Lose weight, be healthy

Losing weight can help improve lots of health conditions, (and being overweight is set to become the main cause of cancer for women in the UK in the next 25 years), but shedding the pounds is much easier said than done.  Here are some ideas to get you started.  Why not let us know what works for you?  Remember that everyone has their own healthy weight.  It is more important to be find your own healthy weight than to try to force yourself to live up to an unrealistic image.

Tips

Give yourself a kick start

Experts used to say that the best approach to losing weight was slow and steady, but new research suggests that a quick, intense loss of weight can be just as effective in the long term.  Why not try a few weeks on a fasting plan like the 5:2 diet, where you aim to eat around 2,000 calories a day for 5 days of the week, and just 200 calories on the other 2 days of the week.  Feeling the impact of your hard work straight away can help you to keep motivated.

Join a slimming club

Research suggests that people who join a slimming club are the most likely to keep weight off in the long term, as they provide sensible advice and social support, and help you to find strategies that you can keep using all your life. So find a club near you and sign yourself up.

Eat a wide variety of food

Dieting alone might help you lose weight, but it won’t necessarily make you healthier.  Try to eat a wide variety of foods, swapping foods high in fat, sugar and salt for ones with lots of colourful fruit and vegetables.  Not only will this improve your health, but it will also improve your gut microbiome (the bacteria in your gut).  Recent studies suggest that having healthy gut bacteria could actually be an aid to weight loss.  Try our tips here for a healthy gut.  Building more beans and pulses into your diet may be a good tip to try out.

Try eating in a 12 hour window

There have been claims that eating within a 12 hour window can help you to lose weight (e.g. only eating between 7am and 7pm).  The research behind this isn’t great, but if your weakness is snacking in the evening, this might be a good approach for you to try.

Build more exercise into your week

Just focusing on losing weight through diet can backfire, as your body may think you are facing starvation, and compensate by becoming even better at storing fat.  The best way to beat this is to do more exercise, as muscles use more energy than fat even when resting.  Find ways that you can move more each day, and choose things that you enjoy:

• Walk or cycle to work.  If your journey is too long, get off the bus a stop earlier, or park a little further away.
• Do something fun: join a team, take up dancing, exercise with friends
• Set yourself a challenge
• Get outdoors: try gardening, or go for a hike

Choose a good time to start

It’s easy to keep on putting off losing weight.  Set yourself a date to start, and make sure you stick to it.  Starting your new healthy approach might be easier at a time when everyone else is doing the same thing e.g. in January.  But if January sounds too depressing a time to lose weight, set a start date that works for you.  Think of all your favourite foods, and how much you have enjoyed eating them, then acknowledge that you have probably eaten enough of them for now.  You can always come back to them in the future, when you have got healthier.  Now is the time to start the new you.

Improve your motivation

Why do you really want to lose weight?  Instead of telling yourself that you ‘should’ lose weight, find a positive reason why you want to shed the pounds.  You’ll find it much easier to succeed if you have a reason like ‘I want to be able to go swimming with my family’.

Another way to improve your motivation is to break your goal down into manageable chunks, for example, to eat more healthily for two weeks.  Try writing down a plan for each week with where you want to be, and check your progress against it.

Help your willpower

You’re not unusual in finding it hard – very few people have the willpower to lose weight successfully.  Help your willpower at every stage.  Keep healthy snacks in the house.  When is your problem time?  If you snack at work, take in a healthier alternative.  If you always snack in the evening, don’t have your favourite snacks in the cupboard.  Try taking up an activity that uses your hands, like knitting or whittling.  Fill your spare time with activities like singing.  Try hypnosis.  Or, how about wearing clothes with a tight waistband, as a constant reminder not to snack.  There are lots of great Apps out there too – try to find one that suits you.

Keep healthy food where you can see it

And keep unhealthy food hidden away, in a place that is difficult to reach.  You never know, it might help you to make healthier decisions.

Find easy ways to save calories

If you love biscuits, instead of cutting them out completely, try switching to a lower calorie option like jaffa cakes or party rings.  Watch out for the calories in drinks: smoothies seem healthy but are really high in sugar, so try fruit juice mixed with fizzy water instead.  Alcohol can also be high in calories so try swapping pints for vodka or gin with a diet mixer.  If you’re eating out, go to a restaurant that prints the calories on the menu, so that you know what you are eating.  Having a hot bath or a cold shower also easy ways to burn calories, if you find your willpower waning.

Try eating more Low GI foods

Some research suggests that over-eating isn’t the main cause of obesity. Instead, weight gain comes from eating too many High GI foods (food with a high glycemic index or load), and in particular from eating too many processed carbohydrates.

The research says that when we eat highly processed carbohydrates, our body increases insulin and suppresses glucagon, which tells fat cells to store more calories. This leaves fewer calories available to fuel muscles, and means that the brain thinks that the body isn’t getting enough energy, which, in turn, leads to feelings of hunger.

If you tend to eat lots of processed carbohydrates, and are struggling to lose weight, why not try filling up on more Low GI foods (nuts, seeds, legumes and whole grains) instead? The BBC has some more suggestions for foods you could try here.

Get a good night’s sleep

There’s growing evidence that a good night’s sleep can help to regulate your weight.  Try our tips here.

Consider if you have an addiction

People from all backgrounds can find that this is the reason for their weight gain.  For example, see this piece by a contributor to the BMJ.  If this sounds like you, why not think about trying out Overeaters Anonymous.

Even if you don’t have a full-blown addiction, it can be helpful to approach issues with food in a similar way.  Do you have a particular food that is hard for you to resist?  Think about how you use have used this food to help you to overcome loneliness, sadness, stress or boredom.  Think about all the joy that it has brought you, and then weigh that against how important it is for you to be healthy.

Being healthy is the greatest gift that you can give yourself, and the most love you can show yourself.  Keep this at the front of your mind, whenever you are faced with temptation.

Useful links

The BDA have produced some helpful factsheets here on healthy eating.