Using portion control to lose weight
We’re going to remind you of this a few times here; if you want to lose weight you need to burn more calories than you’re consuming. For some people that’s about changing the actual food they’re eating to reduce their sugar intake and carbohydrates, etc. However, for others it can be more about eating less, full stop. Even healthy food will put on the pounds if you don’t manage how much of it you’re eating. So if you want to lose weight by eating less, and aren’t a ‘snacker’ anyway, managing the quantity you eat via portion control is an important step.
Initially, many people planning to lose weight via portion control worry that they’re going to feel hungry all the time. But that needn’t be the case. If you’re being sensible about what you actually eat, then there are some useful little strategies that you can employ to help you limit how much of it you then consume. Here are a few:
- Always drink a glass of water before you start a meal. It’s good for you. It helps prevent dehydration and counts towards your fluid quota for the day. And yes, it does fill you up just a little.
- Fill out your meals with steamed vegetables so you can reduce the portion size of your carbohydrates.
- Change your approach to the carbohydrate balance in mixed dishes. For example, instead of eating muesli with milk, have yoghurt with a sprinkling of muesli on the top.
- Wear clothes with a waistband when you eat. You’ll be surprised how loath you are to go back for seconds when you can feel the squeeze of material.
- Use plates that have a high colour contrast to your food. For example, use a dark plate when eating pasta. Studies have shown that people serve themselves smaller portions when the colour contrast is greater. Every little tip helps, eh? Worth a try.
- And very simply… use smaller plates and bowls and serving spoons. You will reduce your portion size naturally this way.
Being active through exercise to lose weight
Some people find the idea of seeking to lose weight via increasing their activity more appealing, or likely to be successful than other methods. After all, if you think increasing the number of calories you burn works better for your lifestyle and ability to sustain a regime, then that’s great. It then comes down to what you can/should do, how often you can/should do it, and for how long.
If you haven’t been active much up to this point, it’s important to note that you need to introduce exercise into your weekly regime gently and gradually. You don’t want to get injured and have to put your plans on hold for several weeks!
Finding balance
For an exercise programme to be effective in helping you to lose weight, however, it is important to realise that you should consider your eating habits at the same time. Putting in a whole heap of effort can become very demoralising if you’re not seeing weight loss results simply because you’re eating the wrong foods. We’re not saying you need to go without, but we do suggest that shifting to a life-long habit of eating healthily will make all the difference. Healthy eating tends to naturally reduce calorie intake anyway, so when it’s coupled with a sustained exercise strategy the results can be fantastic.
A word of caution
However, it’s important not to confuse weight loss with fat loss. Exercise tends to increase your muscle percentage, and that in turn naturally makes you slightly heavier. On the other hand, though, that doesn’t mean you haven’t slimmed down, lost inches, and lost fat. Quite the opposite. A body toned through exercise improves your body shape, and starts to enjoy an increased metabolic rate too. Exercising offers lots of wins. Muscles burn calories!
What are good calorie-burning sports?
There are pros and cons to different sports, and you need to consider if aspects like a low-impact exercise regime will be more sustainable on your joints. But here are a few suggestions to ponder, and then perhaps discuss with a fitness adviser in your local gym.
- Swimming
- Running
- Cycling
- Aerobics
- Walking
The great thing about any exercise is that the more you lose weight, the more you enjoy the exercise and the easier it starts to feel. It doesn’t take long before you’re actually missing it if you can’t squeeze it in one day… that really does happen, trust us.
Counting calories to lose weight
At the end of the day, and we’ve already said this many times on this web page, to lose weight you have to consume fewer calories than you burn each day. People achieve this in different ways. Some focus on portion size, some focus on exercise, others major on reducing their fat intake or their carbohydrate intake, then some use meal replacements, etc. etc. What each approach replies upon, though, is that it is about ensuring you use up more energy than you consume. And for some, simply counting the calories they ingest as their day passes is the easiest method of keeping things on track.
Most experts recommend that you aim for a 1,500 calorie intake a day in order to lose weight (although, of course everyone’s calorie requirements are different depending, on start weight, age, dieting history and health). Obviously, men can burn more than women, and significantly larger people actually need more to subsist than that, so you may need more calories to begin with because drastic calorie cutting should only be done alongside advice from a professional. But as a basic rule of thumb to work to, it’s a starting point to bear in mind.
Make it fun
For those who are already calorie-savvy, counting them is relatively easy. If you cook with fresh ingredients, it takes time to get to know what has what, but it’s rewarding to discover new things about the food you eat. So make it fun. Pick a food group each week and gen up on it. Challenge yourself to come up with tasty dishes that work for your calorie goal, and then taste-test them on your friends! Otherwise, if you find buying pre-prepared food easier, often the calorie information is already contained on the packaging so counting is made easy. Take advantage of this when you need to, to help you keep on track.
Using meal replacements to lose weight
We’ll say this from the start… using meal replacements to lose weight works for some people, and not for all. The nub of using meal replacements to lose weight is that each one is intended to provide the nutrition of a full meal. They can be powdered or in liquid form, and they can be mixed with milk or water. There is a wide range of choice available these days. The key is they include a good quantity of protein to help you feel satisfied and stave off hunger pangs, as well as fibre and essential vitamins and minerals etc. They’re low calorie but the intention is that they’re balanced. With that said, however, the balance between protein, carbohydrate, and fat will vary considerably from make to make, so it’s important to take the time to pick the right regime for you. Details of the meal replacement plan we recommend can be found here: www.cambridgeweightplan.com
The benefits of using meal replacements to lose weight
Meal replacements can offer a swift, short-term solution to lose weight… but you must bear in mind they’re not intended to be a long-term way of life. The low calorie nature of meal replacements will definitely help you towards a calorie deficit every day if you’re sensible with the full meals you consume. They will help you maintain an appropriate blood sugar level too, and thus stave off hungry snacking and insulin spikes.
Meal replacements can ensure you get the nutrients you need… which often get overlooked on other diets. They are low in calories, but the right meal replacement plan will be packed full of the nutritional goodies you need.
Meal replacements help you avoid tempting but unhealthy fast meals… because those types of meal can be very convenient too. When you’re on the move, perhaps travelling from one meeting to another, or simply trying to keep the kids occupied, an unhealthy processed snack can be more appealing than you’d like. But these snacks can be packed full of salt, sugar, and fat, so in the time it takes to munch through a few mouthfuls you can have consumed way too many calories.
Like we said at the beginning, meal replacements aren’t for long-term use, although there may be some benefit to be had for using them as a 5:2 or 6:1 approach to help you keep on track. Fresh ingredients are filled with other beneficial qualities that aren’t just about nutrition, e.g. antioxidants and enzymes. Whilst you’re losing weight, therefore, we recommend you make time to plan a healthy eating regime once you stop the meal replacements. Make it a fun journey of discovery and you’re far more likely to enjoy success ongoing by keeping the weight off that you lose.
Getting to grips with your headspace to lose weight
If you’re an emotional eater, understanding the issues you’re tackling that then make you want to eat is key. People turn to food for many reasons and being hungry is only one of them. On the face of it, comfort foods can help us deal with sadness, stress, boredom and loneliness… though obviously only for the minutes we’re consuming them. Once that enjoyment passes, often the guilt of overeating then sets in. It’s a vicious circle of misery.
Examples of emotional eating include:
- Eating when you’re stressed
- Eating to distract yourself from being bored
- Eating as a reward
- Eating until you’re over-full
- Eating for comfort
- Eating because you feel powerless against the craving
Emotional eating is actually a complex behaviour and to solve it one needs to first identify the trigger(s) and then find alternative ways of dealing with the emotional response you’re struggling with. Triggers can be anything from trying to ignore emotions, to feeling lost and empty, to struggling with childhood learned behaviours, to battling stress.
Tackling emotional eating is often achieved with 1:1 support, whilst also becoming mindful of one’s feelings and responses. Learning to accept yourself for who you are and then empowering yourself to make changes – which can sometimes fail, and THAT’S OK! – will change your whole approach to living and eating. Once you’re on that path, your ability to lose weight and get into the shape you dream of then becomes a very achievable outcome.
A final word… Turning to hypnotherapy to lose weight
As we said at the start, many approaches to losing weight will have a greater chance of success if you are able to change your attitude and behaviour with respect to what you eat and drink. Getting the balance right to ‘eating less and moving around more’ can become a long-term lifestyle strategy that you works with you, rather than against you.
If you like the sound of clearing your head so you can focus on enjoying a fulfilling future, or would simply like more information on how hypnotherapy can help you to lose weight, then please do call 01908 265410 to book a free consultation*.
*There is no guarantee of specific results and the results can vary from person to person.
