Try 8 Weeks to Wellness
- By Ashley Klutz, 8WW Coordinator
Our 8 Weeks to Wellness program teaches patients all of the basics for living a truly healthy, functional life, but one of the things most people want to focus on is weight loss. The program stresses that the number on the scale is NOT the most important thing to consider (remembering that nice, lean muscle actually weighs more than fat), but it does offer tips on how to do so if that is one of your goals. Keep in mind all of these apply regardless of whether you are going through the program or not!
- Make sure you are getting enough sweaty cardio. Exercise is obviously one of the keys to burning fat and getting weight off, but a lot of us aren’t pushing ourselves enough when we do it! Effective cardio is keeping your heart rate up (in your target heart range) and making you sweat! If you are not sweaty at the end of your cardio session, you are not working hard enough.
- Are you logging your meals, water and exercise? Those who do see twice the success as those who don’t! (That could mean the difference between 10 and 20 pounds lost)!
- Are you cutting off carb intake after 1pm? 8 Weeks to Wellness teaches patients to stop eating carbs after 1pm (or lunch). It is really important to give your body a break at some point from working so hard to digest carbohydrates. Nights are the perfect time to do so!
- Also be sure your carb choices are high in fiber and protein to lower their net carb amount and glycemic index.
- In our specific program, patients are focusing on portion control (usually using your hand as a guide) as opposed to weighing food out or counting calories. But if you are not seeing the results you want, better control your food intake by measuring out portions by volume (using measuring cups and/or scale) and tracking calories.
- Apps such as MyFitness Pal make this very easy!
- Avoid eating at restaurants as much as possible
- Restaurant food can have as much as 200% more calories than listed!
- You have no control over how it is prepared
- Keep your heart rate up during exercise!
- Heart rate monitors are a great way to track this and the rate at which you are burning calories (it’s almost always less than we think!)
- Finally, remind yourself why you started! Plateaus can be just as much psychological as physical. If you’re starting to lose motivation, remind yourself of the specific reason why you decided to lose weight in the first place! Maybe it was an invite to a high school reunion, or planning a sandy beached vacation. Maybe you saw an unflattering picture of yourself on social media… Whatever the reason, remind yourself often! It is way too easy to get sucked into what we are doing and forget the reason WHY.
Hopefully this has helped move you in the right direction! As always, I am happy to answer any questions you may have about our office, providers or services! See you soon!
Ashley Klutz
8 Weeks to Wellness Coordinator