Did you know that many patients with ADHD or other mental health often struggle more with weight loss than other populations?
If you've tried to lose weight and failed, you're probably thinking that it's a mighty difficult task to accomplish. Do you feel like you've tried every diet out there and nothing works?
Don't give up! Achieving your weight loss goals might be easier than you think!
Here at Sunshine Functional Healing, we are challenging you to start your weight loss journey as we launch our Weight Loss Challenge for 2025!
In this challenge, we are encouraging participants who want to improve their health not just for a short period but to change their habits and mindset for a lifetime. We will help you achieve your goal as we guide you through proper weight management by introducing The Whole Foods diet program.
This program focuses on eating whole foods and avoiding processed foods. This diet program lets you eat foods that come from natural sources, unprocessed form as possible. As we all know, processed foods have lots of flavor enhancers and preservatives that may not be beneficial for our health in the long run.
Listed below are the benefits of the Whole Foods Diet:
Decreased inflammation
Weight Loss
Increased energy
Better brain, heart, and cell health
And the list goes on…
Small Changes = Big Results
As you've no doubt noticed, weight loss isn't a quick fix. You can't go on a two-week diet, lose the weight, and then think that the weight will stay off for good. Even if you're really good about following a diet at first, you'll more than likely gain the weight back.
Why?
It's because a two-week diet does nothing to alter your lifestyle. The best results come from changes that you incorporate into your daily life, and many of these changes aren't drastically different from what you do now.
You can even continue to enjoy the foods you love as long as you do so with a wise plan!
If you make a series of small changes, one at a time, you'll give yourself a chance to get used to them. It won't seem like such a shock to your system when you introduce the changes gradually. Sooner than you think, you'll lose the weight and gain the healthy body and lifestyle that you desire!
Here are some weight loss tips to implement into your new lifestyle:
1. Use low fat milk. When you use low fat milk, you'll still get the nutritious benefits of milk, but without all the fat grams. Try substituting skim, 1%, or soy milk in your cereal, coffee, and cooking.
2. Cut out soda. Soda is a big offender when it comes to empty calories. The best thing you can do for your body is to replace the soda you're drinking with water. Water is critical to your good health. It also helps fill you up and has zero calories, no matter how much you drink!
If you're having trouble kicking the soda habit, try alternating soda and water each time you go to get a drink. This will gradually get you used to less soda and increase your water intake.
3. Start walking. If a regular exercise routine is difficult for you, strive to walk more often. Walking doesn't feel so much like true exercise, but it is and you'll be rewarded for it.
Park farther from the store so you have to walk a little distance.
Take the stairs instead of the elevator.
Go for an enjoyable walk with your neighbor. You can visit, catch up, and exercise all at the same time!
4. Watch your portion sizes. Portion sizes just keep getting larger and larger. You may not even realize that you're consuming a portion that's much too large for you. Look up what a healthy portion size really is for the meal you've chosen. You might be surprised at the results!
Start your meals with a full glass of water.
Combat oversized portions by using smaller plates.
Half your plate should be vegetables, a quarter should be protein, and the other quarter should be carbohydrates.
Give yourself the correct amount of food and then refrain from seconds.
5. Have desserts sparingly. Save desserts for special occasions or times when you deserve a nice treat. Avoid eating them every day, or you'll be adding massive amounts of calories to your daily intake.
It's a good idea to plan ahead for occasional desserts and only buy them for those certain meals. That way, they aren't there tempting you the rest of the time.
Have plenty of healthy snacks available to curb hunger or cravings in between meals.
Have a smaller portion or even just 1-2 bites
Share your dessert portion with 1 or more
You can easily turn these tips into healthy habits by incorporating them into your lifestyle one at a time. Get used to one tip before you add another one. Most of them involve only small changes. However, these small changes will enable you to achieve your weight loss goals!
Aside from diet, we also encourage you to incorporate proper exercise to achieve a toned body. You can start your exercise at home with simple walking, jogging, or doing chores to help you get rid of the excess weight.
Did you know that regular exercise does not only help with your physical body but it can improve your mental health? Studies show that exercise helps our brain to release the “feel good” chemicals like endorphins and serotonin that help improve your mood, energy, and alertness. It also gives you confidence and self-esteem and helps reduce stress and sleep better. Studies also show that it can positively impact depression, anxiety, and ADHD. Thus, you should consider incorporating exercise into your daily routine and lifestyle. Exercise does not only make you look good on the outside but it makes you feel good inside.
Another approach to weight management is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. This approach is about more than just losing weight, it's about making lasting changes in your lifestyle. By differentiating between physical hunger and emotional cravings, managing negative emotions without turning to food, and maintaining motivation, CBT equips you with the skills needed for long-term success. Studies have shown that CBT can lead to significant and sustainable weight loss, emphasizing the importance of addressing both cognitive and behavioral aspects for long-term success. This personalized approach helps you address specific cognitive processes that might have hindered your previous weight management efforts. Though it does not focus on diet and exercise, it focuses more on the psychological aspects of eating behaviors and weight management. By understanding and changing the relationship between your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, CBT helps you develop a sustainable "weight-control mindset."
With the different ways and approaches in weight loss management, we are excited to share this journey with you and hope that we can help in achieving your target weight!
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