Healthy Weight
You are more likely to achieve a healthier weight by avoiding restrictive dieting and following a varied, balanced and regular meal pattern, with regular activity that you enjoy.
Find out if you are a healthy weight by using this NHS BMI calculator.
To help you check if you are losing too much weight and are at risk of becoming malnourished, BAPEN has developed a simple screening tool you can use along with advice to follow if you are at risk of becoming malnourished.
If you would like to have a printed copy of the information above, please use this link
Quick Print - ADD LINK
Would you like to lose weight in a healthy way and keep it off for good?
Here are some tips to get started and a range of information and tools that may help.
- Eating slowly – you may have heard that it takes around 20 minutes to start to feel full. Allowing your body time to feel full may mean you have less at meal times.
- Aim to eat every 3-4 hours – Having regular balanced meals and snacks can help prevent cravings.
- Try using a smaller plate and bowl – Crockery has gradually increased in size over time. Choosing smaller plates and bowls can help you reduce your portions
- Avoid shopping on an empty stomach – When we feel ‘over-hungry’, we often crave foods that are high in fats in sugars. Shopping when feeling satisfied can often help people stick to their shopping list.
- Try not to eat on the go – If we eat while doing other things our body doesn’t register we’ve eaten the food.
- Stay hydrated – It is common to feel hungry when you may in fact be thirsty. Drinking throughout the day can prevent cravings for food when we are not hungry.
- Keep a food diary – It is normal to eat without realising it, and normal to eat for reasons other than hunger. Keeping a detailed diary of what you eat and any feelings and emotions you felt can help you learn about your own eating habits.
- Aim to fill half your plate with vegetables or salad – Veg is low in calories and high in fibre to help prevent you feeling hungry.
Mobile Apps
Better Health Food Scanner
Allows you to scan food labels in supermarkets, giving you more information into the different nutrients in your food - NHS Food Scanner app - Healthier Families - NHS
Better Health Let's do this - Calorie Counting
Calorie counter of UK foods that can scan barcodes, track nutrients and link to your activity tracker - Calorie counting - Better Health - NHS
MyFitnessPal
Nutrition tracking for real life - Make progress with the all-in-one food, exercise, and calorie tracker - MyFitnessPal
Carbs & Cals: Diet & Diabetes
Visual carbs and calorie counter. Contains food photos to help you get your portion sizes right - Carbs & Cals | Dieting & Calorie Counting Books & App
Websites
Useful healthy eating information
Information and guidance about eating a healthy, balanced diet - Eat Well
Better Health Health Recipes
Healthy eating doesn't need to be dull. Whip up tasty, affordable family meals with our easy step-by-step recipes - Healthy Recipes
Portion size Guidance
Get portion wise - Portion sizes | British Nutrition Foundation
Advice on losing weight
How to achieve a healthier weight - How to achieve a healthier weight - BDA
Click on the link below to watch a series of short videos which help to tackle the myths surrounding dieting, weight loss and balanced eating.
They also provide an insight into why dieting is so challenging and help you consider a new approach to managing your weight.
Webinars on Weight Management | patientwebinars.co.uk
3 steps to getting started
1. Keep a diary to learn about what works for you
When you do something every day it becomes automatic and much of what we do we can forget because it’s just part of our routine. Keeping a record helps you learn about what you’re actually doing, not what you think you are doing. It can be especially useful if you are unsure of what to change. Food and activity diaries can help you identify helpful lifestyle changes which are personal to you. Here are some of the things you could include in your diary. You could start by just choosing two of these.
- Times of eating – including snacks
- All food and drink consumed
- Portion sizes
- Activity and/or exercise (include activity such as walking, housework and gardening)
- Unhelpful thoughts (e.g. “I’m really struggling with this” or “I shouldn’t have eaten that, I might as well give up”)
- Feelings that affect when and what you eat (e.g. bored / stressed / sad / happy)
2. Find support
Having support from friends, family or people at work can help keep you motivated and keep you going if times get tough.
Ask friends and family to help or make changes with you. If a supportive friend lives far away set up a Facebook or WhatsApp group to support and encourage each other.
Alternatively you could join an online community. There’s also lots of groups and communities you can join online, just be sure to choose one that promotes healthy lifestyle changes rather than quick fixes.
Dewis Cymru can be used to find out about people and services in your area that can help you and more information or advice about your well-being.
3. Make realistic long-term lifestyle changes
When forming any new habit it may be helpful to ask yourself, ‘Could I keep this up for the rest of my life?’
It may be tempting to try and completely cut out a particular type of food, or even aim to exercise every single day. Most people would never be able to keep up strict changes like these as everyday life often gets in the way.
When we break these strict rules we will often feel a sense of failure and guilt, which over time reduces our motivation to keep going with any changes that we have made. By forming small achievable habits, people are more likely to be able to lose weight in the long term and build a positive relationship with their weight and food.
Have a look at the example below:
‘I want to be more active, I am going to do this by walking 15 minutes at least 3 times a week’.
If you walked every day, then you’ve achieved your goal and more. Achieving small goals can give us a sense of achievement and build confidence so we are able to continue and form new weight loss goals.
Each time you make a change consider the following:
- What are you going to do?
- How are you going to do it
- When are you going to start?
Would you like support to lose weight?
We offer a range of services for adults in the Aneurin Bevan Health Board area who would like support with losing weight. These services will provide you with the knowledge, tools and support you need for successful, sustainable weight loss with a focus on promoting health and wellbeing.
During the pandemic some of our services will be delivered remotely by telephone or video link. Although people may feel unsure about joining a group, our participants soon find the group support beneficial in helping them make and sustain lifestyle changes.
Groups are not intended to replace structured education/care provided by health professionals for those with specific medical conditions where additional support may be required. Please speak with your GP if you are unsure.
Slimming World on referral
Free access to a 12 week Slimming World programme at a local Slimming World group of your choice is available to those who meet the following eligibility criteria.
- Age 18+
- Have not attended Slimming World in the past 3 months
- BMI 25kg/m2+* with the following health conditions: Type 2 Diabetes, obstructive sleep apnoea, uncontrolled high blood pressure, heart disease, raised cholesterol, osteoarthritis related disability, some cancers, asthma, metabolic syndrome.
- BMI 30kg/m2+ with no medical conditions (Lower BMI criteria by 2.5kg/m2 for people from Black African, African Caribbean and Asian groups)
- Do not eat when not physically hungry e.g. feeling emotional (comfort eating), bored or out of habit and for those overeat, binge or have larger portions than usual in one sitting.
To find out your BMI, use this NHS BMI calculator BMI calculator | Check your BMI – NHS | Please fill in your details (www.nhs.uk)
If you feel confident that you meet the criteria above please call 01773 300176 and quote MSK to discuss your options with a Slimming World consultant.
If you do not meet the criteria above and you do comfort or binge eat then please do not choose this option and complete the self-referral form for the Adult Weight Management service here or contact us via: abb.healthyweightgwent@wales.nhs.uk
Adult Weight Management Service
The Adult Weight Management Service offers support and advice to people wanting to lose weight in a healthy way. We can help you to improve your health & wellbeing as well as support you to maintain the weight you lose. Our team includes Dietitians, Dietetic Support Workers, Clinical Psychologists, Counsellors and Doctors.
If your BMI is over 30kg/m2 and you have already tried Foodwise, slimming world or losing weight by yourself then you can access support from the Adult Weight Management Service.
Find out more about the weight management service and how you can refer yourself here.
To find out more information about Foodwise for Life or Slimming World on Referral – Contact the Healthy Weight Gwent Team by emailing us at:
ABB.HealthyWeightGwent@wales.nhs.uk
Contact us if you are interested in delivering Foodwise for Life sessions or if you would like more information on supporting people to change and Making Every Contact Count.
Find out more about the ABUHB weight management service visit:
Weight Management Service - Aneurin Bevan University Health Board