Weight loss over the festive season.
Many people who want to lose weight make life harder for themselves to do so, says Dr Kellie Bilinski, accredited practising dietitian and spokesperson for the Dietitians Association of Australia - and the diets that many people try at New Year are no exception.
'So many people are overweight, and they think, "I need to lose some weight, it's that time of year," and decide that it's their time to make some changes,' Dr Bilinski said. 'Maybe that they've also been eating over Christmas also has something to do with it - people may want to make up for all the overindulging they've done.
'Any advice pharmacists can give on basic healthy eating tips is good, depending on their area of interest and how much time they have, but even when they visit me, patients will ask for, say, low fat information - but the truth is that there's a lot more to losing weight than a piece of paper that says what to eat and what not to eat.
'I don't give prescriptive diets - it needs to be more about looking at a person's lifestyle and modifying their eating to fit with what they like. For example, they might eat out a lot, so you need to consider that.
'When following a diet, a lot of people will do well when on it, but when they stop, will regain the weight because they haven't been taught how to manage their weight on their own.
'And when they follow a fad diet, they make it harder for themselves. Restrictive diets are almost destined to fail.'
Dr Bilinski says that while the human body is good at adapting to consuming less calories for a time, or even fasting, people tend to follow periods of restricted eating by consuming more calories or 'forbidden' foods when they go off the diet.
She says pharmacists could consider referring certain patients to the DAA website, where they can get in touch with an accredited practising dietitian, as people following restricted diets often need to do so under the guidance of a health professional, 'rather than trying strange diets'.
'Just about every patient I've seen has been through that and realised it doesn't work,' she says. 'Education on healthy eating and healthy lifestyle are what works.
'It's probably hard for some pharmacists because they sell products in the shops that don't always work. It comes down to healthy eating, not caffeine supplements or metabolism stimulators - there's not a lot of evidence that they're actually beneficial.'
But she says that some programs available in pharmacy - particularly Weight Watchers - can be of benefit.
'And the meal replacement powders, if used under supervision, could suit some people, especially if they eat breakfast on the go, but you can't have those three times a day for weeks on end. It should be done with guidance; and education while they're on the program, so they don't regain the weight when they finish.'
If you want personalised advice on losing weight or using meal replacement powders to augment weight loss, come in and ask our well trained Pharmacists.
Reproduced form the AJP on Friday 6/12/13
