Post summer holidays weight loss

After the summer has ended we may find ourselves a bit on the plus side, plus a few pounds that is. Once more we switch onto lose-weight mode, while reminiscing about our holidays. Despite some melancholy this doesn’t need to be overly difficult.

First of all keep in mind that long term weight management is about altering nutritional habits and not about a dietary regime of a few days or weeks. If you wish to commit to this, here are some of the things that people who lost and maintained weight successfully did:

• Reduced calories and fat intake
• Had frequent meals and breakfast
• Weighted systematically
• Exercised systematically
• Didn’t let small periods of dietary lapses (ex summer holidays) result to big weight gains.

Let’s look at the last point a bit more. There are times of the year, say Christmas holidays, when it is easier to eat more. The availability of large quantities of food, festive atmosphere and more free time all are conducive to overeating. That doesn’t mean we cannot keep some level of control or that we cannot “correct” things later on.

We can start anew without exerting ourselves by setting small targets, like for instance including breakfast in our daily diet or beginning to exercise steadily once or twice a week. If we feel up to it we may gradually add other goals too.

It is important to know where you desire to reach. Initially you may refer to a nutritionist to get a body composition measurement (body fat calculation, muscle mass and fluids) and set a realistic and healthy target. You can carry out an estimation of the body composition measurement at home, by using the Body Mass Index formula, which is your body weight in kg divided by the square of your height in meters. If the number you get is between 18.5 – 25 kg/m²  you might as well do nothing. If on the other hand you get a result greater than 25 you should consider losing weight. If you do decide to lose remember the following:

• Calories and portion size are important
• You should eat foods high on fibre. Such choices reflect the quality of your diet are crucial long term.
• Even a small loss of weight, like 5%, can lead to significant health benefits.

Finally, remember that your effort should be based on long term target and that the everyday scrabble shouldn’t be too difficult. Also, you shouldn’t measure effectiveness against what you think as ideal. Rather you should consider “have my daily dietary habits changed and if so how much?”