Nutrition

Spring Is the Best Time of Year to Lose Weight!

Spring Is the Best Time of Year to Lose Weight!

Spring seems like the best thing ever–all the showers and flowers and it is, because the season magically makes you lose weight.  You can’t argue with these facts, actual proof that spring is all the things:
Beautiful weather makes you want to be more active.
Revealing spring clothes zaps your desire to overeat.
Cold-weather drinks have fewer calories than warm-weather drinks.
The season’s most delicious foods are incredibly healthy.
With daylight savings you get more waking hours of sunshine.
Green stuff is abundant in the spring and green stuff burns fat. And it just so happens spring is prime time for seasonal veggies like arugula, kale, spinach, and broccoli.
Your mood is brighter! most people feel an increase in energy, optimism, and excitement with the arrival of spring.  This positive feeling helps to lose weight!


How To Lose Body Fat By Changing What You Eat

How To Lose Body Fat By Changing What You Eat

We help people in Massachusetts lose body fat by creating personalized science-based menus. A program of regular exercise is also important, but a healthy diet is even more important. Changing what you eat can help you lose weight, while you improve your health. The basic premise of weight loss is calories in compared to calories out, but it’s not all that easy. You need a diet that also contains all the nutrients you require. Some foods also boost your metabolism, so they increase the number of calories you burn even when you’re asleep.

Some foods are thermogenic.

Thermogenic foods take a lot of calories to digest, which lowers the actual net calories that you consume. Foods high in protein fall into that category. You burn about one-third of all the calories from protein to digest it. Foods high in protein also fill you up faster and make you feel full longer. The amino acid L-arginine boosts metabolism. It increases HGH which helps burn fat, increases energy so you burn even more calories, and burns belly fat.

Have a banana and lose a pound.

Eating one banana won’t make you lose a pound, but eating foods rich in potassium, like bananas, will help you lose weight. Potassium has many functions in the body. It can help people with heart problems, acts as a natural diuretic, and aids in muscle recovery to improve your workout. A banana isn’t the only food that is high in potassium. Leafy greens and avocados are two others that contain potassium, plus have other weight loss nutrients and benefits.

Healthy fat can help you burn fat.

When you think of fat, you might think of marbling in steak or greasy, fatty fries, but there are other options. Food can contain omega-3 fatty acids, which are healthy fats. They help prevent insulin spikes that can pack on pounds. Sardines, kale, salmon, grass-fed beef, and walnuts all contain omega-3 fatty acids. Coconut oil has saturated fat lauric acid, a medium chain triglyceride—MCT. Using coconut oil can boost your energy and help you lose belly fat.

  • Eat food containing magnesium, such as cashews, almonds, and spinach. Magnesium helps muscle contractions when you exercise and lowers fasting glucose and insulin levels. It keeps your fat-burning furnace burning at peak performance.
  • Drinking more water can help you lose weight in several ways. Drinking it before a meal can fill you up so you eat less. It can prevent dehydration that slows metabolism. If you drink it ice cold, you’ll burn extra calories to warm your body.
  • Food high in B vitamins, which includes choline, helps prevent fat storage by blocking the gene that causes fat storage. Those foods also make you feel fuller. Beans, eggs, lean meat, and milk are high in B vitamins. Bananas also fit in this category.
  • Potatoes and peas can help you lose weight. Both contain resistant starch, which increases after you cook and cool them. Store them in the fridge after cooling and make a potato/pea salad the next day for fat-burning benefits.

For more information, contact us today at ProWeightLoss


Are You on a Weight Loss Plateau?

Are You on a Weight Loss Plateau?

Being stuck at a weight-loss plateau eventually happens to everyone who tries to lose weight. There will be good weeks and not-so-good weeks.  Plateaus are a common part of weight loss.  The important thing to remember here is that weight loss isn’t linear and it’s actually normal for your weight to fluctuate on a regular basis.  If you are committed to losing weight, try these tips for getting past the plateau:

1. Reassess your habits. Look back at your food and activity records. Make sure you haven’t loosened the rules. For example, look at whether you’ve been having larger portions, eating more processed foods, or getting less exercise. Research suggests that off-and-on loosening of rules contributes to plateaus.
2. Don’t mess with your diet. As long as you’re eating a healthy diet, there is no reason to change it just because you hit that weight-loss plateau.   The most important thing with dietary habits is being consistent.
3. Increase physical activity. Get at least 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity or 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity a week, or a combination of moderate and vigorous activity. Adding exercises such as weightlifting to increase your muscle mass will help you burn more calories.
4. Focus on your non-scale successes.  While it can be exciting to see the numbers on the scale go down, this isn’t the only measure of success when it comes to losing weight.  Your weight loss journey isn’t just about numbers.  Non-scales victories such as loose jeans, better sleep, more energy are also victories!

The key to avoiding a weight loss plateau is to make lasting changes to your diet, physical activity and let time do the rest.


5 Ways to Beat the Winter Blues!

5 Ways to Beat the Winter Blues!

It is common to feel the winter blues with the colder weather and shorter days. You are not alone if you experience fatigue, sadness, difficulty concentrating, lack of motivation and trouble sleeping during this time of the year. Here are some tricks to manage these mood changes:
Get outside.
Bundle up and be sure to go outside even if it’s only for 10 minutes.  Research shows that spending time outdoors, in sunshine, in nature and fresh air, reduces stress and anxiety and increases feelings of happiness.
Spend time with others.
Social interaction is a well-known protector against all forms of depression, lowering blood pressure and levels of stress hormones.  If they don’t live close-by, give them a call, or get a group together for a fun video call.
Focus healthy eating.
It is very important since this time of the year tends to produce carbohydrate cravings that result in weight gain. Ensure you are eating a combination of real food at each meal, eat lots of oily fish and take extra vitamin D (the sunshine vitamin).
Get enough sleep.
Be consistent with the amount of sleep you get each day and follow a routine that allows you to go to bed and wake up at the same time each day.  Sleep in a cool, dark room and refrain from using electronics in the bedroom.
Keep fit and stay active!
Exercise can have mood-lifting effects that are as good as taking antidepressant medication.  Start slowing and gradually increase your duration and intensity level.  Get a combination of cardio, strength and stretch.

The winter blues can take a toll on your physical and mental health. Although you can’t change the season, you can make choices to help minimize the effects and boost your mood!


The Power of Two!

The Power of Two!

Losing weight as a couple, or even with a close friend, may increase your chances for success.

Trying to lose weight isn’t as easy as it seems, especially when you’re doing it alone. If you have considered starting a new health or weight loss program but hesitated, consider grabbing a partner.  Research shows couples were three times more successful at losing weight than people who were single.  Here are a few tips for couples:

Make a date and go shopping.
Having healthy foods at home sets the foundation for healthy eating.  Both fruits and vegetables should make up about half of your meals.  Help each other limit snacking.

Design a healthy eating meal plan together.
Sit down together and write out a week’s worth of meals.  Make sure that both of you agree on what you are choosing. Together, you can try new foods and explore new flavors.  Don’t be afraid to spice it up.

Focus on habits, not the number on the scale.
Focus on the eating and activity habits you want to change together.  Support each other.  Do not make competition.  It takes time to create new habits in order to lose weight with your partner.

Exercise together
Working out and exercising create bonding and intimacy between couples, which is very useful in successful relationships.

Spend more time outdoors.
A simple walk in a park with your partner may help to burn calories.


Create the new you through Pro Weight Loss

Create the new you through Pro Weight Loss

Many of us feel tired and wonder why we have no energy. On top of that, we have a very difficult time controlling our weight through the American food system. Pro weight loss is dedicated to creating a new you by giving your body the nutrient balance it’s looking for. You don’t need to be deprived to feel good about your food!  Our program allows you to detox yourself from all the toxins, chemicals, and plastic enzymes that are stored in your body. These cause inflammation, among other problems, that are connected to being overweight.

It’s one of the fastest ways to transform yourself into the new you and feel better! Luckily, your body wants to heal. Given the right nutrients and path, it can rebound quickly!

Many people report that they feel great after they have done our program. One of the main reasons why is because of the process that we take to transform an acid filled body to a PH balanced body. When your body becomes overweight, it becomes acidic. A body that has too much acid creates inflammation. Inflammation starts to cause all kinds of problems! From your metabolism to health issues related to organs as well as sleeping and energy loss.

The Pro Weight Loss process is a chance to reset your body’s balance and start a new life through food that will energize you and make you feel great!

In a matter of weeks, you can feel completely different through our program! We would love to have the chance to help you!


Burpees For Beginners

Burpees For Beginners

You may have heard how wonderful bodyweight exercises are for fitness. They build strong bodies, improve endurance, strength and flexibility, and don’t require any equipment. One of the best bodyweight exercises is burpees. It’s a total-body workout. Knowing how to do the exercise correctly is important, so here’s a guide to burpees for beginners.

Burpees were originally a test for sedentary people.

Burpees may sound like something you do after drinking a cola too fast, but it was named for the man who created the exercise, Dr. Royal H. Burpee. It was created to test total body fitness. The exercise Dr. Burpee created was just five steps. The modern version is seven steps and a lot harder. 1. Squat. 2. Kick feet back to a plank. 3. Do one push-up. 4. Frog kick and jump your feet back to squat position. 5. Stand up and reach your arms upward. 6. Jump. 7. As you land, bend your knees and get back into the squat position.

Like all types of exercise, form is important.

Do burpees slowly at first to ensure you have proper form. When you lower yourself to a squat position, your feet should be shoulder-width, with your knees bent and your back straight. Place your hands on the floor in the space between your feet and kick back your feet, landing so your weight is on your hands and toes. You’ll be in the push-up position. Do one push-up, then do a frog kick that brings your feet back to the starting position. Stand. Immediately raise your hands above your head, reaching for the sky as you jump up quickly while bending your knees as you come down, allowing your body to go back to the starting position.

Burpees are great exercise, but not everyone can do them right away.

This complex exercise has many steps. Not everyone can do every step. You don’t have to miss all the benefits and can work your way to doing a proper burpee by making adjustments for steps that are too difficult for you. Is a straight-arm push-up too hard? Lower your body to your knees after doing the plank and do a knee-bent push-up. You can also skip the push-up entirely, holding the plank longer. You can then work on push-ups and upper body strength separately. The last jump in the air can be skipped until you get into shape.

  • Focus on keeping your back straight when you’re in a push-up position. Don’t allow your midsection to drop or push your butt in the air.
  • You’ll work large muscle groups doing burpees, which provide a multitude of benefits. It increases nitric oxide in the body, causing blood vessels to dilate and lower blood pressure.
  • Burpees work core muscles, glutes, quads, shoulders, calves, chest and triceps. It’s an excellent cardio workout. Start slowly, focusing on form and doing just a few, especially if you’ve lived a sedentary lifestyle.
  • If your goal is to burn fat, burpees can be your go-to exercise. While they’re hard to do and make you sweat, they burn a lot of calories. You’ll build muscle tissue at the same time, which boosts your metabolism.

For more information, contact us today at ProWeightLoss


Keep it off

Keep it off

 

Although weight loss is difficult, keeping the weight off is even harder.   The truth is most people who lose weight will regain it within a few years.  How can you increase the odds that you will be in the group of successful dieters who keep the weight off? Exercise is a key factor in maintaining weight loss, in part because it stimulates your metabolism.  It can also help you maintain and increase lean body mass, which also helps increase number of calories you burn each day.
At the same time, it’s also important to keep focused on what you have learned about healthy eating.  Healthy weight management is not about dieting or counting calories.  It is about building healthy habits.  Eating healthy food that fills you up and provide real nutrients is key to maintain a healthy weigh.  Healthy food and exercise are vital strategies for losing and maintaining weight.
Here we have some general guidelines:

  • Eat breakfast.
  • 2-3 servings of fruit daily.
  • 3-5 serving of vegetables daily.
  • 9-15 oz of lean protein daily.
  • 8 glasses of water.
  • 3-4 times /weekly physical activity.
  • Limit grains from 4-5 times/weekly.
  • Avoid alcohol and processed food.
  • Sleep 7-9 hrs. per day.

Diet vs Exercise: What Matters Most?

Diet vs Exercise: What Matters Most?

Diet and exercise are both important for optimal health, but diet and exercise can play different roles when trying to lose weight. For weight loss, diet seems to be more effective than physical activity. Diet is probably more important for losing weight.  Physical activity for keeping it off.

Achieving a calorie deficit through diet modifications is key for weight loss, while exercise provides many benefits that help sustain your results.

To lose weight you must be in a calorie deficit, meaning your body expends more calories than you consume.  This can be achieved by eating and drinking fewer calories, burning more calories from physical activity, or a combination of two.

While both diet and exercise are important for weight loss. It’s generally easier to manage your calorie intake by modifying your diet than it is to burn significantly more calories through exercise.


Feet on bathroom scale with measuring tape

What To Do When You Hit A Weight Loss Plateau

You’ve been working hard to follow a healthy lifestyle, consuming a low-calorie high nutritional diet and consistent with your exercise routine. It’s rewarding to watch your weight drop.  What happens when the scale stops moving?  This is when you’ve hit a weight-loss plateau.  This is not the time to revert back to old habits.  Here are some tips to help you jumpstart your weight loss:

Reassess your habits
Review your food journal and activity log to ensure you haven’t increased your portion sizes or decreased your exercise.
Reduce your calories
Calories consumed should be less than calories burned. Ensure you don’t have below 1,200 calories daily.
Be sure you are eating the right foods
Include lean proteins, vegetables, fruits and healthy fats.
Get enough exercise each day
Whether it be a full workout or a quick walk, pack more activities into your day that keep you moving.
Amp up and change your workouts
Get a combination of cardio and strength training.  You may want to increase the intensity level of some workouts to burn more calories. Weight lifting also burns more fat.

No need to be discouraged. It’s normal for weight loss to slow and even stall. By understanding what causes a weight-loss plateau, you can decide how to respond and avoid backsliding on your new healthy habits.