THREE MYTHS ABOUT WEIGHT LOSS

AFTER WRITING THIS COLUMN BI-WEEKLY FOR SEVERAL YEARS NOW,

I've had many people write in after something in that week's column twigged with them. I really do enjoy hearing from readers as it helps me to hone in on which topics are top of mind for all you readers. And, it also confirms that at least someone is reading it. My last column on obesity and lifestyle disease seemed to strike a chord with many readers, and I'm hopeful those of you who felt prompted will get started taking steps to take back control of your health.

Often times I've found that people really want to make some changes, but they don't know how to go about it. There's so much information out there, it can be overwhelming. Especially if you don't know what to look for and what to avoid. And while we're at it, let's debunk a few myths around getting healthy too.

The most common myths I hear are; “Eating healthy is too expensive...”, “It's sooo confusing...”, “I have to give up my favourite foods...”. Let me be the first to tell you, a) you do NOT have to give up all your favourite foods in order to get healthy and/or lose weight, b) when you have a plan and a program to follow, with a community of support, it becomes just so simple. And c) not eating healthy is way more expensive in the long run. Let's face it, we all have extra “food” in our pantry, cupboards and fridges that do nothing to support health. Suppose you were to stop buying those items, and use that money instead for healthy, whole food options? There are a ton of “food-like substances” out there that are not serving your body, mind or overall health. I invite you to do a little pantry sweep when you're done reading this column and see just how many items you may have had acquired. Trust me, it doesn't matter how clean you think you're eating, you'll always find something, or a bunch of somethings, you'd do well to replace.

Let's suppose you've done the clean sweep and pulled out the nasties, replaced with healthy, whole-food options and now what? Time to learn about PFCs. Proteins, Fats and Carbohydrates (Carbs), or macros. Regardless what you call them, learning how to put your food together in away that will put your body into homeostasis (balance) is key. Here are a few of the basics you can do that will make a huge impact on your energy, sleep, metabolism and overall health. 1. Eat breakfast within about an hour of waking. Blood sugar is low first thing in the morning so making sure you're having some protein with those carbs and fat will not only balance blood sugar and hormones, but it fires up your metabolism and allows the body to release stored fat and burn it as energy. 2. Eating small, PFC balanced meals every 3-4 hours throughout the day keeps your metabolism turned on and burning fat. 3. Remove inflammatory foods like gluten, soy, dairy, salt, sugar, alcohol. 4. Drink more water. Ladies we should be consuming two to three litres, gents three to four litres per day. And FYI, a few extra trips to the bathroom means toxins are being flushed out, not staying in and wreaking havoc on your system. 5. Do it together. Having a support system and people cheering you on is what keeps you accountable and moving forward, even on those days when you don't feel like it. Especially those days.

I can't tell you how many clients have come to me saying, “I know what I need to do, I just need someone to be accountable to.” It's how crazy fad diets get so much traction. It's also why in my FIT Nutrition practice we have a community of support to go with the plan and program. In fact when we ran the numbers from a 500 person pilot group over 7 weeks, 93 percent had more energy, 98 percent had little to no cravings, 96 percent lost inches, 98 percent felt it was easy and the average weight loss over 7 weeks was 14lbs. Without dieting.