Rosemary's Blog - 30th January 2017

10 ways to help you lose weight

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10 WAYS TO HELP YOU LOSE WEIGHT

This week we say goodbye to January and welcome February as a step closer to Spring-time and I can’t wait! I love the Spring. You may be celebrating after completing a very commendable dry-January and others may be considering sugar-free February. If you are, then have a look at our Lean & Clean Plan which of course incorporates ‘sugar-free’ options and guidance. It may be that you want to just change your lifestyle in a more moderate way – if so look at our new Complete Lifestyle Change Plan.

I always think it is a good idea to refresh our memory about the principles of weight loss so I have listed below my quick resumé. You have probably read them scores of times before, but reminding ourselves is never wasted.

1. The secret of successful weight loss.
If we want to lose weight we have to eat fewer calories – fuel – than our body needs so that we can draw on our fuel stores – fat - to make up the difference. It is no different from using up all our available cash and having to draw out some savings to make up the difference to pay for our daily expenses. If we don’t go into calorie deficit, we will not lose weight.

2. Lose weight faster with exercise
We can lose weight faster if we exercise. Just as going out on a shopping spree means you spend lots of money, similarly when we exercise we spend lots of extra calories which results in our burning more fat which hastens our weight and inch loss. Exercise also works our muscles and gives us a better figure as well as makes us infinitely healthier. We can start slowly and gradually build up, but we need to try and do something active for a total of 30 minutes a day. Don’t be put off by that – some everyday jobs can form part of your 30 minutes.

3. Eat healthily
Healthy food gives us energy, enables us to renew and repair our body as we live day by day and it helps us to function properly. Our body is the only body we are ever going to have and it deserves to be looked after and yet, at times, we will fill up on food of virtually no nutritional value yet it contains loads and loads of unwanted calories. It’s a bit like going on that shopping spree and just buying junk.Conversely, if we went and bought ourselves an Aston Martin we would keep it spotlessly clean and make sure that the oil, water and lubricants were kept in perfect order. We would only put the finest fuel in the tank – because we really love that car and we appreciate and value it. We would take great pains to look after it. We want it to look beautiful and to run smoothly for ever. So we must ask ourselves ‘How much more valuable is our own body?’We eat foods that are not good for us, we carry weight around that we don’t need, and we abuse our body in a variety of ways from eating unhealthily, being very inactive, drinking too much alcohol, working too hard and not getting enough sleep! Our body so deserves better than that.

4. Why eating low Gi keeps you feeling fuller for longer.
When we talk about eating food that have a low glycaemic index (Gi) we are talking about carbohydrates – that's foods such as bread, rice, pasta, cereal and potatoes. By making wise choices we can eat foods with a lower Gi ranking that will keep us feeling fuller for longer. Without even thinking about it I buy wholegrain bread, basmati rice, pasta, high-fibre cereal and sweet or new potatoes. These are all low Gi foods and they help me to stay satisfied between meals so that I won’t be tempted to snack. This is such a key message.

5. Avoid between meal snacking
Break the habit of snacking between meals. This is critical to your success if you are trying to lose weight. If you feel peckish, realise that that is great news as it means your body is in ‘energy deficit’ so is cashing in some fat from your fat cells to make up the difference. Have a cup of tea or coffee and if you’re desperate, a small satsuma or kiwi fruit. Be delighted that when you feel hungry you are burning fat!

6. Alcohol
Most of us enjoy a drink. I know I do. And we can still drink, lose weight and keep it off – the key is quantity. How much we drink.We all know that the recommended limit for women is 14-21 units a week and for men it is 21-28 units. That all sounds very reasonable until we realise that in the last 20 years the size of wine glasses has doubled and the standard ‘small’ glass of wine served in a pub or restaurant is now 175ml not the 125ml which constitutes one unit.

7. Have some dry days each week
For our health it is recommended that we should have at least two days a week alcohol free.Personally, I will happily consume half a bottle of white wine in an evening. That is 4.6 units in one night. I don’t drink at all on Saturdays, Sundays and Mondays. I am on the limit for my units and yet I wouldn’t say I was a big drinker. So it’s not surprising that many people greatly exceed their healthy limit – and their waistline is testament to it. Cut back your alcohol and you will lose more weight.

8. Get rid of temptation
Whenever we start a diet we need to make a few changes. If we keep on doing what we’ve always done, we will keep on getting what we’ve always got….and that could be a fat tummy or big hips and thighs. So the first rule we need to make is to not buy anything that will tempt us away from our goal of losing weight.

9. Make a list when we go shopping
Making a list when we go shopping will not only save us from buying food that might tempt us but it also saves us money.

10. Think about what you eat
If you are trying to lose weight, thinking carefully about what you eat and drink is critical. Every extra treat or drop of alcohol is going to work against your sterling efforts to be a slimmer, fitter, healthier and a happier you. Ask yourself – ‘Is it worth it?’ Learn to say ‘NO’ and enjoy that lovely feeling of a loose waistband!