Long Term Weight Control And Sustainable Calorie Reduction For a Slimmer You

Many studies have shown that effective weight loss is achieved through a healthy combination of of regular exercise and activity, combined with healthy eating habits often involving sustainable calorie reduction.

To make long term changes for weight control it is imperative that a person makes adjustments to the way and amount they eat. Eating a healthy and balanced diet which helps to control appetite.

If effective weight loss is your goal the below principles will help youb establish routines to develop a healthy weight loss plan.

Many diets are short term fixes and gimmicks which may often lead to initial weight loss however jeopardise the long term health of a dieter in the long term. Diets like the Atkins diet are not sustainable in the long term as they lack the balanced diet that we need to function effectively

Too often we see that a celebrity has endorsed a particular diet and want to look like them. What many celebrities don't tell you about their diet is that they will have a team of dieticians and personal trainers in place to help them achieve their goals. It also may be possible that the celebrity is being paid to endorse a particular diet.

We are most likely to succeed when we have an end goal in mind. Whether we want to win a cycling race, get a girls phone number in a bar or lose weight. To do this it is a great idea to use the SMARTER goal setting acronym to help in our success.

• Specific. Define what you want to achieve. What is your end goal? How much weight do you wish to lose? What size dress do you want to be able to fit into?
• Measurable. ideally you need to be able to tell when you've reached your particular goal. You can easily measure your calorie consumption by keeping a mental note in your head throughout the day or documenting your eating habits in a food diary
• Achievable and Realistic. There is no logic in setting yourself a target that is beyond your belief that it can be achieved. Sometimes you may have to split a target into a set of achievements; for instance losing ten pounds, twenty pounds and then thirty pounds towards your weight loss target.
• Timed. It is often a positive to focus on a realistic time frame for your goal. Be sensible and choose an attainable target. Losing four pounds a month might not seem alot however it is a sensible sustainable level of weight loss and simply equate to losing a pound every week.
• Empowering. You need to believe in your goal. Empowering goals help us strive towards greatness in what we do. Your goal has to mean something to you. You shouldn't be wanting to loss weight simply because a friend is trying to lose weight. Why do you want to lose weight? Do you think it will make you more attractive to the opposite sex? Could it help you obtain sporting success in your chosen activity?
• Recorded. Write down everything you plan and the progress you make. Or alternately if you're a visually focused person use spreadsheets to make graphical representations of your progress.

How much weight loss per week is considered healthy?

It's is considered that losing between one and two pounds in weight per week is an effective and healthy amount of weight to lose (0.5-1 kg)

1 pound of fat roughly equates to 3500 calories therefore you would need to burn 3500 calories more than you have consumed. this equates to a simple 500 calorie deficit per day- sounds relatively simple in practice!

You could even increase the amount of calories you burn through exercise to help you achieve your weight loss goals. This is the maths test you can get a A+ in.

An important part of any weight loss program is increasing your physical activity levels. Exercise can really help you lose weight.

The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) recommends at least two resistance training sessions and three cardiovascular activity sessions of greater than 20 minutes a week to assist with weight loss.

Everyone has a different sensory focus. You may have heard about it through Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) but everyone has a particular focus. Visual, Auditory and Kinesthetic

Visual

Visualise yourself as a success. See yourself how you will look in the state you wish to be. Focus on this image and try to make it as vivid and as meaningful as possible.

Auditory

Tell yourself what you think things will be like when you're slimmer. How do you perceive things will be. Keep talking to yourself positively to reinforce the message you want to instill within you.

Kinaesthetic

How do you feel about being slimmer? Fitter and healthier? How do you feel as you begin to lose weight- do you feel different?

These basic techniques will help you to develop a positive awareness of what losing weight will mean to you.

Fat should ideally provide around 20-25% of the calories within your diet.

Cut down foods rich in saturated and hydrogenated fats such a fast food options like McDonalds and Burger King, Cakes, Biscuits, Fatty Meats and consider substituting healthier options such as skimmed instead of whole milk, chicken instead of beef, a small amount of olive oil instead of butter for cooking.

Use low fat eating as an opportunity to try new things.

Love meat in your diet? - Try Ostrich burgers for a barbecue as Ostrich meat is extremely low in fat. Or you could try other healthy meats.

Like eating out? You can always find healthy options on a menu.

Great news- fibre makes you feel full. It expands within your gut and gives you an additional sensitation of fulness. Therefore it can help to prevent over-eating.

Eating a diet high in fibre also helps satisfy hunger by slowing the rate of absorbtion of food within your digestive system and helping to stabilise your body sugar levels.

High protein foods have been proven to help suppress appetite

Aim to consumer 1.4-1.8 gram of protein per kilogram of bodyweight on a daily basis. Protein is responsible for growth and repair within your body and is vital for the body's ability to recover- especially if you are exercising as well!

Aim to eat protein sources such as low fat meat, poultry and fish, low fat dairy foods like skimmed milk, as well as beans and tofu.

Glycaemic index is a measure of how quickly your blood sugars will rise after eating. Low Glycaemic index foods are important for weight loss as they can help to control blood sugar levels, appetite and body weight while reducing the risk of diabetes.

Ideally a low GI diet should have balanced meals including

• A lean source of protein
• fibre rich carbohydrate
• vegetables
• a small amount of unsaturated fat.

The brain often mistakes the response for thirst as that of hunger. Therefore if you're feeling hungry have a glass of water as it could simply be that you are dehydrated. Keeping hydrated helps to prevent hunger and helps to suppress your appetite.

Please feel free to leave any of your tips or comments in the section below.

Thank You

CyclingFitness