Achieving and maintaining a healthy weight is about more than just fitting into your favourite clothes. It’s a key factor in overall well-being, helping to reduce the risk of chronic conditions, improve mobility, and boost energy levels. Sustainable weight loss is not about quick fixes or extreme diets—it’s about making lasting changes that support your health in the long run.
One of the biggest benefits of sustainable weight loss is the relief it can bring to your joints. Excess weight puts extra strain on your body, contributing to joint pain and inflammation. By shedding those extra kilos gradually and healthily, you can reduce pressure on your joints and enjoy a more active, pain-free life.
Relieve Joint Pain and Reduce Inflammation
Inflammation is your body’s natural response to infection, injury, or trauma. While it’s a necessary part of healing, too much inflammation can backfire, leading to discomfort and chronic issues. Fortunately, you can manage inflammation – and the pain it causes – through the right diet, regular exercise, and weight loss.
The Weight-Inflammation Connection
If you’re carrying extra weight, your joints might be bearing the brunt of it. Joint pain is a common sign of inflammation, and shedding even a few kilos can relieve pressure and reduce pain. The benefits of weight loss are well known – you’ll move better, feel better, and have more energy. But one of the most rewarding aspects is the immediate relief you’ll feel in your joints as inflammation decreases.
Why It’s Worth the Effort
Losing weight doesn’t just reduce the physical load on your joints. It also lowers levels of inflammatory chemicals in your body, such as C-reactive protein, TNF-alpha, IL-6, and leptin, while boosting anti-inflammatory substances like adiponectin. This dual benefit makes weight loss a powerful tool for reducing pain and improving overall health.
Easier Said Than Done
Losing weight can be challenging, especially as we get older. It’s not just about willpower; it’s about making sustainable changes. That’s why it’s essential to adopt a healthy, anti-inflammatory diet and incorporate regular exercise into your routine. These habits make weight loss easier and more effective.
A Lifestyle, Not a Diet
The key to long-term success is viewing these changes as a permanent shift in lifestyle, not a temporary diet. Most diets fail because they’re too restrictive, leaving you hungry and likely to regain weight once the diet ends. In fact, extreme diets can trigger your body’s survival mechanisms, making you hungrier and more prone to gaining weight back.
Tips for Sustainable Weight Loss
Here are some tips to help you lose weight and keep it off, especially as you age. Remember, this isn’t about dieting—it’s about a lifestyle change.
- Clear Out Empty Calories: This is the hard part. Give away or throw away white rice, white bread, white sugar, chips of any sort, lollies, cakes, biscuits and white flour crackers. Get these things out of the house so when you’re tempted to snack, it won’t be on junk food. These items are high in fat and sugar, generally empty of fibre, and offer only non-nutritious calories. And alcohol? That’s basically fermented sugar and needs to go too, along with sweet fizzy drinks. Sorry!
- Focus on Health, Not Just Weight: Building muscle through weight training or regular walking is just as important as losing fat. Muscle weighs more than fat, so even if the scale doesn’t drop quickly, you’re still making progress. Measure success by how your clothes fit and how strong you feel, rather than just the number on the scale.
- Eat a Rainbow of Vegetables: Fill half your plate with colourful vegetables like capsicum, tomatoes, lettuce, broccoli, and beetroot. Each colour provides different nutrients, making your meals not only healthy but also vibrant and delicious.
- Prioritise Protein: Proteins help you feel full longer and maintain muscle mass. While animal proteins are popular, try to limit them to 10% of your diet. Instead, explore plant-based proteins like beans, lentils, and quinoa, which are also rich in fibre and lower in inflammation-causing compounds.
- Choose Healthy Fats: Your body needs fats, but not all fats are created equal. Opt for cold-pressed vegetable oils like olive, coconut, and avocado oil. These fats support the absorption of essential vitamins and minerals, and they contribute to overall health.
- Listen to Your Body: Don’t restrict yourself to three meals a day if you’re hungry between meals. Healthy snacks like carrots, nuts, or fruit can keep your energy up and prevent overeating later. Sometimes, what feels like hunger is actually thirst—so stay hydrated!
- Use Smaller Plates: It’s easy to overeat when your plate is full. By using smaller plates, you can trick your mind into feeling satisfied with less food, helping you naturally reduce portion sizes.
- Drink More Water: Water is essential, and drinking a glass before meals can help you eat less. Unlike tea or coffee, water hydrates without pulling fluids from your body, supporting digestion and overall well-being.
- Start Your Day Right: A high-fibre, nutritious breakfast sets the tone for the day. Skipping meals can lead to overeating later, so it’s crucial to start with a meal that fuels your body and keeps you satisfied.
Be Kind to Yourself
Weight loss is a journey, not a sprint. Crash diets don’t work, and it’s important to make changes gradually. The slower you lose weight, the more likely you are to keep it off. Focus on enjoying the process—savour each bite of food, and find pleasure in your daily walks.