Tag: tuesdaytip

Tuesday Tip

Tuesday tip: Celebrate the Small Successes

Dr Nancy P

Tuesday tip: Celebrate the Small Successes 🏆

We’re past ‘blue’ Monday – supposedly the most depressing day of the year and a day when many people give up their new year’s resolutions. It’s easy to get despondent if you’re not seeing the scale shift but just because you’re not losing weight it doesn’t mean your weightloss journey isn’t a success. It’s all about creating sustainable, long lasting habits that help you live a healthier lifestyle, so we need to celebrate those too!

So today’s tip is all about celebrating the small successes! Here are a few examples:

– Often maintaining your weight is a victory itself. It’s just has hard to maintain as it is to lose, so if you’ve maintained then give yourself a high five!

– Doing your belt up a notch tighter, smaller clothes sizes, finding the clothes you have are a little looser in certain areas are all massive successes! Celebrate the progress!

– Maybe you’ve just completed your first run! Or your first cardio class, or gym workout! That’s amazing!

– You’ve managed to fit exercise regularly in to your weekly schedule – that’s awesome!

– Perhaps you’ve avoided the sweet snacks at work, or said no to the dessert you’d usually have, or passed up on that glass of wine with dinner – huge successes! Be proud!

– Maybe you’ve seen improvements in things like blood pressure or cholesterol etc or you’ve been able to reduce your medication as a result of lifestyle changes you’ve made.

– Getting through that spin class without having to stop, managing those burpees or jump lunges in bodyattack, completing the push ups, moving an extra kg up in your weights – these are all things to be proud of.

– Choosing healthier options without even thinking about it. Stop and think about your meals and snacks – have your choices changed? Sometimes these changes happen without us even realising it.

– maybe you’ve had a stressful day or week but managed not to turn to chocolate, crisps, wine, whatever your favourite comfort food/drink is. That’s a massive achievement!

So here’s to all those successes that the scales don’t measure! Do you have some to celebrate? (we all do!) – share yours below! 🤗💜

Happy Tuesday 🤗

Xx

Tuesday Tip

Tuesday Tip: Don’t Detox

Dr Nancy P

Tuesday Tip: Don’t Detox 🥗

Across social media people are peddling “detoxes” and “cleanses”. We’re told our bodies are full of toxins, and if you follow plan X / buy the pill/tea/shake you’ll get rid of them and feel/look amazing. You don’t need it, your liver and kidneys do a great job of “detoxing” you, and these products can make your health worse. But they sell them because WE want them; why?

# Post holiday detox

Over holidays we eat and drink more, so we crave simple, nutrient dense food – like salads. Physically it feels good, and psychologically it feels good too; drawing a line under all the junk. This sort of “detox” isn’t silly, it’s just a word we use to say “lets get back to eating well”

# Bloated

Over-indulging, or eating certain foods makes you bloated; rich foods, alcohol, beans, fizzy drinks, or foods high in salt, certain starches and sugars. If it’s a chronic issue see a Dr. If you’ve been eating lots of salt you will retain water, making you look and feel bloated, reduce the salt for a few days and you’ll be fine. Overdo the food and drink? You don’t need to do anything just eat normally for a few days.

# Bunged up

If you’ve been eating badly you may be constipated. Most detoxes /cleanses are laxatives, which can permanently damage your intestines. So first of all, increase water and fibre intake, then increase fruits, veg, and whole grains, but do it gradually; a sudden fibre increase can make you feel worse. If that doesn’t help, see a Dr, not a Facebook detox salesman.

# Fatloss detox

No, just no. A pill/shake won’t do that! Sometimes just buying something special is a powerful psychological message that you’re making a change and acts as a kickstart; which is why we fall for it. Sadly it won’t last, and you’re left out of pocket and likely to rebound. The more radical approach to losing weight, the more likely it is to fail. Slow and steady wins the race; make small, sustainable habit changes and you’ll reap the rewards.

It’s normal to want to reset, feel better and make changes, but you don’t need a “detox”. Just try to get some sleep, drink more water, eat veg and get moving. You’ll look and feel far better for it!

Happy Tuesday 🤗xx

Tuesday Tip

Tuesday Tip: Try something new

Dr Nancy P

Tuesday Tip: Try something new ! ⭐️

Ok, ok, I know.. It’s a cliche – new year, new start blah blah blah but … Bear with me… Thinking about it, what better time to try something new than the start of a new year?

So my tip today is to do just that – commit yourself to trying one new thing today, this week, or even this month! Just one thing! It might be a new workout or exercise class, it might be a new food (time to finally try that recipe you spotted the other day etc?), or try a new hobby/local club or activity, or just try a new habit – always having a healthy breakfast, or walking at least 20 mins a day for example? It doesn’t have to be physical – try something new that’s good for your mental health too – take 10 mins a day to meditate, try saying ‘no’ to a few things when you actually mean no, commit to a few hours a week doing something (whatever that is) for you…. The possibilities are endless!

So there is my challenge for you today – try something new, no matter how big or small! Let me know how you get on!

Happy New whatever you try and Happy Tuesday! 😁

Xxx

Tuesday Tip

Tuesday Tip: Can I eat too little to lose weight?

Dr Nancy P

Tuesday Tip: Can I eat too little to lose weight? 🥗

I am often asked whether consuming too few calories causes your metabolism to slow down so that you stop losing weight, and even gain weight, as the body “hangs on to fat”. People say that to get out of this “starvation mode” you need to eat more. One small problem – starvation mode is a myth!

As long as you have a calorie deficit (eating less than you burn) you will lose weight – regardless. Calories in vs calories out is what matters. A long term calorie deficit does cause adaptive thermogenesis (metabolic rate slow down) BUT it is not significant enough to stop weight loss and can’t cause weight gain! It just slows the rate of weight loss down, but what slows it even more is the fact that you’ve already lost weight so the body isn’t burning as many calories as it did initially. That’s why you need to adjust your calorie intake as you lose weight and why plateaus are common. In one famous large scale study – the Minnesota study – 36 men were put on a 24 week low calorie diet (1560 cals) and also had to complete physical tasks. ALL the men lost approx 25% body weight and ended up at approx 5% body fat. No one stopped losing weight, no one gained weight. You can’t defy the laws of thermodynamics – you need energy to fuel your body, you can’t magic it out of thin air, if you don’t eat enough you will lose

So what’s the moral of the story? If you’re not losing any weight/fat or your shape isn’t changing over a significant period of time, it’s not because your calories are too low, or because you’re in starvation mode. It’s because there is no deficit. Even if you think there is… there isn’t. If there was, you’d be losing weight!

Happy Tuesday🤗

Xx

Tuesday Tip

Tuesday Tip: Alternative Resolutions

Dr Nancy P

Tuesday Tip: Alternative Resolutions 🎉

New Year, New start… it’s a cliche isn’t it? Having said that it IS a good opportunity to refocus and think about what you want to achieve over the next few months. So instead of the usual eat healthy/exercise more, here are some of my favourite resolutions for self improvement that are doable and a bit more interesting:

#1 Switch your phone off

Put your phone away a bit more – whether for meals, after dinner, when out – whatever – you and your friends and family will enjoy more real face time than FaceTime.

#2 Read

Ditch the telly and read a book – an actual book – be it on paper or kindle. It could be a classic or something newer.

#3 Grow something to eat

Seeds cost pennies and you don’t need to be green fingered – get some vegetable or fruit seeds, pop them in a pot on your windowsill and grow something yummy.

#4 Cook a new recipe every week

Just one recipe, one meal a week – it doesn’t need to be complicated or lengthy – dust down your cook books, or get online for inspiration.

#5 Walk

Walk somewhere you would usually drive or take public transport to. Get off a stop early or park further away if you can’t replace the whole journey.

#6 Plant bulbs

Buy some bulbs (they’re cheap, and some newspapers give them away free at this time of year too!), dig them in (pot or garden), wait – and enjoy some spring/early summer colour!

#7 Say hello

A simple hello, a please, thank you, or even a smile at someone, in a shop, cafe, passing on the street – wherever – will brighten your day and theirs.

#8 Try something new every week

Anything new, doesn’t need to be big – a new food, a new activity, a new route to work, anything!

#9 Focus on others

Do something nice for someone every day/week – a simple compliment, helping a friend, or something bigger and potentially life changing like donating blood, sponsoring a child in need or volunteering.

#10 Celebrate you

Who says you need to change, anyway?! Perhaps you’re perfect the way you are: even with flaws. Maybe these are to be celebrated as unique aspects of you, so focus more on the things you like about yourself!

Happy New Decade everyone 🎉🌟

xxx