Hitting the weight target
Achieving a Body Mass Index (BMI) within the ideal range is something that many people struggle with. This is not helped by the industry that has grown up around dieting that thrives on faddy and confusing messages. One minute we are told that a high protein low fat diet is effective. The next minute we are being asked to look at the GI (Glycaemic Index) of foods to help us to maintain a steady blood sugar level, which will ultimately impact on how hungry and satiated we feel and therefore have a degree of success on helping us to stick to a healthy weight loss diet.
While the sensational headlines can often seem confusing, the simple thing about the impact that diet has on weight loss and BMI, is that if you manage to keep your daily calorie intake below the amount of calories you burn up during the day, your BMI will reduce. This should help you achieve a BMI which suits your body and enables you to feel good about yourself. Ultimately, calorie intake verses calorie expenditure is what matters.
Food and emotion diary
A steady weight loss of about ¾ -1 kg a week is the sort of figure that most people find achievable and it can usually be brought about by eating three nourishing meals a day and watching that you do not snack too much on high fat or overly sweet foods. One of the most effective ways of helping you to improve your diet is by keeping a food and emotion diary for a week, recording everything you eat and drink along with a rough household quantity. Alongside this information, answer the simple question, why are you eating or drinking that item? This will give you invaluable information and enable you to see if there are any patterns to your eating behaviour and perhaps moments when some form of distraction could help you out and prevent you from nibbling too much. It will also help you to see whether you are eating as nourishing and nutritious a diet as you think you are. It can be surprising to see how habits have crept in and we can often delude ourselves about what we eat. By carrying out this exercise you can start to turn your diet around and get your BMI within the ideal range, which we know helps reduce your risk of all sorts of diseases, including cancer.
