Weight gain and weight loss are mainly governed by the quality of food a person eats and the lifestyle they lead. By having a thorough understanding of the way this system works, you can master techniques of weight control and help a person achieve a reduction in weight.
You should have a thorough understanding of various diets that people are likely to try. You can then help a client choose and adapt an appropriate diet according to their individual needs and lifestyle. For this you’ll need a thorough knowledge of the principles of weight
Management of a healthy lifestyle and balanced diet are very important. Diet plays a vital role in the maintenance of the general health of a person. A well-balanced diet providing the optimum amount of calories for age, activity level, height and weight is vital.
A healthy lifestyle goes a long way in determining the overall health of a person. To have a healthy lifestyle, it’s important to know how to eat well and maintain a proper exercise programme. Exercise and general fitness are essential to maintaining a healthy weight and reducing weight as necessary.
Someone who is overweight or obese is also likely to have a chronic problem: their activity levels are typically low and their metabolic rate may be decreased as a result of low activity or yoyo dieting, which makes it increasingly difficult to lose the excess weight.
MECHANICS OF WEIGHT LOSS
Modern lifestyles are quite sedentary. Convenience has become a buzz word along with the option to do very little.
Irregular eating styles and poor diet often lead to an irregularity in the amount of unhealthy fat, salt, and sugar present in the body. The body tends to store whatever food is not immediately needed as energy into reserves of fat to serve as a kind of emergency reserve. This reserve,
redundant in the developed world, leads to fat accumulation in the body and long-term weight gain.
Energy requirements are determined by an individual’s lifestyle. Unless they understand and adhere to their calorie requirements based on their activity level, age, and physical type, they cannot achieve weight loss nor can they hope to regulate a healthy weight long-term.
Another important requirement is a good exercise schedule. No weight loss programme works overnight. This is often particularly difficult to appreciate: everyone wants results instantaneously and when they don’t see them they lose interest in the programme and
again tend to put on more weight. It is not realistically possible to lose more than 1-2 pounds of fat a week – any more than this is likely to be loss of water as glycogen stores are broken down, or loss of muscle mass.
CALORIE CONTROLLED DIETS
Calories represent the energy provided by the intake of food. Food that is taken in is digested and broken down to be utilised by the cells in the body as energy. Energy is required by every single cell and energy that is not used is stored as fat.
To be accurate with your calorie counting, you need to weigh everything you eat. And this can lead to unhealthy obsessions about food and even eating disorders. Also different foods have different effects on the body
For example, a breakfast of a sweet muffin and coffee may have more calories than a bowl of sugar free muesli and fresh fruit, but the former is likely to be far less satisfying than the latter breakfast, as well as being far less nutritious. So not all calories are equal.
In general foods containing protein and fats are more satiating. Low fat foods or sweet refined carbohydrates or sweet drinks e.g. fizzy drinks or juices are not satiating.
Crash diets often implement very low calorie regimes such as 500 calories per day. This is not recommended as when calories are restricted at these levels the body thinks it is being starved and slows metabolism to conserve energy. This is why people often gain more weight than they started with when they come off their crash diet and start eating “normally”.
To sum up, although it’s useful for you and your client’s to have a general idea of the calorie content of a range of foods, calorie controlled diets have their limitations and have gone out of vogue in recent times.
GLYCAEMIC INDEX AND LOW GI DIETS
The concept of the Glycaemic Index (GI) was introduced by Dr. David J. Jenkins in the early 1980s. The Glycaemic Index is a calculation of the changes in blood glucose
levels due to the carbohydrates in the diet. Digestive processes simplify carbohydrates and cause an increase in the level of glucose in the blood. If the glucose levels increase quickly after a particular food is consumed, the food type is assigned a high GI value. Some foods are digested more slowly and increase the level of glucose more gradually; such foods are assigned a low GI value.
GI values are important for assessing the fluctuation of blood glucose levels. Foods with lower GI values create a reduction in the insulin requirements and are better at bringing about control of blood sugar levels. People consuming foods with lesser GI values have been seen to reduce their risk of developing type 2 diabetes and other diseases like coronary artery disease. Foods with higher GI values generally increase your risk of developing diabetes as well as atherosclerosis. The GI value of food is calculated by assessing the effects on the levels of blood glucose over a two-hour period.
Foods with low GI values include:
_ Legumes _ Whole Grains
_ Fruits
_ Vegetables
Moderate GI values are foods such as:
_ Brown rice
_ Sweet potato
_ Oranges
Foods with high GI values include:
_ White rice
_ White bread
_ Baked potato
The starch and fibre content of foods plays a role in affecting the glycaemic value of foods.
The advantage of using low GI foods in a slimming diet or any healthy diet is that they are more satiating than high GI foods, i.e. you won’t feel hungry again so quickly. Low GI foods also tend to be more nutritious and contain more fibre. For example, brown rice contains B vitamins, fibre and minerals whereas these are depleted in white rice. Eating low GI foods also encourages people to move away from sweet high calorific foods.
Many current slimming diets incorporate this approach and it is also used by dieticians to help regulate blood glucose control in patients with diabetes.It is considered to be a safe approach to weight loss. Food manufacturers now often include GI levels on their products.
This is very useful for the consumer.
PROTEINS AND FATS
To lose weight you will also need to eat enough protein and good fats. You will need at least 1 g per kg body weight of protein per day. It’s best to include protein foods at each meal and snack to ensure satiety and good blood glucose balance.
As a quick rule, try to eat one quarter of your meal as a high protein food, one quarter as a low GI starchy carbohydrate e.g. sweet potatoes/wholegrain and one half of the plate as non starchy vegetables/salad. Ensuring enough omega 3 fatty acids are included in the diet is also
beneficial as this can aid fat loss. Other fats such as the medium chain triglycerides found in coconut oil can also help. About 1 tbs of oil per meal is a good measure.
ROLE OF EXERCISE AND FITNESS
As mentioned previously, exercise plays a vital role in bringing about weight loss. No diet plan is complete without a proper exercise programme to support it. An exercise programme should be planned by introducing a gradual increase in physical activity level. Another good way to improve fitness is to take up relaxing exercises like meditation and yoga.
While meditation will not help in reducing weight, including it in the exercise programme can improve the overall state of health. Mental stress definitely plays a vital role in weight control; when most people become stressed or depressed, they eat more as a comfort mechanism.
Exercise, especially aerobic exercise or exercise that promotes muscle gain will increase the metabolic rate. As the metabolic rate increases, the body becomes efficient at using energy.
The key to long-term weight loss is a proper diet plan combined with a moderate amount of exercise that suits your lifestyle.
Recent Comments