It seems impossible to get away from the issue of weight. It is frequently discussed in magazines, newspapers and on TV, as rates of obesity continue to rise at an alarming rate.
People’s dietary habits have changed over the past few decades to include larger serving sizes, more processed foods containing higher amounts of fats and sugars, eating out more, increased snacking (without decreasing meal size) and less activity. This combined with unhealthy lifestyle, environmental and genetic factors have resulted in the number of overweight people doubling over the past 2 decades.
Aside from the issues of appearance and finding clothes to fit, being a healthy weight significantly reduces the risk of developing high blood pressure, high cholesterol, heart disease, diabetes, stroke, gallstones, respiratory problems, sleep apnoea, gout, arthritis, and certain types of cancer. You will also feel much better in yourself, have more energy and may even feel more confident!
Weight and body fat can be measured in numerous ways, from scales to skin-fold tests. It’s important to remember that people come in all different shapes and sizes and there is no ‘ideal’ body shape. The main thing is to ensure your height and weight are in proportion, and that you’re not carrying too much fat around your waist.
Health professionals currently use Body Mass Index (BMI) to calculate healthy weight ranges. Your BMI can be calculated using the following equation
People tend to store extra weight either around their hips and buttocks, or around their middle. When fat is stored around the abdominal area the risk of health problems is increased. Ideally, Waist measurements should be less than 88cm for women and less than 102cm for men.
Ten Top Tips To Try!
Successful weight loss is based on small, sustainable changes which take into account both the physical, mental and emotional reasons we eat. Write down the changes you want to make and aim to make 1-3 changes each week, ticking them off as you work through them. You could try keeping a food diary, to help keep you on track. Don’t be discouraged if everything doesn’t fall into place immediately. Often it can take a number of attempts to make a change, so be patient with yourself and don’t give up. Some ideas to consider are:
- Only eat when you are hungry. If you find yourself snacking because you are depressed, bored, or frustrated, try to distract yourself with non-food activities like going for walk, ringing or emailing a friend, reading a book or magazine, or start a new project such as gardening, sewing or painting!
- Enjoy your food. Take time to savour each mouthful and concentrate on the tastes and textures of what you are eating. It can take 20 minutes for your brain to register that you are ‘full’, so allow time between meals and snacks. Avoid ‘unconscious eating’, eating on the run or while you are watching TV. Eat slowly and stop halfway through a meal to check if you have had enough. You don’t have to finish everything that’s on your plate!
- Plan healthy meals and snacks and make them readily available. Knowing what you are going to cook most nights of the week and buying the necessary ingredients saves relying on takeaways and fast foods. Pop a piece of fruit in your bag when you go shopping, instead of buying high-fat snacks. Don’t forget to eat before you go shopping, too! You’re more likely to be tempted by unhealthy snack foods if you are hungry.
- Rethink ‘good’ and ‘bad’ foods. Instead of ‘banning’ certain foods from your diet, try thinking of them as ‘everyday’ foods and ‘occasional’ foods. If you really feel like an ‘occasional’ food like chocolate or chips, wait 15 minutes (you may forget about your craving or it may disappear if you get busy with other activities!) then if you still want to eat it, allow yourself a small amount and really enjoy it. Usually a small taste is enough to satisfy a craving!
- Eat regular meals, especially breakfast. Eating regular meals based on vegetables, fruit, grains, legumes and nuts will provide all the nourishment your body needs, keep up your metabolism and decrease the risk of ‘grazing’ throughout the day.
- Reduce the amount of fat in your diet, particularly saturated fat. Because fat contains twice as many kilojoules per gram as carbohydrate or protein, cutting down on fat means cutting down on kilojoules. Ways to reduce fat include:
- Trim all visible fat off meat and remove skin from chicken before cooking.
- Swap to low-fat varieties of dairy foods and soy alternatives.
- Try steaming, microwaving, dry-roasting and stir-frying to limit the amount of fat added during cooking.
- Roast vegetables and meat on a rack instead of letting them sit in oil or fat. If you can, make casseroles the day before and skim off the fat when they cool, before reheating to serve.
- Reduce the amount of margarine used for spreading.
- Avoid or limit high-fat foods, such as takeaways, chips, biscuits and pastry.
A quick note on fats - Some ‘good’ fats are necessary to maintain health and will provide you with the benefits of good fats without the bad fats - try having a small handful of nuts or seeds as a snack and ensure any oils or spreads you do use are unsaturated (such as olive, canola or nut-based) - Read food labels and aim to choose foods with less than 10g of fat per 100g and less than 10g sugar per 100g.
- Avoid or limit alcohol. Alcohol contains many ‘empty’ kilojoules which contribute no nutrients but still cause weight gain. Alcohol also stimulates appetite, increasing the likelihood of eating more than you need.
- Avoid second helpings or ‘sampling’ while you’re preparing a meal.
- Don’t weigh yourself each day- once a week is enough to track your progress. Fluid shifts can account for fluctuations of up to 2kg in weight. Muscle weighs more than fat, so if you’re exercising and replacing fat with muscle it won’t register on the scales, but it will show in non-weight measures such as how your clothes fit and improved general well-being.