Managing weight

Fad diets are just that – a fad, and often only a temporary way to lose weight. They can also cause disordered eating and an unhealthy relationship with food, along with nutrient deficiencies. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is!

Being overly restrictive in the way you eat can often have a detrimental effect on your relationship with food. If you tell yourself that you aren’t allowed to eat an entire group of foods or a long list of foods generally your brain will hyper-focus on those foods and cause you to ‘crave’ them more. 

In order to have a healthy relationship with food it can be helpful to see all foods as ‘allowed’ within a healthy balanced diet, some foods might just be foods to eat less often, but they aren’t necessarily bad or foods you 'aren’t allowed’. 

It can often be a good idea to focus on nourishing foods to eat more of, rather than the foods to ideally eat less of. Whole foods that come from the earth, animals or the sea are generally the foods that provide you with the most nutrition and are key to ensuring your body gets the nutrients it needs.

Whole foods are generally minimally processed and include fruits and vegetables, meat and poultry, fish, eggs, legumes and pulses, wholegrains such as rice and oats, and nuts and seeds.

• Before eating it can be helpful to think about and notice how you are feeling – are you hungry, ravenous or content? Are you thirsty? Are you feeling any strong emotions that might be driving you to eat to help soothe that strong emotion? Is there something else you could do to soothe those emotions?
• Separating eating from other activities that hold your attention. For example, try not to eat whilst watching TV or driving, as you aren’t fully aware of the eating experience when you are distracted and it can be easy to eat to a point of feeling of over-full or consume more than we might of if you were eating more mindfully
• Focus on using your senses – what does the food taste like, what herbs or spices can you taste, what does it smell like, what does it sound like, is it crunchy, soft or smooth, does it look appetising? Embrace eating as an enjoyable experience
• Slow down – enjoy your food! Chew slowly and savour the food. Did you know it can take about 20 minutes for your stomach to register that you are full? Your stomach sends signals to your brain to let it know you have had enough, so eating slowly allows this process to happen and reduces the likelihood of eating past the point of fullness

You might be hard on yourself in this weight-centric environment that often puts thin bodies on a pedestal as being ideal. Often this is not realistic or achievable and can make you feel bad about yourself. Think about how you might speak to a friend or family member – a little kindness to yourself can go a long way. 

If you have a specific goal in mind try not to be hard on yourself if you aren’t able to meet that goal, human bodies are affected by so many other factors and living with arthritis often adds another barrier, so managing or losing weight is often not an easy or simple task. 

We know this is the catchphrase of most health professionals, but looking at the way your plate is portioned out can be a simple way to ensure you are getting enough of the foods that your body needs. 

You need protein on your plate in order to build muscles and provide iron, carbohydrate foods fuel your brain and provide us with energy for daily activities, vegetables are essential for vitamins and minerals, dairy foods for bone and teeth health and you need some fats for vitamin absorption and the cells in your body to function well. 

Balanced plate model

• ¼ plate of protein such as meat, chicken, eggs, fish, lentils or beans
• ¼ plate of carbohydrates such as bread, pasta, oats, noodles, rice, starchy vegetables such as kumara, potatoes or taro
• ½ plate of vegetables and fruit such as broccoli, capsicum, carrots, frozen peas, bananas, oranges, spinach, cabbage, canned tomatoes

Understanding what is in the packaged foods can be helpful in making choices. The best way to compare different brands of packaged foods is to look at the nutrition information panel which can be found on the side or the back of a packet or can of food or drink. This information tells you what ingredients are in the product, and the amounts of common nutrients such as protein, fat, sugar and fibre.

When comparing food products, look for the lowest amount of fat, sugar and salt (sodium), along with the highest amount of fibre and protein. 

Highly processed foods (such as sweets, potato chips, mass-produced biscuits and cakes and fizzy drinks) are often high in fat, sugar and salt and are manufactured to be extremely appealing. These foods provide you with high energy but low nutrients and they are also designed to make you consume more and more of them. 

Visit understanding nutrition for more information on label reading.

Exercise can be an important part of managing weight, and it’s a good idea to choose a form of exercise that you enjoy or can do with friends or whānau.  

A combination of balance/flexibility, cardio, and weights exercise is a good way to build muscle, improve balance, reduce the risk of falls, and improve cardiovascular health. This combination is also helpful in the management of arthritis. If you can, aim to include 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous activity each week. Breaking it up into chunks of exercise across the week can make it more manageable. 

Moderate to vigorous activity can include swimming, tennis, hiking, weighted exercise, gardening, bike riding, Pilates and many others.

If you are just starting out on your exercise journey make sure to start small. This might be a 5 to 10 minute walk in the beginning that you can build upon slowly. 

Visit movement and exercise for more information

Good nutrition and eating nourishing meals does often take some planning. Often when you are busy, stressed, tired or dealing with chronic pain or health conditions it is normal to opt for convenient foods that might be more highly processed and may contain high amounts of fat, sugar and salt. These foods can increase your risk of other diseases such as heart disease, diabetes and dental cavities. If eaten in high amounts often they can also lead to weight gain as they are higher in energy rather than nourishment. Planning does take a little more time and energy but if you can make the time on a day you are feeling well it can be a good idea to:

• Plan some meals for the week/next few days by writing down some meal ideas and what ingredients you might need. Sometimes it can help to visualise it by drawing up a table on a piece of paper for the week ahead
• Make a thorough shopping list (check the fridge, freezer and cupboards first to avoid doubling up). Also, look at what vegetables and fruits might be in season – these will generally be the cheaper options compared to fruits and vegetables that aren’t in season. This handy Fruit and Vegetable Availability Guide can be helpful
• Include frozen and canned vegetables and beans, legumes and lentils - they are often cheaper than fresh
• Do some batch cooking if you have the time – this means creating larger meals that you can portion out into containers to have on other days or to freeze for a later date