7 Tips for healthy weight management

By Marianne Grechko, Nutritional Therapist at Wild Nutrition

Looking for ways to lose weight fast? When we set off on the journey to lose weight it is important to keep the primary focus always on optimising and maintaining good health and not so much on the number on the scale. Extreme diets that tell you to cut out list of foods are typically short lived and can often leave you deficient in key nutrients and craving for more food. This can result in gaining back the weight plus unwanted extra pounds.

 Weight loss and maintenance should be about long-term nutrition and lifestyle changes. Here are 7 nutritionist tips on how to manage weight in a healthy and natural way.

1. Always eat breakfast

Time and time again, research has highlighted the importance of breakfast. Those who eat a substantial breakfast each day reduce their experience of blood sugar fluctuations throughout the day. Aim for a balanced breakfast consisting of the main food groups rather than a plain piece of toast or processed cereal. Try a bowl of wholegrain muesli (no added sugars) with milk or full-fat yoghurt with nuts, seeds and berries or sliced pear on top or wholegrain (or rye) brown toast with scrambled eggs and half an avocado.

2. Eat regular meals

Although there are number of eating trends emerging in the recent years focused on fasting and restricted time eating, this way of eating it is not suitable for everyone. The general recommendation is to eat approximately every 3-4 hours. Aim to eat your meals between 6am and 8.30pm having three main meals and a healthy snack if needed.

3. Include protein and healthy fats with every meal

All meals should feature protein (e.g fish, poultry, eggs, tofu) and healthy fats (e.g olive oil, avocado, seeds). These food groups take much longer to break down in the stomach and provide a slow and steady release of energy. This will prevent your blood sugar from fluctuating and creating a feeling of hunger too soon after a meal. Stable blood sugar keeps the hormone insulin regulated and avoids fat storage. Insulin is an important hormone released in response to glucose in the blood and is the primary hormone involved in fat storage and weight gain.

4. Eat more whole foods

Eating more whole foods and less processed foods can have a positive impact on your health (and weight). Whole foods contain key nutrients, antioxidants, fibre, healthy fats and protein all important for optimum health and wellbeing. B vitamins are abundantly found in most whole foods and are involved in energy production and liver detoxification. Equally, whole foods do not contain empty calories, added sugars, salt and processed fats as processed foods do.

It has been highlighted by scientists that regular consumption of processed foods adds approximately 500 extra calories to your daily caloric intake. Many highly processed foods can create blood sugar imbalances and interfere with your brain chemistry creating food addictions.

5. Eat your fibre

Fibre is indigestible therefore reaches your large intestine relatively unchanged. Large intestine is the home of our gut microbiome and certain soluble fibres are a food source for the friendly gut bacteria that are essential for overall health and the ability to lose and maintain weight. Fibres like pectin found in apples and some berries have a high viscosity and may provide fullness of the stomach, regulate appetite, and support weight loss and management.

Additionally, taking a multi-strain biotic will help promote a healthy, functioning gut:

Wild Nutrition Multi Strain Biotic

6. Keep yourself hydrated

About 60% of our bodies are made up of water, and it's involved in most bodily functions. It's common to confuse hunger with thirst which is why drinking water about 20 minutes before meals may reduce your appetite. Water has even been shown to support the body in burning calories. Water is an excellent alternative to replace sugary beverages helping you to cut back on sugar and unnecessary calories.

7. Try and get as much sleep as possible

Sleep is incredibly important for your health and wellbeing. In fact, it’s just as important as exercising and eating a balanced, nutritious diet. According to the recommendations, an adult should sleep between 7-9 hours a night. Sleep deprivation has been shown to increase levels of ghrelin and lower levels of leptin. Ghrelin is a hormone that signals the feeling of hunger while leptin makes us feel full. So a lack of sleep may cause us to feel hungrier and consume more calories from high fat and high sugar foods. 

Magnesium is a great supplement for helping to get a good night's sleep.

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