Leeds Community Healthcare
Questions and answers
for losing weight
and
keeping it off
Produced by Registered Dietitians from Leeds
Community Adult Nutrition and Dietetic Services
This booklet aims to give you answers to commonly asked questions
around losing weight.
This food guide has two sections:
1 The Eatwell Plate Model
• This plate is divided into five food groups and can be used to
help you to plan your meals whatever your weight.
• Eating the right variety of foods is important and the plate
model can help you to plan this.
• The Eatwell plate includes all foods.
• There are no good and bad foods.
2 Questions and answers
This section replies to questions often asked around losing weight
and provides tips for successful weight loss.
Useful contacts
If you have any questions about this booklet, losing weight or
being more active, contact one of the people below.
Practice Nurse ………………………....................…………….......................................………….
Community Dietitian - 0113 295 2851
Useful web sites for further information
Food Standards Agency - Diet and Health – www.food.gov.uk
BBC lifestyle section - then select ‘food’ – www.bbc.co.uk
British Dietetic Association – www.bdaweightwise.com
Change for Life – www.nhs.uk/change4life
1
© Crown copyright material is reproduced with the permission of the Controller of HMSO and Queen’s Printer for Scotland
Introduction
Eat plenty
Eat some
Eat some
Eat just
a small
amount
Bread, rice,
potatoes, pasta
and other
starchy foods
Milk and dairy
foods
Meat, fish, eggs,
beans, and other
non-dairy sources
of protein
Foods and
drinks high in
fat and/or sugar
• Use small amounts of all fats including margarine, butter, spreads, and cooking oils.
• Choose sugar-free drinks.
• Cut down the amount of sugar you use in drinks, on cereals and in cooking.
• Remember that there are hidden fats and sugars in cakes, pastries, ready meals
and take-aways so use more fresh foods.
• Have small servings 2–3 times a day.
• Plan to eat fish at least twice a week; one white and one oily for a healthy heart.
• Don’t add extra fat when cooking and cut off any fat or skin before you eat it.
• For meat-free meals, choose beans, peas, lentils, soya or tofu.
• Aim for 2–3 servings each day for stronger bones.
• A serving is 1/3 pint milk, 1 pot of yogurt or small matchbox size piece of cheese.
• Switching to low fat types, cuts the fat not the calcium.
• Include a starchy food at each meal.
• They should cover about a third of your plate when served.
• Choose high fibre or wholegrain varieties to improve your digestion and bowels.
• Try to have at least 5 portions of different coloured fruit and vegetables every day.
•A portion is a handful. Fresh, frozen, canned or dried all count.
•These are rich in vitamins and minerals and will fill you up.
• Fluids: To make sure you drink enough, plan to have about 8 cups or glasses, such as tea or water every day.
• Salt: Our diets are high in salt due to the salt in processed foods, ready meals and take-aways. Use more fresh
foods where possible. Use less salt in cooking. Try flavouring with herbs and spices. Add less salt at the table.
• Alcohol: Drinking alcohol in moderation means having less than the maximum units of alcohol per week.
Have alcohol free days every week. Maximum amounts are 21 units for men and 14 units for women.
A unit is ½ pint of standard strength beer or lager, small glass of wine or single pub measure of spirit.
Eat plenty
Fruit and
vegetables
Whatever your age or weight, try to eat at least 3 meals a day. Include foods from the different groups:
Questions and answers
Do diets work?
Most people think of dieting as something you do for a couple of
weeks as a quick fix. These diets are often too restrictive, and because
of this they are hard to stick to.
On crash or fad diets, the promise of weight loss can be up to ½ a
stone a week to start with. Most of this weight loss is water and
muscle.
When people ‘come off’ the diet and return to their old eating habits
the weight is often regained.
Dieting and thinking about dieting also tends to make people more
preoccupied with food and this can lead to overeating.
Eating more healthily is not a diet. It is about making healthier
choices on food and daily activities, which become part of your
everyday life.
And remember, being more active along with changing your eating
habits is the best and healthiest way to lose weight.
4
Can I lose weight safely and keep it off?
Before you do anything sit down and think about what permanent
changes you need to make.
How confident are you that you can achieve these changes?
What changes could I make to what I
eat to lose weight?
Think about what you eat.
Do you manage to do most of the following?
Set yourself one or two goals you know you can stick to and gradually
build on these.
• Eat regular meals including breakfast everyday
Think about making healthier changes to what you eat for example:
• Eat 5 portions of fruit and vegetables each day
• Eating regular meals
• Eating more fruit and vegetables
• Eating less fatty and sugary foods
Use the Eatwell Plate to help you to plan your meals.
Think about doing some activity each day
Start with a short walk and build up to 20 – 30 minutes each day
• Eat foods from all the food groups
• Include starchy foods such as potatoes, breads, pasta or rice at
each meal.
Aim for a weight loss of 0.5-1kg or 1-2lbs a week
If you lose more than this amount each week, it is likely to be lost
muscle and water, not body fat.
If you have previously been gaining weight it is an achievement to
keep your weight stable.
It is important you are realistic about the amount of weight you
wish to lose within a certain time and that you are able to keep to
the changes you make as this will help to keep off the weight you
have lost.
• Only drink alcohol in moderation - maximum amounts are 21 units
for men and 14 units for women with some alcohol free days.
Start with one or two of these ideas and add in others as you are
successful.
Keeping a food diary will help you to check what you are eating and
monitor your progress (see page 8).
5
6
How can being more active help
control my weight?
We all tend to lose muscle as we get older as part of the ageing
process. Therefore we have a tendency to put weight on (eg. middle
aged spread). We also have a tendency to become less physically
active.
Being active is the key to losing weight and
keeping it off.
Being active builds muscle. Muscles burn
calories - this raises your metabolism and
helps you to lose weight and keep it off.
Do my emotions affect what I eat?
Everyone eats for reasons other than being hungry.
Your thoughts and feelings affect when and what you eat. For some
people being bored, stressed, upset or wanting to cheer themselves
up can lead to overeating. The same emotions can lead to eating less.
Keeping a diary, noting what you eat, when and how you feel will
help you to look at the links between your feelings, thoughts and
eating habits. See the example below…
Time
What I ate and drank What activity I do - How did I feel and how much
for how long, was tired, bored…
it easy or hard…
Going on a diet can encourage your body to
lose muscle as well as fat unless you become
more active.
Too much food and too little activity results in
a gain in body fat. Your weight is a balance
between what you eat and how active you are.
Doing 30 minutes moderate activity, which
gets you slightly out of breath, five times a
week can help you to lose weight and be
healthier. The 30 minutes doesn’t have to be
all at once, you can break it up throughout
the day. For example a 15-minute walk, 10
minutes gardening and 5 minutes housework.
Check with your doctor before you start any strenuous
exercise or activity.
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8
Will I lose weight faster if I miss meals?
What do I eat on special occasions?
No, in fact you may lose it even more slowly.
One of the main principles of healthy eating is that it includes all
foods.
Missing meals slows down your metabolism, makes you hungry and
more likely to snack. Every time you eat your body has to work to
digest food. Eating little and often can use up more calories and stop
you getting too hungry.
Make sure you eat regularly and don’t be tempted to miss meals.
Aim to have three meals a day, breakfast, lunch and dinner. Try to
have a starchy food at each meal (see the breads, cereals and potato
group).
If you need a snack have a low energy food like fruit. If you prefer
to graze try to have six smaller meals spread evenly through the day.
Remember to keep the portions smaller.
It is important to allow yourself to join in special occasions and
celebrations by eating or drinking with others, but don’t “go wild”.
Think how often you celebrate in this way - is it every week, month
or year?
By doing this you will feel more able to continue with your healthy
eating plan long term. You will be less likely to have feelings of guilt
or failure and feel more in control of your eating habits.
If you can maintain your weight during festive seasons you should see
this as a success.
Just remember to keep these times ‘occasional’ and enjoy them!
Can I eat ready prepared meals?
Can I eat take aways?
Yes - make your ready prepared meal healthier by serving it with
extra vegetables, salad or fruit juice or finish off with some fruit!
The average take away meal eg. pizza, burger, curry are high in
calories. This is because the portion size is bigger than you would
normally eat at home and they are high in fat.
Check the food labels with ready prepared meals or snacks:
• Don’t always take the picture labels at face value, for example
attractive chocolate biscuits that claim to be light on fat, can be
very high in sugar!
• Try a smaller portion or share a take away dish.
• Many foods are now also labelled with ‘traffic light’ colours, so you
tell at a glance if they
serves 2 - half a pack provides
are high (red), medium
(amber) or low (green) in
Calories
Fat
Saturates
Sugars
Salt
fat, sugars and salt. For a
HIGH
360 kcal MEDIUM
LOW
MEDIUM
healthier choice, try to pick
9.0g
16.8g
5.8g
1.8g
products with more greens
45%
24%
6%
30%
and ambers and fewer reds.
• Add salad or vegetables to your order.
• Choose lower fat options eg. dry curries, pasta in vegetable sauces,
boiled rice or noodles.
• Enjoy them just occasionally.
of your guideline daily amount
9
10
Should I weigh myself?
If you are doing quite a lot more physical activity you may not see
much weight loss on the scales. This is because muscle is denser than
fat, therefore your weight may not change but you will however, lose
inches, feel fitter and have a better body shape.
I have heard that there is a tablet to
help me lose weight?
There is one type of tablet available to help those who meet specific
criteria to lose weight.
If you weigh yourself daily you may see your
weight going up and down and it might
make you feel despondent. These slight
changes are due to fluid and can mask your
actual loss of fat.
• Orlistat - reduces the absorption of fat in the bowel. For the tablet
to work and to avoid side effects you need to follow a low fat diet.
For your GP to prescribe this you must lose 2.5kg in 1 month to
demonstrate you are able to follow a healthy diet before receiving
the medication.
Weigh yourself once a week at most – too much
weighing can lead to a preoccupation with weight which
can get you feeling down and may lead to overeating or missing meals.
You must also continue to eat a healthy diet and lose weight whilst
on the medication to be able to have continued prescriptions.
Weight maintenance is an important achievement, managing to stop
gaining weight or not regaining lost weight is a success.
You could judge your progress without weighing. Waist
measurements are a good way to check your progress as most of the
inches round your waist are due to fat not muscle.
Measure your waist or measure your progress by the loosening of
your clothes or a notch in your trouser belt.
For women
if your waist
is bigger than
81cm/32 inches,
your health may
be at risk.
11
For men if your
waist is bigger
than 94cm/37
inches, your
health may be
at risk.
Continuing to eat a balanced diet and being more active is essential
after drug treatment is stopped, to prevent weight from being
regained.
I have heard that there are tablets
that can cause weight gain?
All medication has side effects, and some can make losing weight
difficult, i.e. steroids, anti depressants, oral contraceptives, insulin and
other hormonal treatments. However, it is still possible to lose extra
fat around your middle and improve your health by eating a balanced
diet and increasing your activity.
12
12
- yes 12 top tips for successful
weight loss!
1 Eat regular meals every day. Going for long periods of time
without eating will not help you to lose weight, it will only make
you hungry.
2 Eat a breakfast - scientifically shown to help people lose weight. 3 Increase fruit and vegetables eaten to at least 5 portions a day.
Change Plan
Write down here the changes that you want to make to your diet.
Be realistic - start with 1 or 2 goals to build your confidence and
remember, small changes add up and make a big difference.
The changes I am going to make
How will I do it?
Example
To eat an extra piece of fruit
each day
Have an apple or banana after
lunch each day
4 If you are hungry between meals swap to healthier snacks
eg. fruit, a slice of wholemeal bread or a small bowl of cereal.
5 Be more active because it helps to keep and build muscle.
Increasing muscle helps you to lose weight and keep it off.
6 Think about your portion sizes (except of fruit and vegetables)
eg. change from a large to a small plate at meal times.
7 Plan meals ahead so you are prepared and less likely to eat
snacks instead of a meal.
8 Make a shopping list and stick to it and don’t go shopping when
you are hungry - you will be tempted to buy and eat more.
9 Alcohol is high in calories. For some people, reducing the amount
drunk will be important for general health as well as weight.
10 Think about the times of day when you eat more, eg. if you eat
when you are bored, try something else to occupy your mind
such as a walk, a cup of tea, a book or magazine.
11 Get support from family and friends, for walks, recipe ideas, a chat.
12 Remember it is not just about weight - losing inches from your
waist improves your health.
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Help us get it right
If you have any complaints, concerns, comments or compliments
please let us know. We learn from all comments we receive and
use the information to improve our services.
If you have a concern, please speak to a member of staff at your
clinic or health centre. If you would rather talk to someone
outside the service, you can contact PALS.
Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS)
PALS provides confidential non-medical advice about local
NHS services. Call freephone 0800 0525 270, Monday to Friday
8.30am–4.30pm.
Contact us
Leeds Community Adult Nutrition & Dietetic Services
Parkside Community Health Centre
311 Dewsbury Road
Leeds LS11 5LQ
Tel: 0113 29 52851 (answer phone) Fax: 0113 29 52854
Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm We can make this information available in Braille,
large print, audio or other languages. We can also
provide interpreters for languages or signing at your
appointment. Please contact us to find out more.
www.leeds.nhs.uk
© NHS Leeds Community Healthcare (Leeds PCT) August 2010
Review date August 2012 • ref: 0078/S
NHS Leeds Community Healthcare is responsible for providing healthcare
services in the Leeds area and is hosted by Leeds Primary Care Trust (NHS Leeds).