Weight Management:
Trying to Gain weight: 
If you have lost weight, or have difficulty in trying to gain weight or maintain weight,it is likely that you are not eating sufficient energy or calories to maintain weight. This may be due to a variety of reasons, including a small or reduced appetite and it is usually better to eat little and often ie. 5 or 6 times each day.
So that I can assess your intake, it is useful for you to keep a food and fluid intake diary, keeping a record of the types of food and the amounts you eat, prior to an appointment. If you agreed, I would measure your weight and height and calculate your Body Mass Index (BMI).
We can then discuss what is realistic for you to do to increase your intake of calories every day as well as short or long-term weight goals. Options we can discuss include:
- Aiming to eat regularly, little and often and avoid long periods without food.
- How to enrich foods to increase the concentration of calories in the foods that you do eat, by adding other foods to foods eg sugar into fruit juice.
- Additional milk or juice based supplements if required
It may be useful to have further appointments to review your progress.
Trying to lose weight.
Many of us know what we should do in order to lose weight, but sometimes we lack the motivation to change our diet and lifestyle in the long-term, or temptation is too great. I can understand that sometimes it is difficult to keep up a healthy lifestyle in our busy lives and during an appointment we would explore:
- The things that motivate you (often health issues), as well as those barriers to your motivation (too busy to prepare food etc). You may find it helpful to complete the chart about the advantages and disadvantages of losing weight and we can discuss these issues if you feel they are relevant.
- What has happened with your weight in past years as well as any previous weight loss that you have had, and what you did to achieve this. If you agreed, I would measure your weight and height and calculate your Body Mass Index (BMI).
- Your views on your current food and drink intake as well as current exercise levels.
- Your current intake of food and fluids. Keeping a food and drink diary prior to the appointment, helps me to assess your current intake.
Link to downloadable food and fluid /activity diary. - The different options that can lead to weight loss, your views on them and what is most likely to work for you eg reducing current intake by 500kcals / day; specific planned daily intakes; use of liquid meal replacements; medication to aid weight loss. Medication to aid weight loss would have to be prescribed by your GP. Dietary changes for weight loss always work best if done together with an increase in exercise or activity levels.
- Specific goals to promote weight loss that suit you. We would do this together by negotiating and agreeing changes to your diet and / or activity levels that you feel are achievable.
Sometimes it is useful to have follow up appointments to help support you in making changes to your diet and monitor your changes in weight.
