The do’s and Don’ts of Weight Loss!

We probably know that in order to lose weight, we have to make some long term changes in our life.

To help you out, here are some do’s and don’ts to help you home on your goal and keep the weight off.

Some of these tips are just plain common sense, so you may have seen them before or already realized them yourself, but others will probably be new insights for you.

Hers is the Do’s

Eat Regularly:

Regular meal eaters tend to have a lower energy intake compared to those who eat irregularly- crucial if you are looking to maintain or lose weight. Re-fuelling when you are hungry is a good idea, but make sure that you snack on the right things. Good snacks are fruit, vegetable sticks and low fat dips, scones, sandwiches, toasts, smoothies and low fat or diet yogurt.

Take a Walk @Lunch Time:

Just small changes make a big difference over time. Offer to make the coffee at work or wash up, just walking over to the kettle every day for a few week counts! Or even could exercise at your desk.

Go Shopping with a List:

There is nothing worse than standing in the chocolate aisle with a growling stomach; it makes it all the more tempting to grab foods that are high in fat and sugar. Make sure you do your food shopping with a list- and not when you are hungry too.

Don’t be conned with marketing:

Low fat does not necessarily mean low calorie; many manufactures lower the amount of fat in dessert foods and increase the amount of sugar to compensate. Make sure you read the labels on food stuffs so you do know exactly what you are eating.

Get Support:

This is really important if you are succeeded to losing weight in the long term. Being surrounded by people who will eat the same foods and encourage you along the way is a good idea. Find a ‘buddy’ or someone in your family to boost your morale. This can really help if you are taking up a new exercise regime; it makes backing out much harder to do.

Watch you portion sizes:

Next time you go out, look at the amounts that your friends eat; you may be surprised at how much you consume in comparison to others. It is important to get your meal portions correct so try to eat more fruit, vegetables and starchy foods and less of the protein, dairy products and fatty and sugary foods.

Set Yourself Achievable goals:

This is important as you have something to aim for and if you make it achievable then you feel good when you reach the goal, rewarding yourself perhaps with a nice hot bath or a night out to the movies.

Tackle problems and don’t rely on food as comfort:

A large number of us use food as a way of reliving stress and as a way to unwind when we are not even hungry.

Remember that there are no ‘good’ or ‘bad’ foods, only ‘good’ or ‘bad’ diets:

This means that you can have treats; it is really important to be able to have what we call ‘flexible restraint’ and pick and choose when you have foods such as chocolate and chips.

Do monitor your food intake and physical activity:

Using a diary or blog to record what you eat and how much you exercise is an excellent start. This helps you understand where are your ‘danger periods’ on a daily basis, such as in the evenings when you relax in front of the TV.

Here are the Don’ts:

Rely on just changing your food intake to loose weight:

Research has proven that a combination of both exercise and altered eating habits is the best way to lose and maintain weight loss.

Think a fad diet will be the answer to your weight issue:

This is sure-fire way to head for the junk food. Many fad diets promise great weight loss but are unbalanced, and only make you crave the foods that it advices against. Life is for living and we should try to have a sensible and realistic approach to weight loss!

Miss Break Fast:

A classic way to think you are cutting back is to miss the most important meal of the day. By missing breakfast you are more likely to go for a snack-mid-morning and it may not always be a healthy one you reach for!

Become obsessive about your food intake:

If you feel you are permanently on diet, ask yourself why. There is no point going out for a meal and feeling deprived, think of coping strategies to make such occasions as enjoyable as they should be. Why not cut back the day before you go out for the meal or even the day after.

Weigh yourself everyday:

Weighing yourself too often is pointless and may even be negative to your efforts. You don’t need to weigh yourself more than once a week and even when you do you need to do it right way to get accurate results.

Weight fluctuates. It’s normal. Even when you are on a good diet there will be days in which you’ll gain a little. This is why weighing yourself every day is a big mistake. The only thing it can do is get you down when you see that your weight has not decreased as much as you do.

For individuals who do need to lose weight for improved health, a refocus on lifetime weight management and avoidance of the "quick-fix" approach will result in the best long-term success.