The media is full of weight loss tips and diets telling you to cut out all kinds of foods – sometimes even a whole food groups at the same time. Often, however, following such tips only leads to feelings of disappointment and failure.
“Focusing on weight loss alone won’t lead to long term weight management”, says licensed dietitian Anette Palssa. Palssa will be speaking in the FSHS’s “Lupa syödä!” [‘Permission to eat!’] Finnish-language webinar in October.
Palssa says that it all starts with a healthy relationship with food and your body, which is why in her talk in October, she wants to focus on reducing the guilt so often associated with eating.
”Every body is valuable. Weight management is possible only through body positivity.”
It is important to listen to your body
Palssa stresses how important it is to listen to your body: What does my body need right now – is it time to rest, to exercise, to eat? Am I hungry or full?
“Once you’re able to do this most of the time, that in itself already helps with weight management!”
You can strengthen the connection between your mind and body by starting to make a few good choices. At first, it’s a good idea to keep these goals small and attainable. Lifestyle changes tend to work better when you start small. Making slight adjustments to choices of food, sleep and exercise can help with weight management.
Regular mealtimes offer structure
One important way to support lasting weight management is eating regularly – although it may come as a surprise to those trying to lose weight that, at least on occasion, they should be eating more, and not less, than before.
When you’re hungry, it’s easier to make poor choices.
“Many people eat too little and often have a monotonous diet. They may also skip breakfast. And in our current environment, when you’re hungry you’re also more susceptible to choosing things the food industry is eager to sell us.”
You can also try to include foods that help keep you satisfied for longer: foods containing fibre or protein, and fruit and vegetables. But there’s no need to categorise foods strictly as healthy or unhealthy. Sometimes treats are a good idea – especially for social reasons.
“Sometimes it’s much better to go out for a pizza with a friend than to stay home to cook and eat salad and tofu by yourself”, Palssa argues.
Small Changes for Good Health Week 29 Sep to 3 Oct 10 2025
The theme for the “Small Changes for Good Health” student well-being week in 2025 is healthy weight management. The week’s programme includes an English-language info webinar, Painless Ways to Increase Exercise, on Wednesday 2 Oct at 2 pm. Lead by FSHS physiotherapist Johanna Häkkinen, the Q&A event offers tips on how to start increasing physical activity after time away from it. Students can submit their own questions before the event on an online form of during the webinar in Teams’ chat.
- Sign up for the English-language info webinar on increasing physical activity 1 Oct 2 pm (teams.microsoft.com)
- Fill-in an online form to submit your question for the event (surveypal.com)
During the “Small Acts for Health” week, we will also publish information about healthy weight management on YTHS’s social media channels and website. Additionally, some YTHS service points will organize their own events during the week, either at the service points or on university campuses.