When it comes to heart disease, weight can be important.  It is not always easy to maintain a healthy weight and some people do need extra support with medicines to help them.  Increased weight can make it harder to manage things like blood pressure and cholesterol, so looking after your weight can help. Below are some tips that can help you to manage your weight – whether you want to stay at a healthy weight or if you do need to reduce.

Start with a smaller plate

A lot of people can gradually gain weight as they get older.  This can be due to being a little less active, but another reason is portion sizes that are too big.  Even if you are eating quite healthy meals, if they are more than you need, they can lead to increased weight over the years.

Did you know that plate sizes are almost 3 inches bigger than they were in the 60s and 70s?  Even if the food you are putting on your plate is healthy, if it is more than you need your body will store the extra calories.  Choose a smaller plate for meals.  Your plate for dinner should not be much bigger than your outstretched hand (yes, really). The huge dinner plates used today are just giving you too much food.  Moving to a slightly smaller plate is an easy way to help balance your weight.

Balance Your Plate

Remember: your plate at lunch and dinner should be half vegetables; one quarter protein and one quarter gluten-free carbs.  Don’t cover the whole plate with pasta or rice – keep it to one quarter of the plate.

Stop Snacking

One of the really big changes in how we eat over the last 20 years is the increase in snacking.  It is fine to eat something if you do get hungry in between meals, but most people are now grazing all day long.  Be careful about non-stop eating.  Even if it is just a few mouthfuls here and there, it can add up.  It’s also not great for your teeth to be exposed to food all day long. Your teeth need at least a two-hour break in between eating.  Are you snacking because you are hungry or just out of habit, boredom or stress?  Can you wait until lunch or dinner? If you are hungry and a meal is a long way off, do eat something. Just try to get out of the habit of all-day-nibbling.

Out of Sight, Out of Mind

If you need to manage your weight, keep food out of sight.  We are designed to want food as soon as we see it – this is why food advertising works so well.  Keep biscuits and treats behind closed doors and stop opening the fridge every time you walk into the kitchen.  It’s worth even keeping healthy food out of sight as seeing any food often make us think of eating.  Be careful not to keep food in sight on desk at work or around the house.  It can make a big difference in the long run.

Stress and Comfort Eating

Lots of people eat when they feel stressed or upset and this can be a difficult one to manage.  It would be great if you had no stress and could just be relaxed and happy all the time.  But life is not always easy, and eating is one way people try to cope. 

Some things that can help manage stress eating:

1. Swap to hot drinks. With stress eating, sometimes it’s just a feeling of comfort and fullness that helps.  Having a hot drink – tea, coffee, herbal teas etc. – can help give that feeling of comfort without eating.
2. Look for other ways to manage stress. It’s good to have a few different things that can help manage stress.  Often, if you are someone who eats a lot in the evenings, distracting your self or occupying your hands can rally help.  Try:
   • Going for a walk or even doing some short stretching at home
   • Knit, crochet, draw, or paint. Anything that has you focused on something other than eating.  You don’t have to be good at it! Try out a few things and see what you like.  Lots of adults find doing something like Lego can help.
   • Call a friend or go out and meet people. Join a class or a local group.  Leaving the house often stops stress eating and chatting to other people can be good too.
3. If you really feel the need to eat when you’re stressed, try choosing foods that are crunchy. Scientists have found that people are often soothed by the “crunch” of foods more than the taste or calories.  Try cutting up carrot, celery or cucumber sticks and adding lime juice and salt; try eating dry crunchy (gluten free) cereals or gluten free popcorn.
4. If you find you do a lot of eating when you are stressed or upset do think about seeing a healthcare professional who can help. Lots of people see a qualified psychologist for help managing stress and eating.  Registered dietitians often link in with psychologists when patients are struggling to manage emotional eating, and it can really help.

Move More

One of the worst things that happened to exercise is the idea that it is just for weight loss.  Yes, exercise can help with weight, but it is not just about burning calories. Exercise helps to reduce stress, which can help with stress eating. It also helps to lower blood pressure (even if you don’t lose any weight) and it boosts your “good” cholesterol (HDL) levels. Do you notice how you always feel better after going for a walk? Even if you didn’t want to leave at the start?  Focus on how you will feel after exercise and it can be a good way to get started.

We know that your body benefits from getting some movement everyday, but anything helps. 10 minutes is better than no minutes. Once a week is better than never. Walking works but feel free to try anything else that you might enjoy. The trick is just to begin.