As January comes around there’s one thing on a lot of people’s minds: weight loss. Although the ideal is to follow the 80/20 rule and remain healthy all year round, festive indulgences often prove far too tempting to ignore, resulting in a little winter weight gain.
Maybe you’ve been planning on shedding excess weight for some time. Perhaps you’ve plateaued, and want to lose those last few pounds. Whatever the reason or your motivation for exploring weight loss, if you’re keen to shed those extra pounds now the party’s over, it’s important to know how to go about it to optimize your results without harming your health in the short or long term.
Here we’ve shared our top tips to aid weight loss in January – real advice offering lasting results that works without impacting on your wellbeing. But first, we’re taking a quick look at the methodologies that inspired these strategies and why they are so effective in aiding sustainable and health-centered weight loss.
Choosing integrative methods for safe and effective weight loss
Time and again people rely on existing advice to help them lose weight. Eat a healthy, balanced diet, work out, and the weight drops off, right? Unfortunately this is not how most people experience weight loss.
That’s because losing weight can be more complicated than it appears on the surface. Over-simplified advice can leave us feeling as though we’ll never reach our goals – developing a vicious cycle which can be hard to break free from.
Integrative medicine recognizes that all processes within the body are symbiotically linked. Therefore any approach to weight loss needs to be holistic, addressing every associated element in order to be successful. An integrative doctor will assess aspects such as your hormones, metabolism, mental health and sleep quality – rather than simply telling you to eat less and work out more.
4 weight loss tips for January
These weight loss tips encompass many of the integrative methods for optimal health and wellbeing, whilst also focusing on safe and sustainable ways to remove excess fat and slim down in line with your individual goals.
1/ Detox
Detoxification is essential before you embark on any weight loss journey. Think of it as a reset, clearing out any disruptive toxins which can wreak havoc with our hormones, in turn affecting our ability to lose weight.
Drink plenty of water (at least 8oz 5x per day), eat lots of vegetables and low-sugar fruits and introduce herbs to help support the detoxification process. Processed foods high in sugar.
Too many people are enticed by the results promised by fad diets and diet products at the start of the year. So-called ‘diet foods’ are amongst some of the most toxic and health-wrecking products you could put into your body. Packed with artificial sweeteners, chemicals, sugars and more, these foods should be avoided at all costs and often promote an unhealthy relationship with food which simply can’t be sustained in the long-term.
Instead of reaching for processed foods for a quick fix, ensure that your diet is predominantly made up of natural, real whole foods (foods that are largely unaltered from their original state). Load up on vegetables, lean proteins, low-sugar fruits and wholegrains – organic wherever possible. This also aids in the detoxification process and ensures your body has sufficient nutrient levels in order to stay healthy and aid in weight loss long-term.
2/ Try weight loss supplements
People are often sceptical of weight loss supplements – and with good reason. There are plenty out there that won’t deliver the results they promise – or worse, could wreck your health. But it isn’t true that supplements can’t support healthy weight loss. Some have been shown to be highly effective – not just anecdotally, but in preliminary studies which demonstrate that adding them to your routine can help you to lose weight more efficiently than those who don’t.
Supplements we love for weight loss include collagen peptides, omega-3, L-Carnosine and Berberine. For those who find a change of diet causes digestive discomfort and bloating, our Belly Fix blend can offer relief and long-term healing for the gut to aid with your weight loss goals.
You can learn more about weight loss supplements we recommend over here on CentreSpringMD –
3/ Address your stress
Stress is hugely influential when it comes to losing weight – but it’s often overlooked. In fact, with the busyness that January brings and the pressure to lose weight, stress levels can actually rise – further impacting upon your ability to shed those pounds.
When we’re chronically stressed, cortisol spikes can over time affect our blood sugar and contribute towards insulin resistance, causing a stubborn build-up of fat around the middle. Without first considering your stress levels and working to address them, it’s unlikely you’ll be able to tackle persistent weight gain.
Strategies for reducing stress differ from person to person – so take time to discover what works well for you. This could look like adding things to your routine such as meditation and journaling, or removing triggers and habits such as excessive time spent on social media or toxic people. You may also like to consider supplements to help address any imbalances in the brain which could be contributing to stress.
4/ Work out wiser
Movement is essential if you want to lose weight – but it’s also crucial when it comes to other areas of health such as emotional wellbeing, hormone balance and detoxification. Hitting the gym and going hard come January might be a sound strategy initially – but most people can’t and won’t keep it up as they quickly become bored or fail to see the results they hoped for. On top of this, cold and dark conditions can make it much easier to shelter in the warmth of your home if you live in the Northern Hemisphere.
Instead of forcing yourself to hit the gym, opt for activities you really enjoy to get you started on your weight loss journey. This could be dancing, hiking, yoga or HIIT – whatever makes you feel really, really good. For an extra boost, take a friend and buddy up to hold each other accountable and most importantly – have some fun! When you look forward to exercise rather than dreading or forcing it, it becomes an enjoyable and healthy habit you’ll want to stick to.
