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Mar 11, 20238 min read

Unpacking weight management

So, you want to lose weight?


Hi, I’m Amanda, a NZ registered dietitian with over 15 years experience in helping people establish positive relationships with food and their body.


The science surrounding weight management is rapidly changing. What we do know, is the reason we are at a certain body weight is complex; this is because our body weight is influenced by more than 50 different things (1), many of which are out of our control... things like our family background and living in places where the healthy choice isn’t the easy choice.

You may be surprised to know that our behaviour doesn’t directly determine our body weight, and body weight does not always reflect health. (2) Eating healthy food and getting physical activity is important for good health and wellbeing. However, it is important to explore how our body weight, the foods we choose and activity we do is impacted by different things, like our sleep, stress levels, how you were raised, how we feel about our bodies and 'diet culture.' In some cases, the pressure to control our food (‘diet’) can cause extra stress!


The problem

Diet culture is essentially equating our body size with our health & wellness, it’s everywhere in our society. It’s when you let the scale dictate how you feel about your body, and feel shame or guilt after eating certain foods.


Do you feel like you are stuck in a cycle of dieting? Believe us, you are not alone! The yoyo diet cycle is very common. Focusing just on weight loss can lead to cycles of losing and regaining weight, and a preoccupation with food. The yo-yo diet cycle can be hard on our physical and our emotional wellbeing.



Stopping the diet cycle

Weight management can be hard because we are working against our natural bodies tendency to maintain weight. Humans are born to end up at different heights, eye colours, shoe sizes, so why not weight? You can’t accurately judge a person’s health by their body weight, that’s why we should focus on health and wellbeing rather than body weight or size.


"We want you to focus on being the happiest, healthiest version of YOU”


Try starting with small steps like

  • Celebrating your body for what it can do, rather than what it looks like

  • Cleanse your social media - some recommended Instagram accounts are @Themindfuldietitian, @Bodypositive_dietitian or @Diets_dont_work_haes

  • Don’t buy clothes that you need to lose weight to wear

  • Read through the 10 tips to shift your focus.

10 tips to focus on your health and wellbeing!


If trying to lose weight isn’t helpful, then what is? Here are my ten top tips on how to focus on your health and wellbeing.


1. Look at your self-talk

The way we think can have a tremendous impact on our how we feel, how we feel, and on our behaviour. Unhelpful thoughts can turn into behaviours that support an unhappy or unhealthy lifestyle, like:


Listen to your self-talk. Are your thoughts helping you live a healthy and fulfilling life or are they making you feel down?


It is natural to be hard on ourselves. We think being hard on ourselves will make us do better. However, research shows that if we are kind to ourselves, we experience better health and wellbeing (1)


Perhaps you could think about what you need to hear? Or what you would say to a close friend or loved one? Start challenging unhelpful thinking with this activity




Start practicing giving yourself positive encouragement with this activity.


2. Re-think what ‘health’ is to you?

If we look at Te Whare Tapa Wha model of health, it represents a whare/house with four equal sides representing our spiritual, physical, family and mental health. If one of the sides isn’t sturdy, the whole whare will be shaky, so while it’s easy to focus on one aspect of your health (for example, your diet), it’s actually important to look after yourself in all areas. Download this worksheet to identify where you might need extra support. Once you’ve identified what you want to re-enforce, the first place to start is to develop one small goal on a skill you would like to work on, for example you might want to learn how to garden or meditate, you may want to go to a therapist to work on your self-talk or you might want to start walking.




3. Identify your why

Why do you want to make a change? Let’s start with what living a healthy lifestyle can affect – think about what’s motivating you? Fill out your ‘reasons to make change’ form here.

  • To have more energy and to sleep better,

  • To feel comfortable in my body – enjoy and appreciate what my body can do,

  • To help control blood pressure, cholesterol levels or blood sugars,

  • To feel more fit and strong,

  • To reduce pain,

  • To increase emotional health and mood.

4. Eating awareness

We are born with body cues that tell us when we are hungry and full, but some of us lose this over time – due to our upbringing (ever been forced to finish a meal?) and other situations such as feeling guilty about leftovers or wasting money.


It can be difficult to change a lifetime of habit, but one of the ways to get back in touch with your body’s cues of hunger & fullness is to identify when you are ‘non-hungry eating’. Occasional non-hungry eating is normal, but if it happens often it can mean that you are giving your body more fuel than it needs and this may be detrimental to your health goals. Non-hungry eating can happen when;

  • We are bored, sad, happy or stressed,

  • Out of habit, like late night snacking,

  • At social events or because its available,

  • As a reward like having a productive day at work or been to the gym,

  • Confusing hunger with thirst.


Think about what can help with that? What is it you actually need? To talk to someone, to rest, take a bath, go for a walk or find a different activity? If it’s a habit replace it with a new habit, like having a hot drink, doing some gardening, something you enjoy. You can even keep an eating awareness diary to help you notice things a bit more.


Since some of us have lost the ability to follow our hunger and fullness cues, a tool to help when dishing up your meals, is the balanced plate. If you fill half your plate with veggies, a quarter with grainy food, and a quarter with protein or dairy food, this will provide the right balance to give our body what it needs. To see the balanced plate model in action, watch this video.

5. Mindful eating

When we eat, we are often not really present or truly appreciating the food and how it makes us feel physically. We may be in a hurry, distracted, or stressed. The idea behind mindful eating is to slow down the eating process and create awareness of what it is like to use all of your senses when you eat. Try this mindful eating & satisfaction activity.


Before the meal;

  • Be aware and notice your feeling, are you hungry or thirsty?

  • How hungry are you?


During the meal;

  • Be present, sit down, turn off all distractions,

  • Savour the taste, smell and texture,

  • Be non-judgemental, let go of food rules and guilt.


After the meal;

  • Did the meal make you feel worse? Bloated, uncomfortable, indigestion, tired/grumpy or a headache?

  • Did the meal make you feel neutral/better? Energised, happy, lower cravings, comfortable, better seep?


6. Find joy in movement

  • Instead of linking exercise with weight loss, pain or punishment, it can be helpful to think of a new reason to move your body.



  • Have a go at something new, or something you used to enjoy, or include a little more activity in your general day by parking further from your destination and walking the rest or taking the stairs instead of the elevator.

  • There is also the option of a green prescription, which gives you access to their free health and wellness programme. You can refer yourself to them, just visit their website.

  • In order to get health benefits from moving our bodies, its recommended to get at least 30 minutes of activity each day, doing some is better than none.



7. Eating for health, not weight

Eating well looks different for everybody, and with our busy, stressful lives it can be challenging. You know your whānau best, and any small efforts you can make should be celebrated! Eating for health is connecting with our environment and what it naturally provides for us.



You may ask about foods that don’t fit into these categories like chips, fizzy and takeaways.

Research shows the most important thing for health, is to eat a variety of foods from nature, what you eat on top of this doesn’t make a big impact to your health. So, as you long as you are mindfully eating, (and don’t have a medical condition affected by food), you can enjoy these foods.


8. Be aware of the three S’s

If you are wanting to keep your blood pressure down, reduce cholesterol, look after your teeth or reduce your risk of developing diabetes, you want to look out for the 3 S’s - Salt, Saturated fat and Sugar.


Salt

Too much salt raises our blood pressure, and this damages our heart and kidneys. Some tips to help reduce salt include;



Saturated Fat

Swap saturated fats to unsaturated fats for better heart health and to reduce cholesterol.






Sugar

‘Free sugar’ like table sugar, honey or glucose gives us energy, but no nutrients. It's easy to eat too much as it doesn’t make us feel full. To keep your teeth strong and reduce the risk of diabetes, try to reduce excess sugar in your diet.





9. Start label reading

Knowing what’s in your food can help you to compare products and chose the right one for you, here is a helpful guide.




10. Healthy in a hurry

With our busy schedules, we tend to go for convenience, but the healthy choice isn’t always the easy choice. Think about how you can make a small change to include a few healthier choices in your week.

  • Planning meals

  • Engaging your whānau with shopping & cooking

  • Stocking the freezer and cupboards with nourishing kai like frozen veg, beans and eggs.


Where to next?

Support

Weight management can be overwhelming and you may need extra help if you have experienced anxiety, body image issues or weight stigma before.


Body positive psychologists


Non-diet Dietitians and Nutritionists

If you would like to see a private practice dietitian, follow this link to access the Auckland directory, just scroll to the bottom of the page.


There is also an option to see a student dietitian (in their 5th and final year of study) for reduced rate. Auckland University run out of Grafton Campus with free parking or via tele-health. $10 if referred from a health professional or $50 if self-referred. Massey University run out of Albany Campus with free parking and is $60 for a student led appointment.


Programmes available

  • You can join Green Prescription for free, just visit their website. You can also download their App via Apple App store or Google Play.

  • We recommend the Healthy Life FREE heath programme – life’s good, life’s better and life’s great.

  • If you are pregnant or have a child under 4 years of age and living in the Auckland central or Waitemata area, you can access the funded ‘Healthy Babies Healthy Futures’ programme. Amanda will lead you through a course of videos and resources though e-learning, sign up on the website.

  • If you have Type 2 diabetes, you can enrol to a free programme ‘Diabetes Self Management Education’

More info

Check out heart foundation, healthy food guide and health navigator for more information, lots of meal ideas and recipes.


Set a small goal

Let’s start with a small step, think of a goal you want to work on, and using this form, detail out how, when and why you are going to make a change.


Article published in January 2023 by Amanda Buhaets, using content from the Waitemata ‘Eating for your health’ programme. Amanda is a registered dietitian working at Auckland Hospital and can be contacted on liaisondietitian@adhb.govt.nz




Photo credits: Te Whatu Ora, Te Tuka Tumai, Nutrition & Dietetics department ‘Eat for your Health’ programme, designed on Canva and the UConn Rudd Center for Food Policy and Health.


References

2. Rethinking weight: Finding self-compassion for ‘weight management’. Jennifer M. Brenton-Peters et al. Clinical Obesity. October 2022.

3. Department of health and ageing, national health and medical research council, clinical practice guidelines for the management of overweight and obesity in adults, adolescence and children in Australia, Melbourne 2013, p67 (quote) p161 (evidence statement)



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