Losing Weight - A New Year Resolution

Losing weight exists as one of the most common New Year resolutions, which is why there are so many supplements out there to help cope with demand including Alli, Decarb, Lipobind, Appesat, Now Slim, Slim Shot, Slimfast & Adios to name a few.

It may be one of the most common resolutions, but it is also still one of the hardest to do, as it usually requires a huge change to ones lifestyle which not everyone finds easy to maintain. And why is it so common? People want to live healthier lives, ailment free and to look their best. Your body is a temple and should therefore be taken care of.

One of the first changes to take place is eating habits. For some, 3 meals a day is ideal, but for others, eating small amounts approx. 6 times a day will keep metabolism levels high thus helping to achieve less occurrence of mood swings, hunger pains, cravings all of which will aid slimming.

In order to sort out your diet, you should write down what you do eat in a day, everyday for a week. Look at your habits, foods you need, foods you don’t and work out which foods are wrong for you and that are adding to the weight gain. This should prove an eye opening exercise.

Then, create a brand new food diary planning your meals daily for 2 weeks, so you can see plainly what you will be eating each day, what foods you need to buy when shopping and what to expect to eat – this way you will have no surprises or disappointments.

Then get physical!!!

Being active in as many ways as you can every day is not only essential for maintaining a healthy weight and fitness, it can also help boost your energy levels and clear your head. For successful weight loss, the body needs to burn up more energy than it takes in. Quite simply, this can be achieved by consuming fewer kilojoules from foods and drinks than you usually do or increasing the amount of energy you use up from physical activity or both!

Also create a plan for exercising as this should keep you motivated and informed as to when you will undertake activity and to what activity it actually is.

Key points for healthy weight loss:

·     Healthy weight loss takes time - so give yourself time.

·     Changes need to be for the long term - make changes to your eating patterns and physical activity levels that you can live with for the rest of your life.

·     It's about you - make changes that suit you, not what suits someone else.

·     Take small steps - don't try and do everything at once.

·     Don't be put off by slow progress. You may lose weight one week, then go for a few weeks without losing any.

·     Losing weight the healthy way is not about short-term diets or running marathons - healthy eating and regular physical activity are what count. Reducing the amount of time you spend sitting will also help.

·     Forget the scales - your weight can go up and down from day to day. If you want to weigh yourself, try not to do it more than once a week.

·     Measure your achievements in other ways rather than by how much you weigh. For example, whether your clothes are looser, whether you've cut down on the amount of TV you watch and whether you can do things without getting tired.

·     Small amounts of weight loss, or stopping weight gain, will have a big impact on your overall health.

·     Forget fad/crash diets - they may give results in the short term, but they generally don't help you keep weight off in the longer term. Some may even be harmful to your health.

·     Seek advice and guidance - speak with your doctor, Accredited Practising Dietitian or a physical activity health professional about your weight.