We know that a lot of adults in the UK are overweight or obese and those extra pounds can cause problems with our health, whether we have diabetes or not. Excess weight is linked with heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke and some cancers – as well as Type 2 diabetes.
Achieving a healthy weight, and maintaining it, is often easier said that done and it’s one of the hardest things to do for some people. Whether you want to lose or gain a few pounds – or are a healthy weight already – there’s lots of evidence to show that being a healthy weight will benefit your health. These benefits include better blood pressure, cholesterol and blood glucose levels and reducing your risk of developing any long-term health problems. And, most people say they also feel better about how they look.
Weight is a sensitive issue for many people and achieving your ideal weight is often easier said than done. For some people, losing weight can be straightforward but keeping the weight off becomes a herculean task, leading to fluctuations in their weight through the years. So, what are the positive steps you can take to lose any extra pounds – or to stop gaining any more?
In this section
- How do you know if you need to lose weight?
- How much weight should you lose?
- What's this about calories?
- How long should it take?
- Being motivated and staying on track
- What weight loss approach works?
How your clothes fit you is usually a tell-tale sign. But your doctor, nurse or dietitian would probably calculate your Body Mass Index, or BMI, to see if you are a healthy weight for your height – and you can work this out for yourself at home, too.
Measuring your waist circumference can help you find out how much fat you have stored around your stomach. Measure yours now by finding the top of your hip bone and the bottom of your ribcage, and using a tape measure around your middle at a point midway between these. For many people, this is around the belly button. It should be less than:
- 80cm (31.5in) for White, Black and South Asian women
- 90cm (35in) for South Asian men
- 94cm (37in) for White and Black men.
How much weight should you lose?
Ideally you should aim for a target weight that gives you a BMI in the normal weight category. If you have a considerable amount of weight to lose, this may seem daunting and impossible to achieve. But you don’t have to do it all at once. Research shows that the more weight you lose, the greater the health benefits, but even losing just 5 – 10 per cent of excess weight will improve your health. Why not set an initial weight loss that moves you down a couple of BMI notches, or perhaps shifts you from one category to another? Remember, any weight you lose helps you to achieve your overall target – and you can always set new goals along the way. Over time, you gain more benefit by maintaining the weight you have lost.
Man with tape measureAfter working out your BMI and measuring your waist circumference, you might find that your weight is already be in the normal range category. But, if your weight is gradually increasing, now’s the time to act and shift those kilos before you end up becoming medically overweight. While many of us might like to slim down to a weight we were when we were 18, it’s important to be realistic about whether you can really achieve this. For most of us, this may not be practical. It’s better to focus on reaching a target weight that leaves you looking and feeling fitter and healthier. Once you’ve decided on a realistic weight goal, you’ll be able to work out how long it will take to reach this. If you are aiming to shed some weight, you will need to be aware of your daily calorie intake – and reduce it.
What’s this about calories?
A calorie – kcal – is a unit of energy, which is in all the food and drink we consume. Your body uses energy for everything we do – from breathing and sleeping to exercising. When you eat, you’re replacing the energy you’ve used, which helps you to maintain a healthy weight.
We get calories from four main sources:
- Fat – contains 9kcal/g
- Carbohydrates – contains 4kcal/g
- Protein – contains 4kcal/g
- Alcohol – contains 7kcal/g
For the average adult, the recommended Reference Intake (RI) of calories needed per day is 2,000 for women and 2,500 for men. But, the number of calories you need per day varies depending on your age, gender, height, weight and level of physical activity.
If your weight is going up, it means that you are consuming more calories than you need and the excess is being stored mostly as fat, causing weight gain. But if you consume fewer calories than you need, you will lose weight. So, in a nutshell, you need to find a way to consume fewer calories than you are burning off if you want to lose weight.
You can do this by eating fewer calories than you eat now, or by doing more physical activity. For most people, it is better to do a bit of both – find a way to eat less and move more.
How long should it take?
A safe and achievable target for a long-term healthier weight is to lose 1–2lbs (0.5–1kg) a week. To achieve this, you will need to consume about 600 fewer calories per day than your body needs to maintain weight. Increasing your physical activity will help you to burn off more calories and lose weight more quickly. Beware of cutting calories too low, without medical supervision, as this can put your long-term health at risk.
Once you have set a realistic target weight for yourself and know roughly how long it should take, you can start to devise a slimming plan that will work for you.
Being motivated and staying on track
When you start a new challenge – such as trying to lose some weight – think about the questions ‘why?’, ‘what?’ and ‘how?’.
- Know why you are doing something.
- Maybe you want to lose a few extra pounds to benefit your health and manage your diabetes more effectively. Or perhaps you are a healthy weight and want to make sure you can maintain it. Whatever the reason is, knowing why you want to do something will help you stay motivated and keep you on track.
- Decide what you are going to do
- Having a specific target for weight management can help motivate you to stick at it – and will help you to measure your progress and see the positive changes you are making. You don’t have to aim for a big change all at once – you could set yourself smaller targets and work at it gradually. Plus, you’ll feel a sense of achievement each time you make your target.
- Work out how you are going to do it
- You’re more likely to achieve your goals if you’ve got a plan in place from the beginning of how you’re going to do it. So, do your homework, speak to your dietitian (or ask you GP to make a referral).
What weight loss approach works?
Scales and tape measureThere are many different dietary approaches to losing weight – but there’s no one-size-fits-all approach. Evidence shows that the best approach is the one that you are likely to stick to, so for a successful long-term weight loss, small and realistic changes are crucial. The key is to find a plan that you enjoy and fits in with your lifestyle.
For your overall health, it’s important that the eating plan is balanced – low in saturated fat, salt and sugar and contains all the essential nutrients and fibre. And, regular exercise is good for both your waistline and health – especially your heart.
No hay comentarios:
Publicar un comentario