Extra weight puts a strain on all your body systems. This increases your risk for developing heart disease, diabetes and cancer. The good news is that losing even a small amount of weight like 10 pounds can improve your health and gives you more energy to get more out of life in general. But, losing weight can be frustrating and confusing, especially with so many quick fix weight loss programs or "scams" on the market. Healthy weight loss takes hard work and time. There are no quick and easy solutions. Making small changes over time to the way you eat combined with being active everyday is the most effective way to lose weight successfully for the long term. Even if you don’t manage to lose weight, improving the way you eat and becoming more active can make a big difference in the way you look and feel.

Most weight loss occurs when you eat fewer calories (energy) than you burn off through daily living and planned physical activity.

GET ON TRACK WITH HEALTHY EATING

Learning to change WHAT and HOW you eat is as important part of your plan for successful long term weight loss. You don't have to give up the foods that you like to become healthier. However, you do need to eat a variety of foods in moderation. Here are some strategies to help you improve your eating habits.

• Eat 3 balanced meals everyday. Breakfast is especially important because it provides your body with fuel after an overnight fast.
• Include 2-3 healthy, nutritious low calorie snacks between meals like: fruit, vegetable sticks, low fat yogurt or whole grain crackers.
• Watch your serving or portion sizes. Try comparing your portions with the recommended number and sizes of servings in Canada's Food Guide to Healthy Eating. Also, avoid "supersizing" your meals, whether you are eating at a fast food restaurant or buying ready-made meals to take home.
• Learn to listen to your hunger cues. Try to eat when you are hungry and stop when you are full. To prevent over eating, it helps to eat slowly because it takes 20 minutes for your brain to register that it is full. Also, ask yourself if you are truly hungry or if you want to eat because you feel stressed, bored, depressed, etc.
• Fill up on foods that contain fibre. Fruits, vegetables and whole grain breads and cereals without butter, dressings or sauces contain more dietary fibre and take up more stomach space. This leaves less room for more dense and often high calorie foods.
• Switch to lower fat milk products like skim milk and low fat yogurt that contain fewer calories.
• Learn how to flavour foods using spices and herbs and low/fat cream sauces instead of high fat alternatives. One way to do this to buy a credible healthy eating cookbook written by a registered dietitian.
• Watch the calories from the things you drink. While nutritious, too much juice can provide a lot of calories that you may not want to consume. For example: an 8 oz. glass of juice provides 100 calories on average. Drinks that are less nutritious like beer and pop also provide a lot of calories. A 20 oz. bottle of regular pop provides about 250 calories, while a light bottle of beer provides just over 100 calories.

START MOVING WITH REGULAR PHYSICAL ACTIVITY

Regular physical activity is an important part of your plan for successful weight loss because it increases the amount of energy you use and helps you burn more calories. Here are some tips to help put physical activity into your weight loss plan.

What type of activities should I do to lose weight?

•  Endurance or "aerobic" activities are very important for weight loss because they often require more energy than other activities.
• "Aerobic" activities can include walking, swimming, bicycling, skating and many recreational activities (i.e. aerobic fitness classes, dancing) - these are the activities that make your heart beat faster and increase your breathing rate.
• Although endurance or "aerobic" activities are the most important, it is also important to add strength and flexibility activities to your plan. More information on strength and flexibility activities can be found in Canada's Physical Activity Guide to Healthy Active Living.

How long should I be active to lose weight?

•  For good health, you need at least 30 minutes of physical activity each day.
• For weight loss, try to be active for at least 60 minutes a day.
• The longer you are active, the more calories you will burn.
• If you can't do 60 minutes to start, add time as you feel ready.
• The activity doesn't have to be done all at once.
• Add up your activities in periods of at least 10 minutes at a time.

How often should I be physically active to lose weight?

• You should strive to be active for at least 60 minutes each day.
• Mix up the type of activities that you do to help prevent boredom and improve your overall condition.
• Depending on your initial activity level, it may take some time before you can work your way up to 60 minutes a day. That’s ok. Be persistent and gradually work your way up to a goal of 60 minutes of physical activity per day.

How hard should I be exercising to lose weight?

During aerobic activities, your muscles need more oxygen to "burn" calories for energy.

• To provide your muscles with the right amount of oxygen, you must be working at the right intensity or level of effort.
• You need to be able to hold a conversation while you are active…this is called the "talk test."
• If you can sing, then you are not working hard enough.
• If you can't speak at all, then you are working too hard.