WEIGHT MANAGEMENT TECHNIQUES
SELF-CHECK 5.2
WEIGHT MANAGEMENT TECHNIQUES
Lastly, before we end this interesting topic, let us learn how to manage our weight. It is hoped that by the end of this subtopic, you will be able to plan your own weight management using appropriate techniques.
What can we do to gain an ideal weight? Exercise? Limit what we eat? I know most of us would choose the second option but why do you need to suffer when you can enjoy your food by planning your diet. Just keep in mind that you must know how to ensure you get your ideal weight and stay healthy. In order to ensure these targets are achieved, you must learn weight management techniques.
5.4
Create a table that differentiates between anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. Use „Definition‰, „Characteristics‰, „Health Risks‰ and
„Treatment‰ as fields.
SELF-CHECK 5.2
Imagine you are suffering from a eating disorder. What are the steps that you may take when you realise that your life is worth more than the problem you are having?
ACTIVITY 5.2
First of all, let us look at how we should adopt healthy lifestyles for successful weight management.
(a) Diet and Eating Habits
Plan your diet and enjoy your food of choice. You can refer to any food pyramid to make a choice (see Figure 5.9).
Figure 5.9: Food pyramid
Source: https://tiffanycodilla.wordpress.com/
Take note that you also need to pay attention to the total calorie in take and portion size so as to adjust eating habit to suit your requirement.
(b) Physical Activity and Exercise
We are sure you agree that regular exercise is very important in weight management. In order to get an ideal weight, you need to burn the calories and keep the metabolism geared so that your body uses food for energy instead of storing it as a fat. There are many activities that you can try such as walking, gardening, housework, dancing or even Zumba. You can pick and select your own choice of activities to burn your calories.
(c) Thinking and Emotions
Did you realise that these two aspects are very important in weight management? This is because what goes in your head is the main influence that can change your thinking about your lifestyle in order for you to gain your ideal weight. Generally, most overweight people have low self-esteem. So, to change, you need to change your mindset; negative thoughts will stop you from making a start. Therefore, you need to think that you
can do it as healthy lifestyle needs support from positive thinking, realistic beliefs and set goals to achieve your ideal weight.
We here discussed some tips to ensure you are able to adopt proper techniques for weight management. Now let us look at how body image is important to help you feel good. The objective is to ensure that you are happy with your ideal weight and able to get rid of negative thoughts if your weight increases.
What is the meaning of body image?
When you have an ideal body weight, immediately your image will change and you will be happy with your appearance.
However, some of us have severe body image problems. This will cause significant psychological distress. Adolescents and adults who have negative body images are more likely to have restricted diet or other eating disorders.
Generally, women are more concerned or dissatisfied with their body (Insel &
Roth, 2008).
How can you avoid body image problems? The following are some tips for those who plan to make changes:
(a) Focus on healthy diet and ensure you take proper exercise.
(b) Ensure you have good psychological health because your worth as a human being is not based on your appearance.
(c) You can influence your body size and determine your own lifestyle. You may want to accept your size.
(d) Value and have respect for others.
(e) Healthy eating habits is an important part of wellness.
(f) Do not judge yourself or others based on appearance. Body size is just one characteristic; you need to keep in mind that being happy is more important.
Body image consists of perceptions, images, thoughts, attitudes and emotions of a person.
There are two important concepts in weight management, which are body mass index and body composition.
Body mass index is a simple index of weight-for-height which is commonly used to classify overweight and obesity in adults. It is defined as a person's weight in kilograms divided by the square of his or her height in meters (kg/m2).
Body composition refers to fat-free mass and body mass (fat). Our body is divided into these two components. Fat-free mass includes non-fat tissues like bone, muscle, water, connective tissue, organ tissues and teeth, while body fat includes fats that incorporated in the nerves, brain, heart, lungs, liver and mammary glands.
There are four factors that contribute to excess body fat ă genetic, physiological, lifestyle and psychosocial factors.
Overweight happens when your BMI is greater than or equal to 25 and obesity happens when your BMI is greater than or equal to 30.
There are two types of eating disorders, namely, anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa.
1. Discuss your strategies for weight management. Your strategies must include these components:
(a) Choice of food;
(b) Planning and serving; and (c) Physical activities.
2. Let us say you have a friend suffering from a eating disorder.
What is your plan to help your friend regain confidence and start a new chapter in his or her life?
ACTIVITY 5.3
Anorexia nervosa is a complex disorder with the following three symptoms:
Refusal to maintain ideal and healthy body;
Fear of gaining weight; and
Distorted body image.
People with anorexia nervosa are typically introverted, emotionally reserved and socially insecure.
Bulimia nervosa is a serious, potentially life-threatening eating disorder.
People with bulimia may secretly binge, eating large amounts of food and then purge, trying to get rid of the extra calories in an unhealthy way.
Weight management technique requires a person to adopt healthy lifestyles such as good eating habits, exercise and positive attitude.
Anorexia nervosa Body composition Body image Body mass
Body mass index (BMI) Bulimia nervosa
Fat-free mass Obesity Overweight Plaque
Sedentary lifestyles Weight management
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http://www.cdc.gov/healthyweight/assessing/bmi/index.html
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Wan Nazaimoon, W. M., Kamarul Imran, M., Amir Sharifuddin, M. K., Aziz al-Safi, I., Ikram Shah, I., Khalid, A. K., Nor Azmi, K., ... Wan Mohamad, W. B. (2011). Prevalence of overweight and obesity among adults Malaysian: An update. Asia Pacific Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 20(1), 35-41.
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INTRODUCTION
Let us start our lesson by looking at this famous quote: