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Try these 6 Lifestyle shifts.
You probably know by now that there are no quick fixes when it comes to losing weight for the long term while also supporting your health. The most effective way to lose weight and keep it off is to focus on adding in healthy habits. A healthy lifestyle is not about being on a ‘diet’, it’s about learning how to nourish your body so you can thrive – not feel deprived. The best way to get off of the diet roller coaster for good is to make small changes that you can live with for the rest of your life.
1. Sleep Well
Lack of sleep disrupts circadian rhythms and can lead to inefficient body regulation of energy balance, metabolism, and appetite. Abnormal leptin and ghrelin levels – two hormones that tell your body it’s full – can work poorly when your body isn’t fully rested.
To get more sleep, set a goal of what time you need to be in bed each night to get the 7-9 hours you need. Try it this week and see what difference you notice, both in how you feel and your appetite.
2. Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff
I understand that this is not always an easy thing to do. Most of us are juggling way too much and going through the day trying to get more and more done. A high-stress level is not only harmful to your health, but it also affects your waistline as well. When you are constantly under stress, hormone levels like cortisol and insulin are elevated. The elevation of these 2 hormones can harm your weight loss efforts and actually cause weight gain.
"Being constantly stressed can create a wide variety of physiological changes, such as impaired digestion, excretion of valuable nutrients, decrease in beneficial gut flora, slow metabolism, and increase triglycerides, cholesterol, insulin, and cortisol levels." – Mercola.com
While you may think that you are handling stress we aren’t meant to be under constant stress. If you are doing everything right but you’re under daily stress, you will not to see or feel the results you are looking for.
3. Trade your Beverage for Water
Studies show that even diet soda increases our appetite. Although the drink itself may be zero calories, you end up eating more food to go along with it.
Decide what you can drink. You can try unsweetened iced tea, water with fresh fruit or unflavored carbonated water with a splash of fruit juice if you just need some bubbling in your drink. By trading out your sugar or chemical-filled beverage for water you’re giving your body what it needs to help it lose excess fat – proper hydration.
4. Eat Complex Carbs
Our body needs the right kind of carbohydrates. Refined carbohydrates like white bread, pasta, cereal and processed snacks leave us malnourished and hungry again a short time later. Complex carbohydrates found in foods like fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, seeds and legumes contain fiber and nutrients that fuel our bodies to do more and help us feel full longer. Foods found in nature (as opposed to a package with a long list of ingredients), are good choices.
5. Choose Healthy Fats
FACT: Our body needs fat for optimum function
"The low fat diet craze caused most Americans to fear all sources of dietary fat, even the ones that we need to thrive. During this time, fat was replaced with sugar and other additives to give foods the flavor and consistency they needed. Unfortunately, this period of time was also when the rates of obesity, diabetes and heart disease skyrocketed in this country."
The body utilizes dietary fat for energy, healthy hair, skin and nails, vitamin absorption and normal, everyday bodily functions. "Good Fats have been found to protect against heart disease, cancer, Alzheimer's Disease and depression. Good fats can reduce blood pressure and blood cholesterol levels. Sources of good fats include nuts, seeds, fish, avocados and extra virgin olive oil." Institute for Integrative Nutrition
Another good source of healthy fat is coconut oil, which can be used for cooking and baking and it’s also taste great in smoothies.
6. Add Lean Protein
Our bodies use protein to make new cells, control blood sugar, and supply the energy we need. Some of the best sources of protein are fish, dairy, meat and eggs. Nuts, seeds and beans are plant sources of protein.
Listen to your body. Observe how you feel when you have more versus when you have less. The quality of the protein is important. Grass-fed beef and free-range chicken are healthier protein sources. When possible for foods like dairy, eggs, peanut butter and soy products
Start Moving
You just feel better when you’re active. Think about how you feel after sitting around for hours versus how you feel when you’re up moving around. You don’t have to spend countless hours at the gym to reap significant benefits from exercise.
You can start with something simple like a 20-minute walk and build on it as the weeks go by. Look for ways to add more activity into your day – a short walk during lunch, another walk after work. Maybe two 10-minute walks each day would work better for you. Do what works and make it a daily routine.
Having an activity tracker like a Fitbit or pedometer is a great way to see how active you are and get an idea of how many calories you burn during the day. It’s fun and motivating to see how many steps you take in a day.
Find a friend or coworker that has similar goals and figure out something you can do together to help keep each other accountable.
Start with 1 or 2 habits at a time then build on those successes by adding 1 or 2 more. Slow and steady really is the way to go so that you incorporate these habits as part of your lifestyle.
You can start with the simplest habit first and go from there if you like. Don’t get overwhelmed – just start with ONE thing. Write it down somewhere as a reminder.
Grab your smart phone, iPad, tablet or pad of paper as we get started. By the way, a great, free smartphone app for tracking your habits is called “Good Habits”. You can enter up to 3 habits and set it up so that you get a daily reminder. Awesome!
Corinthia Loblack, Metabolic Health APRN
The Bellyfat Shrink
407-550-6574
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