Healthy Weight

Maintaining a healthy weight is a crucial part of overall good health. If you keep your weight within the healthy range, you'll not only feel better but you'll lower your risk of heart disease, stroke and certain cancers.   

While most people don’t like the way they look when they're carrying excess weight, losing weight isn’t just about looking better it has massive health benefits too.

Obesity causes 9,000 premature deaths in England every year and on average reduces life expectancy by a whopping nine years.  In the Rochdale Borough, obesity is a growing problem with around 26.1% of adults and 11.1% of children being overweight or obese.

It's important to remember that having a healthy weight doesn't always mean that you need to lose weight, some people need to put weight on instead.  Check whether you are underweight, overweight or just right by checking your Body Mass Index.

Top tips for losing weight

The key to losing weight is simple - you need to eat more healthily and take more exercise but of course it’s not quite that easy.  Everyone is different and some things work better for others but by following a few golden rules, you’ll be on the right tack to achieving your goal. 

1. Don’t go on faddy diets, they just don’t work and are hard to sustain.
2. Watch your portion size.  If you pile food onto your plate you’re more likely to eat it all, so opt for smaller portions instead.
3. Avoid drinking too much alcohol as it’s packed with calories.
4. Swap high calorie snacks for more nutritious options like fruit.
5. Ditch sugary drinks for water.
6. Be a role model for your family and lead by example.
7. Choose a realistic goal weight to work towards.
8. Weigh yourself once a week or keep a record of your waist measurement so that you can monitor your weight loss. Aim for a healthy weight loss of 1-2 pounds a week.
9. Don’t skip meals - eat three times a day including breakfast.
10. Planning food and drink in advance helps you to keep tabs on your calorie and nutritional intake.

If you need more support to help you lose weight, speak to your doctor who will be able to advise you about the best route to take.  Our healthy weight team might also be able to help and find out more about our weight management schemes.

You can also see your doctor, ask at your pharmacy or contact the health trainers.