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| Mini-Marathon Preparation - Week 7 |
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| Losing Weight |
If you want to lose weight, taking part in this mini-marathon is really a great idea.
Studies have shown that coupling regular exercise with a balanced diet is more effective than exercising alone or simply watching what you eat. The secret is to find a way of eating and exercising that fits in with your lifestyle, so that you can sustain it in the long-term. |
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Fad diets are just that – a craze, a trend, an in-vogue deprivation diet. They never last and they can cause your weight to yo-yo up and down. First you follow a stringent exclusion diet and then follow it with lashings of the very foods you deprived yourself of in the first place! Not a recipe for long-term results.
Here’s a better proposition. Get training, feel fitter and very slowly you can sculpt your body shape. You can then relax around food and enjoy it.
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| Top Tips |
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| Throw away the diet books! |
| They may help you to lose weight in the short-term but they are not sustainable. Most people don’t like giving up their favourite foods, so any diet that deprives you of these won’t work – you’ll obsess about these foods and give in eventually. |
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| Make peace with food |
| If you tell yourself that you can’t or shouldn’t eat a particular food , it can lead to intense feelings of deprivation that build into uncontrollable cravings and often binges! Accept that no one food has the power to make you fat or help you to become thin. Allow all foods to be part of your plan – moderation is the key here! |
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| Set goals |
| Achievable goals will help you to stay motivated, but there are some rules to bear in mind when setting goals. Ensure they are realistic, specific and measurable. Aim for a loss of no more than 1-2 lbs a week – this is a healthy and realistic rate of weight loss. If you have a lot of weight to lose, break it up into smaller amounts – you can aim to lose half a stone to 10 pounds in the next five weeks. |
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| Keep a food diary |
| Writing down exactly what you eat for at least a week will give you a good idea of where you need to improve. Be as honest as possible – include all snacks, alcohol and any nibbles you have during the day. You may be surprised at how quickly the amount you eat adds up! Now you can look at small ways to improve, such as swapping white bread for wholegrain and snacking on fruit rather than biscuits. |
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| Focus on the positives |
| Try not to become obsessed with the numbers on the weighing scales - use other ways to measure your success e.g. how your clothes feel, how you look, your energy levels and your mood. |
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| Breakfast like a King |
| It’s true that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Eating a good breakfast helps to boost your metabolism and fuel up for the day ahead. Studies have shown that people who skip breakfast are more likely to snack between meals and overeat at main meals. |
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| Be prepared |
| Carry healthy snacks with you and always have water with you. Fruit, unsalted nuts and high-fibre cereal bars are useful snacks to have in the car or your handbag to prevent you from being tempted by chocolate or crisps when you are on the run. Keep a 1 litre bottle of water with you also, so that you can measure your water intake over the day. Aim to drink two litres of water a day. |
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| Eat little, often and slowly |
| Eat regular meals. This will help to keep your blood sugar levels stable and prevent dips in energy and sugar cravings. When you are eating, chew your food slowly and be aware of the taste and texture. Try not to have distractions during mealtimes so you can concentrate on enjoying your food. |
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| The American Heart Foundation has issued guidelines to help people to spot a fad diet... |
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 | Diets that promise their products will burn fat.
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No food or special supplement will burn fat. The only way to lose weight is to burn calories by decreasing the amount of food you eat and by being more physically active.
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| Diets based on consuming only one food or a limited number of foods. |
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| Eating unlimited amounts of cabbage or grapefruit is not only nutritionally unbalanced but is too boring to be sustained over time. |
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| Diets that require rigid menus. |
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| Many diets set out a very limited selection of foods to be eaten at a specific time and day, exactly as written. Often these limited diets don't address the widely varied taste preferences of the population. |
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| Specific food combinations. |
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| There is no scientific evidence that eating foods in certain sequences or combinations has any medical benefit. |
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| Promises of a rapid weight loss of more than 2 pounds a week. |
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| Medical experts have determined that a steady weight loss of up to 2 pounds a week is the safest way to shed excess pounds and leads to weight loss that can be sustained over time. |
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| No increased physical activity. |
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| Not only does more physical activity burn more calories but also regular activity is one of the most important things you can do to improve your health and well-being. |
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| Re-Educate Yourself |
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| Making good food choices shouldn’t leave you feeling unsatisfied or deprived. |
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| Focus on “low-energy density foods” to add bulk, texture and volume to your meals. That way you are still eating good satisfying helpings of food without eating lots of calories. These foods have a higher water and fibre content such as fruits, vegetables, peas, beans, lentils and whole. Adding more of these foods will give you the sensation that you are eating more food while losing weight. |
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| Think about your portion sizes. |
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| You could weigh out some food portions at home to give you an idea of how your average serving compares to what is a recommended serving for weight loss. Restaurants often serve very large portions, so be careful when you eat out. Split a starter or dessert with a friend. Ask for substitutions (steamed vegetables or a side salad instead of chips). Ask for all sauces, dressings, and gravy on the side so you can add as little as you want. Eat slowly and stop when you’re full. Don’t be tempted to polish off a meal just because it’s there in front of you. |
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| Don’t skip meals. |
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Recognise real hunger. The specific area of your brain that controls your eating behaviour is the hypothalamus. It releases chemicals which help to regulate what you eat and how much you eat. If the body needs nourishment these chemicals or neurotransmitters are released. For example carbohydrate stores and blood sugar stores are used up overnight so it’s no coincidence that breakfast foods are usually carbohydrate rich such as cereal, bread, fruit etc. In the morning when your carbohydrate store is low, NPY is released.
As this neurotransmitter levels increase, your craving for carbohydrates and sugary foods increases too. Skipping breakfast only increases the NPY levels further which makes it more likely you’ll overeat later on. Stress and dieting can increase NPY levels even further. So to avoid a sugar binge later on, have a bowl of porridge, unsweetened Muesli or some wholegrain cereal for breakfast and a serving of carbohydrate (wholegrain bread, pasta or brown rice) at each meal. |
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| Focus on your successes! |
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| We all have bad days. Making fundamental changes to what, when and how you eat is no easy task. How you handle a setback is what’s important. Put it behind you, move on with your plan and see can you learn something from it. Be sure to celebrate every pound you lose. It’s one step closer to your goal. |
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| Cutting your calories is the bottom line! |
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| Serve water on the table. Limit soft drinks and juices. |
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| Watch your cooking methods – steam veg rather than boil, use a non-stick pan when stir frying, bake or microwave instead of frying. |
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| Marinade your meat/fish/chicken instead of adding a high fat sauce or dressing. |
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| Fill up on plant foods containing fibre and protective phytonutrients. |
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| Eat one portion of white and one portion of oily fish a week. White fish is very low in calories and an excellent source of protein. Oily fish contains heart protective omega 3 fats. |
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| Buy lean cuts of meat and premium minced beef. Ask your butcher to remove any excess fat. Choose reduced fat sausages or pates only very occasionally as treats. |
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| Eat small portions of low GI carbohydrates such as pasta,brown rice or boiled potatoes with skins on, instead of chips, mashed potatoes or waffles. |
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| Use low fat dairy products. |
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| If you want something sweet after a meal, finish off with a piece of fruit, low fat yoghurt or a fruit based dessert. |
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| Limit your alcohol intake. |
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| Dump the junk in the kitchen presses. |
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| Learn to read food labels and calculate the number of calories in the portion you are about to eat. |
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| Next week we will look at the timing of meals and snacks. Keep up the good workl |
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