Practical Help

Weight Management and Healthy Eating

At the ILFA Open Day March 24, 2007, LISA HURLEY, Dietician, Heart and Lung Transplant Programme, Mater Misericordiae University Hospital, Dublin, spoke about WEIGHT MANAGEMENT HEALTHY EATING.

Weight gain and weight loss is really a balance between the energy consumed and the energy burned. If we consume more than we burn we’ll put on weight. To lose weight we need to consume less energy than our body needs.

It may seem obvious and you’ve heard it before but it’s as simple as that.

A lot of things can act as barriers that prevent us losing weight.

Reduced mobility and an inability to exercise very much means that people with IPF often have to focus on reducing what they eat to lose weight
Medication such as steroids will promote weight gain
Motivation and willingness to change are huge issues as are lack of support and lack of know-how.
Sometimes we are just too busy to focus our efforts on losing weight

MOTIVATION

Lack of motivation is probably the most significant barrier to losing weight.

We go through a number of phases when we are making a change in our life;

The Pre-contemplation Phase during which we are not aware that we have a problem.

The Contemplation Phase when we realise we have a problem and need to make a change.

The Preparation Phase when we begin to look at how we can lose weight, what we need to do, and start weigh up the pros and cons of different courses of action. A lot of people stay in the preparation phase and never move into the next phase.

The Action phase is the difficult part when you make the changes needed to lose the weight

The Maintenance Phase is when these changes become a part of your normal everyday lifestyle.

At any of these stages you can relapse but it is how you deal with the relapse that matters. Do you give up or do you go back to making that change again?

Where are you on this cycle and where do you want to be?

STEPS TO HEALTHY EATING

Losing weight is all about eating healthily as well as being active.

REGULAR MEALS:

Skipping meals does not work If you skip your breakfast the likelihood is you will eat more later, and you are more likely to reach for the chocolate bar or the packet of crisps.

To be in control of your weight you need to be in control of your appetite so eat regularly and have a routine.

PORTION CONTROL:

Portions are getting larger. In particular you need to watch the portions of starchy foods like bread, potatoes, pasta. Also be careful of the portions of high fat foods and foods that are high in calories such as cake, biscuits, ice cream, and crisps – the treat foods.

Be careful with the amount of butter you put on your bread, the fat on the edge of the meat, chicken skin, cream, mayonnaise, chips – all are very high in energy and also very palatable so it can be quite difficult to restrict them!

CHANGE TO LOW FAT

CUT DOWN ON SUGAR:

This is an easy way to reduce your calorie intake – use a sweetener instead if you need to.

Use diet fizzy drinks if you must have a fizzy drink – they have no calories.

EAT MORE FRUIT AND VEGETABLES:

Aim for five portions a day.

Fruit and vegetables are very rich in vitamins and minerals that protect our body. They are high in fibre so they are filling too, and can prevent you reaching for the bar of chocolate.

Try and incorporate some fruit and vegetable into each meal; put a bit of banana into your cereal; add a bit of fruit to a diet yoghurt or put extra salad vegetables in your sandwich.

GET ENOUGH CALCIUM:

This is important. Low fat milk may even help with weight loss. Recent research has shown that people who don’t have enough calcium in their diet have more difficulty losing weight.

It is NOT true that there is a connection between dairy products and sputum.

Aim for three portions of dairy products a day – one medium size glass of low fat milk, a pot of diet yoghurt, or an ounce of reduced-fat cheese.

If you are on steroids you will need more than this and you may need a calcium supplement. Check with your doctor.

ALCOHOL

Alcohol is very high in calories and it also increases your appetite – a double whammy!

Cut back as much as possible and try to have no more than half the recommended units a week – 21 for a man and 14 for a woman.

The quarter bottle of wine that you get in the pub contains between 2 and 3 units.

THINGS THAT CAN HELP

Keep a record of what you eat – a food diary is really useful. Two days a week write down what you are eating, where you are eating and why – you’ll find out a lot about your eating patterns if you do this.
Get support from your family and friends
Check your weight weekly – there is no point in doing it any more regularly
Aim to lose one to two pounds a week. Close steady weight loss is much more sustainable than losing a large amount of weight at once. You will probably pile it on again just as quickly.
Don’t get distracted by fad diets – just eat less and be as active as you can

THINK ABOUT

What you are eating
How much you are eating
When and how often you are eating
Why you are eating

Most of us don’t just eat when we are hungry, we eat because we are bored, or because we’re upset, or the people around us are eating.

For more information and helpful recipes see

The British Dietetic Association at http://www.bdaweightwise.com/

The Irish Nutrition and Dietetic Institute at http://www.indi.ie/

If you would like a copy of Lisa’s advice sheet on Healthy Eating please contact ILFA or write to ILFA, PO Box 10456, Dublin 7, or through our website at www.ilfa.ie