The weight loss industry is big business. This simply highlights what an important subject it is for millions of people around the work. Whether it’s for personal wellbeing, vanity, or serious health reasons, it’s important that weight loss is done safely. Always seek professional advice before making any major changes to your diet or exercise regime.
The Basic Checklist
- eat 3 regular, balanced meals a day
- try to have meals at planned times
- only include snacks if you’re physically hungry, and definitely not if you’re bored.
- set realistic goals to help you lose weight safely and make you more likely to maintain your weight loss. Small easy to reach goals are best.
One pound of fat contains 3,500 calories so cutting your calorie intake by 500 calories per day on average, should see you lose 1 pound per week. While it might not seem like much, if you ate an extra 100 calories per day, by the end of the year you could gain 11lbs. Small changes make a huge difference in the long term.
Try Some Healthy Alternatives
Substitute high-calorie food for healthier alternatives if you’re trying to lose weight. Here are some things you could swap:
- swap crisps for crunchy carrots and dip them in some low-fat hummus
- a chocolate bar for a handful of unsalted nuts
- high-calorie coffee – such as a latte or mocha – for a lower calorie Americano
Alter Your Portion Sizes
Losing weight is about eating a healthy and balanced diet, but a big part of being successful in your weight loss attempts is learning how to control your portion sizes. Everyone will have different suitable portion sizes but check out the table below. This gives a guide for some common foods that might be part of your existing diet.
| Food item | Portion size |
| Pasta and rice | 2 to 3 tablespoons |
| Bread | 1 medium slice |
| Cooked meat | Size of a deck of cards |
| Milk | 200ml |
| Hard cheese | Size of a matchbox |
| Beans or pulses | 4 tablespoons |
Picking a smaller plate can help to reduce your portion sizes and in turn, the number of calories consumed.
Never go shopping when you’re hungry and try to make a shopping list you can stick to when you go to the supermarket or shop. Plan your meals and shop to suit then and try to avoid supermarket promotions where they have bulk buy deals for snacks that are high in salt or sugar content.
No Time For Tech
Try not to use your phone, tablet, or watch TV while you eat. This can distract us and we can continue to eat whilst not realising because our attentions are focused elsewhere other than what we’re eating.
Stay Active
Keeping active has many benefits to your health and wellbeing and when part of a healthy diet, can be an effective way to lose weight. It’s recommended that all adults should try to be active every day and should complete at least 150 minutes of moderate aerobic exercise per week. This could include many different activities such as cycling, walking or even heavy housework where your breathing is increased but you are still able to talk. Find a balanced activity that suits you.
Alternatively, you could complete 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic exercise, which could include activities such as running or a game of football where your breathing is fast and you are finding it difficult to talk during. You could split this up into manageable workouts such as 30 minutes over 5 days of the week.
It’s is also recommended that adults include strength and balance exercises twice a week that keep muscle, bones and joints strong and reduce our risk of frailty and falls in later life. You could try some useful strength and balance exercises. Even simple bodyweight exercises or yoga are ideal ways of staying flexible and healthy. It’s important to remember that some movement is important, but more is better. Try to find something you enjoy doing, you might find it’s something new. Maybe try tennis, yoga, climbing, running, or bowling. You never know what you might find that works for you.
