Kitabı oku: «How to Lose Weight»

Contents

Cover

Title Page

Introduction

1 The big picture

Assessing your weight and shape

2 Healthy weight, healthier you

Why overweight is a big dea

3 In search of a cause

Why we’re the shape we’re in

4 The science of weight loss

The energy balance

5 Healthy eating for slimmers

Healthy eating for slimmers

6 Choosing a weight loss method

Where to get good advice

Choose the right diet

Calorie-counting diets

Low-carbohydrate diets

Low-fat diets

High-fibre diets

Glycaemic index (Gl) diets

Mediterranean diet

Detox diets

Diuretic diets

Food-combining diets

Crash diets

Food intolerance diets

High-fat diets

Anti-cellulite diets

Body-type diets

Meal replacement diets

Other weight loss methods

Slimming clubs

Slimming websites

7 Exercise: the energy booster

Move it to lose it

8 Making it happen

Confidence and commitment

9 Stay slim for life

Make it a habit

Personal record planner

Glossary

Need to know more?

Further reading

Index

Keep Reading

Copyright

About the publisher

Introduction

There has never been so much information available to us about healthy eating, weight management and exercise, yet the sheer number of regimes and theories can make it even harder to choose a diet and stick to it. This book will guide you through the weight loss maze, equipping you with the information, confidence and motivation you need to achieve your personal slimming and fitness goals.

A guide for life

Around 13 million adults in the UK are watching their weight or are actively ‘on a diet’, yet public health statistics suggest this may be a losing battle. Over half of adults are overweight and one in five is at the ‘obese’ level that represents a significant health risk. So what’s going wrong and how can we reverse a trend that suggests that obesity-related diseases will soon overtake smoking as the biggest single cause of premature death?

Beginning with a self-assessment guide to working out your healthy weight range, you will discover the science behind how we lose weight –and put it on – and learn sound healthy-eating principles to ensure that your slimming campaign is safe as well as effective. With so many diets available, there’s an assessment of 30 different slimming methods, to help you evaluate all the conflicting information and claims that are made about weight loss products and services. And as getting more active is a vital part of a healthy, slim lifestyle, you’ll find a comprehensive guide to boosting fitness and weight loss with the exercise routine that suits you best.

Your chances of success depend on your motivation, confidence and readiness to make the permanent lifestyle changes that are essential to achieving your goal. Find ways to discover your deepest motivations, overcome your inner obstacles and tackle the setbacks that may have led to previous failed attempts at dieting. This book can help you throughout your slimming campaign, providing inspiration, reassurance and support.

1 The big picture

Before you set yourself a weight loss goal, it is a good idea to find out what kind of shape you are in. These days there is more to working out your ideal weight than just standing on the scales, which only tell part of the story. It takes just a few minutes to discover how healthy your weight and shape are and also to decide what you want to aim for.

Assessing your weight and shape

Do you have a weight problem and, if so, how much do you need to lose to reach the weight range that is healthy for you? Here are some easy ways to find out the facts about your figure.

must know

Measure your BMI

To work out your BMI, you need to divide your weight by your height, squared - a calculator is handy to do the sums.

1 To find your BMI using metric measurements, take your weight in kilograms and your height in metres (get someone to check your height for you if it has been a while).

2 Now divide your weight in kilograms by your height in metres, squared. (To turn your weight in pounds into kilos, divide by 2.2; and to turn inches into metres, multiply by 0.025.)

So if your weight is: 59 kg (9 st 4 lb)

And your height is: 1.6 m (5 ft 4 in)

Your BMI is: 59 ft(1.6 X 1.6) = 23.

The scientific approach

Most of us have several different ways of keeping an eye on our weight: for instance, we notice when a favourite pair of trousers feels too tight, or when we do not like what we see in the mirror or on the bathroom scales. To assess what your weight really says about your health and wellbeing though, it pays to take a more scientific approach.

If you’ve been in denial about your weight for years, the thought of finding out the cold facts might be daunting, but it might not be as bad as you think. Many people have a fixed idea about what their weight ‘should be’, and often it’s based on the slim figure they had as a teenager or on their wedding day, which might not be comfortable or realistic for them now. And if the truth about your weight does come as an unpleasant shock, turn that feeling into a motivational boost. Now that you are about to start a healthy weight loss campaign, you need never see that figure on the scales again.

Body Mass Index

A simple weight-and-height comparison used to be the favoured method of assessing whether someone was overweight or not. Today health professionals prefer to use the Body Mass Index (BMI), a figure that represents your weight per square metre.

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Obesity

Over 20 per cent of British women are obese yet in a Cancer Research survey only four per cent said they were. The health risk starts increasing before it reaches the point where you may look or feel extremely overweight.

Key to the BMI chart

Colour zone 1

BMI under 18.5: underweight.

You do not need to lose weight and may even have an increased risk of certain medical conditions that are linked to low body weight, such as osteoporosis (‘brittle bones’).

Colour zone 2

BMI 18.5 – 24.9: normal.

You do not need to lose weight for medical reasons. If you are at the top end of the range, it is worth taking care to eat healthily and exercise regularly to ensure you don’t creep into he ‘overweight’ range.

Colour zone 3

BMI 25 – 29.9: overweight.

A BMI of 25-plus indicates that you are over your ideal weight, and in this range you start to increase your risk of developing weight-related health problems. Aiming to lose a few pounds (or more, depending on where you are in the range) will benefit your health.

Colour zone 4

BMI 30 – 39.9: obese.

Within this range you are probably at least 14 kg (30 lb) or more over your ideal healthy weight and are running a ‘moderate’ risk of weight-related medical conditions. As a starting point, losing 10 per cent of your body weight will considerably reduce this risk. If your BMI is between 35 and 39.9, the risk it could pose to your health is classified as ‘severe’. A determined effort to lose weight and lower your BMI is worth making a top priority.

Colour zone 5

BMI 40 or over: extremely obese.

If you are within this range, then you are probably already experiencing weight-related symptoms and difficulties. Tackling your weight is important and urgent; see your doctor to discuss the various options and to access specialist advice.

BMI is based on the assumption that the difference between people who are the same height, but different weights, generally reflects how much fat they have on their bodies. So for assessing health status, BMI is a more accurate measurement than weight versus height alone, as it takes body composition into account.

must know

BMI facts

The standard BMI chart is for adults over 18; ask your GP about BMI for children. BMI is not a suitable measure for pregnant or breastfeeding women.

A high BMI might not mean an unhealthy weight for body builders and athletes, who may have a high proportion of muscle, which weighs more than fat.

The BMI might not be a reliable indicator for elderly or frail people who may have very low muscle mass.

There are many online BMI calculators on health websites, but take an average, as from experience they vary.

What your BMI means

The World Health Organization (WHO) has established that a BMI of between 18.5 and 24.9 is ‘normal’, by which it means that someone whose BMI is within this range has the least risk of developing weight-related health problems.

A BMI of 25–30 is considered ‘overweight’, with an increased risk of developing weight-related illnesses, such as certain cancers, heart disease and type 2 diabetes. The higher your BMI above this level, the more the risk to your health increases and the more you will benefit by losing weight: losing just five to 10 per cent of your body weight and keeping it off can make a difference, so it’s well worth aiming for.

Waist management

Your waist measurement is another important indicator of whether you are in healthy shape or not. This is because research has shown that where we carry any excess weight on the body is just as crucial to our overall health as how much extra we might have.

It appears that too much fat around the stomach, seen as an apple shape or ‘beer belly’, plays a damaging role in increasing the body’s resistance to insulin, which in turn can lead to an increased risk of type 2 diabetes and heart disease. Someone who is an ‘apple’ shape will have a greater risk of health problems than someone of the same weight who carries their weight around the hips, thighs and bottom (the classic ‘pear’ shape).

To work out your BMI, accurately you will have to weigh yourself.

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Body fat

An average healthy man has about 15–20 per cent body fat; an overweight man would have about 25 per cent body fat; and an obese man, 35 percent or more. For women, the figures are 25–27 per cent; 30 per cent; and 35 percent respectively. You can have your percentage of body fat measured: common methods include skin-fold callipers, bioelectrical impedance or dual energy X-ray absorptiometry.

Measure your waist

To measure your waist, keep the tape measure flat and hold it firmly but not too tightly against your skin. The place to measure is the midpoint between the bottom of the ribs and the top of the hip bone, about 2.5 cm (1 in) above the navel.

Check the table below to see how healthy your waist measurement is. If your BMI is in the normal range but your waist is in the ‘increased risk’ category, it would be a good idea to lose some weight to slim your waist and stomach.

Going pear-shaped is not bad news for ur health.

Note: Asian people with ‘apple’–shaped waists have been found to be at higher risk of developing health problems than other groups. Asian men with a waist measurement of 90 cm (36 in) or more, and Asian women whose waist is in excess of 80 cm (32 in) are in the ‘high risk’ group.

Does your waist shape up?

The Ashwell Shape Chart (opposite) was developed by leading nutritionist Dr Margaret Ashwell and is an at–a-glance way of checking whether your shape, as determined by your waist and your height, is in a healthy range or not. To use the chart, just read off your height in a horizontal line and your waist measurement in a vertical line. The point where the two lines meet is where your shape is on the chart.

Apple shapes

Fat seems to be more easily lost from ‘apple’ shapes than from ‘pears’, and this could help to explain why men often seem to slim more quickly than women. Being stressed stimulates production of the hormone cortisol, which is known to play a part in distributing stored fat in the central abdominal area, and this could contribute to an ‘apple’ shape. Fat stored in the central area is found deep down in the region of the stomach, while fat on the hips, thighs and bottom is stored nearer the surface of the skin. This can give it the ‘orange peel’ texture known as cellulite, so it is a small consolation that while it may not look attractive, it is less harmful to health than central abdominal fat.

Quick measures

If you can pinch more than an inch of fat at the back of your upper arm or at your midriff, you’re probably overweight.

Another method is to divide your hip measurement by your waist measurement: if the result is less than 1, you are a ‘pear’; if it’s more than 1, you are an ‘apple’.

If your waist measurement is less than half your height, your shape is likely to be in the ‘OK’ healthy range.

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Take it to the next level. . .

Your weight and health 22

Cellulite 113

Assessing your fitness level 149

Increasing exercise 134

Other sources

Gyms and health spas may offer body composition tests which tell you the percentage of body fat, water and lean tissue in your body.

Book in for a lifestyle ‘MOT’ at your local surgery to test for weight-related conditions.

Invest in the latest bathroom scales that measure BMI and body fat percentage as well as your weight.

Join a fitness class to tone up troublesome areas such as your stomach, bottom and thighs.

For books on fitness training and exercise.

For more on the Ashwell Shape Chart, see www.ashwell.uk.com

2 Healthy weight, healthier you

Taking care of your weight is one of the most important things that you can do to maximize your chances of living a long and healthy life. The good news is that if you are overweight, you don’t need to slim down to a ‘perfect’ size in order to reap the health benefits – every pound that you lose can help, which is great motivation to get started.

Why overweight is a big deal

Carrying excess weight means increasing the risk of health problems, either as a direct result of being heavier or from the likelihood of developing diseases in later life. Being aware of this is the first step to feeling more in control of your weight and your health.

must know

Stop smoking

Smoking is a bigger hazard to health than being overweight, yet some people - especially women - smoke to help keep their weight down. Giving up smoking does not mean you will automatically put on weight but weight gains of 1.8–3.2 kg (4–7 lb) are common; this seems to be because food tastes better and people snack more rather than any physiological reason. Trying to stop smoking and lose weight at the same time is a big job. Tackle smoking first, aiming to minimize any weight gain by eating healthily and being as active as possible – and then make your weight a priority.

Awareness, not worry

Good health would be top of most people’s list of ingredients for a happy life, and in an ideal world, we would choose to avoid illness and disability if we possibly could. In the real world, of course, we have to play with the cards that life deals us, and many of the factors that determine our long-term health are beyond our control.

However, that does not mean that we should not try to change the odds in our favour whenever we can do so. The overwhelming evidence, from scientific research that has been carried out around the world, is that managing our weight is one of the optimum ways to give ourselves the best possible chance of living a long, healthy and active life.

Consumer studies suggest, however, that improving their health is not always the main reason why people start a diet or fitness regime. About half of slimmers, especially younger ones, say that they want to lose weight in order to look better in clothes, or for a special occasion such as a forthcoming holiday or wedding. And that’s absolutely fine!

It is fantastic to know that you look your best, and to be able to wear whatever you want and to enjoy looking at your holiday photos instead of dreading them.

All too often, for health to become the main motivator to embark on a slimming regime it takes a crisis: perhaps your doctor warns that your blood pressure is too high, or recommends you lose weight before trying for a baby, or you find that you are increasingly breathless and uncomfortable.

But health can be a positive motivator as well as a cause of fear and worry. Skim through this section, and you will see that while some of the health implications of being overweight are serious, it does not take a massive weight loss to reduce your risk of developing problems, or to improve symptoms that might be bothering you already. If you only have a little weight to lose, knowing that you are benefitting your health by reaching and maintaining your target weight can be a deep source of satisfaction – in addition to the joys of shopping for smaller clothes.

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Weight gain is easy

It takes about 3,500 surplus calories to put on 0.45 kg (1 lb) of fat, which sounds like a lot until you consider that eating just 80 calories more than you need each day (that’s only one chocolate digestive) could lead to a weight gain of 3.6 kg (8 lb) in a year!

Facts of life

Can you be overweight and healthy? The answer is yes – and no. Of course your overall health depends on many risk factors, such as your family history, whether you smoke or drink heavily, your fitness level, where you carry your weight and so on. If being overweight is your only risk factor, then you have more chance of remaining in good health than someone who ticks a lot of ‘risk’ boxes. And there will always be overweight people who reach a hale and hearty old age without losing a pound.

Unfortunately, however, statistics show that if you are overweight you are unlikely to be one of those people – they are the exception that proves the rule. Here are five disturbing facts, which come from UK National Health Service-endorsed studies:

If your BMI is 24 or more, your risk of dying within a 26-year period increases by one per cent for every pound put on between the ages of 30 and 42, and by two per cent for every pound gained between the ages of 50 and 62.

Deaths linked to obesity, of which there are about 30,000 a year, shorten the life of the deceased by nine years on average.

Your risk of coronary heart disease doubles at a BMI of over 25, and nearly quadruples at a BMI of 29 or more.

The risk of developing type 2 diabetes is 40 times greater at a BMI of 35 or more.

III health linked to obesity is responsible for 18 million days off work a year and costs the NHS at least £500 million a year in treatment.

must know

Being underweight

Being underweight (BMI of 18.5 or less) is a health hazard, and can lead to loss of fertility in women, lower resistance to infection, osteoporosis and a lack of vital vitamins and minerals. Extreme loss of weight can also indicate eating disorders, such as bulimia or anorexia nervosa, which require careful and specialized treatment.

Why weight is to blame

It is easy to imagine why being overweight can cause certain health problems – breathlessness or pain in weight-bearing joints such as the knees and lower spine. Some medical conditions, however, have a more complex relationship with weight. As we saw earlier, a BMI of between 18.5 and 24.9 is thought to be within the desirable ‘healthy’ range, so, in theory, any weight gain that takes your BMI above 25 is potentially a risk to your health. It is generally accepted though that the risk of serious conditions, such as diabetes and heart disease, rises significantly at a BMI of around 27 or above.

So why worry if you are only a few pounds overweight? The trouble is that extra pounds can have a habit of creeping up on us unawares. So if your BMI hovers around the 25 level, it makes sense to keep your weight stable or to lose a few pounds. And, of course, if your BMI is unhealthily high, slimming will quickly bring big benefits.

Weight-related health problems

Below is some background information to the most common weight-related health problems that may develop.

Coronary heart disease

One of the key aspects of heart health is the ability of the heart and its surrounding arteries to circulate blood strongly and freely round the body. Being overweight can damage heart health in a number of ways, mainly by raising the level of unhealthy fats, such as low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol and triglycerides, in the blood. A build-up of these fats over time can narrow or clog the arteries, a condition known as atherosclerosis, and this in turn can lead to chronic diseases such as angina, or acute conditions such as a heart attack.

Make the most of seasonal food like berries to give your health a boost.

Change the odds on good health in your favour by eating well.

High blood pressure, which is three times more common among overweight people than slim people, is also a big risk factor. And even where there are no problems with blood fats or blood pressure, just carrying excess weight, especially around the middle, seems to increase the likelihood of developing heart disease.

must know

Body fat

This is not always the bad guy! We need a certain amount of body fat to protect and insulate our organs; it also has a role in producing certain beneficial hormones, and protects against loss of bone mass (osteoporosis).

Type 2 diabetes

This condition affects 1.4 million people in the UK and possibly a further million who have not had their condition diagnosed, according to the charity Diabetes UK. Type 2 diabetes is sometimes called ‘late onset’ because, unlike type 1, it tends to develop in adult life, and being overweight is a big risk factor: over 80 per cent of adults with type 2 diabetes have a BMI of more than 25 when they are diagnosed. Children and teenagers are also being diagnosed more frequently as obesity rises.

Type 2 diabetes is caused when the insulin that the pancreas produces in the body fails to control blood sugar properly (insulin resistance) or when the pancreas fails to produce enough insulin for the body’s needs. Research shows that excess weight, especially around the waistline, increases insulin resistance so the pancreas has to work harder to get the same effect. Having too much sugar in the blood causes symptoms such as excessive thirst, blurred vision, fatigue and passing urine frequently. Having too much insulin in the blood causes other problems, such as increasing blood pressure and raising the level of various fats in the blood. This puts people with type 2 diabetes at high risk of heart disease and stroke; untreated diabetes can also cause serious damage to the eyes, kidneys, nerves and circulation.

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‘Syndrome X’

Also known as metabolic syndrome, this term refers to a collection of symptoms that include evidence of insulin resistance, fat carried around the middle (‘apple’ shape), high blood pressure and raised levels of unhealthy fats (LDL cholesterol and triglycerides) in the blood. Together, they represent an increased risk of heart disease, diabetes or stroke. Some diets claim to have specific benefits for people with Syndrome X, but any healthy eating and exercise programme, leading to a five or 10 per cent initial weight loss, should reduce all these symptoms without any special diets being needed.

Cancers

Cancer Research UK states that after smoking, obesity is the second biggest preventable cause of cancers. The links between being overweight and cancer are complex and not all of them are fully understood.However, it seems that obesity can unbalance the function of certain hormones, which could increase the risk of hormonally-sensitive cancers in women, such as cancer of the uterus, ovaries, cervix and endometrium (uterus lining). Excess abdominal fat (the ‘apple’ shape) has also been linked to a higher risk of breast cancer in women after the menopause. Cancers of the digestive system, such as colon or rectal cancer, may have more of a link to a high-fat, low-fibre diet, which is likely to lead to weight gain.

must know

Weight reduction benefits

Here is an overview of the average benefits of a 10 per cent (10 kg or 22 lb) reduction in weight of a man with a starting weight of 100 kg (220 lb) or just under 16 stone.

The risk of premature death is reduced by 25 per cent.

Systolic blood pressure is down by 10 points, and dystolic blood pressure down by 20 points.

The level of LDL cholesterol is down by 15 per cent.

The risk of dying from diabetes complications is down by 30–40 per cent.

The risk of dying from obesity-related cancer is reduced by 40–50 percent.

High blood pressure

Blood pressure is measured by taking two readings: the systolic pressure (the first, higher figure, taken when the heart contracts) and the dystolic pressure (the second, lower pressure, taken when the heart is relaxed). A normal level is 120/80, and a reading that is consistently over 140/90 is unhealthily high. Many people with high blood pressure have no symptoms, but that does not necessarily mean that there is no problem: untreated high blood pressure can cause a stroke, heart disease or damage to other organs in the body.

Being overweight is not the only cause of high blood pressure: eating too much salt, drinking too much alcohol and being inactive can also contribute. The good news is that as well as losing weight, changing your diet and lifestyle is a quick and effective way to reduce your blood pressure.

Gall bladder disease

One large study found that overweight women were 33 per cent more likely to develop gallstones than a similar group of healthy-weight women. Gallstones are a painful side-effect of the build-up of fats in the blood, as they are caused by clumps of cholesterol in the gall bladder, which plays a part in digestion. Cancer of the gall bladder is a rarer complication.

You lose, you win!

As we said at the beginning of this chapter, knowing the facts about the serious health consequences of being overweight is not all bad news. The flipside of the problems of gaining weight is that losing weight can bring quick and significant health benefits. A reassuring body of research has concluded that if you are seriously overweight (BMI of 30 or more), then losing just 10 per cent of your body weight can improve your health and even add years to your life.

Other health benefits

As well as the established evidence of improvements to these life-threatening aspects of obesity, successful slimmers often report that losing weight benefits their health and well being in many other ways, too. These can include improving the symptoms of asthma; less heavy or painful periods; reducing backache, arthritis pain and gout; improving digestive conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome; getting a better night’s sleep (being seriously overweight can lead to a distressing and dangerous condition called obstructive sleep apnoea); and a general lifting of mood.

Add to all these benefits the overall feel-good factor that comes from having more energy, feeling fitter and healthier, and experiencing the confidence that comes from knowing that you are looking good. It is hardly surprising that people who have lost weight successfully nearly always say: ‘I just wish I’d done it sooner.’

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Take it to the next level. . .

Cutting down on salt

Diabetes and the Glycaemic Index

Slimming clubs

Energy and fitness

Maintaining a healthy weight

Other sources

Consult your doctor if you have any symptoms of diabetes.

Check your blood pressure; many people don’t know that theirs is too high.