Curejoy talked to Emma Olliff, a Certified Naturopathic Nutritionist , about some of the most common weight loss & diet questions and how to get started with a right weight loss plan.
1. I want to lose weight but have no idea where to start. What should I do?
If you’ve decided that you need to lose weight – be it for aesthetic or health reasons – it’s often difficult to know where to begin. There are so many different techniques, methods and diets to try that it’s almost impossible to make an informed decision. Luckily, weight loss usually comes down to a couple of important rules and these are where you should start:
- Choose a healthy diet plan, one that can be maintained and still provide the right level of nutrients over the long term.
- If you want to lose weight you have to exercise. If you have any medical condition that may be affected by a change in diet and or and increase in physical exertion, you should check with your doctor before beginning a program to lose weight.
In very basic terms it is imperative that you consume less calories than you expend in order to lose weight.
2. Which commercial diet books, programs, or plans really work?
Here are my top 3 diets that work (honestly). Read my full article here: 3 Most Popular Diets That Actually Work
MEDITERRANEAN
The Mediterranean diet has become popular because it may reduce the risk of heart disease, MayoClinic.com notes. Practiced by people living along the Mediterranean Sea, the diet has a foundation of low-fat foods to encourage healthy weight loss. Dieters focus on fruit, vegetables, whole grains, beans, nuts, seeds, herbs and spices during each meal. Olive oil often replaces other oils or butter in preparing foods. The diet includes eating fish at least twice a week, poultry in moderate portions and meats or sweets less often.
CLEAN AND LEAN DIET
Eating Clean & Lean is not a quick fix. This diet will enable you steadily shift excess fat and you will get to enjoy your food. You will need to limit your sugar intake, but this is not a no-carb/no-fat plan. If you love starches, you can still have them, However you will need to swap your white toast for sourdough or rye bread instead and exchange your white pasta for spelt or quinoa. You need to get rid of sweets, wheat, processed foods, alcohol (except for vodka, which is the least calorific form of alcohol), and include lean meats, fish, green veg, nuts, berries, avocados, olive oil, sweet potatoes, oatcakes, green tea.
Finally once a week you are encouraged to have a ‘cheat’ meal – this will help you lose weight (seriously). Healthy eating will keep your metabolism steady; eating differently will force your body to work harder to burn the extra calories.
However if you do it too often you will store fat, so it is important to be disciplined.
FAST 2-DAY (5:2 Diet)
This is not a diet, it’s a (relatively) new way of eating for life. This plan involves restricting your calorie intake (500 for women and 600 for men) for two non-consecutive days a week and eating a healthy diet on the other five days. The Fast 2-Day promotes weight loss and also has several beneficial effects on health: including increasing lifespan, improving cognitive decline, and reducing the risk of heart disease, stroke and cancer (however, up until now, these benefits have only been seen in animal studies). It is easier to stick to than conventional diets because you only need to follow it 2 days per week. It will not provide you with a quick fix, weight loss will be slow and steady. WARNING: No foods are forbidden, however it is not an eat as much as you like 5 days of the week!
3. Do I really need to exercise to lose weight?
Keep in mind that exercise is just one part of a successful weight loss program. Eating and exercise are not separate issues. They are intrinsically linked. Too many people are under the misconception that they can eat exactly what they like if they exercise.
4. How Much Exercise Do I Need To Be Doing?
You need to burn 3,500 calories to lose a pound. So if you’re burning 300 calories in one workout, it will take you nearly 12 workouts to lose one pound. If you cut your calorie intake by 300 calories in addition to burning 300, it will take you half as long to lose a pound. If you want to lose weight, you should aim for at least approximately 3 hours a week of moderate intensity exercise. If you cut your calories and exercise you can probably get away with a minimum dose of 2 1/2 hours per week.
If you’re a beginner start with 50 minutes of exercise a week and work up to 200.
Remember you didn’t put on extra weight overnight, so you aren’t going to be able to shift it overnight.
5. How Much Exercise Do I Need To Be Doing?
Firstly you need to work out how much weight you want to lose. Do this by subtracting your goal weight from your current weight.
Current Weight – Goal weight = Number of pounds/kilograms to lose.
A pound of body fat is 3500 calories, while a kilogram of body fat is 7700 calories.
If using pounds: take the number of pounds you need to lose and multiply by 3500. If using kilograms: take the number of kilograms and multiply by 7700.
This is the calorie deficit you need to create, over time, according to the “calories in, calories out” theory.
e.g. You want to lose 30 pounds – 3500 = 105.000 calories.
I’m going assume that you will aim to lose a pound per week (0.45kg), which is the general sensible recommended. This means that for every pound you need to lose, you will need a daily calorie deficit of 500.
In conclusion:
Take the number from the calculator above (Your average daily calorie need) and subtract that by 500:
- Female – 2000-500 = 1000
- Male – 2500-500 = 2000
This is the number of calories you should eat a day to lose weight.
6. What kind of foods should be on my weight loss diet?
Eating a healthy, balanced diet is an important part of maintaining good health, and can help you feel your best. It doesn’t have to be difficult either. Just follow these nine diet tips to get started.
- Eat the right number of calories, depending on how much weight you are looking to lose. See above for my weight loss calculation.
- Eat a wide range of foods to ensure that you’re getting a balanced diet and that your body is receiving all the nutrients it needs.
- Eat Lots of fruit and veggies. It’s recommended that we eat at least five portions of different types of fruit and veg a day. It’s easier than it sounds. Why not chop a banana over your breakfast cereal, or swap your usual mid-morning snack for some dried fruit?
- Eat more fish – Fish is a good source of protein and contains many vitamins and minerals. Aim to eat at least two portions a week, including at least one portion of oily fish. Oily fish is high in omega-3 fats, which may help to prevent heart disease. You can choose from fresh, frozen and canned: but remember that canned and smoked fish can be high in salt.
- Oily fish include salmon, mackerel, trout, herring, fresh tuna, sardines and pilchards. Non-oily fish include haddock, plaice, coley, cod, tinned tuna, skate and hake. Anyone who regularly eats a lot of fish should try to choose as wide a variety as possible.
- Cut down on saturated fat and sugar: We all need some fat in our diet. But it’s important to pay attention to the amount and type of fat we’re eating. There are two main types of fat: saturated and unsaturated. Too much saturated fat can increase the amount of cholesterol in the blood, which increases your risk of developing heart disease. Saturated fat is found in many foods, such as hard cheese, cakes, biscuits, sausages, cream, butter, lard and pies. Try to cut down, and choose foods that contain unsaturated rather than saturated fats, such as vegetable oils, oily fish and avocados.
- For a healthier choice, when you’re having meat, choose lean cuts and cut off any visible fat. Most people in around the world are currently eating and drinking too much sugar. Sugary foods and drinks, including alcoholic drinks, are often high in energy, and will contribute to weight gain. They can also cause tooth decay, especially if eaten between meals.
- Cut out sugary fizzy drinks, alcoholic drinks, cakes, biscuits and pastries, which contain added sugars: this is the kind of sugar we should be cutting down on rather than sugars that are found naturally in foods such as fruit and milk. Food labels can help: use them to check how much sugar foods contain. More than 22.5g of sugar per 100g means that the food is high in sugar.
- Eat less salt – Even if you don’t add salt to your food, you may still be eating too much. About three-quarters of the salt we eat is already in the food we buy, such as breakfast cereals, soups, breads and sauces. Eating too much salt can raise your blood pressure. People with high blood pressure are more likely to develop heart disease or have a stroke. Use food labels to help you cut down. More than 1.5g of salt per 100g means the food is high in salt. Adults and children over 11 should eat no more than 6g of salt a day. Younger children should have even less.
- Don’t get thirsty – We need to drink a minimum of 1.2 litres of fluid every day to stop us getting dehydrated. This is in addition to the fluid we get from the food we eat. All non-alcoholic drinks count, but water is the most healthy.
- Don’t skip breakfast – Some people skip breakfast because they think it will help them lose weight. In fact, research shows that eating breakfast can help people control their weight. A healthy breakfast is an important part of a balanced diet, and provides some of the vitamins and minerals we need for good health.
7. Are there any supplements that can help me lose weight?
NO. Diet supplements are often advertised as ‘extreme fat burners’ or ‘craving quashers’. But evidence used to support these claims simply doesn’t add up, a leading U.S nutrition expert has warned. Professor Melinda Manore from Oregon State University analysed the research used to support hundreds of diet pill claims, and she found no evidence that any single product was a ‘wonder pill’ causing significant weight loss and found some even had detrimental health effects.