Weight management is about either losing weight, gaining weight or maintaining it.
Weight Loss
Introduction:
To start with, the process of weight loss and maintenance of a healthy body weight needs determination. This does not imply that it is a very difficult process but means that long term success will depend on the effort you put in to do or not to do certain things. Again, this does not mean that you have to spend hours in the gym or never visit a cake shop.
Weight loss formula is essentially a negative balance of calories- A decrease in intake of calories and increase in caloric output. Although this is the basic fundamental, the body functions in a more complicated way making this task tougher. When a person tries to cut down calories by starving or crash dieting, the body can perceive this as a state of crisis and conserve the available stores or achieve temporary weight loss by disrupting the entire body metabolism which can be dangerous for health. Similarly, unsupervised exercise in the presence of medical conditions can also be harmful to the body. Thus, in order to achieve weight loss, understand your body functioning, follow a healthy eating plan and an achievable physical activity plan. I would also like to add another component to this - Active Living.
Active Living:
Although it is essential to achieve your 30-60 minutes of dedicated physical activity on most days of the week, weight loss and maintenance can be better achieved by remaining active throughout your day. Since most people tend to engage in sedentary activities during the majority of working hours, it is necessary to find ways of moving in spite of the work commitments. I have cited some examples below:
- Choose to walk to the nearby grocery store rather than taking the car.
- Enjoy a short walk to your child's bus stop when you go to drop or pick them up. This will also inculcate the good habit of walking in the child and you can enjoy a chat with the child.
- Park the car farther away and walk those extra metres.
- Choose to get up every few hours at work and walk about in the office.
- We all know the staircase is to be preferred over the lift!
Besides these, there can be many such occasions when you can engage in some form of physical activity. Try and accumulate such activity during the day to keep your metabolism higher and have a fresher feeling all day.
Diet:
Important aspects in diet are: What - When - How much you eat
- Simple tricks like choosing whole wheat bread/pasta/pizza over the white variety can go a long way in weight loss.
- It is important to choose the types of fat we include in diet. Whereas some quantity of fats are essential for the body, limiting the consumption of saturated fats can not only help in weight loss but is also better for the heart and blood vessels.
- Optimize the type of food to eat before and after an activity session depending on the type of activity. Eg: High protein food after a resistance training session will help optimize the training adaptation and also add satiety to the meal.
- Inculcating the habit of looking at the nutrient information label on the biscuit packet, pasta packet, etc can be of great help in eating wise.Adjusting the meal timings during the day and avoiding long gaps between meals is a key component in weight loss.
- Smaller portions of high density foods and larger portions of low density foods help make a complete meal without leaving you hungry.
- Although one must try and restrict the number of meals eaten outside, many dining places now offer healthy options.
- 5 a Day- Including at least 5 portions of fruits and vegetables remains the golden rule with weight loss.
- Important point to remember is not to deprive yourself of energy and especially the micronutrients like vitamins and minerals-which could prove harmful to health.
Physical activity plan:
Most research studies done time and again have proved that diet alone is not helpful in long term weight loss. It is diet combined with an exercise program which has achieved sustainable results. Whereas one has ample options of physical activity to choose from, it is important to choose an activity which can be adhered to.
- Some activity is better than no activity.
- Although an hour of running may help lose more calories than an hour of walking, an option that is more likely to be followed regularly should be chosen.
- Having a back up plan in case plan A does not work is highly suggested.
- To enjoy an injury free physical activity routine, the activity should also include a warm up, cool down and stretching.
- Sports is an excellent way to enjoy physical activity. In order to prevent injury, sports should be coupled with a training regimen.
- Combining different activities during the week adds variety and avoids boredom. It also stimulates the muscles and body systems in different ways.
One plan does not work for all and the same plan
need not be as useful to you life long. Key is to get the
correct guidance and be regular.
