Weight Management Programme - My experience so far
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By the end of last year, I was completely fed up with my weight loss struggles. I've always battled with my weight, thanks to genetics. Losing weight has never been easy for me. In my 20s, I managed to shed a lot and kept it off into my 30s. But after getting pregnant and not being careful with the amount of food I was eating, all the weight—and more—came right back. Sound familiar?
So, last year, I finally saw a doctor for help. Around that time, those new weight loss miracle jabs were all over the news—Saxenda, Wegovy, Mounjara, you name it! Desperate and weighing in at 96kg (about 15 stone or 211 lbs) on my 5ft 1” frame, I hoped the doctor would prescribe one of these miracle drugs. But nope, they wouldn’t. "I've been trying to lose weight for a decade!" I pleaded.
I was shocked. I thought I’d be a perfect candidate. But the doctor said I needed to complete a six-month weight loss program first. Six months?! More time? They handed me a printout for a local authority weight loss program and said I could only get medical help if I took part and was unable to lose weight. So, I had to join the programme and fail? Hmm... This all sounded kinda sus to me...
At home, I checked the website and saw that the program was only 8 weeks long. Seriously? How was I supposed to do something for six months when it only lasted two? Still, I took a deep breath and signed up. How bad could it be? And hey, it was free, and if it got me closer to those weight loss jabs, why not?
Well, I’m so glad I did join the program! I’ve dropped from 96kg to about 82kg (13 stone or 181 lbs). There’s still a long way to go, but I’ve learned a lot. In this post, I want to share some tips I found out about portion control.
One of the first things we learned was the Eatwell Guide by Public Health England. You can think of it as a friendly food compass. It's a visual guide that shows how to balance the five main food groups: fruits and veggies, starchy carbs, proteins, dairy, and oils. The guide helps you figure out what a healthy daily diet looks like, with a big focus on fruits and veggies. It also nudges you toward whole grains and lean proteins while reminding you to keep sugary snacks and salty treats in check. It’s all about balance!
Let's be real, we often overload our plates at mealtimes. Portion sizes have grown over the years, much bigger than they were in the 1950s for example. This happens at restaurants as well as at home. We often pile the foods on our plates, end up overeating, and this is one cause of weight gain. So, how do we cut down on portion sizes?
Reducing portion sizes is key to losing weight without the hassle of counting calories. If you're anything like me and have tried calorie counting before, not only can it become laborious, but it can become an obsession! Not great for mental health and wellbeing. Start by looking at your plate. It should be about 23 to 25 centimetres in diameter (9 to 10 inches). This size helps you manage portions and balance the food groups from the Eatwell Guide. Make sure your food stays within the plate’s border and doesn’t spill over—that’s one way to avoid going too big with your portions!
Take a look at the portion control plate in the image below that you can buy from Amazon UK. You can see that it has a border with a section in the middle for the food. If you look at plates in a store, you'll see that many of them don't have the border any more, and this encourages us to fill the plate with food right up to the edges. That also means you're more likely to spill your food when carrying it from the kitchen top to your dining table!
What's great about this plate is that it helps us remember how to manage the portions of food on our plate. Half the plat should be vegetables, a quarter should be proteins and a quarter should be starchy carbs. Let's go back to the Eatwell Guide and see how many portions of each food type we should eat in a day and what can be included in them.
Here’s a breakdown of what we should be eating according to the Eatwell Guide:
Fruits and Vegetables
5-10 portions a day, with plenty of variety.
Most of us still aren’t getting enough fruits and veggies, even though they should make up over a third of our daily intake. Aim for at least 5 portions of different kinds each day—fresh, frozen, tinned, dried, or juiced. Just keep in mind that fruit juice and smoothies should be limited to 150 ml a day. Fruits and veggies are packed with vitamins, minerals, and fibre.
Carbohydrates
3-6 portions a day, with 1 portion at each meal.
Choose high-fibre, whole grain options. Starchy foods should also take up just over a third of our diet. Opt for whole grain varieties like wholewheat pasta, brown rice, or leave the skins on potatoes. Even white bread and pasta come in higher-fibre versions. These foods are a key source of energy and essential nutrients.
Dairy or Alternatives
2-3 portions a day.
Milk, cheese, yoghurt, and fromage frais provide protein, vitamins, and, importantly, calcium for healthy bones. Whenever possible, go for lower-fat, lower-sugar options like 1% fat milk, reduced-fat cheese, or plain low-fat yoghurts. You may choose to have alternatives if dairy or its derivatives are not part of your diet. For example, you could choose Almond, Soya, Coconut or Oat milk.
Protein
2-3 portions a day.
Protein-rich foods also bring vitamins and minerals to the table. Pulses like beans, peas, and lentils are great meat alternatives because they’re lower in fat and high in fibre and protein. When eating meat, go for lean cuts and reduce red and processed meats like bacon, ham, and sausages. Aim for 2 portions of fish each week, including one oily variety like salmon or mackerel.
Oils and Spreads
Use sparingly.
Choose unsaturated oils and spreads, like vegetable, rapeseed, olive, and sunflower oils. These healthier fats are still high in energy, so use them in small amounts.
Foods high in fat, salt, and sugar
Eat these less often and in small amounts. This includes chocolate, cakes, biscuits, sugary drinks, butter, ghee, and ice cream. These foods aren’t necessary in your diet, so keep them as occasional treats in smaller portions.
I’ll delve into measuring portion sizes in a future post. In the meantime, you can find the Eatwell Guide from Public Health England here. Have you tried it out? Did you make any changes to your meal servings? Let me know in the comments.
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