Like all things wellness and beauty, we recommend taking a holistic approach to achieving healthy weight goals. There are various factors that contribute to weight gain and focusing on the roots will help you achieve sustainable results. First and foremost, it helps to start with mindset. Being clear on your “why” will help you stay strong and on track when you feel like falling off. So, try asking yourself, “Why do I want to lose weight?”. Maybe it’s because you want to feel better. You want more energy when you’re around your kids or grandkids, or want to accomplish your goals whether in your career, your overall health, or just be more productive accomplishing life’s daily tasks.
Now that you are clear on your “why”, this will be what motivates you to not only lose weight but to maintain a healthy weight consistently. This will be what helps you make wellness a lifestyle instead of simply trying a fad diet, gaining the weight back, and ultimately giving up again for the next few years.
5 Self-Care Strategies to Help Achieve Your Healthy Weight Goals
1. Diet
Rather than focusing on a restricting fad diet, eating nutrient rich whole foods, like fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, nourishing your gut health, and avoiding/limiting refined carbs, sugar, and processed foods is a basic step in a really good direction. A daily smoothy with dark leafy greens, superfoods, fiber, and probiotic yogurt and a little fruit is a great way to ensure you consume good nutrients daily. A couple of tips to help you stay on track, especially if you are a busy person, is to plan your meals at the beginning of the week, do a market run, and meal prep some healthy meals and snacks to grab and go throughout the week. The more home cooking you can eat vs. eating out, the better.
2. Exercise
Here are 4 ways you can improve your consistency with exercise:
1. Find exercise you enjoy:
Try a variety of exercises to see what you enjoy the most and what is most practical for your lifestyle. You might enjoy working out in a group or going solo. Running, swimming, biking, dance, or tennis could be some options you explore. Three to seven days of thirty minute workouts is ideal.
2. Choose the time of day that you have the most energy:
Setting yourself up for success by choosing the time of day that you have the most energy will help give you a better chance at following through and staying consistent with your exercise plan.
3. Find a trigger:
A trigger is a reccurring action that you can use as an “alarm” to remind you that it’s time for your workout. For instance, my triggers to go for a run are: right after my daughters get on the school bus and when they go to dance class.
4. Add it to your calendar:
It has been proven that we are 42% more likely to reach our goals when we write them down. Adding your workouts to your calendar will help make them an official part of your daily routine.
3. Infrared Sauna Weight Loss Sessions:
Incorporating weekly infrared sauna weight loss sessions are a relaxing way to compliment your healthy weight and wellness plan. Infrared lights penetrate the tissue and heat the body from within rather than the air around you, working at a cellular level to expel toxins, increase metabolism, and burn calories.
According to an article published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, infrared sauna weight loss sessions were shown to burn up to 600 calories. This is because during an infrared sauna session our core temperature increases, and our bodies need to work hard to cool off which creates a detoxifying sweat. Our heart rate, blood flow, metabolism, and cardiac output increases and therefore, calories are burned. A study of diabetic patients using an infrared sauna for 20 minutes, 3 times per week over three months showed a decrease in waist circumference.
4. Health Coach
A health coach is an excellent tool to help you reach your weight and overall health goals. A health coach is not a “sage on the stage” but rather a “guide by your side”. They are there to offer support and accountability for making the healthy lifestyle changes that you would like to make. They can offer recommendations as they are knowledgeable in health but ultimately, you lead the sessions and the coach will help you to reflect on what makes you happiest and healthiest by asking effective questions, listening, and helping you organize your goals. Our health coaching offerings can be done with a single session, but we do recommend the lifestyle membership program which includes (2) 50 minute sessions per month for 6 months as making sustainable lifestyle habit changes takes time.
5. Stress Reduction
Stress can add to weight gain in various ways. The stress hormone cortisol is known to slow the metabolism and send a surge of energy through your body. This would be helpful in a fight or flight situation but it also increases our appetites. Stress can also cause sugar, fat, and salt cravings. All of these factors can lead to what we call “stress eating”. The weight gain that occurs due to stress typically sticks around the abdomen area- which can also contribute to cardiovascular disease. Although the circumstances that are causing our stress cannot always be changed, we can help minimize the impact by actively managing our stress regularly.
Ways to Reduce Stress
Therapy: Therapy can help you with healthy cognitive thinking, coping mechanisms, and confronting emotions.
Have regular spa treatments: There are a variety of spa therapies that help reduce stress through deep relaxation and mind/body rejuvenation. Calming the mind and body stimulate the parasympathetic nervous system which helps the body heal and repair itself.
Meditate: Meditation helps you focus on the present moment without letting stressful thoughts consume our minds.
Yoga: Yoga is a form of deep breathing and moving meditation. Try hot yoga to increase blood circulation and nutrient flow, detoxification, and burn more calories.
Hot baths: Hydrotherapy has been used to reduce stress for thousands of years. Your nervous system adjusts to the soothing temperature of a hot bath, resulting in overall mind/body relaxation.
Tea rituals: Slowing down with herbal teas can help bring a sense of calm to your daily life. Lavender, chamomile, passionflower, and matcha are great options to help lower stress levels.
Sources
https://www.sunlighten.com/blog/weight-loss-research-summary/