HOW CAN LOSING WEIGHT HELP ME?

Transcription

1 Why should I lose weight? Keeping your body at a healthy weight can help you feel good. If you are overweight, losing even a small amount of weight can improve your health and help you feel better. Controlling your weight can: - Make it easier to control your blood sugar. - Prevent heart disease. - Prevent some kinds of cancer. - Save your knees and other joints. - Allow you to have more energy. - Make it easier to work and get around. 1

2 How much weight should I lose? Your health will be improved by losing just a few pounds. If you weigh 200 pounds, that usually means losing pounds. If you weigh 300 pounds, that means losing pounds in the next year. 2

3 How can I lose weight? Try to eat less! Eating less is hard to do. Here are some simple ideas you can use to eat less food: - Cut your portion sizes of meat, cheese, butter, gravy, salad dressing, and other high calorie foods - Eating more low calorie foods like fruits and vegetables - Cutting back on deserts and snacks - Eating more meals at home and fewer fast food meals - Drinking water, diet soda, crystal light or other low calorie drinks. Eat more of these foods. Fruits Vegetables Vegetable Salad 3

4 Be more active by: - Walking more during the day. - Having more fun in ways that are active like playing with your children or grandchildren. - Taking your dog for a walk every day. - Setting aside time to exercise. - Taking up a hobby like gardening. - Learning to dance. 4

5 Begin to change bad habits to good habits - Eat when you are hungry, stop when you are full. - Eat more slowly. - Stop using food as a way to soothe bad feelings. Find other ways to feel better like relaxing, meditating, listening to music or being with friends or family. - Find other things to do like reading, taking a walk, or calling a friend when you feel bored. - Avoid places that always lead to overeating like buffets. 5

6 How fast can I expect to lose weight? - How fast you lose weight depends on a number of factors. - Men tend to lose weight faster than women. - The more overweight you are, the faster you lose weight. - Cutting back on your food helps you lose weight more quickly. - Being more active can help speed up the weight loss. - People lose weight more quickly at the beginning and the weight loss slows down over time. - Losing 1-2 pounds each week is a healthy rate of weight loss Keep up with your weight loss. - Keep track of your progress using a scale. - Weigh yourself each day at the same time - Keep a record of your weight to track your progress - Write down what you eat in a food diary to see where you can make changes - Keep a chart of your exercise 6

7 How do I get started? - Set a date to begin. - Tell friends and family you plan to lose weight and ask for their help. - Pay attention to what you are eating to find changes you need to make. - Ask to talk to a dietitian. How can I stay motivated? - Focus on improving your health. - Feel good about making small changes. - When you slip up, figure out why and make changes to your plan. - Get friends or family to lose weight with you and support each other. - Tell friends and family what they can do to help you be successful. - Have realistic goals and be patient. 7

8 I CAN DO IT! I will be more active every day! I will pick a goal from the list below to start this week and continue until I talk about it with my doctor, nurse, or dietician. I will start losing weight on. a. My current weight is pounds. b. My goal is to lose pounds. I will eat less by: a. b. c. d. I will be more active by: a. b. c. d. I will change these bad habits: a. b. c. d. I will involve the following people: a. b. c. d. I will stay motivated by: a. b. c. d. Copyright 2011 by Vanderbilt University. All rights reserved. Please contact authors for permission to use. 8