Dieting is a conscious effort to lose body weight. This guide will help you get started on your weight management path: where to start losing weight and what is the easiest way to reach your ideal weight?
We will also look at diet and exercise to support weight loss, and why it is important for dieters to pay attention to getting enough sleep. We also explain the benefits of body composition measurement for dieters.
Before you start losing weight, think about why you want to lose weight and are you ready for the project? These are questions to think about, because starting to lose weight means making changes and efforts in your everyday life to achieve your goals.
Before you start losing weight, you should also assess whether you have any health reasons to lose weight, for example. For example, you can consult a health professional or calculate your own body mass index.
The reasons for losing weight may be the need to lose weight for health reasons, as being overweight or obese puts you at risk of developing various diseases. Improving your overall well-being can also be a reason to lose weight.
The need to lose weight can also be related to appearance, for example, when a person wants a slimmer or fitter body.
Whatever the need to lose weight, it’s best to do it consistently, sustainably and with health first.
Because losing weight requires changes to your daily life, it shouldn’t be too demanding or sudden. That way, you’ll stay motivated and won’t lose enthusiasm right from the start. It also makes weight loss more sustainable and can make losing weight a more meaningful project.
Persistence, regularity and concrete actions are the key to weight management.
Losing weight is a long-term project, and it’s worth setting goals. Goals should be set in stages and be realistic. Consistency and keeping your goals clear in your mind will help you succeed in your weight loss.
“How much to lose weight in a week?” is a question that many people are sure to ask when planning to lose weight. A suitable weight loss rate for most people is between 100 and 500 grams per week. However, the appropriate pace depends on the individual factors of the person, so it is also worthwhile to consult a specialist to assess the appropriate weight loss rate.
After setting your goals, it’s time to plan the means to support your weight loss.
Stress management, a healthy and varied diet, increased physical activity and exercise in everyday life, and adequate sleep and rest are essential for weight loss.
For weight loss to be sustainable and permanent, attention must be paid to regularity and consistency. A sustained weight loss pace also avoids the famous yo-yoing, or weight fluctuations that are harmful to your health. Concrete examples of ways to support sustainable weight loss include a regular daily meal pattern, regular exercise sessions marked in your calendar and a regular sleep pattern to ensure you get enough sleep at night.
During the weight loss process, it is also worth monitoring your own progress. Weigh yourself regularly to see how much progress you are making in losing weight. Weight monitoring can also help you make changes to your plans if you need to.
It can be challenging to make changes part of your everyday life. Therefore, changes should be concrete and easy to implement. Instead of just deciding to reduce the amount of sugar in your diet, think about a concrete way to do it.
Choosing a sugar-free or sugar-free alternative in the grocery store instead of a food containing sugar is a good example. When changes are tangible, they are also easier to follow and motivate you to lose weight.
Dietary changes aim to reduce the energy intake of food, while ensuring adequate intake of essential nutrients.
Diets should favour berries, fruit, vegetables, wholegrain cereals and ensure that you get important nutrients such as protein, vitamins, minerals and essential fatty acids.
For their part, dieters should avoid saturated fat, foods containing fast-absorbing carbohydrates and white sugar. Alcohol is also to be avoided as it is high in energy.
Important issues for weight loss and weight management are appropriate and regular meal intervals, appropriate portion sizes and the use of a plate pattern at meals.
For most dieters, the appropriate meal interval is 4-5 times a day, every 3-4 hours. The main meals of the day are breakfast, lunch and dinner. Snacks also count as meals. Two healthy snacks should be eaten during the day. With a regular meal rhythm, you will keep yourself full and energetic and your blood sugar will not fall too low during the day.
Dieters should favour the plate model and keep portion sizes moderate. Half of the plate should contain vegetables, ¼ of the plate should consist of a good source of carbohydrates such as potatoes, whole grain rice or pasta and the other ¼ of the plate should consist of a protein source such as fish, meat or vegetable protein. Drinks such as water or low-fat milk or buttermilk should be preferred.
During the day, you should also drink water to maintain fluid balance. Human water needs are individual and depend on many factors. As a rule of thumb, a person needs about 2-3 litres of water per day to maintain fluid balance. The daily fluid intake should be obtained through drink and food.
While a regular and healthy diet is key to successful weight loss, it’s also important to be gentle with yourself when it comes to indulgence, for example. Treats can be eaten if there is cause for celebration. The important thing is that in the long run, and for most of the week, your everyday choices are in line with the goals you have set.
Have you heard of fasting in the context of weight loss? Fasting, as the name suggests, is a short period of fasting during which you eat very little or nothing at all. It also includes periods of normal eating.
There are different types of fasteners to suit all tastes. Here are a few examples.
16:8 paste
During the 8-hour time window from day to night, calorie-dense foods and drinks are consumed. The remaining 16 hours of the day are spent fasting.
5:2 pasting
Five days a week you eat normally. Two days a week, the normal daily calorie intake is reduced to ¼ of the normal daily calorie intake.
1:1 diet (alternate-day fasting or ADF)
Every other day you eat normally and every other day you eat ¼ of your normal daily calorie intake. There is also a version of the intermittent fasting model where every other day you eat normally and every other day you fast.
Do fasting help with weight loss? Because fasting involves eating fewer calories than you consume, it helps you lose weight. However, fasting can also be challenging if your hunger becomes uncontrollable on fasting days.
If you want to try a fasting fast, you should talk to a healthcare professional and consider which model might be suitable for your needs. It is also worth considering your own life situation and your mental and physical resources before deciding to start a fast.
The aim of weight loss is that the weight dropped should be fat rather than muscle mass. This is important because muscle plays an important role in the body’s function and health.
Exercise should be included as part of weight loss as it helps to burn fat and maintain and increase the amount of muscle mass in the body. More muscle mass in the body, in turn, helps to consume energy even at rest.
Aerobic exercise such as walking, jogging or cycling are good ways to burn energy, but they also improve your fitness.
It’s also a good idea to favour everyday exercise. It is therefore worth keeping active in your everyday life, as this helps to maintain the body’s metabolism. If possible, walk or cycle to work. If you work in an office, take small exercise sessions during the working day. Everyday chores, such as snow work or cleaning the house, are also good for weight loss.
The key to consistent and sustainable weight loss and weight management is to choose a form of exercise that you enjoy and that you feel comfortable doing day after day.
In addition to diet and exercise, it is important for dieters to pay attention to getting enough sleep, as regular, long and quality sleep at night is essential for weight loss and weight management.
Sleep deprivation affects hormones. When a person sleeps poorly, the hunger hormone ghrelin increases and the satiety hormone leptin decreases. As a result, people feel hungrier, and cravings are usually for energy-dense, salty or sugary foods. By getting enough sleep, you keep your hormones in balance and also make it easier to stick to a healthy diet.
The average human sleep requirement is 7-9 hours, but ultimately it also depends on individual factors. Adequate sleep intake can be judged by whether you feel refreshed the next day.
Before you start losing weight, it is a good idea to find out what your body is doing. The most comprehensive and personalised way to get an idea of your health is to take a body composition measurement, which will report the amount of muscle, fat and water in different parts of your body. The report also provides information such as the amount of visceral fat in the body. The report can help you choose the right method to support your diet and weight loss.
Regular body composition measurements also help you to monitor the results of your own efforts to lose weight. The most motivating part is seeing the pounds drop and the body firm up with each measurement! Going for a body composition measurement gives you the confidence that you are heading in the right direction and that the effort is worth it.
