Take a Break from Hunger
Words by Cynthia Bou Khalil, Nutritional Consultant, and Clinical Manager Excellence
As a Nutritional Consultant, I have dedicated much of my career to supporting patients suffering from obesity or being overweight, who often have feelings of failure after having tried one too many methods with minimal to no results. I am passionate about researching and implementing not just the latest solutions and offerings in the market but the best. This desire to unearth result-driven solutions with long-lasting results has been further driven by reports such as that released by WHO, which reported as much as 34.5% of the UAE population is classified as obese and 70.6% as overweight.[1] This alarming report has been further supplemented by the International Diabetes Federation, reporting in 2019 that one in six adults in the UAE has diabetes.[2] Furthermore, that same year, Zayed Military Hospital’s study conducted in the UAE, and led by Professor Humaidan Al Zaabi, found that 4.7% of patients were said to be suffering from the disease and that 41% of patients displayed signs of impaired fasting blood glucose, an indicator of pre-diabetes.[3] We are in need of a solution, and one that reiterates the forecasted trends of the industry; a holistic, results-driven and personalized approach.
No weight loss program is a magic bullet. An effective program is based on good healthcare and good science. And with this in mind, in 2019 I joined Allurion, a program that is just that: it is a proven program that takes a holistic approach to losing weight to ensure lasting lifestyle changes. Together we have worked on ten tips for success to kickstart your weightloss journey and maintain the results.
Don’t do it alone...
Find your support team. Success in changing habits and behaviours is a team effort – from engaging well with your clinic’s coaching and support team through to enlisting support, and to sharing your achievements with your friends and family. Although sometimes even our nearest and dearest can sabotage our diet and lifestyle goals without even realizing it, they can also be our most reliable support network. They will help you reach your goals if you talk to them and involve them on your journey. You can also ask your clinic for an Elipse Buddy – someone else who is having an Elipse balloon at a similar time, so that the two of you can support each other and swap tips and advice along the way.
Be clear with your goals.
Mapping out exactly what you want to achieve and why helps you to stay focused. It might be getting into a favourite dress, reducing the pain in your knees or reducing the need for medications to manage conditions like type 2 diabetes. I often work with patients at Allurion who are struggling to reach their goals, and need the extra support, more often than not in regards to portion control. Unfortunately, no weight loss program is a magic bullet and an effective program is based on good healthcare and good science. With this in mind, share your goals with your team and hatch a plan for how you will get there. The more detailed and specific your action plan, the more likely it is you will do it and stick with it. For most people, reaching a goal is addictive as it provides you with an immense sense of achievement.
Change your habits
Habit-forming occurs when you repeat an action consistently over time. This helps something to become automatic or second nature, meaning it doesn’t feel hard to continue it over time. The simpler an action is, the more likely it will become a habit. Examples include always having a chopped apple on top of cereal or always ordering an additional side salad when eating out so you can fill up on this and eat less of the other options. When I work with my Allurion patients I do so on a six month dietary support plan to ensure lasting lifestyle changes alongside a body composition scale and health tracker watch linked to an app to follow progress.
Eat healthier food
You may need to change some of your daily habits. You also may need to change some things in your environment like in your home or your place of work, your snacking, cooking methods or your exercise routine. You don’t need to make huge changes to eat healthier. And you don’t have to change your habits all at the same time. It’s best to set small goals and change your habits a little bit at a time. Over time, small changes will make a big difference to your health and will help you maintain your weight loss.
Plan ahead
Planning is a key part of staying on track. You can choose whether to do this each day or each week. Plan what meals you will have, what snacks and the timings and amounts. This will allow you to prepare some meals in advance to keep it easier. Make sure you have the foods or ingredients at home that you’ll need, making you less vulnerable to poorer choices if and when you get hungry.
Set both short-term and longer-term goals
For example, a short-term goal might be to swap your mid-afternoon snack for a piece of fruit each day this week, whereas your longer-term goal might be to lose 12 kilos or 26 pounds over the next 4 months. This means that when you achieve your goal, you can then set further targets, helping you to constantly progress. Think of your goals as your destination, it’s where you want to be within a set timeframe. When I set goals for my Allurion patients I am looking for them to achieve 22.8% overall weight loss through the balloon and nutritional support but I split this into two sections - 16-weeks and 6-months. There is a great sense of achievement at the end and long-term reward.
Keep track of your food choices
Keep track of your food choices, activity levels, weight and body fat on a frequent basis. This will help you to see your changes over time and understand if and where things feel harder so you can problem solve them with your team. There are also several tools to help you track your progress. I recommend to my clients the Allurion connected scale to measure your weight and body fat, communication apps to stay in touch with your team and even a good old-fashioned diary for those who prefer pen and paper.
Track your emotions
This is important and can help you identify reasons other than hunger that lead to eating. This might be boredom, sadness or stress. Understanding your triggers can help you put plans in place for managing these emotions in a healthier way. Make a list of distraction techniques for when boredom strikes and also soothing activities that you can do when you feel a craving coming on.
Don't forget to reward and celebrate yourself
We all need treats and rewards, or else we end up feeling deprived and neglected, making us want to give up. Many of us use food and drink for these rewards, which can slow down our weight loss progress. Make a list of non-food rewards you can use for each victory and milestone reached. This can be as simple as a magazine you love or something more special like a holiday.
Keep it simple
The simpler the plan, the higher the likelihood of success. Nothing is written in stone. Individualize and simplify what works best for you.
As I said, no weight loss program is a magic bullet, but through consistency, planning, support and simplicity, you can achieve your goals. Just take it one step at a time.
[1] https://www.who.int/diabetes/country-profiles/are_en.pdf
[2] International Diabetes Federation, 2019. Prevalence of diabetes (20–79 years). IDF Diabetes Atlas - Middle East and North Africa.
[3] Alzaabi, A., Al‐Kaabi, J., Al‐Maskari, F., Farhood, A. and Ahmed, L., 2019. Prevalence of diabetes and cardio‐metabolic risk factors in young men in the United Arab Emirates: A cross‐sectional national survey. [online] Available at: <https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/edm2.81>.