LOSING WEIGHT

 

 

Are you the right weight?

 

There is a lot of evidence to suggest that if you stay within the ideal weight range you are less likely to develop diabetes, cardiovascular disease and some cancers. You will also be able to wear the clothes you want and take part in the activities you fancy. Body Mass Index or BMI is commonly used to test whether you are the correct weight for your height, and although it does not take into account muscle mass it normally gives a reliable estimate of whether you weigh too much or too little.

 

 

 

Body Mass Index (BMI)

 

BMI is your weight (in kilograms) divided by your height (in metres) squared. Use our BMI Calculator to find out your BMI (Body Mass Index). Please call us on 0800 612 4701 if you need any help.

 

So if you need to lose weight…….

 

I’m afraid the best way to achieve weight loss is to eat less and exercise more. It’s hard but it can be done if you are committed - it doesn’t necessarily have to mean drastic changes. If you just decrease your food intake, your body thinks it is being starved so begins to conserve energy and reduce its use of fat stores. This means you will not continue to lose weight as your metabolism slows. The best way to increase your metabolism is by exercising and once you have built some muscle, your metabolism will increase anyway as muscle tissue uses more energy than other tissues.

 

You don’t have to go to the gym, you burn calories whenever you are active. So just go for a walk instead of sitting watching tv, if you do this for an hour every day you will burn around 200 calories. If you also cut your food intake, this could result in significant weight loss in the long term.

 

 

Food as Fuel

 

We believe it is important for you to understand how your body uses food so that you can make the best decisions about what to eat. Many of the diets around at the moment recommend cutting out complete food groups but we think you must take into account that your body gets more than just energy from your food. If you cut out a food group, you may also miss out on some important nutrients.

 

 

Calories

 

Everyone has heard about calories but what is a calorie?
The official definition of a calorie is the amount of energy required to raise the heat of 1kg of water by 1 degree celsius. So that doesn’t really mean that much to you, but to give you a bit of an idea what that means.

 

2000 calories (the guideline daily intake for an average woman) will light a 100 watt light bulb for just 1 minute and 23 seconds.

 

Please call us on 0800 612 4701 if you would like us
to calculate your daily calorie needs.

 

If you think about it like that, you realise just how efficient our bodies are at using energy.

 

(Please remember your body’s energy requirements depend on your gender, age, weight and activity levels, 2000 calories per day is just an average. Please call us on 0800 612 4701 if you would like us to calculate your daily calorie needs.)

 

 

How much food is 2000 calories?

 

To give you an idea, here is an extract from a client’s food diary….

 

MEAL	Calories
Breakfast	220
2 x Weetabix with semi-skimmed milk & a teaspoon of sugar
Cup of tea with milk & 2 sugars
Mid-morning break	262
Cup of tea with milk & 2 sugars
1 packet of crisps (salt & vinegar)
Lunch	884
1 cheese & pickle sandwich (white bread)
1 packet of crisps
1 can of Coke
Afternoon
Cup of tea with milk & 2 sugars	45
Evening meal	650
Spaghetti Bolognese with grated cheese
1 small glass of white wine
TOTAL CALORIES	2061

 

So how does your diet compare with this one and is it providing all of the nutrients needed?

 

Actually when we compare this intake to the recommendations, it’s not that bad! Fat intake is higher than the ideal, especially saturated fat intake but all of the vitamins and minerals are available. Now have a look at the daily intake with 500 calories less, in the left hand column!

 

WEIGHT LOSS MEAL	Calories		BEFORE MEAL	Calories
Breakfast	220		Breakfast	220
2 x Weetabix with semi-skimmed milk & a teaspoon of sugar			2 x Weetabix with semi-skimmed milk & a teaspoon of sugar
Cup of tea with milk & 2 sugars			Cup of tea with milk & 2 sugars
Mid-morning break	145		Mid-morning break	262
Cup of tea with milk & 2 sugars			Cup of tea with milk & 2 sugars
1 banana			1 packet of crisps (salt & vinegar)
Lunch	545		Lunch	884
1 chicken & salad sandwich (white bread)			1 cheese & pickle sandwich (white bread)
1 packet of crisps (low fat)			1 packet of crisps
1 can of Coke (diet)			1 can of Coke
Afternoon	93		Afternoon	45
1 glass of fruit juice			Cup of tea with milk & 2 sugars
Evening Meal	493		Evening Meal	650
Spaghetti bolognese with grated cheese (made with Quorn mince and vegetables instead of beef mince)			Spaghetti bolognese with grated cheese
1 small glass of white wine spritzer			1 glass of white wine
TOTAL DAILY CALORIES	1495		TOTAL DAILY CALORIES	2061

 

With this new updated daily intake, fat intake is much lower, some fruit and vegetables have been included, yet it’s not dramatically different to what she was eating before. If she also included an hours walk in her day or did some other activity, and repeated this daily, a weight loss of 1lb per week would be expected (NB reduced calories and increased exercise for only 5 days has been calculated).

 

It may take time but by changing your diet and activity level in this way, it is much more likely the weight will come off slowly and stay off for good. If you would like more information about our Weight Loss Plan click here or call 0800 612 4701.