It is that time of year again when people take a look at themselves and evaluate their life. Weight loss is always at the top of the list for many looking to make changes in their health and wellbeing. Society is shown pictures in health magazines of people whose job it is to look that way, or they see pictures of people who are unhealthy and told this is the new what to look at health. Both are at the extremes of nonsense in my opinion. The truth lies in the middle as it usually does.
You have heard all the tricks and diets to “easily” create weight loss. There are even medications that stop your hunger causing you to eat less throughout the day. It would be great to have an easy way to lose weight and keep it off rather than change your habits and lifestyle. Losing weight with an easy fix can still leave you unhealthy and sick, you are just skinny sick.
Food
If you don’t already know, the best way to lose weight is to take a look at what you put in your mouth. If you are filling up on boxed/bagged/manufactured food, you are going to have a hard time being healthy and lose weight. I like the approach of eating real food. Why? Real foods (ones created by God) are full of nutrients that keep you full and provide energy to sustain your life. It is easy to follow, it takes the guessing game out of what is healthy at the grocery store.
Next, we establish a daily protein goal. Protein is the building block for your body. It requires more energy to burn protein and makes it useable to create an increase in metabolism. I like spreading the protein out throughout the day as the body can only use so much at a time. The range is 25-60 grams of protein in one sitting. Shoot for around 40-45 grams per meal, for 3 meals per day, if you are looking to losing weight. For reference, a 3 oz piece of chicken breast has around 26 grams of protein, which is about a palm size piece.
Fruits and vegetables are key. Expectations are to get 13 servings of fruits and vegetables per day, this is a lot to try to digest, and many people will feel bloated and uncomfortable. My advice is to start with small servings of cooked vegetables and adding in fruit during the day. Your goal would be 1-2 pounds of cooked vegetables per day. Cooking them makes it so much easier to get this in and takes away from the bloating that raw vegetables often cause people.
Sleep/Hydration/Movement
I am going to lump sleep, hydration, and movement in this last segment of helping to loose
weight. Sleep is important for weight loss. You can’t repair and detoxify without sleep. Put way the screens at night as much as you can, especially in the bedroom. 7-9 hours of good sleep is ideal for people. Having a consistent bedtime and wake time makes your life way easier. Hydration is the next important piece. I’m not just talking about water, but electrolytes in the water. You will get some water from the vegetables and fruit you eat, but you still need to drink water. I like to use a hydration powder called Dynamic Hydrate to help patients get the necessary nutrients in their water. Lastly, we need to move. I encourage people to walk as much as they can. We are a sedentary society and that has shown up in our waistlines. Adding weight training is also key for weight loss, due to the increase in muscle mass.
These are some simple strategies that you can use to jump start your weight loss journey. As you can see, I didn’t mention any specific diet, supplement, or exercise routine. You need to start simple and begin with eating real food, walking more, getting better sleep, and adding in some weight training and amazing things will happen.
-Dr. Brian Opp, D.C.