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Obesity and diet
Most people will need to reduce their daily kilojoule intake in order to lose weight. This means eating and drinking less and making healthier food choices. One way to do this is to swap unhealthy and high energy food choices such as fast food, processed food and sugary drinks (including hard drinks) for healthier choices.
Enjoy a wide variety of nutritious foods from these five groups every day:
Vegetables, including different types and colours, and legumes/beans
fruit
Grain (cereal) foods, mostly wholegrain and/or high cereal fibre varieties, such as bread, cereals, rice, pasta, noodles, polenta, couscous, oats, quinoa and barley
Lean meats and poultry, fish, eggs, tofu, nuts and seeds, and legumes/beans (the latter in two food groups as they are rich in protein and carbohydrates)
Milk, yoghurt, cheese and/or their alternatives, mostly reduced fat (reduced fat milks are not suitable for children under 2 years)
Drink plenty of water
Limit intake of foods containing saturated fat, added salt, added sugars.
Some restaurants, cafes and fast-food outlets provide kilojoule information per portion, but providing this information is not compulsory. Be careful – some foods can quickly take you over the limit, such as burgers and fried chicken.
Avoid fad diets
Avoid fad diets that recommend unsafe practices such as fasting (going without food for long periods of time) or cutting out entire food groups such as meat, fish, wheat or dairy products.
These are not sustainable, can make you feel ill, and may cause unpleasant side effects such as bad breath, diarrhoea and headaches.
This is not to say that all commercial diet programmes are unsafe. Many are based on sound research and scientific principles and can work well in some people.
Choose a responsible diet programme that:
Educates you about issues such as portion size, making changes to long-term behaviour and healthy eating.
Is not overly restrictive in terms of the type of food you can eat. Is based on achieving gradual sustainable fat loss rather short-term rapid fat loss, which is unlikely to last.
Very low calorie diet
A very low calorie diet (VLCD) is a diet that involves consuming less food. Food Containing less than 3350 kilojoules (800 calories) per day.
While a VLCD can be an effective method of losing weight for some obese people, is it not a suitable or safe method for everyone. It would usually only be recommended if rapid fat loss was required to reduce the risk of an obesity-related complication such as heart disease, or if you have failed to lose weight despite conventional treatment. You should only ever undertake a VLCD under the supervision of a suitably qualified health professional.
Get the facts
Your options
Use a diet plan to help you lose weight.
Get to a healthy weight by making small, long-term changes in your eating and exercise habits.
Key points to remember
You may already be at a healthy weight. If you are, you’re better off forgetting about losing weight. Instead, learn healthy eating and activity habits that will help you stay at a healthy weight.
Diets almost never work, and they can cause many people to fall into an unhealthy cycle of losing and gaining weight.
Research shows that people who use a diet plan tend to lose more weight at first than people who try to lose weight on their own. But after they stop dieting, most people regain the weight they have lost, and sometimes more, no matter which method they use.
Not all diet plans are safe or effective. Some diets can even be bad for your health. It’s wise to talk to your dietician before you start any diet.
Lasting fitness requires lifelong changes in your eating and exercise habits.
Food Choices
The key to a healthy eating plan is to limit calories while still enjoying delicious foods. While there are literally hundreds of diets on the market with various gimmicks, experts agree that a healthy diet low in fat, sodium and added sugar, according to the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. Lean meats like flank steak, chicken, turkey and fish can substitute for fatty red meats and pork. Whole grain bread and pasta are better choices than white flour products. Healthy oils like olive oil and canola oil can take the place of butter or margarine.
Portions
Portion control is an essential element of fat loss that is difficult for many to control. Portions seen in restaurants are two to four times larger than actual U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, specified serving sizes, according to the August 2007 issue of “Obesity.” It is important to read the nutritional information on foods and pay attention to the actual serving size. It’s common for a package of food intended to be two or three servings, to be mistakenly counted as one. For example, it’s easy to eat an entire can of soup, but if you look at the “Servings Per Container” on the label, it is often 2 to 2.5 servings.
Meal Planning
The most successful dieters take a grazing approach to fitness. Rather than cut out meals, a more effective approach is to spread out the calories into about five meals per day. Three small meals with two healthy snacks would be the norm. Eating more often helps control hunger and reduces the risk of overeating, according to the November 2011 issue of the “Journal of the American Dietetic Association.”
For breakfast, three egg whites with whole grain toast, a banana, and coffee would supply plenty of protein and complex carbohydrates for energy. An apple and a bottle of water between breakfast and lunch.
Grilled chicken over a salad with low-fat dressing is a protein packed, low-fat lunch. Unsweetened iced tea with lemon would be a perfect low-calorie beverage. Between lunch and dinner, no sugar yogurt and another bottle of water will prevent the drop in energy normally felt at around 3 p.m.
For dinner, 8 ounces of salmon with mixed vegetables and brown rice can be a great tasting, filling final meal. Decaf unsweetened iced tea is refreshing and will not interfere with sleep.
