South east London healthy living programme

Healthy eating means balancing a variety of nutritious foods and drinks in an amount that is right for you. Dieting often means restricting food and 'quick fixes' that are not sustainable. Healthy eating encourages us to consider what our body needs throughout our lives, so that we can thrive and feel our best.

The following healthy eating resources provide a good starting point. We'll build on this information throughout our programme.

• BDA: Weight Loss
• BDA: Healthy Eating 
• BDA: Healthy Eating for African and Caribbean Individuals
• BDA: Eat well, spend less
• British Nutrition Foundation: Portion sizes and balancing meals
• Our podcast on balancing foods and portion sizes

Weight management is much more than 'move more, eat less'. Our mood can have a big impact on our behaviours, or what we do. This can include what or how much we eat, or how motivated we feel to do certain activities. We might change what or how much food we eat during times of stress or low mood, or avoid the gym if we are feeling low in mood or confidence.

Our behaviours can also impact how we feel. We might feel guilty or frustrated if we have eaten more than we planned, or feel low in mood and less like ourselves if we have started to withdraw from activities we used to enjoy.

To make any long-term change to weight, it's important to become more aware of the relationship between food and mood. 

The British Dietetic Association (BDA) has useful information about mindful eating

If you think you might have difficulties with binge eating or other disordered eating behaviours, you can find information and support on the Beat website

It can help to talk to your GP or the healthcare professional who referred you. They might feel that you would be better supported by a specialist eating disorder service.

Your GP can also help if you are experiencing difficulties with mood. They will be able to signpost you to local talking therapy services or discuss options for medicines management.

You can also make a self-referral to your local Improving Access to Psychological Therapies Service, known as IAPT. IAPT services can offer talking therapies such as cognitive behavioural therapies, counselling and guided self-help.

Find an NHS psychological therapies service in your local area.

Physical activity is important for weight loss and weight management but it has many more benefits to our physical and mental health. It's important to think about your current physical activity levels and ask yourself if there's more you could do.

If you feel you could do more, look at ways you can increase what you are already doing. This could be walking 5 minutes longer each day, increasing your steps by 10% or doing an extra workout a week. 

Physical activity and exercise can be daunting, especially if you haven't been active for a long time. You might find it difficult because of your health condition, or because it's hard to find the time. You might not feel motivated. Being active is about finding what works for you and doing something you enjoy. There are some great tips for increasing your physical activity on the We Are Undefeatable website including:

• building activity into your everyday life
• finding an activity that works for you
• digital tools to help you move

Their YouTube channel, Make Your Move, has introductory physical activity sessions for all abilities.

The NHS Fitness Studio also has a range of exercise videos to suit all capabilities and interests.

Once you start our programme, you'll have a dedicated physiotherapy team. We'll talk about physical activity and together with members of your group, We will look at strategies to increase your activity levels. You will also have the opportunity to participate in live physical activity classes. You can try out different types of activity, all within your abilities and going at a pace that works for you.

Wegovy is not currently available within the healthy living programme. There is a phased rollout of Wegovy across the NHS. The first phase is prioritising the highest need groups.

You are eligible for the first phase of Wegovy if you meet any of the below criteria.

• Active malignancy where you need to quickly lose weight for planned therapy, for example radiotherapy or surgery.
• Need urgent weight loss for organ transplant.
• Have idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH), needing frequent lumbar punctures and/or visual compromise.
• Undergoing planned time-sensitive surgery for life-limiting conditions, where a high body mass index (BMI) is the main barrier to surgery.
• If you are under the care of a fertility service and weight loss is needed for assisted conception.
• Have obesity hypoventilation syndrome (OHS).

If you believe you meet any of the above criteria and are interested in Wegovy, please speak to your GP. They will be able to refer you to your local Tier 4 service for further assessment.

For more information, please visit the South East London Integrated Care System website.