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3 Steps to Long-Term Weight Loss in 2013

Posted by Lynda on January 7th, 2013 (Diet, Weight Loss)

Rephrase that New Year’s resolution to lose weight and decide to make 2013 the year you turn your health around instead.  Here are 3 steps to long-term weight loss, from Sydney dietitian Lynda Hamilton.

 

Thousands of people resolve to lose weight every New Year, and the majority of them fail. January begins with a bundle of good intentions, but because many people’s idea of diet is a short-term fix, their ‘diet’ fails because it is not sustainable in the long-term.

So forget about calorie counting, fad diets and diet-drinks, and start making good nutrition and a healthy diet a concrete long-term goal in 2013.  Here are  3 steps to long-term weight loss with a healthy balanced diet packed with all your nutritional needs that will keep you slim, fit and healthy for life.

3 Steps to Long-Term Weight Loss 

 

1. Keep a Food Diary

Start by keeping a food diary for a week so you can really see what you are eating everyday.   You can print a 3 day Food Diary from the Hamilton Dietetics website, ready for you to fill in.  (Just print out a couple of extra copies for the other 4 days of the week.)

It’s not always easy to be honest with ourselves, but remember this is about becoming aware of where our bad food habits creep up on us and let us down – or bite us on the bum so to speak!  And when you look over your 7 day food diary, patterns will jump out at you.

For instance, do you eat your children’s leftovers, or raid the biscuit tin when you are bored?  Do you snack when you get home from work instead of preparing supper, or did you skip breakfast only to cave in to the temptation of a sugary snack at the mid-morning coffee break because you were hungry and your body was craving fuel?

Becoming aware of our diet and where we can easily improve our eating habits  is the first step to long-term weight loss.

2. Understand Portions

Understanding portions and what your plate should look like if you are eating a healthy balanced diet is the second step to long-term weight loss.   So what should each meal look like?

Well half of the plate should be filled with vegetables or salad.  The protein portion should be a quarter of the plate and no larger or thicker than your palm, and your serving of carbohydrates should be the remaining quarter or roughly the size of your clenched fist.  I have written a detailed post about portion proportion in the past, so have a read and start using your hand as a guide to balancing every meal.  Read A Dietitian’s Guide To Portion Proportion.

While we are talking about portions, it is also better to eat little and often rather than having 3 big meals a day which can leave you feeling lethargic, with an afternoon energy slump.   If you eat 3 smaller meals a day with a healthy snack mid-morning and mid-afternoon, blood sugars remain steady so your energy levels are sustained and you don’t feel hungry.  Read the Guide to Healthy Snacking to learn more.

3. Become More Active & Exercise

The third step to long-term weight loss is based around the simple fact you need to be active to burn up what you eat every day.  Food is fuel and it’s the simple equation of fuel in: fuel out.   So if you drive everywhere, sit at a desk all day and do very little energetic activity, you will struggle to burn off what you have eaten.

Add to this the fact our metabolism naturally slows every decade after the age of 24 if we do not exercise, and you can see where middle aged spread comes from.   So start becoming more active by taking a walk in the park on your lunch break, or walking to the corner shop rather than jumping in the car – every little helps and burns a few extra calories.

It is also a fact that the more muscle we have, the more calories our body’s burn.  Now I am not suggesting you start pumping iron at the gym, but anything that raises the heart rate and strengthens muscles will help you maintain long-term weight loss – so find an activity you enjoy.  It might be salsa dancing, line dancing, bush-walking, yoga, Pilates, swimming, surfing, kayaking, tennis, football or roller blading.  It can  be anything, as long as it gets you moving and brings a smile to your face.

Finally, take it one step at a time and don’t beat yourself up if you have a bad day – tomorrow is another day.  This is a long-term weight loss plan based around a healthy, nutritious and balanced diet that will keep you healthy for life.

Wishing you all a very happy and healthy 2013.

Lynda

Lynda Hamilton is an  Accredited Practicing Dietitian and Accredited Nutritionist BSc, BHSc (N&D) at Hamilton Dietetics.  If you would like to speak to a dietitian in Sydney, get in touch with Lynda Hamilton.

 

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