Judging by the discussion in the social media, confinement is causing many of us to gain some weight.

It could be the uncertainty/anxiety, being home with easy access to food/snacks, overcompensating with food for the lack of other things to do – whatever it is, if you your clothes started to feel a bit tighter after these few weeks – today’s blog is for you.

First of all, let’s bust a few myths when it comes to weight management. The one that I find myself busting most often is the calories-in/calories-out idea. It is really one that drives my crazy ;-) I like to say that your body is not a bank account but rather a chemistry lab (it originally comes from JJ Virgin I believe).

Let me explain.

Say, you eat something worth 100 calories. Depending on what it is that you ate, it can have radically different impact on your body. Some foods will raise your blood sugar, some will not; some will make your body store fat, others will prompt your body to burn stored fat; and some will give you a quick energy surge followed by also a quick energy crash while others will give you a more steady energy. So, it is not all the same and the impact on our bodies can be very different depending on what this 100 calories consist of.

On the other side of the coin, it is not necessarily true that you would lose weigh just by blindly cutting some calories. You might indeed lose some weight initially but our bodies will quickly adapt and try to maintain the status quo (i.e. ensure your survival) by lowering your metabolism. And so, you can find yourself in a downward spiral where you keep eating less while your weight never changes (or you might even gain the weight ). Not a good place to be.

So, without further ado, my top 5 tips that you can put in practice right now to shed a few extra kilos.

1. Drink more water between the meals

   Increasing your water intake speeds up your metabolism and, thus, helps with weight loss. Read my blog on benefits of drinking more water with some tips on how to go about it But it also matters when you drink it. In order to aid your digestion, it is best to stop drinking some 30 minutes before a meal and only resume drinking again 30-60 minutes after the meal.

2. Have 1-2 servings of non-starchy vegetables with each meal

   If there is one thing that all nutritional experts can agree on, is that we should all eat more vegetables and, in particular, non-starchy vegetables. These include leafy greens like spinach, arugula, kale, etc. and other vegetables such as zucchini, bell peppers, cucumbers, etc. and my favourite cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower. Eat the colours of the rainbow! It turns out that by eating different colours of vegetables (the same goes for fruit) we end up providing our bodies with a wide range of phytonutrients (i.e. natural pigments) and antioxidants that all have different protecting qualities and, thus, different health benefits. So, practically, how can you go about it? One serving is roughly a one cup of raw vegetables or a half a cup of cooked vegetables. Try to make ensure at least 1-2 servings with each meal and scale up from there. Simple meal ideas include having a green protein smoothie for breakfast (or sautéed green with your eggs), mixed salad with protein for lunch, and roasted vegetables with fish/meat for dinner. One of my favourite tricks to eat more cruciferous vegetables is to make a cauliflower rice to be served as a side dish.

3. Cut down of simple carbohydrates, minimize sugar

   Sugar is energy and our bodies, and especially our brain, need it to function. The problem is the excess sugar and, in particular, the added sugar in the processed food. In general, all the sweat things we eat (both natural like fruit and processed like candy) and all the carbohydrates get converted into a form of sugar (glucose) in our blood stream. But, while whole fruit, starchy vegetables, and slow-burning carbohydrates would also include fibre and plenty of other nutrients, added sugar has no added nutritional value and therefore constitutes the so-called ‘empty calories’. Apart from myriad of health problems that overconsumption of sugar and starches contributes to, it also lowers our immunity. Read more here.

4. Get sufficient quantity and quality of sleep and manage stress

   What does it mean to get sufficient quantity and quality of sleep? Every person is different but 7-9 hours is usually considered a healthy range (you may need more these days of heightened anxiety surrounding the Covid-19 pandemic). The sleep should be also of good quality, so that you wake up feeling energised. Ensuring good sleep starts the day before – the choices you make as regards what and when you eat and drink, your physical activity, your stress level....it all matters for how well or badly you will sleep the following night. What about stress – why is it actually mentioned here in the blog on weight management? While some of us do indeed react to heightened stress by loosing appetite and hence loosing some weight, this is not what we would consider a healthy way to get to a leaner body. Chronic stress and inflammation it causes are one of the contributing factors to many modern diseases and often this is ultimately what kills us. For today’s blog, one aspect to keep in mind is that stress raises your body’s stress hormone – cortisol – which, in turn, raises your blood sugar. Thus, it can have the same negative impact on your waist as eating sugar (belly fat and chronic stress are highly correlated).

5. Have 2-4 meals and no snacking

   Each time we consume calories (either as food or caloric drinks), it starts a complicated physical and chemical/hormonal reaction in our body. Among many other necessary reactions, our body needs to release insulin to control the level of glucose/sugar in our blood stream and increase the stomach acid to be able to digest food. This is all very good and great if it functions smoothly. But, if we constantly eat and snack between the meals, we do not give our body’s digestive system a time to rest and, more importantly, clean after the previous meal. This can over time lead to myriad of health problems and even lead to insulin resistance, diabetes, small bacteria intestinal overgrowth (SIBO), etc. In order to switch from burning sugar to burning fat, you need to go 4-6 hours in between the meals. Thus, try to limit your meals to 3 per day (if needed, you can also add a fourth meal/snack). In order to be able to last 4-6 hours in between the meals, you need to make sure that your meals are balanced and include fiber (vegetables), good quality protein, good fat, and if you want also some slow burning carbs. You can read more about it on my blog.

So, there you have it. All these are simple enough and yet many of us struggle with making a switch to healthier habits. In a way, this is absolutely normal as letting go of old habits and switching to new ones requires a lot of energy initially and, thus, is not easy to do. But, it can absolutely be done! I have worked with a number of people just like you - ready for a change but unsure about where to start and how to go about it. Working with a health coach like myself can really be helpful in this process by taking the guesswork out (all the conflicting nutritional information out there) and giving you the easy to follow steps while motivating you along the way. So, don’t wait and schedule a free consultation with me today. I would love to help you along the way.

Hello! I am Magda and I work with people that are ready to transform their health and wellbeing. What are your health goals that you have not been able to reach? Read more about me and my services.

Subscribe!

Subscribe below to my newsletter.