Weight Loss
How to Lose Weight
Starting your weight loss journey is both exciting and daunting. I help clients start their weight loss journey by talking about their health goals, vision and current lifestyle. Together, we will collaborate on a step-by-step plan that will map out your unique path to optimize your overall wellness. We will peruse what dietary theories you’ve tried in the past, such as the low-carb diet, the keto diet or even a plant-based diet, your current sleep habits, exercise level and stress management. Whether you’re a stay-at-home parent, traveling weekly for work or looking to optimize your overall health and wellness, I will introduce you to new ways of healthy eating based on your basal metabolic rate, body composition and lifestyle factors. There is no one size fits all diet or way of eating for everyone.
How To Lose Weight Fast: Healthily and Safely
Step one is to create a new positive mindset and define what your health goals are. Surrounding yourself with positive people with like-minded goals is key in maintaining your own positive mindset. Hiring a health coach, joining a local walking group or asking a friend to join you in a buddy system are all ways to stay on track and focused on achieving your health goals. Incorporating journal writing, deep breathing and meditation and taking fresh air walks daily have been shown to make your mitochondria in your cells happy.
Learn to love exercise and movement daily. We know that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends exercising 150 minutes each week, which could look like 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week for adults. Dividing up your daily exercise routine including cardio exercise, strength training and balance are crucial for maintaining a level of health that will help you ward off metabolic diseases. Pick activities that you enjoy, such as walking, biking, playing tennis, shooting hoops or yoga, but keep in mind that weight and resistance training is the most important form of exercise all of us need. Daily exercise and mental health (anxiety, depression, chronic fatigue) are directly correlated with each other. Living a sedentary life also brings with it multiple health risks like sarcopenia (muscle wasting), obesity, Type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease - that’s the beginning of metabolic dysfunction.
Hiring a health coach to help you achieve your health goals is a great idea to start on your weight loss journey. A health coach will help you stay motivated, hold you accountable and be your daily cheerleader while you move forward on your weight loss journey. There may be bumps in the road and a health coach will help you get back on track using mindfulness and coaching strategies. Health coaches use coaching strategies, such as Motivational Interviewing, Positive Psychology and understand the stages of change that you will go through in order to achieve your health goals.
Whole food based nutrition is necessary in order to lose weight. Most people are eating a SAD (Standard American Diet), eating too many processed foods, sugars and carbohydrates. With so many dietary theories being marketed to the public, it’s no wonder that people remain confused, frustrated and do not see their weight loss goals reached. Our microbiome and brain talk to each other all day long via the vagus nerve, sending positive or negative messages to our cells. Our gut may become inflamed by eating pro-inflammatory foods, such as gluten, dairy and sugar, which will then create inflammation in our brain, such as brain fog, fatigue and migraines. Our brain then sends a message back to the gut to go hunt for more unhealthy food. It’s vicious cycle. Figuring out which foods work for your unique body composition and biochemistry is crucial to reaching your health goals. Ditching processed foods is a great starting point.
Intermittent fasting can be a helpful tool in one’s weight loss journey. An easy way to start is to stop eating after dinner until your first meal on the following day. Start with 10-12 hours overnight, 1-2 days per week. Another component to weight loss is working out in a fasted state. If possible, schedule your work-outs in the morning prior to eating your first meal. When you fast, insulin levels drop and stored fat starts to break apart and oxidize, or burn as free fatty acids.
Visiting a functional medicine doctor and having bloodwork taken is a great way to look into your baseline of health. Are you experiencing hormonal imbalances? Are you suffering from an autoimmune disease you were unaware of? Are you sleeping at least 7-8 hours a night? Bloodwork is a personal wellness map that gives you information about what your body may or may not need. Think of this as a shortcut to achieving your weight loss goals. Whether you are seeing an allopathic or functional medicine doctor, you want to be sure to take a deep dive into your lipid, hormone, thyroid and metabolic panels.
My 3 favorite ingredients to use on a weight loss journey:
Healthy animal proteins. Increasing your protein will keep you satisfied and nourished for hours, curb your sugar cravings and build muscle tissue. I have easy, meat-based recipes that you will love.
Healthy fats. Whether you’re choosing fattier, healthy cuts of protein (think wild-caught salmon, grass-fed rib eyes or pasture raised, organic eggs), you will be sending a message to your brain that your full, satiated and not looking for junk food. Healthy fats give you an abundance of heart and brain loving omega-3 fatty acids, help you maintain a stable blood glucose level, crush sugar cravings and support your hormone balance.
Electrolytes. While you are losing weight, changing your eating habits, and increasing your daily movement, it’s crucial to maintain a healthy electrolyte balance in your body. Low-carb diets especially need more electrolyte support because your body will let go of holding onto water and you may feel dehydration symptoms during the transition to a low to zero carb way of eating. Migraines, fatigue, nausea, diarrhea and constipation are all signs that you may need more electrolytes. Electrolytes are certain minerals we obtain from food and drinks and include calcium, potassium, magnesium, sodium and chloride.
MY TOP THREE GO-TO’S FOR EATING YOUR ELECTROLYTES:
Grass-fed beef. For recipe inspiration, check out my protein options here.
Sardines with the bones
Dark leafy greens, cooked to minimize anti-nutrients