Personal Trainer Toronto

Lifestyle changes: “I know I need to change … it’s easier said than done”

“I know I cannot out exercise my diet.”

“I know I have to cut out sugar from my diet to lose weight”

“I know I have to cook my own meals, so I know what I put in my food”

“I know I have to exercise to help me lose weight”

“I know losing weight will eliminate pain in my lower back, knees, foot”

“I know I will not have sleep apnea if I lose the extra weight”

These are some of the common comments for people who wants to lose excess pounds to be healthy. While it’s been proven many times over that lifestyle changes that include healthy eating and regular exercise works, many still struggle to stick to the program.

Research and recommendations:

After scouring through many high quality studies, researchers come to the following recommendations:

Set realistic goals and focus on health - set small realistic changes in your lifestyle and stay focus on health. Don’t let the scale judge how you have improved in your health. You will know that you have improved if you feel better - you have more energy, your arms or thighs are firmer, you have less pain, … other good feelings that you have.

Understand your food relationship to food - Emotional eating ~ common cause of not staying on track in healthy eating program is people seeking comfort in food to ease the pain of various life stressors. Understand how you deal with stress is important in the success of your program. Seek professional help to resolve the root cause of emotional eating

Take good care of yourself first before you can help others - Most people especially mothers are committed to taking care of other family members first before putting themselves ahead. Taking care of yourself first will influence people that you take care of. Set up a plan to plot a course for healthy eating and regular exercise so that your entire family can stick to it. Do it together with your family.

Don’t break the bank to eat healthy and exercise - develop a plan to purchase fresh produce and meats on bulk is alot less expensive. You can store the fresh produce and meats in your freezer. Exercise don’t have to involve a gym membership. Home exercise programs are free. There are a lot of workout videos on the internet that are free or you can go hiking in the park, gardening work, showel snow, clean up your basement, etc. - all these are physically active jobs that can also help you save money. Perhaps go around your neighbourhood and offer to help seniors showel snow and possibly earn a few bucks.

One final point to consider about physical activities - is try to avoid injuries, it may develop into chronic injury. If you don’t have the know-how to exercise, join an exercise class or martial arts class or perhaps seek the help a trainer. Start off slow and ramp up your workout intensity when you feel comfortable. Don’t set out to set personal records on the first day back after a long period of hiatus from exercise.

References:

Lifestyle change: “I know what to do, I just need to do it…but how?”

Childhood obesity: causes and consequences

(abstract) Lifestyle interventions for weight loss in adults with severe obesity: a systematic review

Added sugar in your Diet

Here’s another report that states too sugar causes us to gain unhealthy weight,

The fact is non-fresh produce or meats have sugar added. Salad dressings, yogurt, cereals, ketchup, have added to enhance taste and increase shelf life.

The added sugar is sometimes listed in many different alternate names such as corn syrup, cane sugar, agave syrup … there are 61 different alternate names for sugar that the food industry uses in the ingredient list. The list of alternate names of sugar are found in this website - https://www.personaltrainertoronto.com/information/i-work-out-and-eat-well-but-cant-lose-weight/#hidden%20sugar%20in%20food

The amount of sugar may be small but, it adds up ~ a little bit from each - salad dressing, pasta sauce, glass of orange juice. You’ll be surprise with dosage of added sugar you’re consuming in just one meal. The recommended daily allowances of sugar intake are 6 teaspoons (24 grams) for female and 9 teaspoons (36 grams) for male.

Sugar is added to most of the processed food. Fructose, sugar found in fruits, is the most detrimental sugar molecule to human body. Does that mean fruit is bad? A big NO!

The fiber in fruits slows down the rate of extraction of the sugar from fruits. Our bodies can handle the amount of fructose when it’s slowly released in low amounts. Fruits are also high in vitamins, minerals, a great source of antioxidants. Additionally, it's better to eat your fruit than drinking it!

Exercise may help with your willpower

Preliminary studies have shown that exercise may help boost your willpower. The delayed gratification can help you curb food craving impulses which negatively affect your weight loss or health goals. Exercise has a mysterious way of increasing your self control. Exertion during a bout of exercise is not pleasing but it feels marvelous after knowing you have managed to keep going when it was challenging. Not to mention the confidence boosts, it paves the way to more positive outlook which will affect your later decision making. - Source New York Times: https://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/09/27/well/move/how-exercise-might-increase-your-self-control.html

A salad a day keeps stroke away

The nitrates in vegetables are helping to keep our blood vessels healthy and flexible - which helps in lowering blood pressure and reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease.

New published research indicated that women who ate more vegetables have less thickening in their carotid arteries compared to the women who have less leafy greens in their diet.

Sugar is Addictive

Like drugs, sugar is addictive. High amounts of sugar in our diet triggers the release of dopamine. Dopamine activates the pleasure feeling in brain reward center. Prolong exposure to sugar overload lessens receptors in the brain to sensitivity of dopamine overload - a condition known as tolerance. As a result, craving develops because the brain now needs more sugar to get the same “high” - hence addiction.

Exercise is a great way to improve dopamine and serotonin levels. Serotonin regulates mood (calmness, happiness, emotional stability), blood flow, bowel movement, bone health, sex drive.