We often set targets for the New Year. If you have set yourself a target surrounding body weight, read this advice from a Registered Dietitian first.
Firstly, let’s establish what is meant by weight loss. Your body has many parts: bones, muscle, water, brains, hair, organs and fat. If we cared about weight we would all shave our heads to lose weight. What we really mean is losing fat. Higher fat stores are linked with some health problems, but also lower body fat is seen as attractive in some cultures.
There are several fuels your body uses. The main 2 are carbohydrates (pasta, rice, bread, and potatoes to name a few) and fats (oils, butter, margarine, and fatty meat to name a few). Your body can store both. It can store a very small amount of carbohydrates in your liver and muscles and can store a lot of fat around your body. Where fat is stored depends on your genetics. You gain fat stores when you consume more energy than you are using. Your body saves it for later. Only a small amount of energy can be stored as carbohydrates; the rest is converted and stored as fat.
How can you lose fat?
You need to be consuming less energy than you are using. Some call this an energy deficit. Bigger energy deficits do not mean more weight loss. If you go too far your body uses muscle for energy, not fat. Also, a large calorie deficit is unsustainable: your body will tell you you’re empty, low energy and hungry. For these reasons, the maximum energy deficit you ever do is 500 calories. More than this and you may start losing muscle instead of fat. 500 calories is not a lot and shows the need to be patient with fat loss.
So, what is the best way to achieve the energy deficit? If you are reducing the energy in your diet keep the foods which make you feel full for the least energy.
- Protein. Protein takes longer for your body to break down making you full for longer. Have protein with each meal and have high-protein snacks throughout the day. Sources are white meats, prawns, white fish, protein supplements, very low-fat cheeses, beans and lentils.
- Fibre. Fibre is the indigestible parts of plants which are not absorbed into your body. This makes you feel full as your intestines are full of fibre. Fibre also slows the rate you absorb other foods. This reduces spikes in energy; reducing big energy drops later. Sources are fruits, vegetables and whole grains.
- Fat. You always need some fat in your diet, but reducing fat will reduce calories as fat is the highest calorie nutrient. Good ways to reduce fat: choose lean meats, bake or roast foods rather than fry. Also, look at food packaging to compare which foods are high in fat.
These have been ways to reduce energy going in. How can you increase the energy going out? It is as simple as increasing your activity levels. This does not mean starting an intimidating exercise programme. Any increase in activity will improve your body’s ability to burn fat. Lower-intensity exercise is better at burning fat than high-intensity exercise. High-intensity burns mostly carbohydrates. Do a little and often. Break up long periods of no movement. Every 30 minutes, spend 1 minute active. Be it walking down the corridor, doing some lunges or standing and stretching. This gets more blood to your muscles which can increase the fat you use.
Remember, everyone is unique. This means the way you lose fat may not look the same as someone else. I offer appointments where I coach people to make gradual, sustainable changes to their diet to lose fat.
