New Year, New You
Can you transform yourself this year? The answer is, “You can if you set your mind to it.” If you are like many, you have put on more than a few pounds this past year and let exercise slide off the list of things to get done.
To set things straight, you must make yourself a priority again. I’ve heard all the excuses that people come up with and used many of them myself, but it is usually just due to poor food choices and overeating. Let’s get down to the nitty gritty of getting healthy this year. This means getting down to a healthy weight. When I say this, I mean a healthy fat level for your age while maintaining lean muscle mass to keep you burning calories throughout the day. Many think, “If I just start exercising, this will take care of it all.” But this really isn’t the case. Yes, exercise is very important for heart health and to build and maintain muscle and weight loss, but the majority of weight loss, in fact 90%, is completely due to what you eat or the calories and macronutrients you consume. We are terrible at estimating the amount of food and calories we consume if we don’t weigh and write things down. We tend to underestimate calories by up to 40% daily.
So, now what? Well that depends on you and your motivation level. If you are highly motivated to make permanent changes to your lifestyle, then you may be able to do this on your own with strict modifications to your diet. However, this can be difficult to do for many people without some help or aid in some way. Some may need guidance with diet, others need accountability with office visits and weigh-ins a few times a month, and still others need medications to help with appetite control or other things.
Fat loss can be done through healthy meal planning by eating nutrient dense foods while restricting calories each day. It is important to plan each day’s meals and macronutrients (proteins, complex carbohydrates, and fats) based on your current body weight and fat levels to most easily lose the weight and stay the healthiest you can be during your journey.
During your weight loss, you will be learning how to eat and cook delicious foods you can love to eat with your whole family. Don’t cook different foods for your children or spouse. You want to cook healthy foods for them as well. Healthy food should be flavorful and beautiful, full of color from a variety of vegetables, herbs, and proteins that can be roasted or grilled to perfection. There are limitless possibilities of combinations you can try and you won’t be hungry, like some think, once you are eating the correct combinations of foods.
So if you are ready to change the future you but need a little help in doing so, look no further, I’d love to help you. Call our office, 406-742-5256 for your appointment.
Shari J. Twigg, MD
Advanced Aesthetics
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