Maharishi Ayurveda offers a comprehensive weight management programme that can not only help you achieve and maintain a balanced weight without strain but also results in side benefits such as more energy, better functioning body and youthful appearance. The key is to balance digestion and this will help to reduce cravings and normalise appetite.

First determine your body type (see our questionnaire or ask for our Tridosha Questionnaire leaflet).

Kapha-Related Weight Imbalance

The first type of overweight imbalance is due to a lack of digestive fire (low agni) and low metabolic rate. These individuals, even though they may eat very small amounts of food, tend to gain weight. With this type of imbalance digestive impurities are being created, fat tissue is accumulating in the body and the formation of bone tissue is slowed down due to accumulation of fat tissue. The solution is to increase the metabolic rate and burn up the impurities.

Exercise helps to burn ama and increases circulation and metabolism - do 30 minutes each day of brisk walking or other activities such as dancing, swimming or weight training. Follow a diet that stimulates digestion and reduces Kapha by favouring astringent, bitter, and pungent tastes and reducing salty, sweet, and sour foods. Adding Kapha Churna Spice Mix helps with this.

Be Trim 1 Tablets

Be Trim 1 tablets support metabolism of fats, cholesterol and slow absorption carbohydrates.

(Ram’s Horn and Indian Kino help balance fat metabolism and slow carbohydrate absorption. Guggul helps balance fat metabolism and the accumulation of cholesterol. Zinc Bhasma aids fat metabolism while Indian Tinospora, Indian sarsaparilla, Nutgrass and Cumin boost digestion and assimilation).

Taking Be Trim Tea throughout the day supports elimination of ama.

Diffuse Be Trim Therapeutic Aroma in your bedroom at night and in the morning do Garshan massage using silk Garshan Gloves to help stimulate digestion and increase circulation. (see Ayurvedic Massage). Once a week, preferably on the weekends, a gentle laxative therapy is recommended by using Herbal Cleanse tablets. This will further supports elimination of toxins.

Pitta-Related Weight Imbalance

When excess weight accumulates, it plugs up nutrient circulation and can aggravate Pitta. This results in excess acid, a lot of thirst, irritability and an intense appetite for sweet, heavy, cooling foods — the very kind of foods that cause you to gain weight to begin with.

Be Trim 2 Tablets

Be Trim 2 tablets is a gentle blend that helps balance the appetite, regulate stomach acid and support fat metabolism. As a result the excessive craving for sweet, heavy foods is reduced and the vicious cycle is broken.   Be Trim 2 contains the same ingredients as Be Trim 1 without the Iron bhasma but in different proportions.

Instead of Be Trim Tea, sip herbalised water containing small amounts of fenugreek, coriander, liquorice and fennel during the day. Fenugreek burns fat and helps absorption, coriander eliminates toxins, liquorice is cooling and fennel helps with digestion.

To make the water:

Boil 1 quart of water and pour into a thermos.

Add 2 pinches ground fenugreek, 2 pinches liquorice root, 1/4 teaspoon whole coriander seeds, and 1/4 teaspoon fennel seeds.

Drink throughout the day.

This Pitta-Related Weight Imbalance programme calls for moderate exercise - about 30 minutes 3-4 times a week. Brisk walking, yoga, swimming, and light weight training are ideal.

Favour Pitta pacifying foods include squash, warm milk, and homemade buttermilk. Stewed prunes and figs can be eaten on the weekends to provide a gentle laxative therapy without disturbing Pitta. Eat lots of sweet juicy fruits.

A mixture of 1 part turmeric, 2 parts cumin, 3 parts coriander, and 4 parts fennel can be added to your vegetables or legumes during cooking to help balance digestion, assimilation and stomach acid. This mixture is available as Digestive Spice Mix with organic ingredients.

Regular body massage with herbalised sesame oil is very stabilising. Try Pitta Massage Oil - the cooling effect of its precious sandalwood will further help you to balance Pitta. 

Beating Back Stress

Common to both imbalances is overeating due to emotional stress. This can manifest as eating when you are not hungry or looking for something sweet to pacify a bad mood. If this is the case, the Maharishi Ayurveda Council of Vaidyas recommends taking Blissful Joy tablets to help uplift to the emotions or Peace of Mind tablets and Peace of Mind Tea to help smooth out anxious thoughts.

Because they extend the digestion of carbohydrates over a period time the Be Trim 1 & 2 tablets reduced cravings for sweets and maintain a good appetite. When you experience sugar cravings try a cup of Be Trim Tea, a date, or a little lassi (1 part yoghurt: 3 parts water).

Practicing stress reducing techniques such as Transcendental Meditation®, or doing yoga asanas is also effective. Receiving massage therapy once a week, regular exercise and surrounding yourself with positive people are other practical tips mentioned by the Council to overcome emotional overeating.

Maharishi Ayurveda also recommends avoiding commercial protein powder drinks. Instead eat live protein filled with the intelligence of nature from almonds (no more than 10 per day), walnuts, legumes, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds and milk products.

Patience is also one of the key factors that should be included in this program. This is not a fast method to shed pounds but a holistic approach from which you will see satisfying results gradually. Once you have built up your digestive fire and the metabolic processes are balanced, then you can enjoy a more flexibility with your diet.

For other information helpful for weight balance see: Water and Weight Loss; Lighten up – balance Kapha; Importance of Bitter and Astringent Tastes; Close Up on the Six Tastes of Ayurveda; Barley Water and Kanji Water.

For further information about and to order the products mentioned above see How to Order or call 01695 51015 and for information about the Maharishi Ayurveda Health Centre see www.MaharishiAyurveda.co.uk or call 01695 51008.

DISCLAIMER: The information in this document is presented for the sole purpose of imparting education on Maharishi Ayurveda and neither the information nor the products are intended to diagnose, treat, mitigate, cure or prevent any disease. If you have a medical condition, or are pregnant or lactating, please consult a health professional and it is recommended that you speak with your physician before making significant changes to your diet or routine.