Yogic diet for weight loss: From high-protein nuts and seeds to soup, what you should eat for breakfast, lunch, dinner

Dr Hansaji Yogendra, a yoga guru and the director of The Yoga Institute, has shared a yogic diet for weight loss in a recent interview with The Rich podcast.

According to her, such a diet focuses on nourishing and balancing the body, while also promoting mindful eating habits. If you’re looking to eat more protein on a vegetarian diet, she suggests seeds and nuts are a quick and easy way to help you meet your goals.

‘Flax seed is better than egg’

Dr Hansaji Yogendra, who often highlights the power of traditional Indian food and nutrition systems, principles of Ayurveda and Sattvic diet in her videos, said in Hindi, “What do you have to do to lose weight? Drink more liquids and reduce your solids intake. For breakfast, around sunrise, you should have nuts, as they give you a good amount of protein. Then there are pumpkin seeds, chia seeds, and flax seeds. In fact, flax seed is better than egg, so I would say totally avoid non-veg.”

Speaking about lunch, she said, “Drink a glass of buttermilk. You can have dal with rice or go for roti and sabzi. You can also add some salad to your lunch.” Dr Hansaji Yogendra added, “For your evening snack, eat a bowl of chana or makhana and drink a glass of lemon water. For dinner, have a big bowl of soup. If you feel hungry, add some rice or roti pieces to you soup and have. Mixed vegetable soup is the best.”

To help you make the best choices, Dr Hansaji Yogendra shared what your yogic diet for weight loss should look like:

Breakfast

⦿ Nuts

Amount per 100 gm: 607 calories and 20 g protein

⦿ Pumpkin seeds

Amount per 100 gm: 559 calories and 10.7 g protein

⦿ Chia seeds

Amount per 100 gm: 487 calories and 17 g protein

⦿ Flax seeds

Amount per 100 gm: 534 calories and 18 g protein

Lunch

⦿ Buttermilk

Amount per 100 gm: 40 calories and 3.3 g protein

⦿ Dal with rice

Amount per 200 gm: 290 calories and 13 g protein

⦿ Or roti with sabzi

Amount per 100 gm: 300-600 calories and 9-16 g protein (depending on sabzi)

Evening snack

⦿ Chana

Amount per 100 gm: 430 calories and 20 g protein

⦿ Makhana

Amount per 100 gm: 430 calories and 20 g protein

⦿ Lemon water

Amount per 100 gm: 22 calories and 0.3 g protein

Dinner

⦿ Soup

Amount per 100 gm: 40-9- calories and 2-10 g protein (depending on the ingredients)