Wellness Wednesday: Weight Loss Tips

Hello all!

Weight loss is a topic that comes up often in my practice. Although I tailor individualized plans for my patients, I thought I'd share some tips:

1. Diet is key
Diet and nutrition dictate whether you're going to lose weight or not more than anything else. It's not all about calories in and calories out - the quality of your food and the timing of your food also matters! Smoothies and burrito bowls are great ways to get lots of veggies into your body; they look pretty too!

2. Change is crucial
Our bodies are pretty good at adapting to our normal routines. Therefore, changing things up forces the body to adapt. That's why when people who usually skip breakfast start eating breakfast, they can start losing weight, while others who usually have breakfast start skipping breakfast also start losing weight.

3. Inflammation, hormones, and sleep play an important role in metabolism
You can't successfully lose and maintain weight without addressing your adrenal glands, gut function, sleep and metabolism. If your thyroid is off, you're not sleeping well, you have food sensitivities and digestive issues, then your weight loss strategies won't work effectively.

4. Intermittent fasting can help
There's different ways to do intermittent fasting, and I've found cycling between them is helpful for people who are stuck and have plateaued.

5. Exercise is also important
Most people not only want to lose weight, but also be healthier and have more muscle definition. Exercise is definitely crucial to good health and confers a ton of health benefits to your body; strength/resistance training really helps with the redistribution of fat stores and blood sugar control. I don't have a pic of me working out, but here's one from a little adventure in Quebec last year:

There's obviously lots of considerations, but consistency and a can-do attitude are also important.

Questions? Ask away!