Written by Catherine Saxelby
on Thursday, 26 February 2009.
Tagged: exercise, fat, guides, healthy cooking, healthy eating, overweight, tips, weight loss
Fat or weight? Today nutritionists talk of "losing fat" rather than of "losing weight". This is because your aim is to shed body fat, not fluid or lean muscle, as commonly happens if you fast or embark on a strict diet. Yes, the weight comes off, but most of it is fluid which is quickly regained once the diet is over.
You don't want to lose muscle either as it is metabolically active (unlike fat) and is responsible for keeping your body's metabolism set high, so you can burn off more kilojoules (calories).
Try not to eat for comfort. Don't bury your feelings with food. Talk to a counsellor about other ways to handle unhappy feelings instead of food.
Nutritionists recommend a steady weight loss of half to one kg per week (of body fat, not fluid). This translates to one to two pounds a week.
As little as 10 to 15 per cent weight loss - about 9kg if you currently weigh 90kg - is all that is needed to bring about improvements in blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar and breathlessness in seriously overweight people. In other words, you don't have to reach your goal weight (or what you weighed when you were 20) to get health benefits and feel better.
Want to find out more ways to help your weight loss efforts?
Download our free full-colour Fact Sheets such as Dining out on a diet or A salad a day keeps the kilos away and also check out my Diet Secrets Motivator Pack.
Catherine Saxelby has the answers! She is an accredited nutritionist, blogger and award-winning author. Her award-winning book My Nutritionary will help you cut through the jargon. Do you know your MCTs from your LCTs? How about sterols from stanols? What’s the difference between glucose and dextrose? Or probiotics and prebiotics? What additive is number 330? How safe is acesulfame K? If you find yourself confused by food labels, grab your copy of Catherine Saxelby’s comprehensive guide My Nutritionary NOW!
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