The Connection between Spices, Weight Loss & Clutter with Nagina Abdullah

I know there's a spice called garam masala. In fact, I like to use it. Tell me about it.

Absolutely. Oh my gosh, Heather. Well, garam masala is a great spice that it has so many benefits for weight loss. And you know, what happened for me is that I had struggled with my weight my whole life. I tried every diet out there from Atkins to Weight Watchers to Nutrisystem to eating less and exercising more. And no matter what, whenever I would lose weight, I would put it right back on. And I was never able to get to the place that I felt the most energy, that I felt the most confident about myself when I looked in the mirror. And I never felt great wearing the clothes that I wanted to wear. And so as I started, you know, growing up, getting older, it became more of a struggle, it became harder for me to keep my weight where I wanted to. And I realized one of the biggest reasons was because I really didn't enjoy the food that I had to eat when I was on a diet, which is the only way that I knew to lose weight before. I no longer feel that way anymore. There's actually something different than a diet, which is— which feels like a miracle. But I started adding these spices to my food. and I also started adding more metabolism-boosting ingredients and foods to what I was eating. And I grew up eating spices. I am of Indian origin, and we used it at every single meal. It was very normal to use cayenne pepper, turmeric, cumin, coriander, garam masala. That was just how I grew up. And so once I started adding those delicious spices to my food, I actually wanted to eat healthier foods more, and I didn't feel deprived or restricted. And so what happened for me is after I started eating this delicious food and the metabolism-boosting ingredients we'll talk about as well, kept me so full and satiated that I actually got off of sugar. I no longer craved sugar. And the, the most amazing thing is that I lost 40 pounds in 9 months by eating more food and loving what I was eating because of those spices and because of the food that I was eating that was so filling. And so then I decided to start helping other women because I realized it wasn't as hard as, as I had found it to be for my whole life. And so I started the website masalabody.com, and I called it that name because I realized that by adding spices to our, our food, you can actually live in a spicy body. So I did a double play on words.

You went through a period where, you know, every diet out there, and you didn't like the way the food tasted, and you brought spices back in, and that was, that was a big answer for you.

Yes, yes, absolutely. Because it was so flavorful, um, and, and it was so tasty. But the, the key was also that I was adding the right foods to my diet as well and flavoring those. And that became, you know, that was really a part of me getting my metabolism higher, um, as well as enjoying what I was eating. And so now this is a lifestyle, it's not a diet. And that's why I've kept that 40 pounds off for now over 13 years, even through midlife. I've gone through all the midlife changes of bloating, gut health issues, lots of things that happen in perimenopause, menopause. Um, I've been able to overcome those. Because of the, the way that the fact that this is a lifestyle and I no longer diet anymore.

Well, here's, here's my takeaway. I don't think spices get enough attention. I mean, look what has happened. Look what you've done. Look what you created. I know you've helped thousands and thousands of women on their weight loss journeys and nobody else out there is talking about spices.

Yes. I mean, that was why I could not believe it. That's why I had to name my whole entire way of helping people Masala Body, because I couldn't believe how how easy it felt. And so, you know, garam masala is a blend of really delicious spices, and some of the really great spices start off with, you know, it includes the spice cinnamon. And cinnamon is a favorite spice of so many people. And cinnamon is sweet. It's not a spicy spice. In fact, most spices are either sweet or neutral. They're not necessarily spicy. So you don't actually have to need to eat spicy food. You could enjoy the benefits of spices just by adding them as flavorings and as metabolism boosters. What cinnamon does is that it is, it actually helps lower your blood sugar and it helps you keep your, your blood sugar even so that instead of storing fat because your blood sugar is going high, it's keeping your blood sugar at a neutral point or even lowering it and you're able to actually burn fat instead of storing fat. And so that's why cinnamon is so wonderful, especially as a replacement to sugar, because if you're someone that craves sugar, if you start using cinnamon as a replacement, like sprinkling it in your coffee, sprinkling it in your tea, or your smoothie or over fruit, it gives you that sweet sensation, but then it actually, it actually helps curb your sugar cravings as well because you're getting that sweetness, but you're not spiking insulin like sugar does. And like artificial sweeteners would not necessarily spike your, your insulin, but they're not healthy for our gut health and they cause our brain to be addicted to the taste of sugar. And so when you use cinnamon, you get some of that sweetness, but it's not so sharp and it's not causing that fat storage. In fact, by adding cinnamon, you are going to burn more fat instead of storing more fat? Oh, calories in, calories out could have worked for some of us when we were in our twenties and thirties, but it, it's not the right— it wasn't necessarily the right way then. It just, it did work. But now that if for those women that are in midlife and later life, calories in, calories out is not addressing the quality of food that we're eating. And so you can easily get to 1,500 calories by eating very small portions of unhealthy food and quickly get there. Or you can get to 1,500 calories by eating large portions of proteins and vegetables and fibers and healthy fats, um, which, which keep you full and satiated so that you don't have cravings for all those unhealthy foods. Now, one of the things that, you know, that, that will, that will kind of really share this is Weight Watchers. So Weight Watchers asks you, which I followed Weight Watchers before, I actually lost 15 pounds using Weight Watchers, but then I immediately put it back on right after I got off of it. And that's why that was one of my yo-yo experiences. And so what I learned through Weight Watchers, the good thing was I learned about portion control, how important it is to understand, you know, that how much we eat makes a difference. But what they did not teach and what women struggle with today when they're doing something like Weight Watchers is that you're— you're— we're taught to count points and we're taught— not now— taught to count calories of processed foods that are, are very calorically dense. But not very filling and not nutritionally, not nutritionally dense. So they don't have a lot of protein, they don't have a lot of fiber, they don't have the right types of nutrients in it. And so we're, we're, we're left feeling hungry and deprived and restricted all day. But when you really focus on the quality of food, that means that you're going to eat foods that are more filling, that keep your energy stable and even, and are going to allow you to release fat so much more easily, and you're going to enjoy the process, and then you're going to be able to still keep doing it once you get there because it's a lifestyle. That's why I really don't want women to count or to track right away, because then you go to a, a dieting mentality that we've all learned, and you really move away from feeling the effect of the food on your body and understanding it. You're just trying to be perfect. And that's why there's these sayings like, I fell off the wagon, and that's why there's the yo-yo dieting, because diets have taught us to be perfect or we're a failure.

What we should add, but then of course, right, we're all about decluttering and living lighter. So what, what could we consider subtracting that aren't things that aren't doing us any favors anyway?

We need to eat all of the macronutrient categories. So we need to eat proteins. We absolutely need to eat carbs. We have to eat fats.

Fats.

And then we also want to eat fiber in the form of vegetables or low-sugar fruit usually, or also some seeds. And so, so these are really important. If you are depriving yourself of any of these areas, especially being low-carb, it's, it's actually hurting you right now. And it could be the reason that you may be experiencing more bloating and that you can't get your weight off because your body is in a, in a place of survival and you're not giving it enough to actually process what you are, what, what you're consuming. And so, um, so first of all, starting off with all these categories, The number one food that you should be eating more if you're— if you want to get your metabolism revved up and you want to start burning fat is eating what I call protein more. So eating pro— more protein than you are right now. And what I recommend is having 30 grams of protein with your breakfast, starting there and trying to do that at every meal, but really starting with your breakfast and getting that down. That's the number one thing that women that I coach say gets their weight loss activated is eating that 30 grams of breakfast at morning— in the morning. And so what that looks like is having 2 eggs with a, um, with a Greek yogurt, or 2 eggs with 2 turkey sausages that are, uh, organic, like Applegate, or 2 eggs with, um, with egg whites, and then also having some berries on the side. Berries are a low-sugar fruit. And so when you combine these, you're having protein from the eggs, you're having healthy fats as well from the eggs. Those both digest slowly and keep you full for longer, and you're combining it with a low-sugar fruit, so you're not spiking your blood sugar, but you're giving your body that fiber, and fiber also digests slowly. And so this is a very scientific method of keeping yourself full and satiated, but giving yourself the nutrients that you need. And so you'll find that you're not hungry for a couple hours. And then when you have your, your lunch, you also eat, um, that 30 grams of protein in the form of, uh, uh, like any kind of meat, chicken, fish, beef or tofu, Greek yogurt, also garbanzo bean flour. You can add hemp seeds to that to add to, to pump up the protein. So those are— that's really an area that you definitely want to eat more of. And then, you know, the other area that I'll talk about, though I mentioned all the categories, is making sure that you have fiber. Now, in midlife, we absolutely— this is one of the top areas that women are not eating. And it's, to me, protein is number one, fiber is number two, though they're both very important. And what fiber does is that it slowly digests and it also cleanses your gut. It moves food out of your gut. You are going to feel more full and you're going to notice that you have to go to the bathroom more often. And what that means is that food is moving things out of your body. And so one of the easiest ways to get fiber is to eat either half an avocado a day or also eat, eat a tablespoon of flaxseeds or flaxseed meal. 1 to 2 tablespoons, and then also 1 to 2 tablespoons of chia seeds. And so, you know, there's a lot of dietary standards that say 25 grams of protein is good, but from what I've seen in midlife health, and I've seen a lot of women, I've coached over 1,700 women to lose the weight that they want, they get— they, they— most women are not even getting that 25 grams. But what I see is that the actual amount that we need to to move that fat out and move the bloat out and the inflammation is 30 to 40 grams.

How would you connect physical clutter to, to weight loss?

Oh, it is so connected. Absolutely connected. And I do a lot of decluttering of my house regularly, trying to declutter drawers and declutter areas. And the feeling of accomplishment it gives you, the feel like you could seriously feel like you lost 10 pounds after you, after you clear a closet. It is so satisfying and it is so worth doing it because, you know, it takes— it also feels like it's a lot of work when you go— when you get ready for it, just like it does to lose weight. You feel like, oh, it's a lot of work, I'm gonna have to restrict, I'm gonna— but if you learn the systems and you learn the strategies to do it, it can actually be quite relaxing to go through the process of decluttering and weight loss. And then once you're done, you're done. I mean, you created a way that you don't have to keep coming back to it and thinking about it. And so with decluttering, you release that from your brain. You no longer have to carry that burden. And with weight loss, you also release something from your brain, a huge thing from your brain, because you're not thinking about it anymore. Just like you were mentioning that it feels so peaceful to be in your body. And I love hearing that word because when we're not in our, in our, at our natural weight, we can, we like, for me specifically, and for many women I've talked to, we're consumed with thinking about how to get this weight off. How am I going to get it off? What fad should I try? What trend should I try? What diet? What do I do? And when you have accomplished it, then you feel that ease and that peace and that sense of real accomplishment. And then what happens after that is because you have so much mind space that's free, you get to think of other things that are so much more fun and you get to plan, plan events, plan to go out, plan, you know, to do something that is enjoyable instead of being burdened by this, this clutter, you know, whether it's physical clutter or, or weight anymore. And a whole new life opens up.

Finish the sentence. The lighter path is—

the lighter path is simplicity. And I would say, you know, definitely that comes to with when you're decluttering your home, when you're organizing your home, just keeping it simple. Is going to make you feel so much happier and so much, so, so much more with joy. And when you keep the way that you're eating and your process to, to lead your life simple versus being complicated with lots of recipes and lots of diets, you just keep it simple. You know what works, you figure it out, you, you invest in what works, you know, a system, and then you just keep doing that. And then you don't have to keep thinking about it. And simplicity allows you to do so much more. With other areas of your life and not be just continuously consumed by this one area.