A Balanced Approach That Focuses on Sustainable Habits
Losing weight is a common goal for many people, but the process can often feel confusing or overwhelming with the abundance of weight loss trends and quick-fix solutions available. While rapid weight loss programs may promise instant results, they often come with hidden dangers, including muscle loss, nutritional deficiencies, and an increased risk of regaining the lost weight. Achieving healthy weight loss involves a balanced approach that focuses on sustainable habits, rather than extreme dieting or temporary solutions.
What is Healthy Weight Loss?
Healthy weight loss is about losing fat, not muscle, and making long term changes that support your overall health. Unlike fad diets that promise rapid weight loss, a healthy approach focuses on sustainable habits that are easy to maintain over time. It’s important to aim for gradual weight loss—about 0.5 to 1 kg per week—which research suggests is the most effective and sustainable pace (National Institutes of Health [NIH], 2013).
Rather than focusing solely on the number on the scale, healthy weight loss involves making positive changes to your lifestyle that improve your eating habits, increase your physical activity, and promote emotional wellbeing. These changes help ensure that weight loss is not only achievable but also healthy and sustainable.
Why Extreme Diets Don’t Work
Many people turn to extreme diets, such as very low calorie diets, detox cleanses, or intermittent fasting, hoping for quick results. While these approaches might lead to temporary weight loss, they often fail to produce lasting changes and may cause health problems along the way.
Extreme dieting can cause a range of issues, including:
Slowed metabolism: When you eat too few calories, your body goes into “starvation mode,” which slows your metabolism to conserve energy. This makes it harder to lose weight and maintain weight loss over time (Müller et al., 2013).
Muscle loss: When you restrict calories drastically, your body may break down muscle tissue for energy, leading to a loss of lean muscle mass. This can lower your metabolic rate, making it easier to gain weight once you return to a normal eating pattern (Longo & Panda, 2016).
Nutritional deficiencies: Extreme diets often lack essential nutrients like vitamins, minerals, and healthy fats, leading to deficiencies that can affect your overall health and energy levels (Krogh et al., 2010).
Mental and emotional effects: Dieting too restrictively can increase stress, anxiety, and the risk of developing disordered eating patterns such as binge eating (Klonoff & Karasik, 1992).
To avoid these pitfalls, it’s important to adopt a more balanced and sustainable approach to weight loss.
Key Principles for Healthy Weight Loss
To achieve and maintain healthy weight loss, there are several key principles to keep in mind. These principles focus on creating a balance of good nutrition, regular physical activity, and positive mental habits that support long term success.
1. Eat a Balanced, Nutrient Dense Diet
A healthy, well rounded diet is essential for losing weight in a way that supports your body’s needs. Focus on consuming a variety of whole, minimally processed foods that provide essential nutrients without excess calories. These include:
Fruits and vegetables: High in fibre, vitamins, and minerals, these foods help you feel full and satisfied with fewer calories.
Plant proteins: Protein is essential for maintaining muscle mass during weight loss. Include sources like tofu, quinoa, peas, almonds, pumpkin seeds and legumes.
Whole grains: Whole grains, such as brown rice, quinoa, and oats, provide fibre and help stabilise blood sugar levels.
Healthy fats: Incorporate healthy fats from sources like avocados, nuts, seeds, and olive oil. These fats promote satiety and support overall health (McManus, 2015).
Rather than focusing on strict calorie restriction, prioritise eating a balanced diet that nourishes your body and helps you feel full and satisfied.
2. Exercise Regularly
Physical activity is a crucial component of any healthy weight loss program. Exercise helps you burn calories, build muscle, and boost your metabolism. The Ministry of Health (2020) recommends that adults engage in at least 5 hours of moderate activity or 2.5 hours of vigorous activity throughout the week with 2 days doing muscle strengthening exercises.
Strength training is essential for preserving muscle mass while losing weight. This can include weight lifting, bodyweight exercises (e.g., squats, lunges), yoga, pilates or resistance band exercises.
Combining both cardiovascular exercise and strength training is the best approach to healthy weight loss, as it helps you maintain muscle mass while losing fat (Thyfault & Booth, 2011).
3. Adopt Mindful Eating Practices
One often overlooked aspect of weight loss is mindful eating. Mindful eating involves paying attention to hunger cues, savouring food, and eating slowly without distractions. This practice helps you become more attuned to your body’s signals, preventing overeating and emotional eating.
Eat slowly: Eating more slowly can help you recognise when you’re full, preventing overeating.
Avoid distractions: Try to avoid distractions like watching TV or scrolling on your phone while eating. This allows you to focus on your food and recognise fullness cues.
Practice portion control: Use smaller plates or bowls to help control portion sizes and avoid eating more than you need.
Mindful eating helps improve your relationship with food, making it easier to stick to healthy eating habits over the long term.
4. Get Enough Sleep
Sleep plays a critical role in weight management. Studies have shown that insufficient sleep can disrupt hunger-regulating hormones like leptin and ghrelin, leading to increased appetite and cravings for high calorie foods (Walker, 2017). Chronic sleep deprivation has also been linked to weight gain and obesity (Patel et al., 2014).
Aim for 7-9 hours of sleep per night to support healthy weight loss. Good sleep hygiene practices, such as maintaining a regular sleep schedule, avoiding caffeine late in the day, and creating a restful environment, can help improve the quality of your sleep.
5. Stay Hydrated
Drinking enough water is essential for weight loss and overall health. Sometimes, thirst can be mistaken for hunger, leading to overeating. Staying hydrated can help control appetite, improve digestion, and boost metabolism. Aim to drink at least 8 cups (2 litres) of water per day, or more if you are physically active.
The Importance of Patience and Persistence
Weight loss is a gradual process, and it’s important to set realistic expectations. Healthy weight loss typically occurs at a rate of about 0.5 to 1 kg per week, and it’s important to understand that progress may not always be linear. Plateaus, where weight loss temporarily slows down, are normal and can be overcome by making slight adjustments to your diet or exercise routine.
Above all, patience and consistency are key. By focusing on making small, sustainable changes to your lifestyle, you can achieve lasting weight loss that benefits both your physical and mental health.
Remember, the journey to a healthier weight is not about perfection, but about making consistent, positive choices that improve your overall wellbeing.
References
Klonoff, D. C., & Karasik, A. (1992). Psychological effects of caloric restriction and the treatment of obesity. International Journal of Obesity, 16(1), 31-37.
Krogh, J., Saltin, B., & Boushel, R. (2010). Nutritional deficiency and physical performance in the obese: The impact of energy restriction. Journal of Obesity, 2010(1), 1-7. https://doi.org/10.1155/2010/921978
Longo, V. D., & Panda, S. (2016). Fasting, circadian rhythms, and time-restricted feeding in healthy lifespan. Cell Metabolism, 23(6), 1048-1059. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cmet.2016.05.001
McManus, K. D. (2015). The role of a balanced diet in healthy weight loss. Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 115(10), 1639-1647. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jada.2015.07.005
Ministry of Health. (2020). Eating and activity guidelines for New Zealand adults. https://www.tewhatuora.govt.nz/assets/For-the-health-sector/Health-sector-guidance/Active-Families/eating-activity-guidelines-new-zealand-adults-updated-2020-oct22.pdf
Müller, M. J., Bosy-Westphal, A., & Klaus, S. (2013). Long-term consequences of weight cycling: What do we know? Current Diabetes Reports, 13(6), 1025-1030. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11892-013-0431-2
National Institutes of Health (NIH). (2013). Achieving a healthy weight. https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/educational/lose_wt/
Patel, S. R., Malhotra, A., & Gottlieb, D. J. (2014). Sleep and obesity. Chest, 146(5), 1381-1388. https://doi.org/10.1378/chest.14-0160
Thyfault, J. P., & Booth, F. W. (2011). Lack of exercise is a major cause of chronic diseases. Comprehensive Physiology, 1(4), 1587-1603. https://doi.org/10.1002/cphy.c1002
Walker, M. (2017). Why we sleep: The new science of sleep and dreams. Scribner.