These “tips” are based on high quality medical research.

These “tips” can be used by a person starting out on a weight loss program. Or, they can be used by a person who has visited Sydney Medical Weight-Loss Centre, and who wants to recap some of the ideas from their visits.

Every person with a weight problem will need their own specific mix of techniques for weight control. Hence, not every one of these tips is needed by every person.

We are all individuals and so, as always, see your doctor before embarking on any weight loss program.

1. Gently reduce the fat content of your food
   The very best research on food types and weight loss shows that those individuals who lose weight and keep it off almost always use some type of low-fat style of eating.
   
   
2. Avoid hunger
   Hunger is a very powerful drive forcing us to seek food, eat food and eat a little extra. In fact, research shows that we almost always choose the wrong foods and the wrong amount if we become intensely hungry. The drive to seek food and to eat food and to eat a little extra comes from the effect of a group of hormones acting on several brain centres. Hunger usually means blood sugar has dropped to the low range and this is a powerful signal to these hormones to become revved up, leading the person to lose control of eating behaviour. For weight loss, eat often enough to avoid intense hunger. This will be about every 3 hours for most people.
   
   
3. Take your own food
   The more you prepare and take your own food each day the better your chances at weight control. Taking your own food requires planning. The more you plan your foods the better the result. Planning foods reduces the number of spontaneous food choices. Spontaneous food choices almost invariably mean higher calorie content.
   
   
4. Pre-eat when dining out
   Dining out and takeaways are a normal part of Australian eating pattern. It is not rational to try to eliminate dining out. However, the calorie intake is almost always higher compared to dining at home. A large part of the pleasure of dining out is the atmosphere, the company, and the relief from cooking. You are not dining out because food is scarce. You are not in need of a large meal because of food shortage. In order to reduce calorie intake when dining out, eat a substantial snack before departing. This could be a bread roll plus an apple or breakfast bar or two pieces of fruit. You will still enjoy the food and the occasion but you will consume less in total.
   
   
5. Dieting alone leads to failure at weight loss
   Quality medical research has shown over and again that relying exclusively on dieting for weight loss is associated with almost 100 % chance of weight regain. Find a form of exercise that is most appealing (or least unpleasant) and gradually increase the total weekly amount.
   
   
6. Retain muscle during weight loss
   You lose both muscle and fat during weight loss. And yet muscle mass is a major determinant of metabolic rate. Lose too much muscle and you end up with a low metabolic rate. This invariably means weight regain!! Try to retain as much muscle as possible during weight loss. To retain muscle requires resistance exercises. Aerobic work such as walking does not cause you to retain muscle. Resistance work means using weights. This can be at home or at the gym. Take special care to use correct technique in order to minimize risk of injury. If not sure of technique have professional guidance to start with.
   
   
7. Thinking beats will-power
   Most people start a weight loss program with high motivation and a feeling that, "It can be done!". This feeling wears out between one and four weeks, well before reaching the target weight. This is close to a 100 % rule. What to do when the will-power disappears? Use cunning, tricks, tactics, techniques and imagination. Mother Nature is intent on you gaining weight as a means of survival in case of food scarcity. To overcome this with will-power every day of every week of every month of every year is not possible. For every problem you find in the way of losing weight you will have to think up a solution to overcome that problem.
   
   
8. Indulgence will happen, re-focus is the key
   It is essential to have a system to help you refocus on correct foods after an indulgence. You WILL have an indulgent food, or weekend or week, sometime while trying to lose weight. Many people give up on weight loss following an indulgence, "I cannot possibly become slim; I'll just have to accept being fat!" Given that an indulgence is guaranteed to happen somewhere along the line it is essential to be prepared to refocus the following day. Some people have a friend call them to help refocus the next day. Some write a diary note. Some plan an extra exercise session to compensate for the extra calories in the indulgence. People successful at long term weight control adopt the view that indulgences WILL HAPPEN and the key to success is to forget the indulgence and simply refocus the next day. Develop a strategy to ensure refocus the following day.
   
   
9. Monitor your progress
   There are two groups of adults in Australia. There are those who are gaining weight and there are those who are thinking about how to avoid gaining weight. If you are not paying some attention to diet and exercise then you are almost certainly gaining weight. How do you know if you are changing weight? Research shows that those successful at long term weight control use some form of self-monitoring. For most people this takes the form of weekly weighing, some type of food diary, some form of monitoring exercise. If not monitoring your weight the likelihood is that you are gaining.
   
   
10. It's calories, not content
    Alcohol contains 7 cals per gm (fats = 9 cals/gm and CHO and protein = 4 cals/gm). Alcohol has the second highest energy density of the four food groups. The art of weight control is in balancing intake and output of calories. A high alcohol intake requires a significant increase in exercise to balance the calories. For example, walking burns about 10 cals/minute. An average alcoholic drink contains about 150 calories. (After all, who measures the scotch and who has small wine glasses?) Each alcoholic drink requires 15 minutes of walking to burn it up. Drinking a ½ bottle of wine each night means walking an extra 45 minutes to burn up the booze, even before getting to the weight loss phase of exercise. Few people can do this.