Tag Archives: weight loss tips

Weight Loss Tips By A Naturopathic Doctor

Healthy Me,

Have you every tried to loose weight? Have you ever tried different diets and had some success but then gained the weight you lost back after a few months of stopping the diet? Or have you been on diets your whole life, stressed and always cautious about what you eat and how it will affect your weight? If you answered yes to any of the questions above, you might want to read the following.

As a naturopathic doctor, I see various clients coming in for weight loss and management, who have tried and tired of different fad diets or diet of the month, had some success and then gained back the weight. So here are some simple tips that I have found to be useful for people trying to loose weight.

ADEQUATE NUTRIENTS WITHIN CALORIE NEEDS

Quite often people associate dieting with having to starve themselves to a maximum of 800 calories a day. Well, when you are looking to loose weight, look to consume a variety of nutrient-dense foods and beverages within and among the basic food groups such as vegetables, fruits and complex carbohydrates and healthy fats, while limiting the intake of foods that are high saturated and trans fats, cholesterol, added sugars, salt, and alcohol. This way you can intake good calories with healthy foods as opposed to limiting yourself to a thin slice of cake and some rice cakes all day long. Nutrition is key when it comes to loosing weight and eating the right foods is extremely important.

WEIGHT MANAGEMENT

To maintain body weight in a healthy range, balance calories from foods and beverages with calories expended or burnt. To prevent gradual weight gain over time, make small decreases in food and beverage calories and increase physical activity.

PHYSICAL ACTIVITY

Regular physical activity and reduce sedentary activities to promote health, psychological well-being, and a healthy body weight.

To reduce the risk of chronic disease in adulthood: Engage in at least 30 – 40 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity, above usual activity, at work or home on most days of the week.  For most people, greater health benefits can be obtained by engaging in physical activity of more vigorous intensity or longer duration.

To help manage body weight and prevent gradual, unhealthy body weight gain in adulthood: Engage in approximately 60 minutes of moderate- to vigorous-intensity activity on 3- 4 days of the week while not exceeding caloric intake requirements.

To sustain weight loss in adulthood: Participate in at least 60 to 90 minutes of daily moderate-intensity physical activity while not exceeding caloric intake requirements. Some people may need to consult with a naturopathic doctor before participating in this level of activity. If you are looking to build muscle and not prevent bone loss especially for women going through menopause, it is very important to add weight bearing activities into your work out routine.

Achieve physical fitness by including cardiovascular conditioning, stretching exercises for flexibility, and resistance exercises or calisthenics for muscle strength and endurance.

FOOD GROUPS TO ENCOURAGE

A good balance for fruits, vegetables, proteins, good fats and complex carbohydrates is key.

Consume a sufficient amount of fruits and vegetables while staying within energy needs. Two cups of fruit and unlimited amounts of low carbohydrate vegetables such as all the different leafy greens and 1 serving of high carbohydrate vegetable such as sweet potato or yams per day are recommended for a reference 2,000-calorie intake, with higher or lower amounts depending on the calorie level.

Choose a variety of fruits and vegetables each day. In particular, select from all five vegetable subgroups (dark green, orange, legumes, starchy vegetables, and other vegetables) several times a week

Consume 2 or more ounce-equivalents of whole-grain products per day, with the rest of the recommended grains coming from enriched or whole-grain products. In general, at least half the grains should come from whole grains. There has been a lot of controversy surrounding having grains for weight loss – my recommendation is generally to get tested for food intolerances to figure out if you are intolerant to any grains before adding them into your diet. We offer testing for up to 220 foods at our naturopathic clinic.

FATS

Consume less than 10 percent of calories from saturated fatty acids and less than 300 mg/day of cholesterol, and keep trans fatty acid consumption as low as possible.

Keep total fat intake between 20 to 35 percent of calories, with most fats coming from sources of polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fatty acids, such as fish, nuts, and vegetable oils.

When selecting and preparing meat, poultry, dry beans, and milk or milk products, make choices that are lean, low fat, or fat-free.

Limit intake of fats and oils high in saturated and/or trans fatty acids, and choose products low in such fats and oils.

CARBOHYDRATES

Choose fiber-rich fruits, vegetables, and whole grains often.

Choose and prepare foods and beverages with little added sugars or none.

Reduce the incidence of dental caries by practicing good oral hygiene and consuming sugar- and starch-containing foods and beverages less frequently.

SODIUM AND POTASSIUM

Consume less than 2,300 mg (approximately 1 teaspoon of salt) of sodium per day.

Choose and prepare foods with little salt. At the same time, consume potassium-rich foods, such as fruits and vegetables.

ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES

Those who choose to drink alcoholic beverages should do so sensibly and in moderation—defined as the consumption of up to one drink per day for women and up to two drinks per day for men.

Some individuals, including those who cannot restrict their alcohol intake, women of childbearing age who may become pregnant, pregnant and lactating women, children and adolescents, individuals taking medications that can interact with alcohol, and those with specific medical conditions, should not consume alcoholic beverages.

Individuals engaging in activities that require attention, skill, or coordination, such as driving or operating machinery, should avoid alcoholic beverages.

FOOD SAFETY – These are common sense when it comes to food preparation.

To avoid microbial food borne illness:

  • Wash your hands, and clean any contact surfaces where you prepare foods, and fruits and vegetables. Meat and poultry should always be washed or rinsed.
  • Separate raw, cooked, and ready-to-eat foods while shopping, preparing, or storing foods.
  • Cook foods to a safe temperature to kill microorganisms.
  • Chill (refrigerate) perishable food promptly and defrost foods properly.
  • Avoid raw (unpasteurized) milk or any products made from unpasteurized milk, raw or partially cooked eggs or foods containing raw eggs, raw or undercooked meat and poultry, unpasteurized juices, and raw sprouts.

None of this information constitutes for medical advice. Talk to your naturopath before making any changes.

If you are looking to loose weight and keeping it off, here is a link for more information on losing weight naturally.

Trying To Loose Weight? Focus On The Following:

Healthy Me, ,

Most of us are constantly worry about weight gain or not being able to loose weight. We also dread putting ourselves through ridiculous diets and exercise regimens, when all we want to do is: loose weight and not have to put as much effort into it, right? Here are some simple and easy modifications you can focus on, on a day to day basis and see how those pounds melt away:

1. Eat slowly and chew your food properly. For each bite you take, chew at least 11 times. This allows the food to break down into smaller particles and also allows the digestive juices in the saliva to start working on digesting the foods – especially starches.

2. Have a glass of water with a squeeze of lime or lemon before each meal and before each second helping. This will help you decrease the number of calories you would otherwise consume and make you feel fuller faster as well. However, make sure you are not drinking water with your meals, as this will have a negative impact on digestion, as the water will dilute your digestive enzymes.

3. Try to practice food combining. Simply put: Eat your foods in a way that is most favorable / optimal for your digestion. Here are the three simple rules to go by:

– Eat fruits with fruits.
– Eat carbohydrates (potatoes, starchy vegetables, rice, noodles and pastas) with vegetables, and not with protein (meat, fish and vegetarian proteins).
– Eat proteins with vegetables, and not with carbohydrates.
I know, at first you might think – that you have been eating your carbohydrates with proteins all your life, and its been fine. Try to eat for a week with the three simples rules above and let me know what you feel as a difference in your digestion.

4. Avoid foods you are intolerant or mildly allergic to. When you consume foods that you are sensitive or allergic to, you will experience quite a few symptoms including not limited to weight gain and water retention among others. A simple blood test can reveal what your food intolerances and or allergies are. Once you have identified these, try to eliminate them for a few months, and also try to rotate the foods you are eating and add variety to your diet. Do not eat the same foods everyday.

5. Drink at least 1/2 your body weight in ounces or about 8 – 10 glasses of water daily. Hydration is key. Quite often the body mistakes hunger for thirst, especially if you are not used to drinking water, and this leads to consumption of empty calories.

6. Plan your healthy meals and snacks ahead of time. I find this very helpful especially if you are going to be out and about or working long hours daily.  When you have healthy snacks around – you will be less tempted to go and buy unhealthy calorie laden junk foods.  Here is a list of 5 snacks that i usually carry around and love, maybe you can give these a try: dried cherries mixed with cranberries, sliced cucumbers, carrots and peppers with a dash of herbamere seasoning (sea salt with dried herbs), rice crackers with babaganouj or hummus, raw almonds with cashews and walnuts, sliced mangoes or green apples.

7. Try to have most your calories in the early part of the day, for the best utilization of the calories in the food, and spend at least 20 – 30 minutes to eat  your meals and snacks, as opposed to eating too quickly and stuffing the stomach. Try to avoid having snacks while you are engaged in doing something, as this leads to consumption of extra calories you would not have otherwise consumed.

8. Exercise is important, but not if its going to create stress in your life, in an already packed schedule. Try to get at least 10,000 steps in a day – be it walking, brisk walking, jogging, among other activities. If going to a gym is not your thing, take a look at various different activities available and see what you feel drawn to and feel comfortable with. Try it out, you never know, you might actually like it! Talk to your naturopathic doctor about your health goals, and how to optimize your health and well being, using diet and exercise, and also get them to look at your hormone, thyroid levels and metabolism levels, as these could be an issue if you are trying to loose weight at no avail. For more information on weight loss and how to loose weight, please click here.

By: SUSHMA SHAH, Toronto Naturopathic Doctor.

Naturopathic Weight Loss Tips

Healthy Me, ,

Everyone who has been trying to loose weight will try all sorts of different things that will help loose weight and hopefully fast, without much effort. But in truth it is important to loose weight gradually and hopefully keep it off.  Many restrictive diets will cause quick weight loss but in order to loose weight and keep it off, you need to first establish a lifestyle and diet that is feasible for a long time to come without skimping on healthy nutritious foods. Of course quantity is important and eating too much or too little will effect your metabolism as well. Here is a compilation of simple naturopathic weight loss tips from me to you:

1.  Establish regular meal times.  Try not to skip any meals because skipping meals leads to overeating later in the day.  If you don’t have time for a full meal, try to eat a healthy snack or meal replacement bar instead. When you skip a meal, your blood sugar drops and your stress hormone cortisol increase as result to increase the amount of blood sugar in the body, which in turn will also effect your lipid levels in the blood.  Its important to establish regular meal times and eat often.

2.  Make small substitutions in your diet to cut calories. Calories add up quickly especially when you are trying to be mindful about eating healthy. Whenever possible go for foods that are alternate to high calorie foods such as water, diet soda, or unsweetened iced tea instead of high-calorie drinks.  Choose low-calorie and low-fat versions of salad dressing, cheese, sour cream, and mayonnaise.  Go easy on fried foods – bake, broil, poach, or grill your food instead. Instead of sugar, try stevia instead which is a plant sweetener with minimal calories and best of all its guilt free!!!

3.  Read food labels when you are purchasing food items.  Did you know that most of us are not aware of how much a portion size amounts to?  Take a bowl of cereal for example. Most of us who are trying to be vigilant with the amount of empty calories we consume in a day would not think that a bowl of healthy cereal is too much right? Wrong. If you read the labels of the foods you purchase, you will be shocked to realize that what we consider a portion size is very different from what the manufacturer thinks mount to a serving size. Hence pay very close attention to the portion size, the number of calories in each portion, and the amount of saturated fat in each portion.  This can help you make the healthiest food choices.

4.  Measure your servings to control the amount.  Usually when you are you hungry, you will fill up your plate to the nines and chomp as quickly as you can, without realizing you will have probably consumed way more calories than required for a sitting. What does your body do with the extra calories?  It usually uses some for energy, but the rest its stores away. So rather than eating with your eyes, pre-portion your servings so you are not overeating and skip the seconds. So when you feel like snacking on something such as chips or ice- cream, only take a handful or 1/2 a cup of chips and a scoop of ice cream instead of grabbing the whole bag or tub.

5.  Identify “guilty pleasures” such as ice cream, cookies, or potato chips.  Continue to enjoy them by trying the low-calorie versions or eating less of the regular versions. Guilty pleasures usually come in to play when you are feeling down and upset, right?  We tend to go for all those yummy tasty treats that makes us feel so much better for a few minutes but only take a few hours of intense activity to burn off. So whenever you are feeling down and emotionally upset or charged, instead of grabbing that bag of cookies, pick up your sneakers and a water bottle and go for a jog instead and burn out that frustration instead. If you really feel like munching on something – try carrot sticks or celery sticks instead of carbohydrate rich foods. Try to pre plan what you are going to be eating as opposed to eating on the go and then just grabbing something on the way – such as fast food. This will save you time and money and unwanted calories!

6. Controlling calories when dining out.  This is a common question for many patients who feel that once they are put on a mindful diet, they cannot eat out and enjoy the social aspects of eating out and enjoying food. So here are a few tips: If you are eating at a fast food restaurant, order kid size meals or “downsize” food and drinks instead of “super-sizing” them.  Check the nutrition portion of the food and make sure its a healthy option, healthy options are both tasty and nutritious, and of course guilt free. If you are eating with a friend or two, share the appetizers and meals, so you can enjoy more variety as well. If you order a salad, ask for the dressing on the side as opposed to on the salad, and pick low fat dressings. Try to make simple substitutions to your meals, and without realizing it, you will be down a dress size in no time and have lost some weight without even trying.

7. Avoid places and situations that trigger eating. If certain routes and neighborhoods trigger certain behaviors that are not healthy for you, then you are best avoiding them,  for example, if walking past the donut shop causes donut cravings, try changing your route.  Replace the candy on your desk with fruit or avoid walking near the office candy bowl.  Avoid eating while watching television, reading, or driving.  Quite often a lot of things we do are done even without thinking and this is the case when it comes to putting food in the mouth / snacking  when you are busy concentrating on other things, and before you know it, you have consumed more than you should have, so try to concentrate on one thing at a time, without mindless eating.

By: Sushma Shah, Toronto Naturopathic Doctor, at the Nature’s Intentions Naturopathic Clinic.

Simple Naturopathic Tips For Weight Loss

Healthy Me,

Here is a list of simple tips that work wonders for  naturally losing weight:

  • No eating after 8:00 pm. If you are craving all sorts of things even after having a proper dinner, it is not related to being hungry, is most likely related to stress or comfort of the mind that you are feeding. So try having a tall glass of water with a squeeze of some lemon juice instead and a pinch of stevia instead.
  • Smaller meals through out the day. Rather than having 3 large meals, have six small meals through out the day, this way you are distributing you calories through out the day and using them up as opposed to strong the excess and gaining weight unnecessarily.
  • Have a tall glass of warm water 5 – 7 minutes before each meal. This has clinically been shown to reduce weight.
  • Eat slowly rather than wolfing down your meals as quickly as possible, enjoy your food – the colors and textures of the food, and savour each bite.  This will help improve your digestion and make you more aware of how much you eat.
  • Eat up until you fill your stomach feels satiated not full.

By: Sushma Shah, Toronto Naturopathic Doctor, at the Nature’s Intentions Naturopathic Clinic