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I really need to lose weight. How should I go about it? Firstly, congratulations on taking the plunge and deciding to lose weight. Start by setting yourself some realistic targets. Health experts recommend that losing just 5-10 percent of your weight will have big health benefits. So for example, if you weigh 80kg, losing just 4-8kg will help improve your health. It’s also important to set a realistic time scale. As a guideline, you should aim to lose no more than 1kg a week, although you may lose a little more when you first start out as your body gets used to a new way of eating. It might not sound much, but it quickly adds up. In just 7 weeks, you can expect to lose 7kg – that’s just over a stone!
Once you’ve done the background work, you’re ready to start shifting those excess kilos. But don’t think of this as a ‘diet’ – ‘going on a diet’ sounds so negative and simply makes us think we’ll be deprived of all our favourite foods. Instead, think of this as a lifestyle change, which incorporates a healthier way of eating that you can maintain for good. Ultimately, the only way to shift those pounds is to create an energy deficit or calorie shortfall so that your body has to use its fat stores to provide it with the energy it needs to function properly. The best way to create this calorie shortfall is to take in fewer calories by modifying your diet each day AND burn up more calories by increasing the amount of exercise you do. As a general rule, most women will lose weight if they have around 1,500 calories a day, and most men around 2,000 calories a day. You can use food labels to help you identify the calorie content of different foods. But as a guideline, high-fat foods usually contain a lot of calories so as a priority, eat fewer of these. Good examples of foods to cut back on include oil, butter, margarine, cream, fried foods, takeaways, chips, crisps, pastry products, croissants, biscuits, cakes, full-fat dairy products and fatty meat. Meanwhile, alcohol contains lots of calories but little else, so it makes sense to limit the amount you drink.
Health experts also agree that everyone, including people who are trying to lose weight, should include starchy, fibre-rich foods in their diet each day such as wholegrain cereals, wholemeal bread, wholewheat pasta, brown rice and jacket potatoes. These foods also provide filling fibre and are reasonably low in fat. But, it’s still important to watch your portion sizes as these foods contain calories. As a rule, try reducing your portion sizes of foods like pasta, rice, potatoes and breakfast cereals by a third. Meanwhile, there’s plenty of good evidence to suggest that protein-rich foods can help to improve that feeling of fullness we get at the end of a meal and can keep us fuller for longer so that we’re less likely to want to snack between meals. As a result, it’s a good idea to include lean, protein-rich foods at mealtimes such as lean beef, lamb and pork, poultry, fish, eggs, low-fat dairy products and pulses. Finally, being more active will help to burn more calories so that you find it easier to lose fat. Plus, regular exercise will improve your cardiovascular fitness, benefit your bones and build strong, toned muscles. The overall result: you’ll look and feel healthier as those kilos drop off. Good luck.
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help you identify those times when you eat despite not being hungry, so that you can change your habits.