The Way to Lose Weight

Leicestershire Nutrition and Dietetic Service The Way To Lose Weight There are 3 sections in this leaflet, each designed to help you with weight loss. For weight loss to happen, you will almost certainly need to reduce your energy intake (eat fewer calories) and increase your activity levels and this leaflet contains information to help you. For some of you reading this leaflet, being overweight will be something you have always had to cope with; for others it will have been a gradual process of weight gain over the years. Whichever category you fall into, you will have well established eating and activity habits which are part of your normal behaviour, in other words things you do automatically, almost without thinking. We have therefore included some tips on changing behaviour, because this is likely to help in the long run. Making changes in each of the 3 areas below will give you a much better chance of success: ➢ Making healthy food choices ➢ Increasing activity levels ➢ Changing behaviour MAKING HEALTHY FOOD CHOICES Introduction Eating and drinking fewer calories does not necessarily mean you have to count them (although some people might find a portion counting approach helpful and this can be discussed with your dietitian). Choosing foods from the Balance of Good Health will help you eat less fat and sugar and therefore fewer calories. It will also make it easier for you to choose a nutritionally balanced diet so that you get the right amounts of vitamins and minerals. Eating in this way also helps protect against heart disease, diabetes, some cancers and bowel disorders. Starchy Foods This group includes bread, chapattis, pasta, rice, noodles, savoury crackers and crispbreads, potatoes, breakfast cereals and sweet potato. It is often thought that starchy foods should be avoided when trying to lose weight. However, it is important to include starchy foods at each meal when trying to lose weight because they help reduce hunger between meals by slow release of the energy they contain. Choosing wholegrain kinds will help this. You may need to discuss amounts with your dietitian. However, it is very easy to add a lot of calories (energy) to these foods by adding fat or sugar, so you might like to ask yourself these questions: Could I use less spreading fat on my bread (margarine, butter, reduced fat spreads)? Do I need to add spreading fat to jacket potatoes or would a moist filling without spread be better? Do I need to mash potatoes with butter, margarine or reduced fat spread or would milk alone do the job? What sort of sauces do I put on pasta? – vegetable or tomato based would be better than cream or cheese based How often do I have fried chips, could I try lower fat oven chips? Do I eat fried rice in take-aways or ready meals? – look for the boiled or steamed options Do I add sugar to my cereals – could I cut down? Do I eat sugar or honey-coated cereals? If so could I change to no added sugar/unsweetened varieties 1 Do I add jam or marmalade to bread or toast – could I choose reduced sugar kinds instead? Fruit and Vegetables This group includes all fresh, frozen, tinned and dried fruit and vegetables. Aim to eat 5 helpings a day. Dried fruit and fruit juices can make up some of the 5, but remember these are concentrated sources of sugar, so limit these. Virtually all fruit and vegetables are naturally low in fat (except avocados), but there are ways to add extra fat so ask yourself: Do I stir-fry and if so could I use less oil? Do I add margarine or butter to vegetables, if so could I stop? Could I use a lower fat dressing or mayonnaise for salads? Instead of using cream on fruit, could I use low fat natural or diet yogurt or fromage frais? Milk and Dairy Foods This group includes milk, cheese, yogurt and fromage frais. Dairy foods (including reduced fat varieties) are a good source of protein and calcium (which is important to promote good bone health). A good daily intake would be 1 pint milk (you could swap one-third of a pint of milk for 1 yogurt or 1 oz cheese). Ask yourself the following questions: Could I choose low fat/low sugar fruit yogurts? Could I choose low fat plain yoghurt and fromage frais? Do I eat hard cheese regularly, if so could I choose a reduced fat hard variety or use less of my normal cheese? If I use soft cheeses, could I choose reduced fat cream cheese or low fat cottage cheese? Could I swap to semi-skimmed or fully skimmed milk? If you are unable to tolerate dairy foods please discuss other food sources of calcium and protein with your dietitian. 2 Meat and Alternatives This group includes red meats (beef, pork, bacon, gammon, lamb), poultry (chicken, turkey), all kinds of fish, offal (liver, kidney) eggs, beans and lentils, vegetarian meat substitutes (TVP, quorn), nuts and nut butters (e.g. peanut butter). Choosing a variety of foods from this group at 2 of your main meals will help to make sure that you eat enough protein and minerals e.g. iron. Some of these foods are already high in fat and it is very easy to add extra fat to them, so ask yourself the following questions to help keep fat intake from this group to a minimum: Do I fry any of these foods – if so, could I use less fat or grill/bake in the oven instead? Could I trim the fat off meat and remove the skin from chicken? Could I eat smaller portions of meat, substituting with extra vegetables? When buying ready meals, do I choose low fat varieties (3g fat or less per 100g)? Could I use more lentils/beans in cooking as they are low in fat? When cooking eggs, could I poach or boil in preference to frying? Fatty and Sugary Foods This group includes all spreading and cooking fats, oil-based salad dressings, mayonnaise, salad cream, pastries, crisps, chips, chocolate, sweets, cakes, biscuits, puddings, ice-cream, sugar, sweetened drinks. All of these foods are high in calories with little other nutritional value and we therefore suggest you try not to eat them too often and keep the amounts small. It is especially important to keep fat intake low because fat contains more than twice the calories of carbohydrate or protein and cutting down the fat you eat is one of the most effective ways to lose weight. Choosing low fat options in the 4 main food groups as described already is important. Here are some more thoughts to help keep your fat and sugar intake low: Could I bake, grill, steam or microwave instead of frying? Could I use less oil in cooking or use non-stick pans? Could I choose olive or sunflower oil instead of solid cooking fat? Could I use cornflour to thicken sauces and gravies? Could I look out for reduced fat and low sugar products when shopping? 3 Do I add sugar to tea or coffee – if so could I cut it out, use less or use an artificial sweetener? Do I drink squash/fizzy pop with added sugar – could I swap to low calorie varieties? Remember – everything you eat and drink counts. If you eat more than you burn up then weight gain is all too easy. Just eating a little extra such as 1 packet of crisps, a small bar of chocolate or a few biscuits every day could lead to a weight increase of 1 lb (0.5 kg) a week. A Word about Alcohol There is no reason why you should not enjoy an occasional drink whilst trying to lose weight. The most important thing to remember is that alcohol is high in calories without providing any other goodness and it is very easy to clock up a lot of calories by regular drinking. Alcohol is an appetite stimulant and the more you drink the more likely you are to eat more than you intended! Safe Limits for alcohol are no more than 14 units for women and 21 units for men per week. In a day the maximum amount recommended is 3 units for women and 4 units for men, with 2 or 3 alcohol-free days each week. To keep your calorie intake from alcohol as low as you can, ask yourself: Could I use a smaller glass when serving wine? (Remember that pub measures vary and are often large) Could I ask for a wine spritzer to make the drink last? If I normally choose strong beers/lagers, could I choose normal strength instead? Could I choose diet or low calorie mixers instead of ordinary sugary kinds to add to spirits? Could I choose non-alcoholic drinks (low calorie) instead of alcoholic drinks some of the time? Do I drink cream liqueurs, cocktails, alcopops – if so could I reduce the amount I drink or swap them for other drinks as above? When I try to cut down on alcohol, what am I drinking instead? Low calorie mixers or water are fine, fruit juice will add to your sugar intake. Check the drinks table below for units of alcohol and calorie content: 4 Drink Units Calories per Serving 125 ml glass red 1.5 85 or white wine 175 ml glass red 2 120 or white wine 125 ml sweet 1.5 120 white wine 125 ml glass 1.5 95 champagne 200 ml white wine 1 68 spritzer (half + half) ½ pint standard 1 85 bitter, stout or lager ½ pint extra 2.5 168 strong lager 25 ml spirits (pub 1 50 measure) 50 ml dry sherry 1 60 Bottle “alcopop” 1.5 150-200 25 ml liqueur 1 80 50 ml port 1 70 The Importance of Fluid Intake Drinking plenty of liquids is important for general health and well-being, and for the body to replace lost fluids.

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