Now that November is here holiday meals are just around the corner and for many with weight issues this is a challenging time of the year. As the weather shifts colder around the country, we naturally want to stay warm, which results in more layers of clothing and typically more food consumption both lead to weight gain. When you cannot see your figure and are eating more food because of the cold temperatures outside weight gain is bound to happen. Many Patients I speak to get upset about this phenomenon and want to change their current weight gaining trajectory before Thanksgiving arrives.

You may fall into that winter trap of weight gain described above, and it can be quite depressing to end up overweight, tiered, and feeling bad right before the largest eating holiday of the year. There are answers to your problems of weight gain and wanting to enjoy Thanksgiving with loved ones to the fullest without guilt. the Answer to this problem comes in the form of a weight loss plan and accountability. Everyone has tried a diet to lose weight at some point in their life, and those that have been unsuccessful with these plans is usually due to lack of long term planning and accountability of their own actions. In this blog post I want to give you the tools for successful long term weight loss and feeling great about yourself.

The goal I am setting forth for you this November is to lose six pounds by thanksgiving. that goal may seem unreachable due to past issues with weight loss, but I can assure you it is very achievable if you follow the following steps.

1) You must get some form of physical activity five days a week. most weight loss studies show the best results of weight loss occur with at least five days a week of some form of cardio exercise and or resistant training. The advice I would give you would be to begin with activity for 30 minutes a day for the first week and progress to 45 minutes of exercise in week two finishing with 60 minutes of exercise or activity in the final week before Thanksgiving. Exercise in the first week should start with low to moderate intensity workouts such as walking, biking, swimming, or weight training with lighter weights or bands. You want to get your heart rate around 100-120 beats/ minute and try to sustain that exertion level throughout your workout. Week one is all about building a baseline of endurance and getting your heart working slightly harder than you’re used to. Upon starting week two of exercise we want to up the difficulty level. adding an additional fifteen minutes to your workouts, as well as pushing the intensity more will give you a larger caloric burn, plus it will be less difficult due to your first week of 30 minute workouts building up your baseline. I would recommend increasing the intensity of your workouts in week two such as adding High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT). HIIT training is one of the best ways to burn a ton of calories fast. HIIT training can be a cardio based training routine such as two minutes of jogging at a challenging pace followed by a minute walk and repeat. some prefer to do HIIT training with weights. I would recommend closing four exercises (8-12 reps each) and performing them back to back with no rest break until all four are done and then you rest for 2-3 minutes. repeat this cycle 3-4 sets. You can also combine both cardio and resistive HIIT training, which I would recommend for week three, one exercise is cardio based such as rowing, running or biking for 2-3 min followed by a resistive exercise for 8-12 reps and repeat. this can be done with 2 cardio stations and two resistive exercise stations. overall the goal with progressively harder HIIT training is to max your cardiovascular output as well as add load to your muscles. The longer your heart rate is in the 120+ BPM zone the more fat you will burn and the better outcomes you will see from your workouts.

2) Change the foods your eating and watch your portions of food. Accountability of what and how much food goes into your mouth will make or break this weight loss journey. The nutrition facts on all food labels, and will be your guide for calorie counting. the serving size will let you know how much of a food you can have and how many calories you will consume in that portion. most people snack on foods and Never look at this vital information. The average calorie consumption for moderately active males is 2400 Cal/day and for moderately active women it is 1800 Cal/day. This calorie count is for the moderately active community, if you perform no physical activity in the day this calorie amount is too high for you and will not result in adequate weight loss. The type of calories you consume also matters. Stay away from processed foods and foods that use a lot of refined oils, or high in sugar. Refined oils are oils that have been altered using chemicals to purity the look of the oil so we want to buy it. these chemicals used in the refining process are very toxic to us and can drastically affect your weight loss in a negative direction. The oils you should avoid are the following: canola oil, vegetable oil, soybean, safflower, and corn oils. Sugar added to foods affect our body in many ways, such as increasing overall inflammation to our bodies. Increasing inflammation makes it hard for us to heal and recover after exercise. Sugars also provide a fast energy source that slows the fat metabolic pathways, thus slowing our overall fat loss process. When looking at what foods you should be consuming are usually the foods on the perimeter of the grocery store such as vegetables, fruits, lean meat, cheeses. these foods have much better nutritional value for your body and will allow you to feel full longer and speed up your weight loss. For example, spinach with eggs in the morning as well as a salad with grilled chicken for lunch and a steak with some cooked veggies for dinner would make a great day meal plan. Intermittent fasting is an excellent option to add with portion control and clean eating. Intermittent fasting will reduce body inflammation and improve fat burning. the best way to start with intermittent fasting is to go 12hrs without food, and progress up to 16 hours if you can. Starting with 10 PM to 10AM is a good option and progressing your fasting time to 16 hrs (9PM to 1PM) will allow your body to utilize fat stores for energy during that fasting time, as well as reallocate energy in your body to body healing. Many patients of mine that start Intermittent fasting will notice joint pain decrease in two to three weeks, and feel physically less pain with everyday tasks. When we eat often we are always using energy to breakdown and store our food. Also by intermittent fasting your calorie consumption amount stays the same, and thus allows larger portions of food at mealtime, which are closer together since you are only eating for 8-12 hours/ day.

3) Get adequate sleep at night as well as perform one relaxing task in the day. Adults need on average 7-8 hours of sleep a night for proper rest for our mind and body. Many healing processes in our body occur at night when we sleep, if you are not getting adequate sleep at night you are more likely to have higher cortisol, and ghrelin hormone levels. These hormones will making us feel extra hungry, and eat more than our portions allow for. If you have ever felt stressed out, it is common to want to snack constantly. This eating desire is from cortisol and ghrelin hormones in elevated amounts.

4) If your challenge is staying accountable than seek professional help to keep you accountable. Nutritionist are great with meals and food choices, as well as Physical Therapy or Personal Training are both good options to look into exercise programs to target the right muscles that will help with looking and feeling good. If you have a history with injury and exercise go with a Physical Therapist to start since they will be better with exercise modification to prevent another injury. The more muscle mass you can add to your body the more calories your body will burn when active, and thus accelerate your fat burning and weight loss process. With a proper exercise program you can not only accelerate your weight loss, but you will also be adding muscle mass at the same time which will give you great definition to your body. 

At Naples Premier Physical Therapy we offer plans to address your pain issues that may be limiting your ability to exercise, as well as sit down and talk in a more detailed form to your specific body and nutritional needs. please give us a call at (239) 919-3510, or reach out to us on our website to set up a appointment if you feel you need professional accountability and guidance to get you to your weight loss goals.