Sustained long-term weight loss should be viewed as a lifelong commitment and in order for it to be effective, one has to make gradual permanent changes to their current lifestyle. Lifestyle changes often require time, adopting new skills, identifying current behaviours that have led to weight increase and replacing them with healthier habits. As behaviour modifications do not take place overnight, support from family members and friends can be beneficial. Generally, weight regain is more likely if there is rapid weight loss compared to slow and steady weight loss.

The best and safest way to lose weight is to reduce your energy intake whilst increasing your energy output, i.e. eat less energy and burn off more energy. It is the net energy intake (i.e. the energy consumed for the day minus the energy expended through physical activity and for body functions) that determines if we lose or gain weight.

Limiting high-calorie foods, choosing lower-calorie alternatives, and cutting down on your food portion sizes are some ways to lose weight.

Strategies for safe and effective weight loss

Eat regular meals

Avoid skipping meals. Having regular meals give you the energy you need to get through the working day. Irregular meals lead to snacking and make you lose track of portion sizes.

Limit snacks

Snacking on deep fried, oily or sweet foods (e.g. cakes, kuehs, pastries, etc) add extra calories to your diet. If you experience hunger pangs, choose lower-calorie options like fresh fruit, low-fat yogurt and or tuna/sardine/low fat cheese sandwiches made from wholemeal bread (don’t forget to include veggies like cucumber and tomato slices!), as they are more filling and nutrient-dense.

Fill up on fibre

Fibre absorbs water and swells in the stomach, making you feel full faster and for longer. Eat a variety of minimally-processed plant-based foods such as whole grains (e.g. brown rice and wholemeal bread; or better yet – multi-grain bread), vegetables, fruit, beans and lentils to add fibre to your diet and promote weight loss.

Generally, weight regain is more likely if there is rapid weight loss compared to slow and steady weight loss.

Limiting high-calorie foods, choosing lower-calorie alternatives, and cutting down on your food portion sizes are some ways to lose weight.

Reduce fat

Cutting down on fat intake is an effective way to reduce energy intake and lose weight, as fats are a concentrated source of calories.

• If you cook at home, remove visible fats from food before cooking.
• Choose low-fat cooking methods (e.g. steaming, grilling, baking, roasting, boiling or pan- frying with lesser oil) to keep your dishes lower in fat and energy.
• Avoid oily and deep-fried foods and dishes cooked with coconut milk. Always skim off any visible oil in your soups and dishes with gravy before eating.
  

Reduce sugar

Sugar gives energy but has little valuable nutrients. To lose weight, limit candies, desserts, cakes, kuehs and sweet pastries as they contain a lot of added sugars. You should also watch your beverages – choose plain water over sweetened drinks and juices. Drinking too many sweetened drinks and juices will put you at risk of obesity and tooth decay

Eat a little lesser and avoiding emotional eating

Even healthy foods eaten in abundance can load up the calories and cause weight gain. So, it is important to eat all foods in moderation. We also need to change the way we view food and how we eat in terms of monitoring portions. Incorporating new skills like how to avoid emotional eating and figuring out how many calories we need daily are also part of this lifestyle change.

Learning to cope with stress and emotional eating is important as these coping skills will carry you through the stressors of different life stages e.g. marriage, family and relationship issues, work and caregiving for family members.

Guard against festive feasting

Many festive treats are packed with sugar and fat. Some of these snacks can even contain as many calories as a small meal! Limit the quantity of festive treats while catching up with friends and relatives. Some tips:

• Limit the amount of goodies you buy, as you will be tempted to finish up the leftovers after the festive season.
• When visiting, limit your intake by portioning out the festive treats onto a small plate rather than onto a large plate.
• Choose fresh fruit, such as mandarin oranges, over festive tidbits.
• Choose low-calorie drinks (e.g. diet soft drinks, water, unsweetened green tea/ fruit tea) instead of sweetened drinks.

The table below shows the calories of some New Year goodies as well as the equivalent amount of physical activity needed to burn off the calories (based on a 60-kg man):

The best and safest way to lose weight is to reduce your energy intake whilst increasing your energy output, i.e. eat less energy and burn off more energy such as through regular exercise.  It is the net energy intake (i.e. the energy consumed for the day minus the energy expended through physical activity and for body functions) that determines if we lose or gain weight.

Exercise regularly

The guidelines for general health improvement are to achieve 150 minutes a week at moderate intensity, which is equivalent to 30 minutes, 5 times a week. However if you intend to lose weight, the general guidelines is to increase your energy ouput to 250-300 minutes a week. If you have never exercised before, you may also wish to break them down into blocks of 10-15minutes, and gradually work your way upwards. Set realistic goals so that you are able to meet them rather than give up because you are unable to achieve it.

The ‘talk test’ is a good gauge of how you can monitor your intensity. To know if you are within the moderate intensity zone, you should be able to talk but unable to sing. You will also notice an increase in your heart rate and your breathing. You may wish to substitute other forms of aerobic exercises such as cycling, swimming, dancing etc, while making sure you are in the appropriate intensity zone. While aerobic exercises are important, resistance exercises should not be excluded from your routine. It is recommended to do resistance exercises at least twice a week on most major body parts (hips, legs, back, abdominals, shoulders, chest and arms), two to three sets of 8-12 repetitions each set. Resistance exercises will also build strength and prevent injuries.

If you lack motivation, try to find an exercise buddy or interest group that will help sustain your interests. Be adventurous and try new activities, give yourself time to adapt and learn something new - the sky is the limit. Having said that, you will also need to listen to your body and know your limits, if you experience pains, please stop your exercise and consult your physician.

In order to lose weight effectively, you will need to increase your energy expenditure by being more physically active through exercise or moving around more – walking a few bus stops home, taking the stairs, doing housework etc. Take gradual steps to eventually achieve 10,000 steps daily. At the same time, you will need to reduce your caloric intake by watching your portion sizes and eating healthily. If you are starting out, you may wish to make use of the many phone apps that are available to help keep track of your caloric intake and expenditure.

Always remember to keep yourself well-hydrated daily, especially if you are exercising - you will need to replenish fluids to ensure that you are not dehydrated. Your urine will provide you with an indication of how well hydrated you are, generally your urine should be clear or pale yellow. If the colour of your urine is dark yellow, you will need to increase your fluid consumption.

Get enough sleep - 6 to 8 hours a night

There are also other issues that contribute to weight gain such as stress and lack of sleep. Sleep deprivation results in a tendency of snacking more for a quick shot of energy to battle fatigue due to poor sleep. Having seven to eight hours of sleep can play a part in helping weight loss through the actions of hormones which regulate appetite. With enough sleep, you will have more energy to exercise and will be less likely to binge eat due to stress.

Avoid fad diets and over the counter remedies

One of the main reasons why many ladies are unable to lose weight is because, in an effort to lose weight fast, we often follow unrealistic diets that are simply not sustainable for the long term. There are many fad diets such as Detox diet, a very low calorie diet or a commercial diet that restricts so many food groups, you end up binging on the very foods you are not allowed to eat.

Using over-the-counter herbal teas, diet remedies and laxatives are also detrimental as it can lead to life-threatening effects such as high heart rate (tachycardia), palpitations and high blood pressure for certain diet pills and electrolyte imbalance and dehydration in laxative use.

Ref. R24