Weight Management
Most commonly weight "management" means weight loss, but in fact some people do need to gain weight. However, here we will only be looking at the most common meaning of weight management. First of all, let's make one thing absolutely clear : the majority of research evidence in this field shows us that:
In the long term, for most people,
DIETS DO NOT WORK!
Why don't diets work?
Many factors have been identified for this. One of them is that our bodies have evolved, over thousands of years, to cope with periods of feast and periods of famine. In order to maximise the chances of survival the human body adapted so that during a period of famine the body was able to minimise its energy expenditure and at the same time maximise the amounts of nutrients it extracted from the food that was eaten. This mechanism is still at work today, even though conditions have changed drastically.
If you go on a diet this exact same mechanism can kick in, making it more difficult to lose weight. Then, when you get fed up with the diet and start eating normally again, your body makes sure it will have enough reserves to cope with the next 'famine' by storing away as much as it can from your food. It stores away carbohydrates and fats in its fat reserves - meaning that you can end up putting any weight you lost back on again very quickly.
If Diets Don't Work Then What Does?
On the face of it the answer is an easy one - for most people, if you eat a healthy diet and you engage in a moderate amount of exercise your body will naturally converge to what, for you, is a healthy weight, neither over-weight nor under.
If It's That Easy Then Why Consult a Nutritional Therapist?
Well, there are a few issues about which you might need some professional help:
Firstly, there's the question of just what is a healthy diet? There's so much confusing and conflicting 'advice' in the media today that it can be hard for anyone to work out just what is healthy and what is not.
Furthermore, what most of this advice seems to overlook is that what may be acceptable, and healthy, for one person may not be acceptable and healthy for another. So, it may be useful for you to seek a consultation with a nutritional therapist in order to clarify just what you should be eating.
It is also worth mentioning here that without at least some exercise, appreciable weight loss may be difficult if not impossible.
Secondly, there are health-related factors which can interfere with attempts to lose weight. These factors are numerous but include: low thyroid function, polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) and food allergies. If you have been experiencing difficulties in losing weight then it is important to uncover any of those factors that may be present in your case and deal with them accordingly.
