Kapha Diet Plan For Weight Loss

Kapha diet plan for weight loss? Kapha has all the qualities that lend themselves to overweight and obese individuals. If you have a Kapha body type then this diet will certainly be beneficial for you!

The Kapha diet consists of different factors to try and aid weight loss, as well as overall health. Kapha and Vata body type has been providing most of the weight in India. One of the major reason behind gaining extra pounds is food habits of Indians; this is also one of the main benefits and demerits at the same time.

What Is Kapha Diet?

Based on Ayurveda, kapha body types or the other doshas can be influenced by diet.

Therefore, the kapha diet is basically a diet that preserves balance in people with kapha body types. It’s designed to counteract certain negative aspects of the kapha body type by providing specific positive aspects.

For example, the kapha dosha is characteristically cold, oily, and heavy (23). In which case, the appropriate diet should favor light, warm, and dry foods.

If you’ve been wondering, “Why is kapha diet low fat?” that’s the reason why.

Why The Ayurvedic Diet Kapha?

One key aim of the kapha diet is to spark the metabolic and digestive systems.

So, this diet tends to be lively and full of energy.

Eating warm, cooked meals, which are easy to digest is praised by the Ayurvedic kapha diet. That’s complemented by pungent and bitter flavors that stimulate digestion.

The diet also prescribes appropriate food quantities.

It recommends eating the largest meal at lunchtime, with a smaller meal at dinnertime. On the other hand, kapha body types could skip breakfast since they typically don’t have an appetite in the morning. Instead, you can just stimulate your digestion for subsequent mealtimes by drinking warm lemon and honey water.

The diet goes further to prescribe specific meal schedules.

Kaphas should only eat three meals in a day. Also give yourself three hours between the last meal and bedtime for proper digestion.

Generally, you should eat less than you think you need.

You should also avoid snacking between meals.

Kapha Foods

The kapha diet includes drinks, which should be warm – not cold. You can sweeten such drinks with honey. But you shouldn’t drink too much water.

If starting out on the kapha diet, do it gradually.

By incorporating the kapha diet slowly, you’ll have an easier time adjusting to the dietary changes. You can start by adding more spices to your food, including mustard seeds, chili or turmeric.

Eat as little fat and oil as possible.

You should also avoid cold foods, especially frozen desserts like popsicles, and ice cream. If you have any leftovers, you shouldn’t eat them. Besides, the diet focuses on unprocessed foods, meaning that you shouldn’t eat packaged, bottled, and canned foods.

Instead, focus on freshly prepared foods.

The diet encourages consumption of vegetables and legumes, with smaller quantities of fruits and grains.

Generally, pungent, astringent, and bitter tastes are favored; while sweet, salty, and sour tastes are discouraged. The diet is typically spicy, warm, and dry, as opposed to oily, cold, and sweet.

What Is A Kapha Pacifying Diet?

A kapha pacifying diet is specifically designed to balance the kapha dosha.

The diet is based on the understanding in Ayurvedic medicine that a particular diet can help create a balanced dosha.

But what is a balanced kapha dosha?

When balanced, a kapha dosha body type is praised for exhibiting the following characteristics:

• relaxed and strong
• growing thick and wavy hair
• typically heavy-set body
• solid frame and thick bones
• has thick and oily skin
• slow to anger
• slow to act or react
• compassionate and affectionate
• loving and caring
• graceful and forgiving
• calm and easy personality
• usually conservative

These characteristics go beyond the physical features and also apply to the mental state. Since kapha brains are slow and steady, kaphas tend to be methodical in their thinking and action. Kaphas also prefer routine but need stimulation to get going.

So, what happens when kapha is imbalanced?

Various physical and physiological aspects characterize an imbalanced kapha, including:

• high cholesterol
• obesity
• diabetes
• allergies and sinus problems
• stomach ulcers
• procrastinating

Therefore, a diet that aims to restore balance in kapha types is referred to as a kapha pacifying diet.

What Foods Are Great For Kapha Diet?

The kapha diet provides specific recommendations on particular foods to eat, and specific foods to avoid.

In that regard, here are the foods that are great for kaphas, which you should eat:

• Fruits:

When considering fruits for the kapha diet, select dried and astringent varieties.

Options include peaches (in moderation), pomegranates, cranberries, grapes (in moderation), cherries, lemons (in moderation), raisins, prunes, apples, pears, persimmons, limes (in moderation), berries, apricots, applesauce, dry figs (in moderation), and strawberries (in moderation).

• Vegetables:

The kapha diet places a lot of emphasis on vegetables.

That’s a great thing since vegetables are promoted as healthy foods in many food guidelines such as The Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2010 (12). This guideline recommends that fruits and vegetables should make up half of your plate. Vegetables provide vitamins, minerals, and dietary fiber which is linked to decreased cases of obesity and cardiovascular diseases.

With a kapha diet, you should eat raw vegetables in summer and cooked vegetables the rest of the year, or during digestive difficulties.

The diet emphasizes pungent and bitter vegetables such as eggplant, watercress, lettuce, bitter melon, celery, dandelion greens, beets, okra, wheat grass, carrots, garlic, spaghetti squash (in moderation), squash, cabbage, green chilies, corn, fruit and leaves of white prickly pear, parsley, cauliflower, cilantro, rutabaga, broccoli, beet greens, daikon radish, horseradish, turnip greens, sprouts, leafy greens, Jerusalem artichoke, artichoke, radishes, onions, cooked winter tomatoes, asparagus, green beans, leeks, kale, spinach, sweet and hot potatoes, burdock root, mustard greens, peas, turnips, kohlrabi, mushrooms, anise fennel, peppers, and Brussels sprouts.

• Grains:

Grains can be eaten in their seed form or used to make breads. In a kapha diet, toasted bread is preferable since they are drier.

The fact that kapha advocates for whole grains is beneficial to your health, since the fiber content is associated with a reduced risk of coronary heart disease and cancer. A high fiber diet is also known for improving digestive health. Whole grains contain such beneficial substances as phenolic compounds, vitamin E, Se, and phytic acid.

You have a wide variety of options to choose from, including: corn, oat bran, amaranth (in moderation), sprouted wheat bread, millet, basmati/ wild rice, wheat meat/ seitan, cold/ dry/ puffed cereal, granola, dry oats, barley, wheat bran, polenta, spelt (in moderation), quinoa (in moderation), Durham flour (in moderation), couscous, crackers, tapioca, muesli, and buckwheat.

• Legumes:

The dietary fiber in legumes offers similar health benefits as grains.

One study analyzed the health benefits of mung beans, cowpeas, kidney beans, chickpeas, pole sitao, pigeon peas, soya beans, lima beans, green peas, and groundnuts. It uncovered various beneficial aspects like good mineral bioavailability (good absorption of minerals in the body), low glycaemic index (doesn’t cause a rapid increase in blood glucose levels), and a cholesterol-lowering effect.

To enhance mineral absorption, soak the legumes as long as possible before cooking.

The available options include hot tofu (in moderation), navy beans, soy sausages, garbanzo beans/ chickpeas, black-eyed peas, dried peas, red and brown lentils, lima beans, tempeh, mung dal (in moderation), tur dal, white beans, black beans, pinto beans, split peas, aduki beans, mung beans (in moderation), and soy milk.

• Dairy:

Although the kapha diet involves a reduction in dairy intake, it doesn’t completely eliminate dairy from the diet. That’s a good thing since low fat dairy products not only provide valuable nutrients, but could also help protect against prevalent chronic diseases when consumed with moderation.

The dairy product options include ghee (in moderation), goat’s milk, buttermilk (in moderation), cottage cheese made from skimmed goat’s milk, unsalted but not aged goat’s cheese, and diluted skim yogurt.

• Animal Protein:

The animal protein options are fewer than the plant protein options in a kapha diet. That’s because kaphas can thrive as vegetarians.

However, a few options exist, but you should only eat meat 2-3 times in a week.

The meat sources include rabbit, venison, freshwater fish, eggs, shrimp, white turkey, and white chicken.

• Condiments:

You can add a range of condiments like horseradish, hijiki (in moderation), sprouts, mustard without vinegar, lemon (in moderation), coriander leaves, dulse (in moderation), chili peppers, black pepper, scallions, spicy mango chutney, and seaweed (in moderation).

• Nuts:

Most nuts aren’t recommended for the kapha diet, except the charole nut.

• Seeds:

Just like the nuts, only a few seeds feature in the kapha diet. They include sunflower (in moderation), chia, popcorn without salt or butter, flax (in moderation), and pumpkin (in moderation).

• Oils:

With this diet, you should only use oils in small amounts.

The oils that are recommended, starting with the most suitable, are: corn (internal and external use), canola (internal and external use), sesame (external use), sunflower (internal and external use), ghee (internal and external use), and almond (internal and external use).

• Beverages:

You should only take beverages at room temperature or warm – never ice cold.

The options available include carob, apricot juice, berry juice, apple cider, apple juice (in moderation), dry/ red/ white wine (in moderation), grape juice, grain “coffee”, peach nectar, cranberry juice, mango juice, sweet cherry juice, hot and spiced milk chai (in moderation), pear juice, pineapple juice (in moderation), pomegranate juice, spiced black tea, hot and well-spiced soy milk, aloe vera juice, carrot juice, and prune juice.

• Herbal Teas:

This diet offers quite an extensive range of herbal tea options, including: kukicha, passion flower, comfrey (in moderation), blackberry, burdock, wintergreen, juniper berry, nettle, mormon tea, jasmine, sassafras, dandelion, alfalfa, raspberry, barley, spearmint, lavender, yerba mate, ginger, hibiscus, yarrow, lemon balm, lemon grass, sarsaparilla (in moderation), clove, cinnamon, fenugreek, fennel (in moderation), ginseng (in moderation), peppermint, chamomile, strawberry, red clover, bancha, and chicory.

• Spices:

You can take practically all manner of spices, except salt. That’s because the kapha diet should not be bland, but must be spiced hot.

The variety of spices include thyme, peppermint, basil, garlic, vanilla (in moderation), bay leaf, almond extract, nutmeg, cardamom, savory, cinnamon, allspice, mustard seeds, tarragon, parsley, cloves, coriander, neem leaves, wintergreen, rosemary, cumin, asafoetida/ hing, fenugreek, star anise, anise, spearmint, pippali, mint, fennel (in moderation), ajwan, oregano, dill, cayenne, caraway, saffron, poppy seeds, marjoram, turmeric, paprika, orange peel, black pepper, and ginger.

• Sweeteners:

Just like nuts, only a couple of sweeteners are recommended for the kapha diet. While avoiding most sweeteners, you can only have fruit juice concentrate or raw and unprocessed honey.

• Food Supplements:

Various food supplements are recommended in this diet, like bee pollen, iron, folic acid, royal jelly, amino acids, barley green, vitamin P/ bioflavonoids, blue-green algae, zinc, brewer’s yeast, copper, aloe vera juice, vitamin C, vitamin B6, calcium, spirulina, and magnesium.

6 Ayurvedic Diet Tips To Lose Weight And Cut Belly Fat

Weight Loss Tips: If the availability of too many diets is making you all the more confused, then Ayurveda is here to your rescue. Ayurveda suggests some simple yet effective remedies to help you lose weight, the healthy way.

Weight Loss: Being overweight further can provoke kapha in the body

Weight Loss Diet Tips: With more and more people getting health conscious, weight loss is on everyone’s mind. Nowadays, we live in a diet-obsessed world. Different fad diets make headlines, claiming to be the best way to lose weight. Multiple information often makes it hard to decipher the best way to shed those extra kilos. If the availability of too many diets is making you all the more confused, then Ayurveda is here to your rescue. Ayurveda suggests some simple yet effective remedies to help you lose weight, the healthy way. According to Ayurveda, being overweight may involve excess kapha dosha. Being overweight further can provoke kapha in the body; therefore, it is important to balance this dosha by following certain principles. This wellness system does not focus on short-term gains, so you wouldn’t have to starve yourself or unrealistically limit the variety of foods that you can enjoy. Instead, it emphasises on following a clear principles that can not only help you lose weight, but also encourage overall healthy body.

Ayurvedic Diet Tips To Lose Weight | Ayurvedic Diet Tips For Weight Loss

1. Eat Three Satisfying Meals Daily

As per the Ayurvedic tradition, the concept of digestive fire, transformation and digestion are closely interlinked. Maintaining a healthy metabolism requires appropriate kindling of the digestive fire, which can be done by adding regular and reliable fuel to the body. So, eat healthy, digestible meals each day without snacking between meals to strike an important balance. Following this will ensure the digestive fire is adequately stimulated and actually encourages it to grow stronger.

2. Make Dinner Light And Eat Before 7 Pm

Eating a light dinner (ideally before 7 pm) allows your stomach to empty itself before you go off to sleep and supports the natural detoxification processes that occur overnight. Add more soups and salads to your dinner to ensure proper cleansing of the system.

3. Eat A Kapha-Pacifying Diet

Eating a kapha-pacifying diet helps to clear excess kapha from the system and may affect change in the body. Ideally, the kapha diet should include foods that are warm, dry, rough, light and digestible. Choose freshly prepared homemade food that is frozen, stale or cold food.

_{Ayurveda for weight loss: Eating a kapha-pacifying diet helps to clear excess kapha from the system}

 4. Exercise At Least Three Days A Week

Take out time from your busy schedule to engage in exercising to ensure a faster metabolic rate, and efficient fat-burning. Engage in walking, running, cycling, yoga, or swimming, all of which are fun physical activities. The best time to indulge in physical activities is early in the morning when your body has cleansed itself well and is ready for another day.

5. Sip On Hot Water Or Tea Through The Day

Hot water is known to be an elixir in the Vedic tradition. Toxins, also known as ama, tend to accumulate in the body from external sources like pollution, unhealthy food choices, et al. Ama is said to be sticky in nature and can be easily dissolved with hot water. Try to have few sips of warm water first thing in the morning. You can add some fresh herbs like ginger to see effective results.

_{Starting your day with warm water or herbal tea may rev up metabolism}

6. Sleep Well

A disturbed sleep quality can ruin your health and weight. In fact, modern research studies have found out that insufficient sleep may be a contributing factor in weight gain. According to the Ayurveda, the ideal time period should be 10 pm to 6 am.

How to Remove Kapha from Body

Kapha is one of the doshas that governs the structure of the body. It is the principal that holds the cells together which forms the muscle, fat and bones in the body. A person governed by kapha dosha usually have a strong built and strong stamina and are blessed with good digestion. Even though people governed by kapha dosha are said to be active, in case of kapha imbalance in the body they can face the problems of weight gain, fluid retention, allergies and fatigue among others. Kapha imbalance in the body can also cause ailments like diabetes, depression, asthma and excessive of sleep.

Causes of kapha imbalance:

Signs that point towards increase of kapha in the body include:

• Heaviness
• Lethargy
• Laziness
• Excessive sleep
• Constipation
• Poor appetite
• Nausea
• Excess salivation
• Diarrhea
• Indigestion
• Sweet taste in mouth

How to balance kapha dosha:

Kapha people are usually warm, loving and thoughtful people. But when their kapha goes out of balance, they can become quite stubborn and unreasonable. To get the toxins and stress out of the system, the following things should be included in your everyday regime.

1. Seek newness:Kapha is usually associated with the qualities of cold, heavy and dense and so require constant stimulation to keep them hooked and interested in a thing. Bringing about a change in your everyday routine and introducing new things on a constant basis can provide you with the required stimulation and excitement. Talk about how to reduce kapha!
2. Exercise:Any form of physical activity is good for the body. Indulging in yoga, walking, running, swimming etc., not only aids in keeping your body fit but also elimination of harmful toxins from the body by regularizing your bowel movements and keeping the gut clean. It also helps in  building stamina and keep you strong. Also Learn about the various benefits of yoga.
3. Stay warm:People of kapha dosha are normally sensitive to cold and damp places. It is therefore advised for them to stay warm. Using heat pads or wearing warm layering of clothes can benefit you to a great extent.
4. Detoxify to remove kapha dosha:Thinking how to balance kapha dosha? Try the detoxification diet. Doing it once a week can help remove free radicals from the body and remove any kind of congestion from the digestive system. Accumulation of waste in the intestine can lead to the problems of stomach disorders, indigestion, acidity and gas. In order to avoid indigestion, read more about home remedies for indigestion. A liquid and fruit based diet will help clear the blockages from the system and keep your digestive system and gut healthy and clean.
5. Favour warm substances:If you need answer to the question of how to balance kapha dosha, start including warm substances in your daily diet. Warm beverages like herbal teas and soups and spices like cinnamon, cloves, ginger etc., keeps the kapha stimulated.
6. Perform Ayurvedic neti pot:Nasal cleansing aids in removing congestion of any kind from the lungs and the respiratory tract. Performing it every morning can help balance kapha dosha.

How to remove kapha from body:

What we eat can have a positive as well as adverse effect on us and our body. According to Ayurveda, it is important to eat a healthy diet in order to both remove excess of kapha from the body as well as balance it. Because kahpa is easily aggravated by heavy, pungent and oily substances, therefore, when it comes to the question of how to remove kapha from body, a kapha pacifying diet of light, dry and warm foods is recommended.

Here is a guide to what to eat and what to remove from your diet in case you are seeking answers to the question of how to remove kapha from body.

Kapha Dosha Diet :

1. Liquids:A day of liquid diet per week can help you balance as well as remove excess kapha from your body. Ingesting fresh fruit and vegetable juices & smoothie and hot beverages like herbal tea & soups are the best examples of a kapha pacifying diet.
2. Dairy products:While dairy products are known to aggravate kapha, at the same time, consuming their low fat and calorie versions can help you find an answer to the question of how to balance kapha dosha via kapha pacifying diet. Low fat milk is a good option. Always boil it before consuming. You can also add a teaspoon of turmeric or ginger to it as it helps in reducing any kapha increasing qualities of milk. Also, consuming yogurt or ghee made of low fat milk is a good example of kapha pacifying diet.
3. Fruits:Light fruits like apples, pears, watermelon, pomegranates, apricots and cranberries etc., form an integral part of a kapha diet. They are any day better than consuming their heavier or sour counterparts like bananas, oranges, pineapples, avocado, coconut and dates among others.
4. Sweeteners:Except for honey, most of the other sweeteners must be avoided if you are looking at definitive answers to the question of how to remove kapha from body. It is considered to be the only sweetener that can best pacify kapha and hence advised for consumption. Honey for weight loss is one of the most reliable and useful methods. To help release excess kapha from the body, a teaspoon of raw honey each day can be made a part of your kapha diet.
5. Hot/Warm beverages:Herbal teas and soups are advised to be included in your everyday kapha diet, as they tend to stimulate the digestive system as well as sharpen the taste buds. Read more on different types of taste. Wondering how to remove kapha from body? Drink 3-4 cups of teas like ginger, mint or cinnamon tea can do the trick. To make this tea:
   • Boil 4-5 cups of water in a pan
   • Add ½ inch of ginger and let it simmer for 2-3 minutes
   • Take the pan off the heat and steep 1-2 herbal flavoured tea bag in it
   • Remove the tea bag after a while and store the tea in a tea pot
   • Drink it through the day as part of your everyday kapha diet
6. Spices:Want to know how to balance kapha dosha? Try banishing salt from your diet. Use instead pungent spices like pepper, mustard seeds, ginger, cloves and cayenne in your diet. These spices will not only stimulate and balance kapha but also make your digestive system to function properly.
7. Oils & nuts:Kapha diet suggests intake of lighter oils like olive oil, almond oil, sunflower oil and pure ghee. Also, favouring pumpkin and sunflower seeds is a better option over heavy nuts like cashews, pistachios and pine nuts among others.
8. Light meats over red meats:For those who love their non-vegetarian offerings, lighter and organic meats like white chicken, eggs, turkey and other variety of seafood is recommended over lamb, pork or beef.
9. Grains:Grains form an integral part of our diet. So, when it comes to how to balance kapha dosha, a kapha diet consisting of barley, corn, millet rye and buckwheat is favoured over a diet of oats, rice and wheat.

An ideal kapha diet is the one that fills you up with energy and vigour. If you want to know how to balance kapha dosha, the key lies in eating at designated times, eating healthy and in moderation. An ideal diet should consist of three meals a day wherein the heaviest meal of the day should be had in the morning followed by a hearty lunch and light dinner. You should allow a minimum of 3 hours of rest to your stomach between each meal and must avoid going to bed immediately post any meal. Include a bit of physical activity in your everyday regime and you will be able to live a healthy and balanced life.