Attaining or maintaining a healthy weight is integral for your overall health. Among other things, it drastically decreases your risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, and even certain types of cancers.
Everyone, no matter their weight, can benefit from a good weight management plan.
The plan will help bring your weight to an optimum level and keep it there in the long term. So, if you’re overweight, obese, or pre-diabetic, weight management can help you shed excess fat for successful weight loss.
Now proper weight management is not a quick fix to your weight issues. Instead, it is a complete medical workup/treatment along with lifestyle changes that incorporate life-long healthy habits.
Losing weight through an Integrative Medicine approach is comprehensive. We consider things such as thyroid, hormones, leptin, blood sugar, cortisol, and vitamin levels. It is important for the healthcare provider to act as a detective to try to figure out the combination of factors that are influencing weight. By fixing the underlying problems most people are much more successful at losing weight. Until you get in to see one of our providers, here are something that you can start working on.
1. Keep a Food Log and Weight Journal
One of the reasons you’re probably gaining weight is because you’re not actively aware of everything that goes into your mouth, which means you’re not monitoring your calorie intake.
Regular self-assessment is key to successful weight loss. But keeping track of what you eat and how much of it you eat is almost impossible. So, consider buying or downloading a journal to document what you eat every day. Make the changes where you need to and watch yourself lose weight periodically.
Keeping a journal is also an excellent way to motivate yourself when you’re losing weight, as the small wins you achieve will encourage you to stay on the journey.
2. Eat Nutritionally-Diverse Whole Foods
As explained in the point above, if you’re looking to attain and maintain weight loss, you need to re-think your eating habits. According to the National Weight Control Registry, 98% of the Registry participants said that they changed their food intake in some way to achieve weight loss.
You want to follow a healthy eating pattern that contains a variety of whole, unprocessed and nutrient-rich foods. This diet will give your body what it needs and keep you full for longer. That means no cravings that will have you reaching for unhealthy snacks.
Your plate should always be at least half vegetables. The other half should be healthy fats and protein.
So, what exactly should you include in your diet for weight loss success?
- Fresh fruits (limited) and vegetables
- Lean meat and poultry
- Seafood
- Healthy fats (olive oil, avocado, nuts)
- Lots of water
What should you not have on your plate if you want to avoid weight gain?
- Highly refined foods
- Whole grains
- Baked goods like pastries and white bread
- Soft drinks
- Processed and high-fat meat
- Fried food
- Foods with added sugar
- Trans fats and saturated fats
- Foods with artificial additives
3. Adopt an Active Lifestyle
Regular physical activity is not only great for regulating your body fat but also for your mental wellness. The good thing is that you don’t have to go all out to experience the benefits of working out. 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise a week can keep your body feeling energized and your body weight healthy.
The key is to start slow and listen to your body. With time, you’ll find yourself increasing the intensity of your workouts without any issues. Also, consider tracking your workouts to keep you committed and on track.
4. Practice Portion Control
Eating healthy food without portion control will only get you so far on your weight loss journey. To ensure that you’re losing weight, you need to eat low-calorie meals and keep the portions in check.
You want to start putting into practice strategies such as measuring your meals in cups and using serving size guides. Doing guesswork when it comes to portioning your meals can lead to overestimation and increase the likelihood of eating a larger-than-intended amount of food.
To help you with portion control, you need to familiarize yourself with the following size comparisons. They will come in handy in keeping tabs on the food you eat, especially when you dine outside.
- ¾ of a cup is a golf ball
- ½ of a cup is a tennis ball
- One teaspoon is one playing die
- One tablespoon is a thumb tip
- 1 cup is a baseball
- 1 ounce (oz) of nuts is a loose handful
- 3 oz of meat is a deck of cards
- One slice is a DVD
Keep in mind; these sizes are just approximations. Even so, they can help you moderate your meals when more accurate tools are unavailable.
5. Plan Your Meals Ahead
When on a weight loss journey, the last thing you want to do is to fail to plan your meals. When you leave everything to chance, there’s a high probability of unnecessary snacking, eating junk, and going way over your daily calorie threshold. And as you know by now, these are some of the major reasons behind weight gain.
What you need to do is to plan your meals, right from breakfast to dinner. This means stocking your pantry and fridge with only healthy foods and developing structured meal plans that help you to lose weight and keep it off.
Your meal plan should be devoid of processed and junk foods or include them in small amounts. Instead, it should be made from healthy, nutritious ingredients to give your body what it needs. Ultimately, you’ll avoid impulsive, unplanned, and careless eating.
If you are ever outside the house, be sure to plan for your food choices beforehand. You want to get to a restaurant or any other eating area with a clear idea of the healthy meals you want, be it for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.
Looking for a Personalized Approach to Losing Weight? Get in Touch with Our Integrative Medicine Practice in Winston-Salem, NC
If you are struggling with losing extra weight or maintaining weight loss and want practical help from tried-and-proven professionals, give Robinhood Integrative Health in Winston-Salem, NC, a try.
We have an excellent weight loss program that factors in your thyroid, insulin/blood sugar, as well as leptin resistance to ensure successful weight loss for our patients.
Count on us to put you on a personalized program right from day one that will see you shed those extra pounds and keep them away. Fill out our online form to get started on your weight loss journey today!
