When it comes to losing weight, you don’t need a fancy diet to cut flab and look fab. Celebrity nutritionist Pooja Makhija, who have worked with stars such as Deepika Padukone, Ranbir Kapoor, Tammana Bhatia, explained why nothing beats desi food when it comes to keeping calories in check. In a chat with Raj Shamani, Pooja Makhija explained: “Classic Indian food - the diet followed by our grandparents is unbeatable when it comes to health. A thali consists of salad, achaar, which is hailed as a probiotic (probiotic is considered superfood for gut health), at least two vegetable curries, two types of daal or some chicken. Although there are carbs in the thali, it is a balanced meal,” she explained. “There is logic behind what our ancestors have done. All the trends - yogas, turmeric latte, all come from the Vedas, ancient wisdom handed through generations. Nowadays, we set the thali aside, and aped the West. Our thali is marvelously healthy. Our predecessors followed what today’s nutritionists call chronobiology - their biggest meal was breakfast, smallest meal was dinner.”She then cited a research where a group of obese women were given an isocaloric diet according to chronobiology - big breakfast (700 calories), small lunch (500 calories), dinner (200 calories). These women lost double the weight than another group who were prescribed another isocaloric diet with reverse values. “Our grandmothers always advised: “Eat breakfast like queen, lunch like prince, dinner like pauper,” she recalled.