Obese and trying to change diet
Moderator: talkhealth
Obese and trying to change diet
I have been obese for many years and am now desperately trying to lose weight. I don't have much money so can't afford to sign up for weight watchers or other slimming programmes. Do you have any suggestions as to what I should be doing to try and speed up my weight loss?
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Lauratu Osu
- Posts: 9
- Joined: Wed Jun 26, 2019 9:58 am
Re: Obese and trying to change diet
Hello there!
Thank you for reaching out.
The focus of a Health Coach is always to help their client make sustainable changes to their eating and lifestyle habits that promote good health for which one of the side effects can be weight loss. The process is a slow one but will get you feeling great (more energy) and put you in the right direction for achieving your health goals. I have presented a list below of changes you can slowly implement and make into a habit.
1. Get yourself a food diary and for the first week or two write down everything that you eat for main meals and snacks. Also include what you drink and how often you drink it. This is a good way of understanding your eating habits and identifying where to make changes.
2. Ask a good friend to be your accountability coach who you will check in with every week or two to talk about what you plan on changing, how, when by and share any successes.
3. Hydrate: Look at how much water you drink a day and try to increase the amount weekly by setting goals of how much more you would like to increase by. Some say 2ltrs is required daily but if you are very active it could be more. You might not feel you get thirsty often enough during the day so I would suggest you start by drinking a glass of water first thing in the morning and with each meal. After that you can slowly introduce having a large bottle of water that you sip from throughout the day and then have a glass an hour before you go to bed.
4. Food: Make it a priority to eat protein and vegetable rich homemade meals. Cook enough for dinner and to take to work for lunch the next day. It is important to start your day with breakfast and a protein rich breakfast are best which includes eggs, porridge, overnight oats etc. There are amazing recipes on Pinterest and companies like Hello Fresh and Mindful Chef help those who are not very confident in cooking. It is important to cook meals you enjoy eating so it does not become a thing you have to eat as that can hinder your consistency in eating good, healthy food. But if you are confident in the kitchen, then I will suggest creating a meal planner of your favourite meals that fit the description above to help with making sure you do eat healthy during the week. For many of my clients (and me), they find that when they stop eating bread, pasta and sugary foods they see a huge change in their waste line.
5. Snacking: Every time you feel the urge to grab a snack, drink a glass of water first so you can assess if you are hungry or thirsty. Sometimes the signal for thirst can come as a craving for certain snack foods. If you are still peckish, then have a handful of nuts, a whole fruit or vegetable sticks. If the sugar craving is too much to ignore then have a small square of dark chocolate as it is known to kill the craving for something sweet.
6. Exercise: I would suggest a slow immersion into exercising which you can increase intensity of when you are ready. So start off with fitting in a daily routine of a 30mins walk just before or just after a meal. Also include the usual, like taking the stairs instead of the lift, or getting off the bus or tube a stop earlier and walking the rest of the way to your destination. As time goes on, try to beat your personal best in terms of time it takes you to walk from A to B or increase the distance you can cover in your 30mins walk. Another step up will be to find a form of movement that you enjoy doing like dancing, yoga, tennis, cycling or any cardio gym classes that you enjoy and include them into your routine.
7. It is a known fact that the amount of sleep you get at night determines your eating habits for the next day. So it is important to get anything from 7hrs sleep and upwards a night. Set your alarm clock on your phone to remind you and create a winding down routine like reading a book, having a long bath, doing some stretches (can find on youtube) or just listening to some relaxing music while writing your achievement of the day in your journal.
Remember, the key to good results is implementing these suggestions at your pace and maintaining the changes that you make to your eating and lifestyle habits. It is advisable to speak with your GP about what you are planning on doing so he/she can be aware and possible give some advice based on your health history that could help you on your journey.
Please feel free to come back with your successes and any challenges you might have. I wish you every bit of success in your journey.
Warm regards,
Lauratu
Thank you for reaching out.
The focus of a Health Coach is always to help their client make sustainable changes to their eating and lifestyle habits that promote good health for which one of the side effects can be weight loss. The process is a slow one but will get you feeling great (more energy) and put you in the right direction for achieving your health goals. I have presented a list below of changes you can slowly implement and make into a habit.
1. Get yourself a food diary and for the first week or two write down everything that you eat for main meals and snacks. Also include what you drink and how often you drink it. This is a good way of understanding your eating habits and identifying where to make changes.
2. Ask a good friend to be your accountability coach who you will check in with every week or two to talk about what you plan on changing, how, when by and share any successes.
3. Hydrate: Look at how much water you drink a day and try to increase the amount weekly by setting goals of how much more you would like to increase by. Some say 2ltrs is required daily but if you are very active it could be more. You might not feel you get thirsty often enough during the day so I would suggest you start by drinking a glass of water first thing in the morning and with each meal. After that you can slowly introduce having a large bottle of water that you sip from throughout the day and then have a glass an hour before you go to bed.
4. Food: Make it a priority to eat protein and vegetable rich homemade meals. Cook enough for dinner and to take to work for lunch the next day. It is important to start your day with breakfast and a protein rich breakfast are best which includes eggs, porridge, overnight oats etc. There are amazing recipes on Pinterest and companies like Hello Fresh and Mindful Chef help those who are not very confident in cooking. It is important to cook meals you enjoy eating so it does not become a thing you have to eat as that can hinder your consistency in eating good, healthy food. But if you are confident in the kitchen, then I will suggest creating a meal planner of your favourite meals that fit the description above to help with making sure you do eat healthy during the week. For many of my clients (and me), they find that when they stop eating bread, pasta and sugary foods they see a huge change in their waste line.
5. Snacking: Every time you feel the urge to grab a snack, drink a glass of water first so you can assess if you are hungry or thirsty. Sometimes the signal for thirst can come as a craving for certain snack foods. If you are still peckish, then have a handful of nuts, a whole fruit or vegetable sticks. If the sugar craving is too much to ignore then have a small square of dark chocolate as it is known to kill the craving for something sweet.
6. Exercise: I would suggest a slow immersion into exercising which you can increase intensity of when you are ready. So start off with fitting in a daily routine of a 30mins walk just before or just after a meal. Also include the usual, like taking the stairs instead of the lift, or getting off the bus or tube a stop earlier and walking the rest of the way to your destination. As time goes on, try to beat your personal best in terms of time it takes you to walk from A to B or increase the distance you can cover in your 30mins walk. Another step up will be to find a form of movement that you enjoy doing like dancing, yoga, tennis, cycling or any cardio gym classes that you enjoy and include them into your routine.
7. It is a known fact that the amount of sleep you get at night determines your eating habits for the next day. So it is important to get anything from 7hrs sleep and upwards a night. Set your alarm clock on your phone to remind you and create a winding down routine like reading a book, having a long bath, doing some stretches (can find on youtube) or just listening to some relaxing music while writing your achievement of the day in your journal.
Remember, the key to good results is implementing these suggestions at your pace and maintaining the changes that you make to your eating and lifestyle habits. It is advisable to speak with your GP about what you are planning on doing so he/she can be aware and possible give some advice based on your health history that could help you on your journey.
Please feel free to come back with your successes and any challenges you might have. I wish you every bit of success in your journey.
Warm regards,
Lauratu
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