Category: Weight Loss

Posted by Christine Pope on in Health Care, Nutrition, Weight Loss

Stuff the diet!

bigstock-Measurement-tape-wrapped-aroun-14088857

Christmas celebrations can be challenging when you are trying to lose weight. It’s easy to forget how much you have eaten when you drink too much. So how do you get through the silly season without gaining another 2 kilos?

The challenges at this time of year are often considerable, partly due to the type of events and partly due to the change in routine.

Planning is key to surviving the festivities with your waist line intact. Figure out what sort of food or drink is on offer and plan accordingly. In fact if you are going to cocktail parties try and avoid arriving really hungry. It just makes the deep fried spring rolls and appetisers look more tempting. Plan a snack with some protein a couple of hours before the function. It could be a small tub of yoghurt, humuus with some rice crackers or veggie sticks or a large handful of nuts. This means you can wait until they bring out snacks which are a little less calorie laden and you won’t eat as many of them.

Background of ripe cherries

Giving up drinking during the holidays can be tough, so try alternating a large sparkling water with your glass of bubbles or red wine instead. A couple of glasses of wine is probably not going to blow the calorie count in a week unless you are having two glasses a night! That works out at 2 bottles of wine which probably isn’t going to add a nice number to your scales. However for the week where you seem to have every night out try balancing it in the morning with a protein shake with some berries. Having a lower calorie but satisfying breakfast will help even out your consumption. Good options for protein shakes include Iso Why or Metagenics French Vanilla Shake as well as Vital Greens Protein for those who can’t tolerate dairy!

Changes to your routine, which often mean you work all day and then have functions in the evening, play havoc with your exercise routine. The worst thing is you really miss out on the regular endorphin boost of exercise as well as the fat burning. If you can’t get to the gym at least think about fitting a half hour walk into your day. I really enjoy coming back from a function and taking the dog up to the oval for a few laps in the coolest part of the day. Well mostly I enjoy it, last week I got attacked by Christmas beetles and got a bit freaked out!!

If all else fails consider a lovely detox and weight loss plan in January 2015!

What the hell is bioimpendence analysis??
Posted by Christine Pope on in Nutrition, Weight Loss

What the hell is bioimpendence analysis??

In the last blog I mentioned that I was at a seminar where everyone else had these amazing bioimpedence analysis results and mine were to put it nicely very average!

So what is bioimpedence analysis and how is it useful to you in finding out about your health?

Bioimpedence analysis was originally developed to monitor patients who were recovering from surgery in hospitals. Bioimpedence analysis measures fat mass, muscle mass and inflammation. It does this by running a low level electric current through two points on the feet and hands and assessing how long it takes for the current to reach the points and return. The test itself only takes a few minutes however you also need a persons height, weight, wrist circumference and waist measurement to flesh out the parameters.

By measuring these parameters you can start with a baseline of where someone’s health is at and also measure changes over time. Its really useful with weight loss as people often get frustrated saying well I only lost a kilo and I was doing all this exercise. You can actually see with bioimpedence analysis that they have actually lost 2kg of fat and gained a kilo of muscle – which really helps with motivation. Also muscle burns more energy so often I start by getting people to work on building more muscle to really help them burn kilojoules.

VLA2

 

One of the areas I really focus on in practice however is ATM and ATM energy. ATM is active tissue mass or muscle mass in the body. ATM energy is how much energy your muscle mass is producing and this can be really variable. In the picture above the client is showing as having about 4kg less muscle than is adequate for their frame.  If you think of this as being the size of their battery then the battery is too small so even with a good level of energy they may feel more fatigued.

There are several changes you can make which really help improve energy levels. Start with a healthy well balanced diet high in vegetables and good quality protein. If that doesn’t make enough of a difference then you can look at various supplements including a good quality multi vitamin and magnesium or CoQ10.

If you would like to find out what your bioimpedence analysis results look like I am happy to do a free report for you in my clinic on a Tuesday or Wednesday during May and June, 2014. You just need to book in with reception on 8084 0081 and book in a short nutrition consult for a bioimpedence analysis  (VLA) for 15 minutes.  Ideally you will also make sure you know your height as I can do all the other measurements in clinic.

Posted by Christine Pope on in Nutrition, stress, Weight Loss

Is stress making you fat?

Image

Many of us gain weight when we are stressed simply because we grab a quick fix of carbs to keep us going. Over the course of days and weeks this often adds up quickly to quite a few kilos. We know what we should be eating, but often we are just too tired or too busy to prepare healthy meals and snacks.

But for some people stress adds another nasty surprise with elevated cortisol resulting in weight gain around the stomach. If you usually put it on around the hips something else may be contributing.

Cortisol levels should be highest in the morning and fall during the day, being lowest at midnight. Typically if your cortisol is high you may also have problems sleeping as well. Cortisol has a wide range of functions but for weight gain it stimulates the release of glucose to maintain blood sugar levels. So elevated cortisol through the day can result in increased appetite – stress is making you hungrier (and fatter).

Getting control of your cortisol levels isn’t as simple as just balancing blood sugar. You need to deal with triggers which are creating the stress for you. Sometimes it isn’t the situation itself but how you respond to it that makes you stressed. Often what is stressful for one person is not a problem for someone else.

So once you identify the trigger try and think about some other ways to handle the situation. Take five deep breaths before you even think about reacting. If you still aren’t feeling calmer then a thirty minute walk (before you scream at your boss) which will reduce your cortisol levels and help you stay calmer. A regular meditative practice, such as yoga or indeed meditation can also be a good way to get your cortisol levels under control.

Christine runs regular Stress Managment Workshop with Cheryl Alderman at Be Ultimate . Alternatively make an appointment with Christine on 8084 0081 , her practice is at Elemental Health at St Ives, Sydney

Posted by Christine Pope on in Health Care, Nutrition, Weight Loss

5 simple strategies for losing weight

bigstock-Measurement-tape-wrapped-aroun-14088857

What is stopping you losing weight?

This month I am looking at the major “obstacles” as I believe until you deal with these issues it is really hard to successfully lose weight and keep it off.

Insulin Resistance is one of the most common problems blocking weight loss and unfortunately yo yo dieting usually makes it worse. So how do you deal with insulin resistance?

First up be clear this is the problem – usually insulin resistance presents with a craving for sweet and fatty foods as well as dips in energy if you haven’t eaten for a few hours. This then makes you crave sweet food to boost your blood glucose perpetuating a nasty cycle. Your body then releases insulin to store the elevated glucose (often as fat) and this frequent activation can cause the pancreas, which produces insulin, to become less effective.

Strategies for improving your insulin resistance;

1. A low carbohydrate diet with modest amounts of protein at every meal. Low carbs doesn’t mean no carbs it just means that you need to reduce carbohydrates (such as bread and pasta) to 2-3 serves a day and increase the nutrient density of your meals with 6 serves of vegetables a day.  In addition try and eat some protein containing food every 4 hours to avoid dips in blood glucose – a handful of nuts or half a tub of yoghurt could be some easy options.

2. Regular exercise has consistently been shown to improve insulin sensitivity – 30 minutes of walking five times a week is enough to produce consistent benefit. Ideally you could add some resistance exercise to build muscle however just the walking will produce significant benefits and you don’t need special gear!

3. Supplements – this area is a little tricky as it can depend on your specific symptoms. A good base is a multi vitamin and good quality fish oil (1000mg).  If sweet cravings are an issue then chromium is often indicated. Australian soils are old and depleted so it is hard to get it from your diet. The other key nutrient is magnesium and if you also get cramps or muscle aches and pains or sleep badly this is a good signal that you may require it – generally at least 400mg a day is a good level.

4. Stress less – find a way to start managing the stress in your life as this is a major trigger. It can lead to abdominal obesity and inflammation thereby aggravating your symptoms. Ideal ways to manage stress could include a regular yoga class, meditation tapes, journalling, walking on the beach or simply meeting with a friend.

5. Avoid CRAP foods – Carbonated , Refined, Additive laden and Processed foods. If you look on the back of the packet and you don’t know what things are, then basically its not food.  Trans fats in particular are very damaging to your arteries and these substances are often used to preserve foods so best to avoid them!

Christine Pope is a nutritionist and homeopath based at Elemental health at St Ives. If you need help with managing your weight you can make an appointment on 8084 0081.