Fat loss

Why Home Cooked Indian Food Isn't Working

Home cooked food can still be too many calories. Here is where they come from.

Tanvi Parikh · 2 min read

Short answer

Home cooked is not the same as low calorie. The usual reasons are oil and ghee, big serves of roti and rice, too little protein, and the extras nobody counts.

Many women cook at home every day, avoid junk food, and still do not lose weight.

The reason is simple. Home cooked does not mean low calorie.

Fat loss still runs on one rule

A small, steady calorie deficit is what drives fat loss 1. This applies to home cooked food too.

Healthy food can still be more than your body needs.

The oil nobody measures

One tablespoon of oil or ghee is about 120 calories 2. Oil goes into the tadka, into the sabzi and onto the roti.

Three or four spoons across a day is 360 to 480 calories, about the size of a meal.

You do not have to cook without oil. Measure it for one week with a spoon instead of pouring. That usually shows where the extra calories are.

Roti and rice add up fast

Three rotis and a bowl of rice in one meal is normal in a lot of homes.

Nobody is asking you to give them up. Pick one per meal. Keep it to about a quarter of your plate.

There is not enough protein

Look at a typical home plate. Dal, sabzi, roti, rice. That is mostly carbohydrate.

Protein helps you keep muscle while you lose fat 3. It also tends to keep you full for longer. Here is how to get more of it as a vegetarian.

The extras that do not count

  • Chai with sugar, three times a day.
  • A handful of nuts every time you walk past the kitchen.
  • Finishing what the kids left on their plates.
  • Namkeen while you cook.
  • Bigger meals on the weekend.

None of these is a problem alone. Together they add up, and most people do not count them.

Stop watching the daily number

Your weight moves up and down every day with water, salt and where you are in your cycle. That is not fat. Look at the weekly trend instead.

The CDC describes a steady pace as about 1 to 2 pounds a week 4. Slower than that is still progress.

What to change first

  1. Measure the oil for a week

    A spoon for the tadka. A spoon for the roti. Write it down.

  2. Put a protein in the centre

    Paneer, tofu, Greek yogurt, eggs, chicken, fish. Something at every meal, not just dal.

  3. Roti or rice, not both

    Choose the one you want more.

What to remember

  • Home cooked does not mean low calorie.
  • Oil and ghee are the most common hidden extra. Measure them for a week.
  • Pick roti or rice at each meal, not both.
  • Most home plates are short on protein.
  • Judge the weekly trend, not the daily number.

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Tanvi Parikh. Certified Fitness Coach (NASM CPFT, CSFNS) and founder of TNV Method.

Sources

  1. 1NIDDK · Weight management
  2. 2USDA · FoodData Central
  3. 3IJSNEM · Protein in a calorie deficit (Helms 2014)
  4. 4CDC · Losing weight

TNV Method is coaching and education, not medical advice. Talk to your doctor before changing medication or starting a new plan.