Get fitness tips and advice at free weight management event – Brentwood Weekly News

If you have decided to shed a few pounds and get fit and healthy this year you can get advice and tips from experts at a free Nuffield Health event.

The gym will be holding free weight management events, designed to encourage people to change the way they think about their weight and help them to stick to their new year’s resolutions.

A series of experts will be on hand at the event, which takes place next week and is open to members and non-members, to provide tips on the most suitable ways to become a healthy weight and maintain it, looking at everything from portion control, dietary changes, professional support and the most effective types of exercise.

Henrietta McGourty, Nuffield Health Clinical lead for Nutrition, explains: “At the beginning of each year we see so many people who may set themselves up for a fall by trying to lose too much weight too quickly.

“I encourage them to make sure they are doing it for the right reasons, in a way that will create long-term healthier lifestyle habits rather than a trying unsustainable ‘diets’ that provide quick results but can, in some cases, have a negative impact on their health.”

Here Henrietta provides her top tips to reaching a healthy weight in a healthy way:

• Keep a food diary: We often don’t realise how much we are eating but a food diary really enables you to spot areas of your diet that may be causing problems. Picking at sweet treats from your desk for example can mean you’re not concentrating on food and without realising can easily consume a few hundred calories with little nutritional value.

• Exercise: Exercise is not only a catalyst for weight loss, it is integral to maintaining optimum health. People who are regularly active have a lower risk of chronic diseases such as stroke, heart disease, diabetes and some cancers. Even if you reach a plateau with your weight loss, remind yourself of these benefits.

• Measure: One of the most effective ways of keeping motivated is to regularly measure your progress. At Nuffield Health all members receive free regular Health MOTs which provide a snapshot of overall health and allow members to see improvements in their progress and also in their health through measures such as weight, blood pressure and cholesterol.

• Be realistic: Setting yourself unrealistic goals is only going to sabotage your weight loss efforts. Instead set yourself small targets which all contribute to overall good health. For example, aim to lose 1lb a week, build up to running consistently for ten minutes or replace your 3pm chocolate bar with a portion of nuts and start to feel the overall benefits.

• Prepare: Skipping meals can have a hugely negative impact on blood sugar levels which can lead to energy dips and make us more inclined to reach for unhealthy foods. If you often miss meals or usually eat processed foods and snacks on the go, prepare healthy alternatives the night before or make sure you have healthy snacks ready in your bag. The same goes for exercise – put sessions in your diary and take your kit with you so you’re less likely to talk yourself out of it before getting home!

• Seek support: If you have the support of a friend or partner who can join you at the gym or help prepare healthy meals then you are more likely to succeed as you won’t want to let them down. Equally, if you are daunted by the gym or don’t know where to start when it comes to creating healthy meals, a personal trainer or nutritional therapist can help to create a personalised plan which will help you to make long-term changes to help lose weight and become healthier in a way that will be most effective for you.

Visit nuffieldhealth.com/weight for more details or to find a gym close to you.