7 Tips to Kickstart Weight Loss this Autumn

Find out your current weight. Next, set a realistic first goal and put a rough timeline on it. One of the easiest ways to find out where you are in terms of health is to measure your waistline. In fact, sometimes the scales is off-putting, so just using a tape measure may be enough (plus the mirror will usually tell you the truth!). To do this, place a tape measure about one inch above your bellybutton. Make sure it’s pulled tight, but isn’t digging into your skin, and then breathe out naturally, taking your measurement. 

Start moving (starting small is okay!). The ideal is to move for 150 minutes a week – you can break this up into shorter sessions of three bouts of 10-minute walks per day on five days of the week. If it’s too much for now, set a smaller goal, such as getting a total of one hour over the course of the week, and then slowly build to the ideal amount. Flexibility (such as a yoga/Pilates class once per week) plus resistance exercise will also benefit you – where you use your own body, or small weights, to help maintain your muscle mass (and we know that muscle helps to boost your metabolism). Follow our resistance exercise programme online, designed by a chartered physiotherapist – you can play this on your laptop whilst doing it at home: Take Control Exercise Programme. If you think you could benefit from a class that focuses on improving physical activity levels, look no further than our Be Active with Arthritis course - BAWA. 

Improve your food quality. Buy a new cookbook – one that emphasizes healthy eating and get experimenting. You may need to spend a bit more than usual, but it’s worth it – nothing is more important than your health. Consult the food pyramid for more information of amounts and types of foods to include. Listen to our Inflammation Nation Podcast with registered dietitian, Louise Reynolds from the INDI (Irish Nutrition & Dietetic Institute), on which foods to eat when you have arthritis: Healthy Eating and Arthritis. 

Drink more water. Often hunger is confused with thirst. Not only that, but if you are adequately hydrated it could help boost your metabolism and even reduce your appetite. What’s more, many people who enjoy sugary drinks, but then replace them with water, see a big drop in calorie intake (and a rebalancing of their blood sugars, meaning they become less hungry). Aim for eight glasses of water (some of which can be cups of herbal tea) to hit the ideal intake. 

Go brown. Swapping white, processed carbohydrate foods, such as cereals, breads or rice/pasta, for wholegrain alternatives will help keep you full for longer, meaning you consume less calories overall. Not only that, but research shows that many Irish people do not eat enough fibre, which is essential for good health, so your body will thank you for it. Make sure to increase your fluid intake (see above) to avoid constipation and slowly increase your fibre intake so your bowels grow accustomed to it.  

Choose good quality proteins and fats. Fish, lean meat, eggs, pulses and beans will help satiate you, making you less likely to overeat later on. These foods also help to stabilise your blood sugar levels. Also opt for healthy fats, such as those from olive oil, avocadoes and nuts regularly.  

Ditch the sugar. We know that when someone is consuming sugar regularly, their blood sugars are unstable, with many peaks and troughs. This blood sugar rollercoaster means that when people are experiencing a ‘low’, they are much more likely to make the wrong decision, reaching out for high sugar, high calorie foods to ‘fix’ the problem (this is all done subconsciously). By eliminating most of the sugar from your diet (both the obvious type, but also the ‘hidden’ sugar present in many tinned soups and sauces, and breakfast cereals or yoghurts), you will be much more likely to make better choices. As a guide, read the label for sugar.