Why size matters if you’re looking to lose weight this year
WITH the eating excesses of Christmas behind us many people will be vowing to lose weight and eat a more healthy diet in January.
But while embarking on a regime of radical weight loss may seem tempting in a bid to undo the worst affects of those festive treats, it is better to make some more gradual and permanent changes to your eating habits if you want to see long-term benefits in terms of general good health as well as keeping weight down.
Consultant dietician Sian Porter, who has a clinic in East Haddon, said: “There is a great saying that it’s not what you eat between Christmas and New Year that matters but what you eat between New Year and Christmas. This is so true.”
She takes a long-term view of eating habits and advises people to make small changes that they can stick to and which can become part of their regular routine.
She said: “Rather than setting yourself up to fail by saying ‘I’m going to lose a stone in two weeks’ try and make small changes that are going to be achievable and sustainable in the long run. More to the point make a change that makes a difference to your health, not just for this year but for years to come.”
Small changes can make a big difference. The Governnment’s NHS Choices website advises tweaking your diet by making swaps such as replacing whole milk with semi-skimmed or skimmed milk, replacing cheesy, creamy pasta sauces with tomato ones and swapping streaky bacon for less fatty back bacon. And rather than always depriving yourself of things you like such as a hot chocolate, see how you can make it healthier by making it with lower fat milk and no whipped cream on top.
Another way of improving your eating habits without going on a radical diet is to take a look at your portion sizes and make sure you are not serving up way more than you need.
Sian explained that keeping to a reasonable portion size is a key part of getting to a healthy weight and staying there.
Few of us weigh everything out when we are cooking our evening meal, but by visualising the right amounts in comparison to other items it is easy to check you are not serving up too much.
So, for example, Sian advises that a serving of cheese should be the size of a small matchbox; pasta, rice or noodles should be about the size of a computer mouse; the spread for one slice of bread should be no more than the tip of your thumb and a baked potato should be about the size of a lightbulb.
But it is not always about cutting down. It may be a good idea to eat more of certain foods, Sian said: “Eat at least five portions of vegetables and fruit every day but leave chocolates and sweets for a once a week treat. At a meal time have a large serving of vegetables but for example, a small serving of lean meat and don’t eat meat every day.”
Sian Porter’s tips for not eating too much...
If you are having a takeaway or eating out order portions to share rather than one each. Avoid the temptation to ‘go large’ or for a deal that just makes you order or eat more.
Don’t eat from a bag or box. Put the food on a plate or in a bowl so you can see how much you are eating. Buy small bags rather than family sizes or grab bags.
Use the right size cups, glasses, plates and bowls. It’s tempting to fill big ones and a small one will look full with less in it.
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zdiets
Friday, January 20, 2012 at 01:41 PMWhile portion control is always something that we must take to consideration when trying to lose weight. There is something that is even more important. It is the main reason why many people lose focus and fail at losing weight. To me, the only way towards permanent weight loss is through education. Most programs only concentrate on the diets and exercises and don't even educate their clients on how the body works. It is important to know how to feed, care and exercise your body so it performs at its best all the time. Education is the hall-mark of a good weight loss program that offers good results. I've personally lost 180lbs since Dec 2009. My blood pressure was 160110, now its 12080. My cholesterol was 256 mgdL, now its 176mgdL. I'm no longer Pre-Diabetic and I'm in the best shape of my life. It wasn't easy but I can say that everyone can do it if they have the right program. If you're interested in my story please head over to Zdiets.net Cheers. Ryan E. Parker
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