The PREVAIL study guided participants through a self-regulation process after self-weighing and received daily questionnaires asking them to plan weight loss actions for each day.
Have you been wondering how Celine Dion, Adele, and Anne Hegerty have achieved so much weight loss? Well, I cannot say for sure how each achieved it. Adele’s certainly, as she stated on Instagram, involved some sweat and exercise but I am sure she made some adjustments to what, when and how she ate.
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How to get rid of your pot belly and foggy mind then achieve optimal your performance and well-being WITHOUT wasting your precious time and limited energy (And it really is not that hard)
A good recommendation whenever trying to make a behaviour change, like eating and exercise habits, to make one small change today and then make another small change in the not too distant future. This post’s goal is to identify those small changes that you can make each day or week.
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7 ‘Small’ Steps To Achieving Any Goal: When Trying To Achieve Something Big, Think Small
Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences at Oxford University is the UK’s top-ranked and largest centre for academic primary care (judged by the UK’s Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2014.), leading multidisciplinary applied research and training to rethink the way health care is delivered in general practice and across the community.
They conducted the People Regulating Themselves To Weight Loss (PREVAIL) Trial: People regulating themselves to achieve weight loss. This study tested a newly developed weight loss intervention that aims to make daily self-weighing a more effective tool for weight loss.
The intervention guided participants through a self-regulation process after self-weighing: participants were asked to track their weight measurements using a weight loss tracker and received daily questionnaires asking them to plan a weight loss action for each day.
On a weekly basis, they were asked to reflect on how their behaviours might explain their weight change and to evaluate the weight loss actions they used throughout the week.
The study’s designers identified 53 weight loss actions that the participants, and you, could do to aid with losing their excess body fat. Some of the weight loss actions were a little outdated, including some advice on the reduction of percentage of fat in the diet, but most conformed with modern thinking on weight loss actions, including intermittent fasting and the reduction of carbohydrate and moderate protein percentages in the diet.
Read more… Fuller for longer? How appetite research is used – and misused
Food Timing Could Be Why You Are Not Losing Weight: Pay attention to your circadian clocks
Snacking: the modern habit that could be putting your health and waistline at risk / Intermittent fasting: if you’re struggling to lose weight, this might be why
Below I have set out the weight Loss Action category table with the actions that I make most days, have counselled clients to make and I believe you could make today, and most days going forward, to help reduce excess body fat.
Weight Loss Actions Category Red: Eating in a structured way:
| No. | Action | What To Do | Why does it matter? |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Plan all meals for the day in advance (what and when) | Take the time to plan what you will eat over the next 24 hours. Make it quite detailed – when will you eat, what will you cook, will you take something prepared if you’re going out? If you know you are eating out, look up their menu in advance and plan your order. Then make sure that you stick to your plan and don’t eat more. | A lot of calories are added to our diet from impulsive snacks or poor food choices. Committing to a food plan in the morning, when you are mindful of your goals and not exposed to temptations, can help you eat healthily throughout the day |
| 2 | Eat no more than three times | Make sure that you have no more than three eating occasions throughout the day. You can have a breakfast, lunch and dinner, but no snacks in between or after. | Impulsive snacks can add lots of calories. Cutting out snacks will reduce your daily energy intake. |
| 3 | Skip a meal | Skip either breakfast, lunch or dinner. Make sure you don’t compensate for the loss by snacking instead. | By skipping a meal, you are saving a lot of calories, which means your body will use its fat reserves instead |
| 4 | No calories after 8pm | Don’t eat any food after 8pm and ensure any drinks you consume after 8pm have zero or very few calories (e.g. tea without sugar, water). | Food and drink consumed in the late evening are often unhealthy and high in calories (e.g. crisps, beer). Cutting out all foods and calorie rich drinks in the evening can help reduce your calorie consumption. |
| 5 | Check the calorie count [and macronutrients] of everything you want to eat or drink | Use nutrition labels, websites or apps to check the calorie content [and macronutrients percentages] of foods before you eat. Make sure you consider how the calories [and macronutrients] are presented as they sometimes refer to a portion size or per 100g. Reflect on whether consuming the food or drink is worth the calories [and macronutrients] you’re adding to your daily intake. Compare the calorie content with that of similar items and see if there is a lower calorie alternative. | Many people don’t know how many calories their foods and snacks contain. You might realise that a lower calorie alternative will be just as satisfying. |
| 7 | Have a “fasting” day with less than 800kcal | Have a day of “fasting” where you consume less than 800kcal. You can find some low-calorie recipes to help you here: https://www.bbc.com/food/collections/intermittent_dieting _recipes https://www.bbc.com/food/diets/low-calorie_diet Make sure you drink at least 2 litres of low-calorie fluids to avoid dehydration. You can use free calorie counting apps, such as MyFitnessPal, to help you keep track. | Eating only 800 calories means cutting out more than half of the calories you consume on a normal day. Your body will have to source half to two-thirds of the energy you need from fat reserves, giving a boost to your weight loss |
| 8 | Keep a diary of what you eat and how you feel | Keep a record of all the foods and drinks you consume throughout the day. Make a note of the time when you consume and also the reason e.g. whether you were craving this kind of food, wanted to reward yourself or were hungry. Write down how you felt after consuming the food or drink. Go through your food diary in the evening and see which foods or drinks you could have avoided. | Keeping a psychological diary will make you think more about how you use food not only to feed yourself but also to provide comfort or reduce boredom. You can then think of other strategies to handle these emotions that do not include food. |
| 10 | Only eat when sitting at a table | Only eat while you are sitting at a table. Don’t eat while you’re on the go or when working. | When you eat while doing other tasks, it is easy to overeat. Sitting down at a dining table will help you focus on your food and boost feelings of fulness. By committing to only eating while sitting at the table, you will reduce snacking |
Weight Loss Actions Category Orange: Avoiding or swapping specific foods:
| No. | Action | What To Do | Why does it matter? |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Don’t eat between meals | Do not eat any snacks between meals. Stick to your three main meals, breakfast, lunch and dinner. | Snacks increase your daily calorie intake. So cutting snacks will reduce the calories you consume |
| 2 | Cut out crisps, biscuits, cakes and sweets | Do not eat any crisps, biscuits, cakes, chocolates and sweets throughout the day. | These foods are very ‘energy dense’ and contain a lot of calories in every bite, so it’s easy to overeat. |
| 3 | Cut out fried food | Do not consume any fried foods today. This includes fries or chips, onion rings, poppadoms, battered fish, etc. | Fried foods contain lots of calories. Cutting them out will reduce your calorie intake. |
| 5 | Cut out carbs | Avoid carbohydrates, including potatoes, rice, pasta, bread, breakfast cereals, beans, and sugary foods such as pastries, cakes, biscuits, confectionery or chocolates. Fruit and dairy are allowed. | Carbohydrates account for around 40% of all the calories we eat. When you cut out carbohydrates, you will tend to reduce your overall energy intake. |
| 7 | Swap rice/potatoes/ pasta for extra vegetables | Avoid rice, potatoes or pasta as a side to your main course. Instead swap them with boiled or steamed vegetables, including broccoli, carrots, or cabbage. | Rice, potatoes and pasta contain far more calories than vegetables. Replacing starchy carbs with vegetables will help you stay full while eating fewer calories. |
| 8 | Use meal replacement products | Try swapping breakfast, lunch and/or dinner for a meal replacement product such as a specially formulated meal bar, shake or soup. You can buy them online or in your local pharmacy. https://www.onnit.com/snacking/ https://lilyandloafinternational.com/collections/fibre https://lilyandloafinternational.com/collections/fibre | Specially formulated bars, shakes or soup shakes contain all the nutrients you need and are usually much lower in calories than a typical meal. |
| 9 | Swap unhealthy snacks with 6-8 individual nuts | Replace all unhealthy snacks with 6-8 nuts. | Nuts are high in protein and fibre which will help you to feel fuller. |
Weight Loss Actions Category Yellow: Changing what you drink:
| No. | Action | What To Do | Why does it matter? |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Drink only water or unsweetened coffee or tea | Drink only water, coffee and tea today. Your tea or coffee may include a small amount of milk, but no sugar, honey or syrups. | High-calorie drinks can quickly increase your calorie intake without increasing your sense of fullness. Switching to low calorie drinks will help you lose weight https://lilyandloafinternational.com/products/aloe-vera-juice https://lilyandloafinternational.com/products/liquid-chlorophyll |
| 2 | Swap sugary soft drinks with diet or no sugar versions | Swap your sugary soft drinks for the zero or low-sugar versions. You might have to experiment with different brands to discover your preferred taste. | A typical can of sugary drink contains about 100 calories. Switching to zero or low-sugar versions of soft drinks can help reduce your calorie intake. |
| 4 | Drink a pint of water before each meal | Drink a pint of water before you choose your meal and decide on the portion size. | Drinking a pint of water will help fill up your stomach. That way you will feel less hungry when making meal decisions, helping you to make healthier choices and choose smaller portion sizes. |
Weight Loss Actions Category Green: Creating a healthier diet:
| No. | Action | What To Do | Why does it matter? |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Snack only on vegetables or nuts | Eat at least five portions of vegetables. Tempted to snack outside of your three main meals? Then snack on vegetables, such as carrots, peppers or celery, or nuts as above. | Vegetables are low in calories so they won’t add too many calories to your daily intake. |
| 4 | Eat only foods with a green nutrition label for sugar | Only eat foods with low sugar content (5g or less per 100g). This is often indicated by a green colour-coding for sugars on the nutrition label. | Sugary foods contain a lot of calories. Eating low-sugar foods will reduce your calorie intake. |
| 5 | Make sure half of your main meal of the day is a salad or vegetables | Make sure that half of your main meal of the day –lunch or dinner – consists of boiled or steamed vegetables or a salad. Potatoes do not count as vegetables. Salad dressings should be low fat, such as lemon juice, balsamic vinegar, or yoghurt dressing. | Vegetables provide you with many important nutrients and are low in calories. Salads and steamed or boiled vegetables are a great side to your main meal. They add bulk to a meal so you feel fuller and satisfied |
| 6 | Swap rice/ potatoes/pasta with extra vegetables | Avoid rice, potatoes or pasta. Instead swap for boiled or steamed vegetables, including greens, carrots or parsnips. | Rice, potatoes and pasta contain far more calories than vegetables. Replacing starchy carbs with vegetables will help you stay full while eating fewer calories |
Weight Loss Actions Category Blue: Meal-time tactics:
| No. | Action | What To Do | Why does it matter? |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Eat slowly or 20 chews per bite | Slow down how quickly you eat. You can achieve this by chewing each bite twenty times, decreasing your chewing speed or putting your cutlery down between bites.. | Reducing your eating speed will help you notice feelings of fullness before you have overeaten. |
| 2 | Focus on your food while eating | Have a quiet meal without distractions. Be mindful about eating and your feelings of satisfaction and fullness. Concentrate on the feel of the food in your mouth, the smells, taste, and how your feelings change during the meal. | Being mindful can help you identify feelings of fullness and support you in avoiding overeating. |
| 3 | Stop eating before you feel full | Stop eating before you feel full. Instead look out for the moment when you stop feeling hungry. You can freeze leftovers or keep them in the fridge for another time. | Vegetables provide you with many important nutrients and are low in calories. Salads and steamed or boiled vegetables are a great side to your main meal. They add bulk to a meal so you feel fuller and satisfied |
| 4 | Use smaller plates and bowls | Use smaller plates or bowls and smaller serving spoons to help with your portion control. | Using smaller crockery and utensils will help you eat smaller portions and reduce your calorie intake. |
| 5 | Cut food into smaller pieces | Cut your food into smaller pieces when eating. | Reducing the bite size will increase the time you need to eat and help your gut hormones increase. These tell your brain you are full, meaning you can feel satisfied before you have overeaten. It will also give you the feeling of having had a larger meal. |
| 6 | Eat for less than 20 minutes at a time | Don’t spend more than 20 minutes eating each meal. Eat at a normal pace. You can freeze your leftovers or keep them in the fridge. | Restricting the time you spend consuming your food will automatically restrict your calorie consumption. |
Weight Loss Actions Category Purple: Burn more calories
| No. | Action | What To Do | Why does it matter? |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Walk up and down a flight of stairs for as long as you can | Walk up and down a flight of stairs until you are out of breath and can no longer sustain a conversation. Take a rest and then go again. | Engaging in exercise burns calories and helps you lose body fat. |
| 2 | Go cycling for as long as you can | Go cycling outdoors or at the gym. Take breaks if necessary. | Engaging in exercise burns calories and helps you lose body fat. |
| 3 | Go swimming for as long as you can | Swim until you are out of breath and can no longer sustain a conversation. Take a rest and then go again. | Engaging in exercise burns calories and helps you lose body fat. |
| 4 | Stretching Exercises | Do stretching exercises at home. https://physiostrength.club/?s=stretch | Stretching exercises help develop flexibility. This may enable you to engage in more physical activities. Any extra exercise burns calories |
| 5 | Attend an exercise class | Attend a structured group exercise or sports class. This may be a class at a gym or sports club led by a trainer, e.g. a dance class. | Engaging in exercise burns calories and helps lose body fat. Doing exercise in a group can be especially motivating. |
| 6 | Play a group sport | Play a group sport such as badminton, tennis, or football. This might either be formal training or a game between friends | Engaging in exercise burns calories and helps lose body fat. Doing exercise in a group can be especially motivating. |
| 7 | Go to the gym | Go to the gym for a workout. A good way to structure your training is to start with a warm-up on a cardio machine, followed by strength training and cardio exercise to finish. Make sure to ask the trainers to explain any unfamiliar machines so you don’t hurt yourself while using them. | The suggested gym routine will help you strengthen several muscles in your body, which helps boost your long-term metabolic rate. The cardio routine will get your heart-rate going and burn calories. |
| 8 | Exercise at home with the Strong Body Strong Mind Challenge | Try our Strong Body Strong Mind Challenge program that you can perform easily at home. They include: exercise instructions, a warm-up, short intense workouts, tailored to your level. You can sign up here: https://physiostrength.club/strong-body-strong-mind-program/ | The Strong Body Strong Mind program will strengthen several body muscles. Building muscle mass will help boost your long- term metabolic rate. Plus, engaging in exercise burns calories. |
| 9 | Brisk walking for as long as you can | Go for a brisk walk until you are out of breath and can no longer sustain a conversation. |
Weight Loss Actions Category Pink: Be more active as part of your daily life
| No. | Action | What To Do | Why does it matter? |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Walk 10,000 steps | Set yourself the goal of walking at least 10,000 steps. You can count your steps using a pedometer or fitness tracker. There are many free apps that have pedometer functionality as well. They record the number of steps you made on your phone. | Walking 10000 steps in one day burns around 500 calories, which helps you lose body fat. |
| 2 | Walk/cycle instead of taking the bus or car. | If going somewhere, cycle or walk some or all of the way to get more active. | Engaging in exercise burns calories and helps you lose body fat. |
| 3 | Go for a walk with your friend(s) | Meet your friends for a walk instead of sitting down somewhere | You burn more calories while walking than sitting. Sitting down with friends often leads to eating, which you can avoid by making it a walking meeting. |
| 4 | Stand up while working | Stand up while you’re working. If your work place does not have a height adjustable desk, try to find a cupboard or cabinet that has a good height to work on. Try to have standing or walking meetings with your colleagues. | You burn more calories standing than sitting. |
| 5 | Take the stairs whenever you can | Always choose the stairs over the lift. | Engaging in exercise burns calories and helps you lose body fat. |
| 6 | Have an active day with your family or friends | Have an active day with family or friends. For example, go for a hike or play sports such as football, frisbee, or badminton. | Engaging in exercise burns calories and helps lose body fat. Doing exercise in a group can be especially motivating. Doing this together with family or friends makes it more enjoyable. |
| 7 | Stand up while watching TV | Stand up while watching TV. | You burn more calories standing than sitting. |
There you go. Nearly 50 weight loss actions that you can make today to help you reduce you body fat.
Enjoy!
Scott
P.S. You can download the full Overview of 53 Weight Loss Actions in the PREVAIL study below
Physio Strength Club Strong Body, Strong Mind Challenge
How to get rid of your pot belly and foggy mind then achieve optimal your performance and well-being WITHOUT wasting your precious time and limited energy (And it really is not that hard)
