Reviewed by John Pillinger, GP
The healthiest way to lose weight is neither crash diets norbursts of exercise. The body likes slow changes in terms of food andexercise.
For example, someone who hasn't exercised for years shouldn'trush into running miles a day or pounding the treadmill. Not only will thestruggle to do so leave you feeling disheartened and demotivated, you're alsofar more likely to injure yourself and set your fitness levels backfurther.
The same goes for people who suddenly start starving themselves.Diets that severely restrict calories or the types of food 'allowed' can leadyou to be deficient in the nutrients and vitamins that your bodyneeds.
So, if you need to lose weight, what should you do?
Energy needs and weight loss
Your body uses food for energy. It stores any excess energy asfat. This means if you eat more food than your body needs for daily activitiesand cell maintenance, you'll gain weight.
To lose weight, you need to get your body to use up these storesof fat. The most effective way to do this is to:
- reduce the amount of calories you eat
- increase your levels of activity.
This is why experts talk about weight loss in terms of diet andexercise.
Introduce changes gradually
Small changes can make a big difference. One extra biscuit aweek can lead you to gain 5lb a year cut that biscuit out of your diet andyou'll lose the same amount.
You're also more likely to stick to, say, swapping full-fat milkfor semi-skimmed or making time for breakfast each morning than a diet thatsets rules for all foods.
You should think of weight loss in terms of permanently changingyour eating habits. While weight-loss goals are usually set in term of weeks,the end game is to sustain these changes over months and years, ie lifestylechange for life.
Increase your activity levels
Someone who increases the amount they exercise, but maintainsthe same diet and calorie intake, will almost certainly loseweight.
No matter if you hate gyms even light exercise, such as ashort 20 minute walk, will be beneficial if done most days of theweek.
Every single time you exercise more than usual, you burncalories and fat.
There are lots of ways to increase the amount of activity youdo. Team sports, racket sports, aerobics classes,running,walking,swimming andcycling will allimprove your fitness levels.
Find something you enjoy that's easy for you to do in terms oflocation and cost. You're then more likely to build it into your routine andcontinue to exercise, despite inevitably missing the odd session throughholidays, family commitments, etc.
- Get out and about at the weekend. Leave your car on the drive and walk to the shops. Try to incorporate longer walks into outings to the park, coast or countryside and take a picnic, so you're in control of what you are going to eat that day.
- Every extra step you take helps. Always use the stairs instead of the lift, or get off the bus a stop before the usual one and walk the rest of the way.
- Use commercial breaks between TV-programmes to stand up and do exercise, or consider using an exercise bicycle in the living room while watching your favourite programme.
Reduce your calorie intake
What is overweight?
Doctors use BMI to assess weight.
A BMI of 18.5 to 25 is healthy.
If you have a BMI of more than 25, you're overweight.
Over 30 is obese.
Over 40 is morbidly obese.
To calculate your BMI, you'll need to know your weight in kilos and your height in metres, then follow the example below.
1. Multiply your height by itself, eg 1.7x1.7= 2.89.
2. Divide your weight (eg 80kg) by this figure.
3. 80 ÷ 2.89= 27.7.
27.7 is the BMI.
If you're overweight, you can't continue with your currenteating habits if you really want to lose weight.
It's not possible to reduce body fat while eating lots of food,cakes and sweets. This doesn't mean you can never have any treats, but you needto learn how to limit these foods to small quantities say, for specialoccasions.
In terms of weight-loss, you can get your body to use upexisting stores of fat by eating less and making healthier choices.
This doesn't mean crash diet (anything less than 1500 calories),which usually ends up with you either getting weaker or giving up indesperation. Quick-fix diets can lead to a yo-yoing effect of drastic weightloss followed by weight gain, resulting in a vicious cycle.
There are no shortcuts to losing weight in a healthy andreasonable way.
Eating 300 to 500 calories less per day should lead to a loss ofbetween one and two pounds per week. This is a realistic target. It may seemslow, but it would add up to a weight loss of more than three stone in ayear.
Fat containsthe most amount of calories out of all the food types (protein,carbohydrates), so a good way to achieve this is tocut down on fatty foods and eat more wholegrain bread, fruit andvegetables.
Below are ways to reduce calorie intake without having to alteryour diet significantly.
- Replace fizzy drinks and fruit cordials with water.
- Swap whole milk for semi-skimmed, or semi-skimmed for skimmed.
- Eat less lunch than usual. For example, make your own sandwich and limit the use of margarine or butter and full-fat mayonnaise (store-bought sandwiches often contain both).
- Stop taking sugar in tea and coffee.
- Have smaller portions of the food you enjoy.
- Avoid having a second helping at dinner.
- Cut out unhealthy treats such as confectionary, sugary biscuits and crisps between meals.
- Cut down on alcohol intake.
All these things will influence your health in a positiveway.
Finally, don't be tempted to skip breakfast or any meal tolose weight. While skipping a meal will reduce your calorie intake for thathour, it will leave you much hungrier later on.
Not only are you likely to overeat to compensate, but you'lloften make bad choices to fill the gap: a cereal bar is not as healthy as abowl of cereal or as filling, leading you to 'need' something extra forlunch.
Irregular eating habits also disrupt your body's metabolism,which makes it harder to lose weight in the first place.
Write down your plan
Food diary
If you're not sure what's wrong with your diet, try keeping a daily diary of everything you eat and drink.
You can use a notebook or an online diary.
At the end of the week, review your entries for problem areas.
Look out for processed foods, alcohol, fast food, roasts, creamy sauces and fried foods.
If your diet seems largely healthy, look at portion sizes.
If you're not sure what's meant by 'healthy diet', read our series on nutrition.
Once you've decided on what changes you're going to make, writethem down. For example:
Week 1
- Exercise: one 20 minute walk every lunch hour.
- Alcohol: none in the week, two small glasses of wine on Friday, Saturday, Sunday.
- Food: no chocolate or biscuits in the week, choose healthy snacks such as fruit, trim all fat from meat, eat no fried or fast food.
- For each week list your targets concerning alcohol, exercise and your food plan.
- Each day should then be listed in a simple chart and items you have had should be written down. It is also important to make a note of your mood and any comments you would like to get off your chest for each day.
Be patient and persevere
It might take a week or two before you notice any changes, butthey will steadily appear. After the first month you'll be able to see theresults and measure them in terms of looser fitting clothes.
Keeping your motivation up is one of the most difficult aspectsof dieting. There will be days when healthy eating goes out the window, andthere will be weeks where you may not lose any weight or put a little backon.
This is normal for everyone dieters or not so don't let itundo your plans for a slimmer you. You're not doing anything 'wrong', but youmay need to look at your plan. Do you need to increase your activity levels?Make a few more changes to your diet? Put more effort into sticking to yourcurrent plan?
The other side of this is to make sure you celebrate your goals.While there's joy enough in stepping on the scales and seeing them dip lower,be sure to mark long-term progress with a reward such as new clothes or timeoff from domestic chores.
Celebrating is also a way to involve your nearest and dearest it's up to you whether you want their encouragement in the form of gentlereminders not to eat certain foods. But support from other people can get youthrough the bumpy patches.
Health benefits of weight loss
Studies show that overweight women who lose between 10lb and20lb halve their risk of developingdiabetes. For men,the risk of heart problems reduces considerably.
Generally, we gain weight as we age. A few pounds over the yearsare not a problem, but people who gain more than 20lb compared to their weightas an 18-year-old will rapidly increase their risk of health problems due tothat extra weight. In particular, women increase their risk ofheart attack anddouble their risk of dying fromcancer.
It may seem like these are problems to worry about in thefuture, but time flies by and tomorrow becomes today. By keeping your weight inthe healthy range, you're less likely to be troubled by illnesses in your lateryears.
Other people also read:
- Body weight: what determines your body weight and what is a healthy weight.
- Obesity: around one in four men and one in three women in the UK are overweight. Are you one of them?
- Type 2 diabetes: if you are overweight you will significantly increase your risk of developing Type 2 diabetes.
Based on a text by Prof Arne Astrup and Dr Carl Brandt
Last updated 10.01.2014
(Fri, 19 Aug 2011 16:34:33 +0200): I find my way to weight loss through fat burner phen375. Read my review for weight loss http://bit.ly/oSpYU9.
(Wed, 24 Aug 2011 14:09:46 +0200): Hi there,I was in the same boat as you a year back.I struggled with losing weight and I was ready to give up! I'm here to.tell you that you should never give up, there is still hope!A website that helped me lose weight fast is www.howtoburnfatnow.org and.they really helped me understand that the key to really losing those last. pounds are switching up your diet COMPLETELY! Actually eating MORE on certain days, instead of less.Don't give up:http://www.howtoburnfatnow.org
(Wed, 24 Aug 2011 14:17:49 +0200): Hi there,I was in the same boat as you a year back.I struggled with losing weight and I was ready to give up! I'm here to.tell you that you should never give up, there is still hope!A website that helped me lose weight fast is http://www.howtoburnfatnow.org and.they really helped me understand that the key to really losing those last. pounds are switching up your diet COMPLETELY! Actually eating MORE on certain days, instead of less.Don't give up:
Danielle May Quiamco Baruc (Sun, 25 Sep 2011 03:08:10 +0200): ,,, how about for teenagers?,, i have known some teens who actually sacrifice a lot just to lose their weight,,,,If you're overweight, you can't continue with your current eating habits if you really want to lose weight. It's not possible to reduce body fat while
8 ways to boost your metabolism - NetDoctor.co.uk
8 ways to boost your metabolism NetDoctor Health Shop. Free Do you want to achieve your desired weight without feeling like you're on a diet
How To Lose Weight The Healthy Way Netdoctor | Diet Plans
Here's the exact reason women should NEVER diet like men. Special tips for controlling female metabolism for that tight tummy and waistline you deserve.
How To Lose Weight The Healthy Way Netdoctor | 2015 New ...
How To Lose Weight The Healthy Way Netdoctor: How To Lose Weight The Healthy Way Netdoctor news, How To Lose Weight The Healthy Way Netdoctor updates, How To Lose
How To Lose Weight The Healthy Way Netdoctor 2015 ...
How To Lose Weight Fast and Safely - WebMD - Exercise . 08/29/2015 at 03:08:28. We've all heard that crash diets and fad diets don't work for permanent weight loss.
How To Lose Weight The Healthy Way Netdoctor | User Guide ...
User guide manual download give you info about How To Lose Weight The Healthy Way Netdoctor and read our other news related to How To Lose Weight The Healthy Way
Netdoctor how to lose weight the healthy way multivitamins ...
Netdoctor how to lose weight the healthy way multivitamins no iron vitamin and supplements 1 approaches diet may carbs and adding consumers 1.
How To Lose Weight The Healthy Way Netdoctor ...
Thursday, October 3, 2013. How To Lose Weight The Healthy Way Netdoctor : Disdiscovered Elbow Diagnosis And Treatment. 12:40 AM Diets & Weight Loss No comments
How To Lose Weight The Healthy Way Netdoctor Pregnancy
Video:how to lose weight the healthy way netdoctor pregnancy. YouTube Video; Image:how to lose weight the healthy way netdoctor pregnancy Advertisment
How To Lose Weight The Healthy Way Netdoctor
Video:how to lose weight the healthy way netdoctor. YouTube Video; Image:how to lose weight the healthy way netdoctor Advertisment
