this newsletter?
Did you try the action points I suggested or figure out a more personalized approach for yourself?
I’d love to know.
Because I don’t want you to consume information and leave it in your inbox, but start implementing small actions and see positive results yourself.
This newsletter's purpose is to empower you with food science and what happens in your body so you can confidently take your first steps.
In our previous editions this month, we learned new, basic, and essential information about weight loss.
Now that we can evaluate claims and differentiate facts from myths, let’s talk about how we can lose weight.
Sustainable weight loss isn't just about dropping kilos - it's about making changes you can maintain for life without feeling exhausted. Eventually you want to feel better about yourself and where you place your energy.
So - how do you get there?
Set up sustainable weight loss goals
Many of us start with “I want to lose 10 kg” without thinking about the journey.
There is a fine line between a realistic goal and a fantasy. It’s important not to cross that line because you don’t want to take extreme actions due to the unrealistic nature of your goals.
Here are some ways to set up effective weight loss goals:
Keep your goals specific and measurable: Instead of “I want to lose weight,” try “I will lose 0.5 kg per week for the next 8 weeks.” Creating action plans is easier when you know the exact result.
Keep your goals realistic for your body: Your friend might lose 1 kg/week, but your body might safely lose only 0.5 kg. This could be due to a number of reasons like sleep, metabolism, activity level, hormonal differences, etc. Instead of comparing your results with others, it’s always best to set goals based on how your body responds to diet and lifestyle changes.
Creating a baseline is a good way to approach this. Even before you set a goal, inculcate healthy habits for a month and observe how your weight fluctuates. If you can lose 0.3 kg/week on average, setting up a 0.5 kg/week goal would be realistic by slowly increasing intensity.
Keep your goals process-oriented, not outcome-based: Remember when MS Dhoni said to take care of the process and results will automatically take care of themselves?
“I will walk for 30 minutes five days a week” is more actionable than “I will lose 10 kg.”
Keep your goals flexible: Goals like I will exercise on every alternate day sound great. Or you want to have non-veg only on Sundays.
But life happens and you can’t always follow your plans. For days as such, always keep your calendar accommodating and flexible. It’s easier to avoid the guilt this way.
What Are the Sustainable Weight Loss Methods?
1. Time Restricted Eating
Time restricted feeding isn't about extreme fasting but simply shortening your daily eating window.
In a 24-hour cycle, you only eat in a window of 8-12 hours between sunrise and sunset.
It works because it:
Gives your digestive system time to rest
Regulates hunger hormones and improves insulin sensitivity
Makes it harder to overeat when you reduce eating opportunities
Start by marking your daily first bite and last bite.
If you have breakfast at 9 am (first bite) and dinner at 10 pm (last bite), your eating window is 13 hours.
Now the key is not to suddenly switch to an 8-hour window. Start by reducing your window by 30 minutes each week until you reach a comfortable 10-12 hour window.
The goal isn't to starve. It's to organize your eating to improve your metabolism.
I spoke about this in detail on my YouTube channel, including how to manage time-restricted eating during night shifts and how you will feel in the initial weeks.
2. Improving Gut Microbiome
Your gut bacteria influences everything from digestion to inflammation to how your body stores fat. An imbalanced gut can make weight loss much harder.
In fact, when I was a junior doctor, we conducted a research study on 50 obese patients. We placed them on a calorie-deficit diet for 12 weeks and observed only 30 patients lost weight.
To understand why the remaining 20 did not lose weight, we analysed their stool samples.
We realised they had a different microbiome composition than others in the study.
The reason I told you about this research is - Sometimes you put in all the effort and still don’t see any results. It could be because of an imbalanced microbiome.
Our body has a hundred trillion microbiomes and it is difficult to trace them down, but we can categorize them as good or bad, and improve with food choices.
To nurture your gut for weight management:
Have fermented foods like yogurt, buttermilk, idli, dosa
Aim for a minimum of 25g of fiber daily
Reduce processed foods and artificial sweeteners
Include prebiotic foods like garlic, onions, and bananas
3. Start with fun exercises
Exercise shouldn't feel like punishment or something you can only maintain with superhuman willpower.
If you are inactive, start with activities that are fun and easy for you. Sports, walks, etc., fall into this category. Your first goal should be about building a consistent habit, and intensity comes later.
The start is the hardest step but the best exercises:
Combine both strength and cardio elements
Fit into your lifestyle without massive disruption
Gradually increase in intensity
If not anything, start walking 30 minutes a day with a slightly elevated heart rate.
But do you know you’re making progress?
What can you measure beyond weight?
The weight scale is a good basic metric for measuring progress. But when you focus on weight management, you will notice benefits like improved sleep, energy levels, and decreased bloating.
There is a chance your overall health is improving without significant weight loss yet.
You can measure such progress by tracking:
Energy levels, mood stability, and mental clarity
Sleep quality and waking up feeling refreshed
Blood markers like cholesterol, blood sugar, inflammation every three months
Digestive comfort and regularity
Weight loss isn't a straight line. There will be plateaus and even slight increases at times.
What matters is how your health improves overall.
Start Working on your Health Now
Whenever you are ready, my team and I at NewME would love to guide you toward a healthier lifestyle by making personalized changes.
Recently, we helped John lose 4 kg with the sustainable methods we mentioned in this newsletter.
See how we can do the same for you
More Resources to Improve Your Relationship with Food
Try This Today!
Once you understand how things work on a basic level, it saves you from setting up wrong expectations.
From what we have learned about weight loss in the last three weeks, I need you to take not one but three simple actions to begin your journey:
Set one weight loss goal and write down why your goal is realistic.
Observe your eating window by marking the first and last bite, excluding water.
Write down one metric you wish to follow to measure progress apart from the weight.
Dr. Pal, signing off!
I am doing intermittent fasting most of the weekdays. However, weekends are difficult to follow the schedule:). During the working days I'm drinking 10cal Monster energy drink (at 10 a.m.) before my first bite (12 or 12.30 p.m.). Do you think drinking the Monster energy drink will stop my fasting? Is it ok to drink the energy drink everyday?