Make October The Month Of Your New Year Resolution
When it comes to diet and lifestyle changes, there is now better time than right NOW to put your well intended plans in place. If you still haven’t made progress with your New Year Resolution, you’re not alone. A client came to me for help with her New Year resolution IN AUGUST! She was disappointed she had not yet achieved her personal goal of “being as healthy as possible.” Despite her good intentions, she had made disappointing progress and it was 8 months into the “new year”! Her weight was going up, not down. Many of us can relate to this. We have expectations for great changes and we feel motivated at the start, but events and responsibilities seem to work against us. We are left feeling frustrated and sometimes discouraged that the changes we want to see will never be accomplished. With this client, and many others, I’ve found a few simple strategies help to make significant changes in order to promote health, fitness, and control without the stress. I advised this client that October would be the perfect time to make her changes. The kids are back in school, the home routine is in place, and it is a long time until the Christmas rush. My client is now focused for October – she is prepared to make the time and energy to commit to her new plan. The following are a few of the goals we decided to focus on: Step 1: Start small In the case of my client, instead of her usual pattern of becoming a slave to the gym with no rewards, she has already started with two 30-minute walks per week. Over the past three weeks, these have lengthened and she now looks forward to her evening walks most nights of the week. This simple change should add years to her life and assist her food focus. Step 2: Be ‘SMART’ Identify specific, measurable goals. They must be realistic and linked to a period of time so you can assess your achievements. These goals are “SMART” goals (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and timely.) My client’s goals were, I think, what we would all like to achieve; ‘eat better and be more active’, but how do we measure success with a goal like this? As a starting point, we broke down her goals into some straightforward, but significant, changes: Below are 2 examples: 1) Begin to eat breakfast within 30 minutes of waking, five out of seven days per week. 2) Keep records of your food intake and exercise for five days to promote self-awareness of your eating and activity patterns. Step 3: Get support Do ask for support from a friend, spouse or family member. In this case of this client, her husband has been a great supporter. He reminds her to sit down and eat breakfast with him instead of running around after the kids and he provides the motivation for her to be fit by walking with her in the evenings. He and the kids are enjoying the health changes too. They are eating better and their mum is happier and healthier. The walk also has the added benefit of keeping away from tempting snacks. In addition to her family support, my client has benefited from professional support. In working with a dietitian it has helped her make appropriate goals, identify obstacles and help overcome challenges. My client laughs now when she recalls her fears of attending to see me. She expected I would stop her eating normal foods and she would be miserable, but instead she admits she enjoys the one-to-one online consultations when she can’t get to my clinic and the programme she is following. She is already feeling much healthier and fitter (see our google reviews). Step 4: Get accurate information As a Dietitian, I spend a lot of time correcting people’s myths. Most of my clients come in expecting they will be told to only eat salads and slave away on a treadmill seven days a week. We know from countless studies, that healthy eating does not mean dieting. While there are specific dietary requirements for many conditions, such as high blood pressure, diabetes and IBS, most people do not have to cut anything out – they just need assistance in finding the right balance. Obtaining professional guidance ensures you learn which strategies are appropriate for you. Accurate nutrition information is easier and more accessible than you may think… If you are unsure of how to change your eating habits, or need help optimising the foods you eat please do contact us. We would love to help you or your family and friends with any nutrition related queries big or small. In the meantime do please check out our 121Dietitian Shop this has been specially created for you. If you have enjoyed this blog we would love you to share this with your family and friends on your social media channels. Why not visit our YouTube Channel for more on keeping your health optimal. How can a Dietitian help Book a consultation via our Online Portal About Gillian Killiner Check out our tailored dietary programmes Gillian x [instagram-feed]
Could fitness technology be causing you to gain weight?
Are you one of the many thousands of people who has invested in a piece of fitness technology or fitness tracker app in recent years? If so, you might want to read on… I have been a Dietitian for over 20 years and have observed the many nutritional changes and fads (fitness technology) that come and go. However, over the past two years, I have noticed an increasing but new reason as to why my clients are requesting advice for weight loss and healthy eating. They are coming to me totally confused and despondent. After originally embarking on a positive health change themselves, making a conscious effort to track their food and exercise, they have found instead of weight loss and health; additional weight gain and sluggishness from the commencement of using the gadget or app they purchased one to two years previous. Doing a little investigation, I am not alone in these findings and a research paper from JAMA September 20, 2016, entitled: ‘Effect of Wearable Technology Combined With a Lifestyle Intervention on Long-term Weight Loss: The IDEA Randomized Clinical Trial‘, found that the group selected to wear technology did not lose as much weight as the group who followed regular advice and exercise. Interesting indeed. As always, there are various factors involved behind research findings and as expected, limitations. However, what I took from this study in particular was the time factor: it was monitored for a full 24 months. Other studies have shown different results with 9 months or 6 months but when looking at a full two years, the study highlights that using technology doesn’t provide all the answers and the results are disappointing. So what now with fitness technology? Well, it is not time to throw out the technology just yet! What is however important to focus on – and what I feel is the most important element – is support. I know with my own personal health and well-being, if I did not belong to a running group I would not run the length of myself!! I do believe that support is still the foundation to success and people benefit from either individual or group support when needing advice and change. I’m sure like me you have all tried to do something new or different; from watching cooking shows, to learning an instrument. If teaching yourself, it is a really big challenge and commitment. Our self-doubt and often our over ambitious desires can derail our smallest but valid attempts and efforts. Putting this into something useful for you going forward…. Support is important, and one size does not fit all. Technology can only contribute to a portion of the puzzle when it comes to health. The watch may say ‘500 kcals burned’ but has your body the capability to metabolise at the rate the watch is set at? If you are not getting results you need to seek a personalised assessment and plan. For me the bottom line is this… whatever group or individual you choose, you need to know they have evidence to back up what they are providing. The support needs to be realistic, enjoyable and you need to be comfortable to see this advice through for the rest of your life. Knowing you are not alone and that you have expert support as required is golden. If you are unsure of how to change your eating habits, or need help optimising the foods you eat please do contact us. We would love to help you or your family and friends with any nutrition related queries big or small. In the meantime do please check out our 121Dietitian Shop If you have enjoyed this blog we would love you to share this with your family and friends on your social media channels. Why not visit our YouTube Channel for more on keeping your health optimal. How can a Dietitian help Book a consultation via our Online Portal About Gillian Killiner Check out our tailored dietary programmes Gillian x [instagram-feed] Information checked & correct on 16th May 2018 and Jan 2021.
