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BySara
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Halloween Tips

The holidays are just around the corner! Halloween starts the festivities with loads of candy that can send you into a sugar rush, spiral you into a sea of unnecessary calories, and cause inflammation around your waistline.

As we prepare for a more normal holiday season this year, think about how you can be more mindful of what you serve your guests and what you are putting into your own body. Consider some of these tips and tricks to help you start the season nicely:

  • Avoid buying candy that you like: If you don’t have it in the house, there’s less temptation to snack on it as you walk past the candy bowl.
  • Hide the candy until Halloween day: If you’re trying to prepare by catching the good sales, then hide the candy when you get home. Remember: out of sight, out of mind.
  • Buy individual bags of pretzels and/or popcorn instead of candy: I know I always appreciate it when my kids come home from trick or treating with some snack bags instead of just candy.
  • Allow yourself one piece a day for the first 3 days: You never have to live a life of deprivation, so allow one piece of snack size candy for the first 3 days after lunch if you really want some candy and then move on after day 4.
  • Give it away: After Halloween, give away the extra candy. Bring it to the office or donate it to the local food bank. Some dentist offices will even pay you for it!

Check out this chart we found on Elliptical Reviews and think about how long it would take to burn off some of these treats:

Wishing you all a very Happy Halloween!

ByAnn
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Blasting Through Weight Loss Plateaus

We all know that weight loss is a journey and not a destination. As you start your journey, keep in mind two things: (1) your weight loss will slow down as you get closer to your weight goal, and (2) you want to achieve a weight that you can actually maintain. There will be ups and downs, so you need to have a plan for when you are on a weight loss plateau. A plateau is a state of little or no change following a period of activity or progress.

Do you think you are on a weight loss plateau right now? Here are some tips to help you get through it:

  • Review what you’re eating: Make sure you haven’t become more lax, slowly increased portions without realizing, or are mindlessly eating. Did you remember to track that handful of potato chips you grabbed while walking through the kitchen? Extra nibbles here and there start adding up, so always ask yourself: “Am I hungry or am I bored?”
  • Track your exercise AND food: This is the best way to see what’s going on. If you think you’re in a plateau, track closely what you’re eating for 1 to 2 weeks and then let your dietitian review it with you to suggest possible changes.
  • Focus on the quality of your calories: It’s not only about calories but the type of foods you eat.
  • Change your workout routine: Your muscles become familiar with a workout that’s done repeately, so try a new fitness routine. Muscle mass is active tissues, so your body will burn more calories at rest if your muscle mass is greater than your fat mass. Gradually increasing the time and intensity of your exercise is beneficial too, but only do as much as you can tolerate!
  • Get adequate sleep: Sleep deprivation lowers leptin (an appetite-suppressing hormone), increases ghrelin (a hormone that stimulates hunger), and cortisol (a “stress hormone” that rises during tension-filled times).
  • Increase your fluid intake: Drink 80 to 100 oz of water per day (10 to 12 cups). The signs of dehydration can feel like hunger and trick your body into feeling hungry.

REMEMBER: Focus on the health benefits of your weight loss and celebrate your victories other than that number on the scale. Some other victories to celebrate include coming off of medication, increased energy levels, better mobility, improved quality of life, and feeling comfortable in your own skin. Any health goal that you have is important and worth working towards. Just because making lifestyle changes are hard doesn’t mean you can’t do it. You’re worth it!

ByAnn
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Ways To Boost Your Metabolism

Many people believe that severely restricting their calories is the only way to lose weight. This is FALSE! Your body wants and needs to be fueled properly to function. Your body uses energy for lots of things, such as your brain to function, your heart to beat, your lungs to breathe, and your digestive system to digest foods. When you restrict too much or completely eliminate any particular group of foods, your body will not be able to work the way it wants to.

It’s often forgotten that it’s not always about the physical amount of food you are eating, but also the type of food. For example. living on protein bars isn’t the same as eating fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and proteins. Your body utilizes these foods better as opposed to artificial or highly processed products.

What is metabolism anyway? Metabolism is the process of converting food into energy to power everything we do, from moving to thinking. Here is a way to think about it: picture a fire. If you keep putting wood (the fuel) in the fire (your body), it keeps burning. If you stop fueling the fire, it starts to weaken.

Here are some ways to boost your metabolism and help you lose weight:

  1. Incorporate weight training or body weight exercise into your routine. Increasing muscle mass is beneficial because muscle is active tissue. This means that the more muscle you have, the more calories you burn at rest, even while sleeping. Fat mass is inactive tissue.
  2. Stay hydrated. Your body needs water to process calories. Being dehydrated all the time can ultimately slow down your metabolism.
  3. Snack smart. When you go too long without eating, your metabolism can slow down over time. You want to eat every 3 to 4 hours throughout the day. Choose snacks that include proteins, healthy fats, and high fiber carbohydrates to keep you full as opposed to high sugar and highly processed foods.
  4. Incorporate whole grains, lean proteins, and healthy fats into your meals. These foods take longer to digest, so you end up burning more calories during the digestion process to break these foods down.
  5. Avoid fad diets! Jumping from one new restrictive diet that you hear about to another can have a major effect on your metabolism over time. The word “diet” is a red flag since it is short-term. Focus on lifestyle changes.

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