HEALTHY TIPS FOR WEIGHT LOSS

1. There is no magic way to get rid of extra body fat quickly. Fat is accumulated over a period of time and therefore will not be shed overnight. So try and be patient.
2. Diets that offer very quick results are not nutritionally balanced and any weight loss will usually be regained very quickly. Rapid weight loss usually means that lean body tissue ie muscle is being lost along with water and fat. This is not desirable. A desirable weekly weight loss should be 1-2 lbs.
3. Initially when we cut down our calorie intake or increase our physical activity (or do both), the carbohydrate stores in our muscles and in the liver (called glycogen) is used up, before any body fat. Water is attached to glycogen and an associated water loss is experienced in the first week of dieting. This usually gives a person the incentive to continue, as a loss of up to 3 kgs is sometimes found.
4. To lose body fat healthily we should continue to do so steadily. Enough calories should be consumed to give the body enough energy to function efficiently ie approximately 1300-1500 calories per day. A healthy diet should be followed in order to supply all the essential nutrients, this is even more important now that calorie intake has been reduced. So make every calorie count nutritionally ie always fill up on nutritious foods first.
5. To lose l lb (½ kg) of body fat we need to create a deficit of 3500 calories from our energy stores. For example if a person consumed 500 calories per day less than their bodies required eg (1500 per day instead of 2000 calories per day) then over a week this would be a deficit of 7 x 500 = 3500 calories which would be equal to l lb of fat lost. If more physical activity was undertaken then this deficit would be greater and 2 lbs per week perhaps may be lost. Note: Energy requirements are individual and therefore the rate of weight loss will also be individual.
6. Keep a record of your initial weight and measurements. However do not weigh yourself more than once a week. Body weight fluctuates greatly from morning to evening ie after a meal. Jumping on the scales can become addictive, as well as depressing. Use waistbands on clothes as a more satisfying guide to loss.
7. Be organised and plan out a week’s menus and shop accordingly. Always use a shopping list and try not to be tempted by special offers of ‘tempting non-nutritional foods’.
8. Don’t shop on an empty stomach and avoid the check-out that has a confectionery stand.
9. If going out for a snack or a meal try to think ahead of what you might choose. If you do have something heavy or calorie laden on occasion, redress the balance by having something light at the next meal.
10. Don’t skip meals and try to spread food intake over the day. Always include a breakfast of some kind, as you will be tempted to eat whatever comes to hand later in the day if you don’t!
11. Make time to sit down and enjoy your meals and eat them slowly, savouring every mouthful by chewing properly. It takes your stomach about 20 minutes to realise it has been fed, so don’t gulp your food down or else you’ll end up over eating.
12. Try to get into the habit of feeling comfortable at the end of a meal and not stuffed full. Eat enough to feel satisfied, but don’t necessarily eat up everything on the plate if you don’t want to.
13. Vary your food and meal choices to avoid boredom, be adventurous in adapting old recipes to be healthier or create new ones.
14. Keep a food diary of what you actually eat and drink in a day. To begin with it will be an eye opener!
15. Know your vulnerable times of day, or mood when you know you will be most be tempted and plan an activity, alternative or diversion to eating ie take a luxurious perfumed bath, phone a friend, go for a walk, read a book, clear out a cupboard etc!
16. Keep a supply of crunchy raw fruit or vegetables in a box in the fridge for when you fancy a nibble. Crunching on a raw carrot whilst preparing tea stops you picking at other food.
17. Stop and think before you eat. Are you really hungry or is it just a fancy or a notion due to boredom? It could be a drink would suffice.
18. Aim to drink plenty of fluids. Water is best, but can be taken in a variety of forms ie in a low sugar squash, fruit juice, herbal or fruit tea, tea or coffee.
19. Alcohol and mixers ie lemonade are often high in calories. Try using mineral water to make a drink a long one, or have as a drink itself between glasses of wine.
20. Avoid the salted nuts and crisps at the pub, they are high in calories and in salt and make you thirstier!
21. Use lots of vegetables in various forms and starchy carbohydrates as the basis of your meals. Cooked in a low fat way these foods provide a satisfying nutritious meal of which you can fill your plate.
22. Because fat supplies twice as many calories weight for weight as protein or carbohydrate foods and excess fat in the diet is easily turned into storage fat in the body it follows then that by reducing the amount of fat in our diet will save a lot of calories and help us to lose weight. No fat is not however better than a little fat, as we require some fat for health, to supply fat soluble vitamins and essential fatty acids which are essential for good health. The following tips can help reduce the total amount of fat in our diet, especially saturated fat, which is already present in unnecessarily high amounts and excess of which is linked to heart disease, as well as obesity:

• Avoid using any kind of fat in cooking if possible. Where a recipe calls for some fat, use a small amount of oil such as olive oil or sunflower oil in a non-stick pan (a small amount of butter may be used occasionally if a dish requires a certain flavour). Try using low fat cooking methods eq. casseroling, grilling, stir fries, microwaving, griddle cooking.
• Trim any fat off of meat or try buying smaller amounts of leaner cuts. Avoid fatty meat products or use only occasionally eg sausages, bacon, haggis or burgers.
• Drain any fat out of mince by dry frying and draining fat off. Use lower fat mince as an alternative.
• Avoid pastries especially meat pastries, pies, sausage rolls etc, also sweet pastries such as Danish pastries are all high in fat.
• Eat fish a few times a week and cook it in a low fat way. By doing this, the amount of saturated fat in the diet is automatically reduced.
• Remember that unsaturated fats such as sunflower oil, olive oil and others found in nuts and in spreads made from these oils, contain the same amount of calories as butter. So use sparingly even though they contain beneficial fatty acids. Alternatively lower fat spreads can be used if desired as most of these are lower in calories.
• Find low fat alternatives to cream in cooking such as low fat fromage frais or natural yoghurt.
• Choose yoghurts which are low in fat and in sugar eg. Shape.
• Make home-made salad dressings based on yoghurt with garlic and herbs, rather than salad cream, mayonnaise or high oil dressings. Or use low fat alternatives.
• Try not to eat the skin from roast chicken – it is full of fat.
• Use low fat varieties of dairy produce ie (milk, cheese) or else use smaller quantities of full flavour cheese, if reduced fat versions are not acceptable.
• Buy tinned fish in brine rather than oil.
• Skim any fat off of stews with a fat skimming brush, or gravy separator. Stock can be added to meat juices and thickened with a little cornflour.
• Spreading fat may not always be needed when making a sandwich or a toast snack ie if filling or topping is already moist eg tuna salad sandwich or beans or sardines in tomato sauce on toast.
• Nuts and seeds of the unsalted variety are a good source of vitamins, minerals and unsaturated fat (ie polyunsaturates) However they are still high in calories and should be consumed perhaps sprinkled sparingly over a salad as part of a meal rather than used for nibbling.
• Spice up your meals with herbs, chillies, black pepper, garlic, tomato concentrates etc as flavour of food can be lost when the amount of fat in the meal is reduced.
23. Keep your exercise up, make it part of your daily routine. Increased activity will help you lose excess weight, make you feel better, improve your health and your mood, as well as help you maintain your goal weight once you are there.
24. When you are on holiday and are maybe eating or drinking more, redress the balance by doing more exercise eq. walking, swimming, dancing, water sports etc.
25. Don’t be too hard on yourself, allow yourself a treat now and then, but have it after a meal, so it won’t lead to eating too much of it! If you do have the occasional treat have it when you really feel you want it and nothing else will do, and don’t feel guilty! But don’t have it just because it’s there!