Safe and Healthy Weight Loss

It is almost every day that we are bombarded with the newest diet trends and health tips. Diet and health books are published every day it seems, and there are advertisements for weight loss posted everywhere we go. Usually, they get straight to the point and tell us how to lose weight and how to lose it fast. It seems that in today’s society everything needs to be done as quick as possible, people are too busy to take the time. But is that really the right approach to take when it comes to weight loss?

The answer is a big definite no.

Weight loss should be gradual. It should start with small (but permanent) changes to your lifestyle and habits that build up to bigger changes over time. Unfortunately, the modern world has made it easier to pack the weight on but harder to lose it. Larger portion sizes, the introduction of cheap junk food items feel irresistible, tickle our taste buds without nourishing us and add centimeters to our waistlines and kgs to the scales.  Add this to an environment where we busily sit for most of the time and where downtime is screen-time too it means it is easier to make and store fat than it is to burn it.

So how then can we successfully lose weight but also do it in a safe and healthy way?

It makes sense that to lose weight we need to make sure we don’t over consume calories especially from sources that are easily stored as fat (like sugary and processed foods).  This is definitely an important part of the weight loss strategy however there are many other factors that need to be considered.

For example:

• Is your body getting all of the vitamins and nutrients it needs?  Are your calories nutrient dense?
• Is your body getting enough energy (calories)?  Starving yourself can cause muscle wasting, cravings and ultimately slow down your metabolism so eventually you can find yourself gaining weight or finding your weight loss effort plateaus prematurely.
• Are you regularly practising mindful eating? (E.g. eating without distractions and savoring your food can help you to enjoy your food and be more in touch with your hunger so you eat for the right reasons and feel satisfied for longer).
• Have you asked yourself why you eat? (If you think that you might be eating for the wrong reasons you might benefit from a consultation with Lisa to talk this through and work through alternatives).

Crash diets, bursts of weekly exercise interspersed in long sedentary days and starving yourself will not benefit you. Fad diets that eliminate food groups will cause your body to become deficient in essential vitamins and nutrients that your body needs.

Rather, introduce small changes gradually and you will be surprised at how much of a difference they make. For example, if you regularly skip breakfast in the morning because you don’t have the time, take 5 minutes in the evening to put some oats, yoghurt and berries in a bowl. Let it soak in the fridge overnight and in the morning, voila: you’ve got Bircher Muesli, simply take it out and eat!   Or boil a couple of eggs the night before, in the morning you can grab the eggs and a couple of pieces of fruit and you’ve got breakfast on the go.  Another small change you could make is to swap white rice for brown or quinoa.  Include a 20 minute walk a few times a week.  It only takes a few small changes to make a healthy difference.

For healthy weight loss, look at losing no more than 0.5kg per week.

And most importantly, by focusing on the nutrients in the food, the ingredients in the food and why you eat, you will be setting yourself up for successful, safe and healthy weight loss, and so much more.