Excess weight is more than an aesthetic concern. Carrying more than your body is designed to bear puts you at risk for a host of serious, even deadly ailments. Obesity—currently defined as having a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 30—increases the risk of diabetes, stroke, and cardiovascular diseases and is linked to several types of cancers. A baby-steps approach to losing weight can be the first stage in making your health, not the reflection in the mirror, of primary concern.

“If you are plump, you don’t have to reach a svelte teenager shape to get the benefits of dropping a little body fat. A drop of only five to 10 percent of your weight (a realistic amount for most overweight people) can improve your blood sugar levels, blood pressure and blood cholesterol. That means less chance of diabetes, stroke and heart disease. Don’t set yourself unrealistic goals for weight loss; be happy knowing that even small losses will help keep ailments at bay,” offers Glenn Cardwell (www.glenncardwell.com), a dietitian with 26 years experience in clinical and public health nutrition, including 10 years with the Australian National Heart Foundation. Currently the sports nutrition advisor to the Western Force (Rugby Union), Cardwell is also author of several nutrition books, including the upcoming 4th edition of Gold Medal Nutrition (available in April 2006 from Human Kinetics).

Losing 10 to 20 pounds—a five to ten percent reduction in body weight for a 200-pound woman of average height—requires the same commitment to eating a healthy diet and exercise as losing fifty pounds. A pound of fat is equivalent to 3,500 calories. To lose one pound a week, 500 more calories need to be burned. The easiest way to do this is to divvy up the difference between diet and exercise. That could equal one hour of gardening a day—roughly 350 calories—and a reduction in calorie consumption of 150 calories, which can be as simple as taking that calorie-laden glass of orange juice out of your morning routine and substituting an apple and a few almonds for an afternoon snack, instead of hitting the cookie jar.

Lowered Expectations: Eating Tips from Glenn Cardwell

1. Forget fad diets. Just about every diet book ever released in the past 100 years has been a failure. They all restrict what you can eat and can’t be followed for a lifetime unless you are a hermit. Resolve never to follow another diet. Eating healthy offers more benefits that cutting out every food you enjoy.



2. Give peas a chance. You don’t have to become vegetarian, but there are many benefits to eating plenty of plant food. The government tells you to eat two fruit servings and five vegetable servings a day. This works out to be around 700 grams of plant food and it includes baked beans, lentils and other legumes. Eating more fruit and veg means you are likely to eat fewer pastries, cakes and snack foods. Your heart, brain and downpipe will also be happier.



3. Observe a speed limit. Many people wolf down their meals, without taking time to enjoy the flavours. One hundred years ago a gentleman called Horace Fletcher was famous for getting people to chew their food with 30-70 munches per mouthful as a means of controlling their appetite. He called it “industrious munching”, the fans called it Fletcherism, and I think there is some merit to its madness. Taking time over your meals could stop you from over-eating.



4. Small changes are big. Some simple changes to your diet could be all that is required for permanent gradual weight loss. For example, if you changed from drinking 600ml (20 oz) of full cream milk a day to a reduced-fat milk, you would save 150,000 kilojoules (35,800 cal) a year. Potentially that’s a loss of 5 kilograms (11 lb) per year. Instead of two cream biscuits for morning tea, eat a piece of fruit to save well over 200,000 kilojoules (47,800 cal) a year, a potential loss of 6.5 kilograms (14 lb). Simple changes to your eating can make a big difference—over time.



5. Quit the Blame Game. It is too easy to blame your genetics, your upbringing, your kids or even the government if you don’t eat well or you aren’t fit. Self-pity does not achieve results. Make sure 2006 is a year in which you treat your body with a high level of respect.

“For overweight folk,” says Cardwell, “loving yourself could be the key to losing a spare tire or two.”