It is that time of year, time to shed the sweatshirt and sweatpants and get “beach ready” so to speak. Many of our patients and guests have inquired about weight loss not only for aesthetic purposes, but also for the relief of back pain directly attributed to carrying more weight or stress than the muscles can support or stabilize. Many people have gained a few pounds but have remained relatively sedentary, but now that they are becoming more active, their bodies can tell the imbalance exists between muscle support and the endurance requirements of carrying the extra stress.

The first thing we think of is our diet and the changes we need to make, next followed by needing to exercise more. While our intentions are good, many of us hit a stumbling block when we feel we have given it our best, and the results don’t match our efforts. That’s when our confidence and will power breakdown. It is easy to stick to a sacrifice, which that is what it requires, when we see the results are worth the price. It requires a change in our thoughts, spending habits, food choices, and will power. But what if they are secrets that could make this easier and more successful, to ignite our spirits and determination. There are several!!

1. Hidden Calories -Avoid them. You have a mouth full of healthy dried fruits, all natural, low calories, AND then you drink a beverage chock full of calories. You have to drink fluids, but water contains zero calories and does the same job as a caloried drink. Make the change to drink only water, you can drink all you want with no calories to burn. Actually as your body processes water through the system, it burns calories resulting in a calorie loss!!
2. Food Temperature –Eat Cold Foods. Our body must maintain a certain core temperature and we regulate our thermostat to keep it within a certain range. We radiate heat all day thru our skin and breathing and the body must continue to burn calories to replace the heat lost. If we eat more of our calories in a cold or cool state our bodies must not only digest the foods, but also to burn additional calories to return the body to its desired temperature.
3. Avoid Density- Eat Foods That Have Fewer Net Calories. Foods such as proteins and potatoes contain a large amount of calories yet take up little space in our stomach, meaning by the time you fill the stomach up you have consumed enough calories to sabotage your diet plan. Instead eat more lettuce, cucumbers, and other water based vegetables. These foods take up more space due to their high water composition, yet have much fewer net calories. Many people will eat a cold cucumber with every meal prior to eating to pre-fill so too speak the stomach further limiting the amount of calories they need to eat to fill full.
4. Burn More Calories- Ignite the Bodies Main Calorie Burning Muscles. The body from the waistline down contains over 60% of the muscles of the body, if we can completely harness these calorie burning muscles we can effectively raise the metabolism. What is the difference between a bicep curl and a tricep press? They each make one muscle work while the other stabilizes the motion. When we walk forward we work one set of muscles one way and a completely different way walking backwards with a partner who will act as our eyes as we go through the motion. In this way we can completely work the muscles and train them completely while burning the maximum amount of calories.