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Lose weight
Need to lose some pounds but know that quick-fix diets don't work? Want to go about in a healthy way that gives results, without the pain? Then this 4-step plan is for you. With a few simple tweaks to your lifestyle and mental attitude, learn how to lose It—for good.
Step 1— Assess your weight
To see if you really do need to lose weight for your health's sake, calcu璴ate your Body Mass Index (BMI) and/or measure your waist.
1. Work out your height in meters and multiply the figure by itself.
2. Measure your weight In kilograms.
3. Divide the weight by the height squared.
Compare this figure to the following BMI categories:
Less than 20—underweight
20-25— healthy weight range
25-30 — over瓀eight—could lose some, but defi璶itely aim not to gain more
30-40—obese—loses some weight for your health's sake
40 or more—lose weight now—seek medical advice
Or measure your waist. Excess fat around your middle spells a greater risk of problems like diabetes(糖尿病)and cardiovascular disease(心血管病).
Women:
80-88cm (32-35 inches) = overweight
88cm (35 inches) or more = obese
Men:
94-102cm (37-40 inches)=over瓀eight
102cm (40 inches) or more = obese.
Step 2—Assess your eating and ex璭rcise habits
Keep a food and activity diary for two weeks. In a handy notebook, record what and when you eat and drink, and any associated thoughts or feelings (look out for any negative thoughts about food and eating that may throw you off course) . Also jot down any activity, whether it's a walk up the stairs or a workout. Use this information to make diet and activity changes (see Step 3), and develop your own strategies to help you feel better about food (see Step 4).
Step 3—Whittle off excess energy
Body fat is stored energy, and one pound of it contains 3, 500 calories. So to lose a pound you need to make a 3, 500 calorie deficit. The painless way to do this is slowly-using a few lifestyle tweaks. By whittling away 250-300 calories a day, you can lose 9000 calories a month, equivalent to 2-3 pounds of body fat, without even thinking about it. Com璪ine a weekly average of an extra 100 calories burned by daily activity, and 200 calories dropped from your daily diet, to get your 300 calorie energy defect.
Drop an average 200 calories a day—here are some ideas:
Replace a medium chocolate bar (50-60g) with a piece of fruit.
Order a jacket potato (带皮煮的土豆) instead of fries.
In sandwiches and rolls, hold the mayonnaise (蛋黄酱 ) and butter.
Order a vegetable topped pizza rather than double peperoni(意大利熏辣硬香肠).
Snack on a fruit scone rather than a 90g fruit flapjack(饼干).
Cool down with an iced lolly rather than a magnum.
Order vodka(伏特加) and slim line tonic rather than a creamy cocktail.
Lunch on a healthy choice sandwich rather than a meat / pork pie.
Skip chicken korma and order a non-creamy curry (咖喱菜).
Order steamed rather than fried rice.
Step 4—Keep it off
To maintain your weight loss, it's vital to keep up new habits. But it's also impor璽ant to change the way you view yourself and your progress. According to Pro璮essor Christopher Fairburn from Oxford University, successful weight loss maintainers tend to:
Set realistic weight goals and try not to lose weight too quickly.
Maintain an active lifestyle.
Eat a lower fat diet than they used to.
Regularly monitor their weight.
Don't get put off course by ‘all or nothing’ thinking, e.g. \"I have eaten a ‘bad’ food so I have failed and may as well keep on eating\" —this reaction is the problem, not eating the ‘bad’ food.
Have some forms of ongoing support. Recognize that weight maintenance is a long term project.
By Lyndel Costain
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