How to lose weight eating normal Pakistani and Indian food

You do not need oats from abroad, expensive salads or a separate pot of "diet food". People lose weight every day eating roti, daal and sabzi. The secret is not the type of food, it is how much, and how it is cooked.

By Muhammad IshfaqUpdated 25 October 20264 min read

Step 1: Know your number

Your body uses a certain number of calories every day, depending on your age, sex, height, weight and how active you are. To lose weight, you need to eat a bit less than this. Our daily calorie calculator works this out in one minute.

For most people, eating about 500 calories less than they use leads to losing around half a kilo a week. That may sound slow, but it is 2 kg a month and up to 20 kg in a year, and weight lost slowly is much more likely to stay off.

Step 2: Use the desi plate rule

You do not have to count every calorie. Just build each main meal like this:

• Half the plate: vegetables. Sabzi made with little oil, salad, kachumber, cucumber, or a bowl of soup.
• A quarter: protein. Daal, chana, chicken, fish, eggs, paneer or dahi.
• A quarter: carbs. 1 to 2 rotis, or one cup of rice.

The usual desi plate is the opposite: a big pile of rice or 3 to 4 rotis, with a small bowl of salan. Just changing the balance on the plate can cut 300 calories from a meal without you feeling hungry.

Step 3: Control the oil

This is the biggest change for most families. One tablespoon of oil or ghee has about 120 calories. In many homes, each plate of salan ends up with 2 to 3 tablespoons of oil, which is 240 to 360 calories from oil alone.

• Measure oil with a spoon. Do not pour from the bottle.
• Bhuno with less oil and add a splash of water if the masala sticks.
• Skip the "tari" on top. The layer of oil floating on karahi or nihari is pure fat. Spoon it off.
• Grill, bake, steam or air-fry instead of deep frying.
• Use a non-stick pan for eggs, cheela and parathas.

The ICMR guidelines suggest limiting visible fats and oils to about 25 to 30 g a day for an adult, which is about 2 tablespoons in total.

Step 4: Cut the sugar you drink

Sugary drinks fill you with calories but do not fill your stomach. A glass of cola has about 140 calories, a glass of sweet lassi about 250, and a packet juice about 120. Sugar in chai adds up too, as we explain in chai with sugar.

Switch to water, lemon water without sugar, plain lassi with a pinch of salt, or chai with less sugar.

Step 5: Add protein to every meal

Protein keeps you full for longer and helps you keep your muscle while you lose fat. Good desi sources are eggs, daal, chana, dahi, chicken, fish and paneer. Read daal, chana and lobia: cheap protein for budget ideas.

A sample day of about 1,500 calories

Want a plan made for you? Our diet plan maker builds a day of meals from desi foods to match your calorie target. For a full week, read our 1,500 calorie desi diet plan.

Step 6: Move a little more

Food matters most for weight loss, but activity helps you keep the weight off and is great for your heart, blood sugar and mood. A brisk 30 minute walk after dinner, most days of the week, is a great start. See walking for weight loss.

Common traps in desi homes

• "Just one more roti." Mothers and grandmothers show love with food. It is fine to say no politely.
• Eating late and heavy. Big dinners at 11 pm, followed by sleep, make it easy to overeat. Try to finish dinner 2 to 3 hours before bed.
• Weekend feasts. Five careful days and two days of biryani, halwa puri and pizza can cancel each other out.
• "Healthy" foods in big amounts. Dry fruits, honey, desi ghee and fruit juice are nutritious but very high in calories.
• Skipping meals. Skipping breakfast often leads to overeating later in the day.

Be patient with yourself

Weight goes up and down by 0.5 to 1 kg from day to day because of water and salt. Weigh yourself once a week, at the same time, and look at the trend over a month. If your weight stops going down, read why you are not losing weight.

Common questions

Can I lose weight eating roti and rice?

Yes. Weight loss depends on total calories, not on cutting out a food group. Eat 1 to 2 rotis or one cup of rice per meal, with plenty of vegetables and protein.

How fast can I lose weight safely?

About 0.5 to 1 kg a week is safe for most adults. Faster loss usually means losing water and muscle, and the weight often comes back.

Do I need to stop eating ghee completely?

No. A small amount, like one teaspoon on daal, is fine. The problem is large amounts used every day in cooking and on top of food.

Is it necessary to go to the gym?

No. You can lose weight with food changes alone. Walking and some simple home exercise help you keep muscle and stay healthy, but a gym is not needed.

Sources

1. National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIH). Body Weight Planner and the science of energy balance. www.niddk.nih.gov/bwp
2. Hall KD, Sacks G, Chandramohan D, et al. Quantification of the effect of energy imbalance on bodyweight. The Lancet, 2011;378:826-837. doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(11)60812-X
3. ICMR-National Institute of Nutrition. Dietary Guidelines for Indians, 2024. www.nin.res.in/dietaryguidelines
4. Ministry of Planning, Development and Reform, Government of Pakistan, and FAO. Pakistan Dietary Guidelines for Better Nutrition, 2018.
5. Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Healthy Eating Plate. nutritionsource.hsph.harvard.edu/healthy-eating-plate
6. Leidy HJ, Clifton PM, Astrup A, et al. The role of protein in weight loss and maintenance. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2015;101:1320S-1329S. doi.org/10.3945/ajcn.114.084038

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