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Hi! Welcome to Fit, Food, and Fun Fridays! Today we’ll talk about how to maintain your weight loss. You have achieved your goal of losing weight; now, you have to maintain it. One of the most important things to keep in mind is to avoid things that trigger your previous bad habits, such as poor choices of food and binge eating. Here are some tips to maintain your weight loss.

Reduce alcohol consumption

Alcohol can cause weight gain in four ways: it stops your body from burning fat, it’s high in kilojoules (empty calories), it can make you feel hungry , and it can lead to poor food choices. If you are trying to lose or maintain your weight, you need to reduce your consumption of alcohol, as it lowers self-control and inhibitions. You are more likely to eat the foods you should avoid when you are drinking. Alcohol can still be part of living a healthy lifestyle. You just need to drink it with meals and in moderation. Drinking more than that can trigger overeating throughout the night and eating not-so-healthy foods the next day. Aside from not helping you stay on track, it can also be harmful to your maintenance efforts if it happens often. Set limits for your alcohol consumption. This includes limiting the amount you drink and the times you go out for drinks. You can share your limits with like-minded or supportive friends to get the encouragement you need.

Avoid addictive foods

There are a lot of common foods that are addictive. These foods create a pleasant reward signal in your brain, which causes weaker self-control and strong cravings. As a result, you overeat and pick those foods over healthier choices. Processed foods such as crackers, commercially fried foods and foods with refined carbohydrates, such as baked goods, sweets, bread, and cereal, are addictive foods. These foods are often unsatisfying, so you will want more. When you avoid these foods, you can stick to healthier eating practices. Avoiding these foods will also make healthy foods taste better. Stop comparing and you will better enjoy and appreciate the textures and flavors of healthier foods.

Exercise

To maintain your weight: Work your way up to 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity, 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity aerobic activity, or an equivalent mix of the two each week. Strong scientific evidence shows that physical activity can help you maintain your weight over time.

Assess your relationships

Do the people you hang out with help you stay on the right track? It won’t take long to determine if people who are not supportive, make you feel stressed, or bring you down and those who really support and encourage you. While it is almost impossible to completely get rid of these kinds of relationships in your life, being aware and avoiding situations that can be hard for you to overcome can certainly help. Try to build new friendships with like-minded and supportive people. You can join social media groups, workout classes, forums, and other groups that you find interesting.

Remember that maintaining your weight is a lifelong process. You need to discover the right balance between practicing healthy, viable habits to maintain your weight and pampering yourself so you don’™t feel deprived. It is important to be aware of the factors that trigger your bad habits and create a plan to overcome them in order to enjoy long-term success. You can also work with a professional to learn tips that will help you eat less without counting calories or feeling deprived, stay motivated, exercise right, and enjoy a healthier lifestyle.

I would love to give you a free resource sheet to support your healthy weight loss journey. Click the button below to receive your gift.

I really wanted to talk about this topic today because the overweight and obesity epidemic is at an all-time high! We are a fat society and it’s killing us prematurely. Not only do I truly believe that you have the power to lose weight to improve your health, but the science also agrees! You can adopt healthy lifestyle practices that improve your health and enrich your life, which can in turn improve the lives of those close to you. You have the power to break the cycle of obesity so that you can leave a legacy of health to your loved ones.

I use functional medicine and lifestyle medicine as the first line of treatment, before medications, to treat lifestyle-related chronic diseases. Lifestyle-related chronic diseases include diabetes, hypertension, obesity, and some cancers, just to name a few. Lifestyle practices, such as eating a whole-food plant-based diet and regular physical activity, can help you lose weight, and maybe reverse some of your chronic diseases. In certain cases, these approaches may even outperform pharmaceutical therapy.

But I always tell my patients that conventional medications may be appropriate at this time to prevent catastrophic illness, but over time, you can work to make the necessary lifestyle changes to possibly reduce and/or eliminate medications. Please remember to always consult your physician for your particular needs and circumstances prior to making any decisions whatsoever.

Is Dietary Supplementation Right For You?

If you’re like most people, you might think that dietary supplements are a quick and easy way to lose weight. But the truth is, there’s no magic pill when it comes to weight loss. Supplements can help you lose weight by providing your body with the nutrients it needs to function properly, but they won’t work unless you make lifestyle changes as well.

For some people, vitamin and mineral supplements offer important health benefits. Supplements are designed to fight deficiencies found in our diet and complement the food we eat regularly. Supplements are basically “helping hands” to our daily food.

If you suspect that you aren’t getting the nutrients you need, consider shifting your focus from supplements to eating better.

But it is very important to note that we are not eating the same foods we ate years ago because the soils have been depleted of critical nutrients through current industrial farming practices. And because the soil is not as good as it used to be, the food supply (grown from the depleted soil) is not as good as it used to be. For example, you are not getting the same levels of magnesium as you would have gotten 30 or even 50 years ago.

Second, much of the food has been genetically altered, which can impact the inherent and unique nutritional composition that each food possess. For example, ancient einkorn wheat has less gluten, more protein, more Vitamin A, and more beta carotene, than modern genetically modified wheat.

Third, the toxic load in the environment today is much higher than 100 years ago. We can see this with global warming, toxic landfills, polluted oceans and waterways, etc. Toxicity levels interfere with nutrient assimilation and absorption not just into the foods, but into our bodies as well.

So… if you are unable to eat better, the supplements in my Body Composition/Weight Loss Protocol may provide the extra boost you need.

These are my favorite Weight Loss Supplements to use! This Body Composition/Weight Management Bundle will ensure you have the intake of the important vitamins, minerals, and probiotics to decrease inflammation and boost your innate wellness day and night. Taken together, it’s a solid plan for increasing your body’s natural resiliency while you lose weight, naturally.

For best results make sure you use my weight loss supplements with dietary changes including a whole food plant-based diet, regular exercise (at least 2-3x per week), regular sleep (8 hours per night), and intermittent fasting (at least 1-3x per week).

Weight Monitoring

Since weight management is very important in combatting chronic diseases, I recommend that you be mindful of your weight and its fluctuations, and that you monitor your weight AT LEAST on a weekly basis. I recommend a scale that includes a body composition monitor (*this scale cannot be used with a pacemaker or other implanted devices).

Physical Activity

Physical activity (or exercise) can improve your health and reduce the risk of developing several chronic diseases like high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, and cancer, just to name a few. Physical activity can improve your mood, boost your immune system, and even help you maintain a healthy weight.

I often recommend yoga and resistance training for physical activity, but as you are aware, there are plenty of forms of “movement” that you can do! But for the basics, especially if you’re just getting started, yoga and resistance training are where I would start.

Yoga

Yoga can be a great way to improve your strength and flexibility, manage your stress, improve your heart health, and lose weight! I recommend using a grounded yoga mat to connect yourself with the earth and reduce inflammation.

Resistance Training

Resistance training is the mainstay for overall health. It not only has beneficial effects on reducing body fat, it also increases muscle size and strength. Check out some basic dumbbells/free weights that I recommend to everyone.

Another alternative for dumbbells/free weights are resistance bands. They are great for physical therapy, yoga, strength training, and excellent for traveling.

Still Can’t Lose Weight?

Losing weight is hard work. You’ve changed your diet, started working out, but you still can’t seem to lose the last few pounds. Have you ever thought that something else could be going on? It’s time to dig deeper and look at the root cause. It could be that your hormones are out of balance or that you have micronutrient deficiencies. Let’s take a look at why these factors may be playing a role in your weight loss journey and how to fix them.

Micronutrients Activate Genes That Regulate Hormones

Our bodies need micronutrients to look and feel their best. Micronutrients—vitamins, minerals, and other trace elements—activate genes that regulate hormones and help our bodies function properly. If those vitamins and minerals are lacking in your body, it can cause hormone imbalances which can affect a wide range of body functions including mood, metabolism, appetite, and stress levels. Hormonal imbalances can also lead to cravings for unhealthy foods or eating when you’re not actually hungry.

Blood Sugar Imbalance & Food Sensitivities

What we eat impacts our blood sugar levels; if our blood sugar isn’t balanced we may feel tired or weak throughout the day or experience food cravings later in the evening. We might also have food sensitivities—ingredients we eat all the time may suddenly become problematic for us without us even knowing it. Food sensitivities contribute to inflammation which robs our body of energy and vitality necessary to stay healthy and active.

The Vibrant Weight Loss Package

If you suspect there is more going on than just diet and exercise changes impacting your weight loss journey then The Vibrant Weight Loss Package might be right for you! This package provides insight into micronutrient deficiencies as well as hormone imbalances that could be contributing factors to why you aren’t losing weight despite making lifestyle changes. The package includes tests such as a comprehensive metabolic profile plus vitamin D level test, complete thyroid panel with TSH reflex testing, nutritional hormone panel with estrogen metabolites testing, an adrenal stress index test plus a cortisol saliva test monitor kit (for home use). With this package you will get the insight needed to start losing weight for good!

In A Nutshell…

Unbalanced hormones, micronutrient deficiencies, blood sugar imbalance and food sensitivities are all factors that could be impacting your weight loss journey if diet and exercise alone aren’t working for you. If this sounds familiar then it may be time to dig deeper into potential underlying causes by getting tested with The Vibrant Weight Loss Package! This comprehensive package will provide answers so you know exactly what needs to change in order to start seeing results from your diet & lifestyle changes once again!

Remember, living a healthy lifestyle including eating a whole foods plant-based diet, regular physical activity, and reducing stress are the best ways to maintain a healthy weight.

Dr. Nicolle Martin

Dr. Nicolle is double board-certified in Family Medicine and Preventive Medicine. As one of the nation’s most acclaimed primary care and public health physicians, she is a nationally recognized author, speaker, researcher, consultant and media personality. She is the Founder and Chief Medical Advisor of DrNicolleMD.com, where she discusses actionable ideas and real-world strategies to help people take control of their health using integrative therapies and lifestyle change. Dr. Nicolle also shares her knowledge via her popular social media accounts “Maximize Health” to help people pursue a healthier life. Her motto is simple: Minimize Medications, Maximize Health. With her credentials and warm “bedside manner,” it’s no wonder that the doctor is renowned as “America’s Favorite Family Physician.”

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Last updated on December 13th, 2021 at 07:51 am

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