Healthy weight-loss diet (part 6)

To maintain good health, we need to eat a variety of foods from the five food groups. Eating them in the right proportion 

will help to keep your weight under control.

A sensible rate of weight loss is around 0.5kg to 1kg (1lb to 2lb) a week. To achieve this, you need an energy deficit of 3,500kcal to 7,000kcal a week, which means eating 500 to 1,000 fewer calories a day. You can do this by replacing high-fat foods with those that are low in fat such as fruit, vegetables, unrefined carbohydrates and lower-fat dairy products, and by being more physically active. It's also important to watch the size of your portions. This can be difficult, because over time you can lose touch with what's a sensible amount of food.

Foods containing fat and/or sugar

Fatty and sugary foods, such as crisps, spreads, oils, creamy dressings, sweets, cakes, biscuits and chocolate, and sugar-rich drinks, including alcohol, are high in calories but relatively low in nutrients, such as vitamins and minerals.

Eating healthily means including foods that are packed with nutrients rather than packed with energy.

You should reduce your intake of these foods as much as possible. You can do this by:

• Swapping sugary and fatty snacks for fruit, diet yoghurt or a slice of wholemeal toast with reduced-fat spread
• Choosing water, reduced-fat milk or low-calorie drinks instead of sugar-rich drinks
• Using only a scraping of spread on your bread and using an oil spray to limit fat when cooking

Alcohol contains around 7 kcal per gram. As well as adding calories to your diet, it can stimulate the appetite and weaken your healthy eating intentions.

For more advice on cutting calories, see How to lose weight.

Part 7