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. We need to aim to drink about 8 cups, glasses or mugs of liquid daily. This amount needs to increase in hot weather or when activity is greater. To ensure you are not taking in excess calories from the liquids you are drinking, ask yourself the following:

Could I choose drinks without added sugar (no sugar added to tea/coffee, low calorie pop/squash)? Could I drink water as well as other drinks? Do I drink more than 1 glass natural fruit juice a day – if so could I cut down or dilute it? Do I have a milky bedtime drink – could I look out for reduced calorie options?

5 What about Salt?

Although salt does not have any calories, it is best to keep your intake low if you are concerned about your health. Eating too much salt is linked with high blood pressure, heart disease and strokes, and your risk of these is higher if you are overweight. Some people who suffer from fluid retention find that keeping salt intake low helps to reduce the amount of fluid retained.

Here are some pointers to help keep salt intake low:

Look out for salt added to foods, especially in ready meals and snacks (see section on labelling for recommended amounts) Sodium chloride is the chemical name for salt and labels should tell you how much sodium a food contains The total sodium on the label comes not just from added salt but also from additives like monosodium glutamate, so your best guide is the total sodium in a serving of food Try not to add salt in cooking or at table and use herbs, spices, black pepper and lemon juice instead Aim to eat no more than 2.5g sodium each day Try to eat more fresh, unprocessed foods as these are likely to be lower in salt.

What about Takeaways?

There is no reason why you should not be able to enjoy a takeaway, but just be aware that the fat and calorie content is likely to be high and portion sizes are often bigger than you would normally eat at home.

The following table gives some tips to choose more healthily:

Indian Chinese Choose: Choose: chicken or fish clear soup or broth tandoori or tikka e.g. crab and dishes (no sauce) sweetcorn biryanis and dhals chop suey, sweet & (rice and lentil-based) sour dishes or stir vegetable curries, fried vegetables cooked in a little fat prawns steamed with chicken or prawn ginger or spring onion shashlick and plain tofu dishes, boiled boiled rice rice and grilled food

6 Avoid: Avoid: cream-based sauces peking duck, special like kormas, fried rice, spring rolls passandas, massalas deep fried dishes like lamb dishes as meat prawn crackers, used is usually fatty crispy duck, dim sum pilau (fried) rice battered dishes

Thai Italian Choose: Choose: steamed rice, pasta with tomato vegetables or fish based sauce hot and sour soup (e.g. risottos, seafood or Tom yum gai) vegetable kung pad priaw wan minestrone soup, (sautéed prawns & green salad with veg) balsamic vinegar, care thai salads, chicken with the olive oil satay (careful about seafood and vegetable the peanut sauce) based pizzas Avoid: Avoid: thai curries as they fried calamari, garlic contain a lot of bread coconut cream four cheese or pepperoni pizzas pesto or carbonara sauces salami or other cold meats with high fat content

What to look for in a label

Look out for foods with lower fat content but remember that not all foods labelled as reduced fat or sugar actually have less calories than the regular product. Trying to find your way around a food label can be a confusing experience but when trying to choose healthier options here are a few simple rules of thumb, which should help:

7 For a complete main meal or 100g of a snack food, use this quick guide:

“A LITTLE” “A LOT” (these amounts or less) (these amounts or more)

3g of fat 20g of fat 1g of saturated fat 5g of saturated fat 2g of sugars 10g of sugars 0.1g of sodium 0.5g of sodium

Look for those foods containing “a little” rather than “a lot”.

A more detailed labelling leaflet is available from your dietitian.

Physical Activity

Did you know:

Research shows that exercise and activity can improve physical health and mental well-being and that most people do not do enough physical activity to get these benefits

Studies also show that lack of activity is one of the main reasons why people gain weight

People who successfully lose weight and keep it off do this by adopting new activity habits and keep these habits going permanently

You don’t have to take up jogging or put on the lycra to get fit – building activity into your daily life, doing things you enjoy is much more likely to work for you

Exercise doesn’t have to cost a lot – simply walking more can have benefits.

For general health benefits Aim for 30 minutes of moderate intensity activity on at least 5 days of the week

For weight loss Aim for 45-60 minutes of moderate intensity activity on at least 5 days of the week

What is “moderate intensity activity”? It is any activity or exercise which makes your heart beat a little faster than normal and makes you breathe faster than normal. It should not mean that you are unable to have a conversation while exercising.

8 What opportunities do I have to be more active?

Could I walk briskly for 30 minutes most days of the week? Could I use the stairs more often, at home or at work? Could I walk to the shops more often, rather than use the car? Could I take up an activity I enjoyed when I was younger? Have I investigated the local leisure centre or evening classes?

If you have been advised to limit your physical activity for medical reasons, or you have any doubts as to how much or what type of physical activity you can safely do, contact your Doctor before making any changes.

A separate leaflet about physical activity to help with weight loss is available from your Dietitian.

CHANGING BEHAVIOUR

Making permanent changes to eating and activity habits requires thought, planning and effort. Old habits and ways of doing things need to be replaced by new ones and changing the way you think about eating and activity takes time to achieve.

Creating new habits usually involves planning ahead as well as thinking and behaving in new and different ways. Psychologists call this behaviour modification and the information in this section will give you practical ways to help yourself. Some things you could try include:

Diary Keeping

This can be extremely useful to help you understand more about your eating and activity habits. Record everything you eat and drink for a few days, being absolutely honest with yourself and including every morsel or crumb you eat, drink or taste – it all adds up! Make a note of:

When you ate or drank How much you ate or drank Where you were How you felt before, during and after eating/drinking

If you are completely honest with yourself this should help you to:

Understand your normal eating pattern and how it is affected by the life you lead and those around you. Find out whether you are an emotional eater, i.e. whether you eat when you are bored, fed up, happy, sad.

9 Find out if there are triggers which make you likely to overeat, e.g. being at home alone, preparing food for others.

Your dietitian can provide some diary sheets to help you with this.

Action from Diary Keeping

Once you have kept a diary and identified any difficult areas, you can work on finding solutions which might include:

Eating regularly if this is not happening at the moment. It will almost certainly help you to avoid overeating and bingeing. Planning ahead for the difficult times e.g. missing meals at work, being at a social event where food is all too tempting. Trying to eat when you are actually hungry and not just out of habit. Using distractions to help control eating, especially doing something where you cannot eat at the same time, e.g. have a bath, do your nails, go for a walk, wash the car.

Tips to Change Behaviour

The dietitian can supply you with a checklist of actions you can take which will help you change some of the behaviours you have identified from diary keeping or which you already have difficulty with.

WHAT NOW?

Use this space to make a note of all the changes you think you need to make to help you lose weight.

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You may have come up with a long list so try and choose 3 or 4 of these and work on them first until they are established. Use the personal action plan on the next page to write them down and record your progress. You can return to the above list when you feel ready to make more changes.

10 Personal Action Plan

Date Goal Achieved

11 Useful Websites

1. www.bdaweightwise.com - comprehensive information can be downloaded, part of official website of Registered Dietitians in UK 2. www.realslimmers.com - sell calorie controlled meals but also provide online support and information, information compiled by Registered Dietitians 3. www.weightconcern.com - registered charity, programme compiled by psychologists and dietitians, useful information and support

Crown Copyright – Leicestershire Nutrition and Dietetic Service June 2004