How to lose weight without starving yourself

This blog post was requested by an Instagram follower! (You can follow me too @kaegoskitchen). While I am against fad weight loss diets and the idea that we should always want to lose weight, I know that some people will want to lose weight. So, I thought I’d share a few practical tips to help you lose weight in a way that isn’t harmful.

The best way to help yourself lose weight is to make small changes that you can sustain doing. It's quite difficult to change your eating habits but you can make it as realistic as you need.

In this post I’m going to be talking about the balanced plate model, practicing moderation, and meal planning and prepping. 

The balanced plate model: 

Following the balanced plate model means that you aim for half your plate to be vegetables and fruit, a quarter of your plate to be protein, and the final quarter being carbohydrates. If you're having a meal that can't be easily divided, like a minestrone soup for example, you can aim to add double the amount of veg than you would pasta to the soup.

Filling half your plate with veg means you're filling up on foods that are low in calories but high in fibre and nutrients. Fibre takes longer to digest and so keeps you fuller for longer. This means you’re less likely to snack between meals too. A source of protein will also provide feelings of fullness as it takes longer to digest.

With the final quarter being carbs, choosing a wholegrain source like brown rice or wholemeal pasta means there’ll be more fibre. This keeps you full and means your blood sugar won’t rise as quickly after the meal.

You don't have to start with half a plate of veg at each meal. You could aim for one meal a day to look like the plate and go from there. Or you could start with a quarter of the plate being veg and gradually increase it. It's about making a change that will work for you.

Of course, every meal might not look like the balanced plate, but aiming to eat like this can help you eat healthier.

It’s all about moderation: 

I’m sure everyone is familiar with the concept of moderation. It’s the idea that you can have ‘unhealthy’ foods as long as it’s not all the time. Foods that are high in fat and sugar are also high in calories. This can make it harder to be in a calorie deficit if they are overeaten.

Moderation can be a meaningless term, so you’ll have to decide what it means for you. For example, you may currently have a doughnut every day and if you were practicing moderation, you could reduce it to one a week.

It could help to set a framework for these less nutritious foods and plan them into your day/week. You can decide how many times you’ll have them and what will work for your goals.

Restricting these foods will only make you want them more, so having them occasionally is more realistic for the long term.

Plan your meals and prep them: 

Meal planning: 

As well as planning in less nutritious foods, planning your meals for the week can be a big help. You don’t have to plan all 3 meals of each day but planning some will be useful. This stops you from ordering a takeaway or nibbling and snacking while you decide what to eat. You can also add meals out or social events into your meal plan, it doesn’t have to be rigid.

Planning ahead and being prepared will be a great help.

While I was a student at uni, meal planning each week made everything so much easier. I’d only plan my lunch and dinner meals, as I always had porridge for breakfast. Then I’d write my shopping list and then meal prep.

Meal prepping: 

Meal prep can be intimidating at first, but again, you have to make it work for you. Meal preparation is preparing meals ahead of time. You may have seen pictures of rows of neatly packed containers with chicken, rice, and veggies but this doesn’t have to be your meal prep.

It can help to set out a couple of hours each week to meal prep. You don’t have to cook for the whole week, it can be a few days at a time. You can also decide if you want to prep complete meals or do a buffet style meal prep.

• Making complete meals means you cook your meal and portion it out into individual containers. This is ready to eat like this.
• Buffet meal prep means you cook components of meals and then on the day you assemble a meal. For example, you may grill some chicken and salmon fillets, boil rice and roast baby potatoes, and steam different vegetables. At your next meal you then pick a protein, carb and veg to make your meal.

Batch cooking is also a great way to save time. This is where you double up on a recipe to make extra portions. You can portion it out into individual containers and put in the fridge or freezer for a later time. This is a major help for those busy days where you don’t have time to cook.

Meal prepping means you'll have healthy food readily available so all you have to do it heat it up. This can help you make healthier choices and avoid a last minute takeaway or ready meal.

Again, you don't have to go all out and have every meal prepped. Starting small, even planning and prepping for one meal a day, can be a massive help and mean you start getting into the habit of it.

These are just a few ways to help you lose weight in a more sustainable way than a crash quick fix diet. It's not very glamorous, but making small sustainable changes is a more realistic way to lose weight.

Key points:

• The balanced plate model is where you aim for ½ your plate to be veg, ¼ carbohydrate and the last ¼ a source of protein. This a great way to eat balanced meals and fill up on fibre rich veg.
• You can enjoy less nutritious foods in moderation. You have to decide what moderation means for you.
• Meal planning and meal prepping means you’ll have healthy meals ready to go. This can help you make healthier choices.

I hope you enjoyed this blog post; I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below!

Bye for now! 👋

References:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6511685/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33461826/