Reaching and maintaining a healthy weight is no piece of cake. Unless you’re a dietitian, understanding the science of food and how to lose, gain or maintain weight isn’t second nature.
Eating is one of our most essential day-to-day activities, and in a world where we’re busier than ever, changing our relationship with food and how we cook it isn’t easy. All this can make taking control of your weight feel impossible.
But being a healthy weight—which is different for everyone—is important. Not only does it reduce the risk of developing a range of health conditions and makes managing existing ones easier, it can improve your quality of life and mental health.
If you’re looking to tackle a weight goal, the road can be a whole lot easier with an Amcal pharmacist by your side. Our expert pharmacists have been helping Aussies achieve their health goals—from managing their weight to quitting smoking and everything in between—for over 80 years.
At Amcal pharmacy, we know weight management can be daunting, and the figures for Australia are just as frightening. The prevalence of obesity in Australia has more than doubled in the past 30 years and today it’s estimated that 70% of the population will be obese or overweight by 2025.
Obesity is known to be a leading preventable cause of type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. With today’s high stress, time-poor lifestyle, access to processed and nutritionally poor food, as well as challenges to our work-life balance, it’s increasingly important to take better steps to manage your weight.
What have you got to lose?
Whether your resolution or goal is to manage your weight, eat healthier or just to take better care of yourself, come in and speak to your Amcal team today.
People on very low energy diets tend to do better if they are supported by a team of professionals who regularly monitor their progress.
Your Amcal pharmacist can be a great and accessible source of advice, support, and knowledge of the latest and most suitable products on the market.
How your genes and jean size is linked
Our genetics play a role in achieving our health goals, including weight management. myDNA’s Personalised Wellness Kit* unlocks DNA insights into how your genes impact your appetite and fat burning and storage, plus your recommended calorie intake and exercise style. You’ll also have access to meal plans, exercise routines and more via the myDNA Unlocked app.
Ask your Amcal pharmacist about myDNA’s Personalised Wellness Kit.
*Available in selected Amcal pharmacies
Don’t let your weight become a big issue
How can we help you get started?
Before your Amcal pharmacist recommends weight management products and tools, they will address your weight concerns and help identify potential causes for being underweight or overweight, outlining medical conditions that would benefit from weight management (e.g. high blood pressure, cholesterol and diabetes), then tailor a weight management program that is safe and effective for you.
Our experienced pharmacists can help show how to calculate your body mass index (BMI) using height and weight, show you how to accurately measure waist size and discuss various health risks of obesity and being overweight, or being underweight and malnourished, focussing on breaking habits which can derail your goals, such as:
Snacking or grazing on low nutrition foods
Emotional or unintended eating
Buying treats impulsively or in bulk
Relying on delivery food apps online
Alcohol drinking
Nutritional support and weight loss plan
Most people already know that consuming more kilojoules than the body uses will contribute to accumulating fat and subsequent weight gain.
That’s without mentioning the ready availability of energy-dense, nutrient-poor foods and drinks which are inexpensive, which make weight management even more challenging.
Our experienced team at Amcal will guide you with:
Dietary assistance in good food selection
Portion size control
Cutting back on sweetened or alcoholic beverages
Safe and appropriate protein and carbohydrate portions
Shifting the focus on exercise
With changes in work-life balance, modern conveniences, and higher density living, for most people physical activity is no longer a natural part of their daily routine.
Regular exercise is important not only for our mental wellbeing; it also helps improve heart health, helps with bone and muscle health, and improves mood.
Try to aim for at least 30 minutes of gentle exercise per day most days of the week—walking, swimming, cycling; whatever is most enjoyable for you!
3-step Weight Management Consultation
1.Dietary interventions: The team at Amcal will chat with you to understand your current eating habits, as well as establishing your goals for weight management.
2. Physical activities: The friendly team at Amcal will gather your information and assess any factors that are unique to you and may impact your weight management journey. For example, they may consider any current medications you are taking or health conditions you have which may impact your overall physical activities. A referral to your GP may be recommended in some cases for further investigation.
3. Supplement intervention or medical referral: Our team will work with you to advise on the best over-the-counter treatments. This usually involves considering your current medications and conditions plus some lifestyle advice and coaching tools. Your Amcal pharmacist can also guide you with the latest swab DNA tests which offer insights into your personal metabolic rate, fat burning, and body weight distribution as well as fat storage predisposition, and give a nutritional and management plan tailored to your own genomic profile.
Our trained pharmacists are here to help you focus on your overall goal. While it’s easy to focus just on the weight, our team will take reasonable steps to guide you with realistic expectations during your weight management journey.
Sometimes weighing yourself too often can be counter-productive. Our team considers many factors that may impact your journey and will work together to help address them as they emerge. These include:
Improving sleep quality
Focussing on simple lifestyle changes such as drinking more water
Small increases in exercising
Identifying medications which interfere with weight loss
Why do I keep gaining weight when I don’t change my diet?
If your diet hasn’t changed, some other factors that impact weight gain may include:
Lack of sleep (lack of sleep may lead to changes in metabolism or changes to hunger-regulating hormones in the body)
Stress, which can lead to high cortisol levels from your adrenal glands leading to an increase in appetite
Use of some prescription medications such as antidepressants, steroids, diabetes medication, anti-epileptics, blood pressure medication, bipolar medication and asthma sprays
Underlying medical conditions such as hypothyroidism which require medical referral
Quitting smoking
No matter the factors impacting your weight loss journey, your Amcal pharmacist can help find the right solution to manage your weight with personalised advice that’s right for you.
Will the weight lost return once I stop my diet?
Your local Amcal pharmacy can support you with simple lifestyle and dietary changes you can easily make to continue your weight management journey. You won’t need to fastidiously count calories, as your Amcal pharmacist will support with simple tips, tricks and facts to help you keep the weight off.
Tips and tricks
Did you know a glass of orange juice is an equivalent calorie intake to eating FIVE oranges?
By scaling back on your meal sizes, you can help keep the weight off
A balanced, nutritional diet is the key to an alert mind and a fit and healthy body. If you are looking to rejuvenate your lifestyle, Amcal can help you start by managing your nutrition.
Are weight loss shakes and meal replacement products effective?
The very-low calorie products can be an effective way to lose weight while addressing food cravings and prolonging the feeling of fullness. Meal replacements work by meeting the body’s protein requirements using the lowest number of kilojoules while still providing you the daily recommended vitamins, minerals, fibre and even probiotics. The expert team at Amcal can help recommend the most appropriate and safest meal replacement products that suit your dietary needs.
How does genetic testing help with my weight management goals?
Your Amcal pharmacist can help you understand more about the new DNA kits now available and their role in weight management. These kits take a quick cheek swab and monitor your DNA nutrition profile for weight management by determining whether you are a slow, normal or fast metaboliser, and if you are an effective fat burner, or are prone to fat storage, to offer a personalised weight management program incorporating dietary insights, exercise plan and nutrition suggestions.
Whether your resolution or goal is to manage your weight, eat healthier or just to take better care of yourself, come in and speak to your local Amcal team today.
Do ketogenic diets or carbohydrate-reducing diets work?
Better known as the ketosis diet, this diet is based on the principle that when people restrict carbohydrate intake, after a certain amount of time the body will naturally use up its own fat reserves after all the glucose in the muscles has been burned off. While it can be a useful dieting approach, it can pose risks to health and should be discussed with your Amcal pharmacist.
When should I see my doctor?
Medical referral will be recommended by your pharmacist if your body mass index (BMI) is outside the normal range, if you take certain medications and if you suffer a pre-existing medical condition. If you are unsure, your helpful Amcal pharmacist is more
Just ask Amcal
Your weight management journey is about more control, more freedom, less stress and less time to worry. Just ask your local Amcal pharmacy how to get started!
Our experienced team are here to discuss weight management and guide you with nutritional and dietary support, healthy living strategies including alcohol and smoking restrictions, regular weekly weigh-ins and circumference waist measurements, product recommendations and help managing your medication.
Don’t wait on your weight — a pharmacist at one of over 200 Amcals Australia-wide is here to help.
