Obesity is a chronic disease that gradually affects adults of all ages and children, and it goes beyond being overweight. There are different methods to treat obesity or to prevent it, but living in the 21st century and being exposed to its technological advances are a great risk factor. Obesity leads to the triggering of chronic diseases and although many methods have been developed to prevent this disease or to lose weight, it all depends on the patient’s conditions, age, lifestyle, and/or biological inheritance[1].
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Next, we will list some tips that can be useful for anyone with obesity, however, this does not mean that it is a personalized treatment, since the comprehensive plan for you to make the changes in your life must be guided by an expert. You can schedule a consultation with us if you want to lose weight or consider it necessary to prevent obesity. Now let’s go over the following 7 tips.
1. Obesity or excess weight
First, you must recognize if you have obesity to start treatment or in case of being overweight to prevent obesity:
Adults
For adults, WHO defines overweight and obesity as follows:
- Overweight: Body mass index (BMI) equal to or greater than 25
- Obesity: BMI equal to or greater than 30
Afterwards, you should be aware that if you want to change your physical condition, you will have to make some changes in your lifestyle, such as:
- Changing your diet
- Exercising or doing any type of physical activity.
- Changing daily habits
- Taking medication to lose weight
- Undergoing a type of bariatric surgery
2. Reduce your calorie intake
This step is the most important to lose weight. Along with the team of specialists you can review your eating habits. to see how many calories you are consuming and where you can cut back. There is a chance that the portions you are eating are larger than you thought. You may also find that you are eating a lot of fast food, sweets, or drinks that contain a lot of sugar. With the help of the doctor, you can establish how many calories you should consume daily to lose weight. The ideal calorie intake to avoid becoming overweight is between 1,000 and 1,600.
It is important to reduce the number of calories you consume and eat in a healthier way to lose weight. The safest way to reduce our weight is to lose between 1/2 and 1 kilogram per week. This way, you will also avoid gaining weight again. Do not try to use drastic methods and unrealistic changes to your diet, such as crash diets, as this does not work.
3. Less is more
One way that you can satisfy your appetite and eat fewer calories is to use the concept of energy density. Food contains a certain number of calories in a certain volume. A high energy density means that there are a lot of calories in a small amount of food. Some foods that have a high energy density are desserts, sweets and processed foods. Fruits and vegetables have a low energy density, so the serving is larger and contains fewer calories. When you eat larger portions of low-calorie foods, you control your cravings and won’t feel guilty about overeating.
4. Create a healthy diet plan
Your diet will be healthier if you eat more plant foods, such as fruits and vegetables. It’s also important to eat more protein that comes from plants, such as beans, lentils, and soybeans[2]. A good habit that you can acquire to prevent obesity is to eat red meat only once a week and try to eat chicken, fish or turkey the rest of the week. Try to use low-fat dairy products. Limit the amount of salt and sugar you use. It is important that the fat you consume comes from healthy sources such as olives, safflower oils, and nuts.
5. Avoid fad diets
Unfortunately, with the rapid access to information and the infinite options of diets and weight loss plans, these alternatives are used by many overweight or obese people as a quick alternative, but these “miracle” diets do not work. Fast diets cause you to lose weight very quickly, but it is very easy to gain it back. Only healthy eating habits will allow you to lose weight and keep it off for longer.
Your doctor will also give you advice to maintain a dietary behavior, and through the nutritionist or chef of the multidisciplinary team, they will teach you how to prepare low-cost healthy foods so that the act of eating becomes a conscious activity.
6. Exercise
A big part of any treatment to prevent obesity is to increase the amount of exercise you get. People who have been able to lose weight and keep it off for more than a year exercise regularly, even just walking is very helpful[3]. Increasing the amount of exercise you do has the goal of making your body burn more calories than you consume, along with many other benefits.
The number of calories you can burn will depend on how often, for how long, and at what intensity you exercise.
If you do it regularly you will lower your body fat level. Examples of aerobic exercise are: walking, biking, climbing stairs, or swimming. According to the American College of Sports Medicine, people who are overweight should get at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity a week to prevent further weight gain.
To lose weight considerably, you should do between 250 and 300 minutes of exercise a week. You may have to gradually increase the amount of exercise you do and divide the time into several daily sessions. Increase by five to six minutes per session each day. Your goals must be ones that you are going to be able to achieve so that you do not give up. Ask your doctor for advice on which exercise routine is right for you.
Any physical movement you do during the day can be useful to prevent overweight and obesity, so it is important to pay attention to making small changes in your daily routine. For example, here are some tips that can help you move more:
- Park your car far from the entrance of the place you’re going to.
- Put more energy into your home activities.
- If you have a garden at home, tend to it daily.
- Get up from wherever you’re sitting and move.
- You can use a digital step counter to keep track of your daily movement.
Contact Us to Learn More
If you want to learn more about how to prevent obesity and change your daily habits to have a better lifestyle, schedule an appointment with one of our doctors. We can help determine the right treatment for you. Contact us online anytime or give us a call at (619) 373-0229.
References
- [1] “Some Myths about Nutrition & physical activity.”. https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/weight-management/myths-nutrition-physical-activity. (Accessed June 6th, 2023).
- [2, 3] “Finding a Balance of Food and Activity”. https://www.cdc.gov/healthyweight/calories/index.html. (Accessed June 6th, 2023)