During this session, you’ll get to know each other in the group and discuss healthy weight.
Everyone participating in this program has overweight or obesity. Obesity is a chronic disease, meaning it can persist over a long period and is difficult to cure.
What are the possible causes of obesity?
It’s not caused by a single factor, but by a combination of several.
An unhealthy diet and lack of physical activity are major causes. But stress and sleep deprivation also play a significant role. Genetic predisposition and environmental factors can also contribute to the development of obesity. In short, it’s a complex disease, and it’s important to first look at the specific causes behind its development. Adjusting your lifestyle is a key pillar in reversing this disease.
Obesity is a progressive disease, meaning it tends to get worse over time.
If left untreated, it can lead to serious health issues such as diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, joint pain, and breathing problems. It can also cause psychological problems such as low self-esteem and depression.
1) Take Action in Time
It’s essential to take overweight and obesity seriously and to act in time. If you do nothing, the problem will only get worse. It’s important to focus on changing behaviors rather than only on losing weight. Changing your lifestyle can already lead to significant health benefits. Of course, weight loss helps too. But sometimes the body is so out of balance that losing weight becomes very difficult. In that case, simply maintaining your current weight and not gaining more may be the most achievable goal. That can be hard to accept—we all want a lifestyle intervention to result in a healthy weight. Unfortunately, that’s not always realistic in practice.
2) Focus on How You Feel, Not Just the Scale
That’s why it’s helpful to pay attention to things other than the scale. Waist circumference often decreases first. Many people who improve their lifestyle quickly feel much better: they have more energy, are more motivated to do things, and feel better overall. So focus on how you feel, not just on the numbers on the scale. If necessary, put the scale away for a while if it’s demotivating. The weight didn’t come on in just a few months, and it won’t all disappear in a few months either. Focus on what you can control: what choices are you making today regarding food, exercise, and self-care?
What will you learn in this lesson?
WHAT IS A HEALTHY WEIGHT
You’ll learn what a healthy weight is, what BMI and waist circumference values are associated with it, and whether your current eating habits align with your personal goals.
WHAT IS BASAL METABOLISM (BMR)
Basal metabolism refers to the amount of energy needed for basic life functions, such as breathing, digestion, circulation, and body temperature regulation.
WHAT EATING PATTERN SUITS YOU
Your eating pattern depends on your personal energy needs, which are influenced by various factors such as your BMI and daily physical activity.
GETTING TO KNOW YOUR COACH AND GROUP
During the in-person session, you’ll meet your coach and the group. The coach will go into more detail about the topics discussed in this lesson.
The Checklist
Checklist for preparing for the first group session on healthy weight:
- Watch the full first lesson in this online learning environment or course folder. Have any questions? Write them down and bring them to the session.
- Watch the lesson
- Calculate your BMR
- Fill in your food diary using the “Eetmeter” tool
- Create a PDF of your food diary
- Bring your BMR calculation and food diary PDF to the session
What is your BMR?
Your BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) is your energy usage at rest. This is the amount of energy your body needs in 24 hours if you do nothing at all—just to keep basic functions going like breathing, digestion, blood circulation, and temperature regulation.
Assignment in the meantime
Calculate your BMR
You’ll need this during the session! Your BMR is the number of calories your body burns at rest. To calculate it, enter your age, height in centimeters (so if you're 1.75 meters, enter 175), and your weight rounded to the nearest kilo. You’ll then get a number in kilocalories per day. Write it down and bring it to the session.
To calculate your BMR, you can click the button here:
