Questions About Weight Management
Q: I am wondering what your advice would be if I wanted to tone my stomach and sides (love Handles) as that's the only part of me I need to lose weight the rest of me is skinny. What do you suggest is the best types of food and what to avoid. Thanks A
A: Hi A,
Thanks for your email. Yes we all have those problem areas we would love to budge. Unfortunately it is our family genetics, not the food we eat that will often determine where certain fat stores decide to settle. If you look at your parents and siblings, you will probably find you all have similar issues.
There is no food which can be eaten or avoided which will change these problem areas for you. Some people think that exercising specific areas or stretching will help those regions which are not perfect. Again, although daily exercise and stretching will help with overall weight loss and tone the body, nothing will exclusively target problem areas.
You may benefit from a personal trainer or gym instructor to give you some exercises or stretches which may tone those regions of your body. Remember to keep up your healthy diet and do not cut out any food groups as they are all important for good health and wellbeing.
Good Luck.
Q: I am a 45 yo male 174cm tall and 100Kg. I started training 4 months ago after not training for some 25 years. I now train with a personal trainer in an outdoor group 3 times/week, a fitbox class once a week and toning weights/cardio in the gym twice a week all for about 1 hour each class. I believe my diet is a lot better than it was with smaller servings, much less carbs, higher protein, less fat. I do have a few chips and say Chinese on the weekends. I have not lost 1kg in four months of really training hard. Do you have any suggestions? Thanks, S
A: Hi S,
It is very frustrating when you work so hard and but cannot see any results. Weight is a good indicator of how well you are travelling but it is not the only way to determine if you are losing weight. When you are training hard you tend to build muscle and lose fat at the same time. Believe it or not but muscle is heavier than fat. So although you may not see it on the scales you may actually be losing fat but gaining muscle and toning your body at the same time.
Has your personal trainer carried out skin folds tests with you i.e. measured around your waist, thighs, upper arms etc? What you may find is you are losing girth (width) around those areas (fat) and becoming more toned (muscle), but the weight appears the same. I think when you are training so hard it’s a good idea to use skin fold measures versus weight as the goal. You do need someone who is trained in taking skinfold measure as there is a skill to doing them. Ask your personal trainer if they or somebody they know have a certificate in carrying out skinfold measures and could do them for you.
Without knowing exactly what foods you eat from day to day it is hard to know if there is a problem area in your diet. Some protein foods can be high in fat and sugar while carbohydrate foods are not fattening but it’s what you put on it that can cause the problems.
If you think you are eating well and the skinfold measure does not show any improvement, I would suggest you to get a referral to see an Accredited Practising Dietitian (APD) in your local area. Having an individual consultation with a Dietitian may help to work out the problem areas.
Q: How can I increase my metabolism. I go to the gym a lot, I eat well (though I am a vegetarian). I am just getting sick of all of my friends not having to watch what they eat, and I am always conscious of it because I don't think I have a very fast metabolism. I have added drinking green tea and adding chilli to almost every dinner and some or most lunches. Recently I have lost some weight but it took a long time to get that off and I think I am really going to struggle to get where I really want to be because I haven’t got too much more to lose although it feels like it because it takes so long for me to lose weight. So basically my query is how can I speed up my metabolism so I don't have to worry so much all the time and I can lose weight or even just maintain it without having to be so strict on myself while the rest of the young people my age eat KFC and Maccas and don't get any fatter. Thanks C.
A: Hi C,
There is no simple way to speed up your metabolism. It is based on the activity/exercise you are doing as well as your genetic make-up. The more active you are the better your metabolism. Eating regular meals and avoid missing meals will also prevent your metabolism from slowing down.
The most important thing to remember is just because your friends can eat junk food and look fine on the outside, does not mean they are not doing a lot of damage on the inside. High levels of fat, salt and sugar found in fast food eaten in excess can lead to high blood pressure, obesity, raised cholesterol and heart disease. So your friends may look great but they could be making themselves very sick for the future.
Controlling your weight is easy if you know; energy in (food and drinks we eat) has to be less than energy out (exercise, day to day activities). When you are eating a lot and exercising a little, then you will gain weight, but if the opposite is true, you should be losing weight. If you believe you are eating well then perhaps you need to look at your activity levels. Are you exercising regularly? If the answer is No then increase activity slowly and try to include 30 minutes of activity into your daily routine 4-5 times a week.
For more individual advice you visit your nearest Dietitian as they will be able to provide you with more specific information tailored to you.
All the best C
A: Hi A,
Thanks for your email. Yes we all have those problem areas we would love to budge. Unfortunately it is our family genetics, not the food we eat that will often determine where certain fat stores decide to settle. If you look at your parents and siblings, you will probably find you all have similar issues.
There is no food which can be eaten or avoided which will change these problem areas for you. Some people think that exercising specific areas or stretching will help those regions which are not perfect. Again, although daily exercise and stretching will help with overall weight loss and tone the body, nothing will exclusively target problem areas.
You may benefit from a personal trainer or gym instructor to give you some exercises or stretches which may tone those regions of your body. Remember to keep up your healthy diet and do not cut out any food groups as they are all important for good health and wellbeing.
Good Luck.
Q: I am a 45 yo male 174cm tall and 100Kg. I started training 4 months ago after not training for some 25 years. I now train with a personal trainer in an outdoor group 3 times/week, a fitbox class once a week and toning weights/cardio in the gym twice a week all for about 1 hour each class. I believe my diet is a lot better than it was with smaller servings, much less carbs, higher protein, less fat. I do have a few chips and say Chinese on the weekends. I have not lost 1kg in four months of really training hard. Do you have any suggestions? Thanks, S
A: Hi S,
It is very frustrating when you work so hard and but cannot see any results. Weight is a good indicator of how well you are travelling but it is not the only way to determine if you are losing weight. When you are training hard you tend to build muscle and lose fat at the same time. Believe it or not but muscle is heavier than fat. So although you may not see it on the scales you may actually be losing fat but gaining muscle and toning your body at the same time.
Has your personal trainer carried out skin folds tests with you i.e. measured around your waist, thighs, upper arms etc? What you may find is you are losing girth (width) around those areas (fat) and becoming more toned (muscle), but the weight appears the same. I think when you are training so hard it’s a good idea to use skin fold measures versus weight as the goal. You do need someone who is trained in taking skinfold measure as there is a skill to doing them. Ask your personal trainer if they or somebody they know have a certificate in carrying out skinfold measures and could do them for you.
Without knowing exactly what foods you eat from day to day it is hard to know if there is a problem area in your diet. Some protein foods can be high in fat and sugar while carbohydrate foods are not fattening but it’s what you put on it that can cause the problems.
If you think you are eating well and the skinfold measure does not show any improvement, I would suggest you to get a referral to see an Accredited Practising Dietitian (APD) in your local area. Having an individual consultation with a Dietitian may help to work out the problem areas.
Q: How can I increase my metabolism. I go to the gym a lot, I eat well (though I am a vegetarian). I am just getting sick of all of my friends not having to watch what they eat, and I am always conscious of it because I don't think I have a very fast metabolism. I have added drinking green tea and adding chilli to almost every dinner and some or most lunches. Recently I have lost some weight but it took a long time to get that off and I think I am really going to struggle to get where I really want to be because I haven’t got too much more to lose although it feels like it because it takes so long for me to lose weight. So basically my query is how can I speed up my metabolism so I don't have to worry so much all the time and I can lose weight or even just maintain it without having to be so strict on myself while the rest of the young people my age eat KFC and Maccas and don't get any fatter. Thanks C.
A: Hi C,
There is no simple way to speed up your metabolism. It is based on the activity/exercise you are doing as well as your genetic make-up. The more active you are the better your metabolism. Eating regular meals and avoid missing meals will also prevent your metabolism from slowing down.
The most important thing to remember is just because your friends can eat junk food and look fine on the outside, does not mean they are not doing a lot of damage on the inside. High levels of fat, salt and sugar found in fast food eaten in excess can lead to high blood pressure, obesity, raised cholesterol and heart disease. So your friends may look great but they could be making themselves very sick for the future.
Controlling your weight is easy if you know; energy in (food and drinks we eat) has to be less than energy out (exercise, day to day activities). When you are eating a lot and exercising a little, then you will gain weight, but if the opposite is true, you should be losing weight. If you believe you are eating well then perhaps you need to look at your activity levels. Are you exercising regularly? If the answer is No then increase activity slowly and try to include 30 minutes of activity into your daily routine 4-5 times a week.
For more individual advice you visit your nearest Dietitian as they will be able to provide you with more specific information tailored to you.
All the best C