We get it. Even as weight-loss coaches, when it comes to losing weight, the long list of “dos and don’ts” paraded in front of us at the click of a mouse or tap of a phone screen can be overwhelming. You would love to feel more healthy and confident in your body, but the plethora of ideas and rules leave you feeling defeated before you start.
Deep down, it’s not just about wanting to look a certain way. You don’t want to just survive. You want to thrive by doing what you love with the people you love, not being held back by weight, injury, or a lack of energy.
We’ve seen and experienced it time and time again. After feeling “fired up” about lifestyle changes that will help you reach your goals, you meet that familiar feeling of overwhelm and end up paralyzed, stuck, and wondering how moving forward is possible.
What if it doesn’t have to be so complicated?
Dr. Joseph Albano and the weight loss physician team in Salt Lake City, Utah not only understand, but we’re all about giving you practical guidance that works and supporting you every step of the way. We’ve facilitated weight loss programs in Utah for years, and have used this knowledge to find success on our personal health and fitness journeys.
Now we want to share that knowledge with you. So, here are 5 practical ways to start your health journey today and finally lose weight. Choose one to try, and as always, reach out if you’re ready for more guidance.
What are some simple steps I can take to start my weight loss journey?
1. Move your body.
It’s easy to give up before you start when looking at the intense workouts required to build and sculpt muscle. Remember that every story has to start somewhere. So choosing to do something is truly better than choosing to do nothing.
Simply challenging yourself to move every day can increase your overall energy and strengthen cardiovascular health. A study by the American Heart Association found that engaging in 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity per week can decrease the risk of heart disease by 14%. Go for a walk, take the stairs, and do the 20-minute yoga video.
No matter your health goals, just start. Challenge yourself to move your body this week.
2. Add more foods that make you feel good.
Modern diet trends put a lot of emphasis on “bad” foods to eliminate from our meals. Have you considered what you should add to your grocery list or lunch order? Food and weight goals should be about taking care of your whole body and staying healthy. So, you can do the things you love with the people you love for the long term.
Consider starting by adding foods that help your body function to the best of its ability. What foods make you feel more energized? What foods do you know your body needs to build muscle or increase your ability to focus? Simple additions like a leafy green salad at lunch or challenging yourself to drink 8 glasses of water per day can greatly improve your well-being and can help develop good habits.
Here are some items to consider adding:
- 4-8 glasses (8 oz.) of water per day will help you stay hydrated. Staying hydrated helps regulate body temperature, protect internal organs, lubricate joints, carry nutrients and oxygen to cells, alleviate stress on kidneys flushing out waste, prevent brain fog, and more.
- Leafy greens are filled with vitamins and minerals that power and protect many of your body’s vital functions and parts including lung health, eyesight, bone strength, and your immune system. Greens come up a lot when discussing weight loss and health for good reason. To start adding these into your diet, let’s make them taste good! Try a kale caesar salad for lunch. Adding a large portion of spinach to a fruit smoothie, or roasting veggies in the oven with your favorite seasoning.
- Lean protein helps your body maintain muscle, regulates metabolic processes, and helps you feel full and satisfied. Grilled chicken, almonds, eggs, baked/grilled fish, lean beef, beans, and lentils are great sources of lean protein.
If you want to learn more about how certain foods affect your body, consider looking into the Ideal Protein Protocol at the Albano Clinic.
3. Cut back on refined sugars.
Refined sugar is everywhere. Heavily processed foods laden with table sugar and the intense sugary concentration of high fructose corn syrup are nearly impossible to avoid in modern-day culture.
Not only are refined sugars statistically linked to heart disease, obesity, and diabetes, but they also wreak havoc on your eating habits as a whole. Foods high in refined sugar are higher in calories and less filling, causing us to overeat, consume more calories than we need, and skip over healthy foods. Hormones, blood sugar, and insulin levels are also affected.
If you are serious about getting healthy, cutting out or at least limiting refined sugar is a huge step.
These ideas sound nice, but making these decisions is still overwhelming. What if I’m ready to take the guesswork out of it and see real results?
4. Try the Ideal Protein Protocol.
If you’re ready to take the guesswork out of weight loss and go all-in, there are effective, medically-developed weight loss programs that will help you experience real results and learn to successfully maintain them.
The Albano Clinic partners with Ideal Protein, a 3-phased reset of your body and habits. After years of research, Dr. Albano settled on bringing this weight loss program to Utah. We’ve not only been thrilled with the incredible results of the program but also the simplicity and longevity it offers that so many other dieting programs and advice do not.
This process will walk you through weight loss by learning to eat in a way that resets your metabolism and trains your body to burn excess fat. Then you’ll move on to stabilization of your mindset, habits, and understanding of what your body needs. Finally, learn how to maintain your newfound wellness for the long term.
Ideal Protein is a physician-supervised weight-loss program. Which leads to our final point: What if I don’t want to do it alone?
5. Ask for help from someone who cares.
In any goal or challenge, we’re better together. Having someone to walk alongside you, encouraging you and reminding you of the “why” behind your efforts can create amazing and healthy results physically, mentally, and emotionally.
Even with the best intentions, humans are prone to abandon their health goals when alone. One study showed 65% of participants were more likely to achieve workout goals when they simply told another person about it. An astounding 95% of participants kept up with their workout goals when committing to meet up in person.
The weight-loss coaches at the Albano Clinic care deeply about the whole body wellness of each person who walks through our doorway or reaches out to ask questions. Many of our team members have worked through the Ideal Protein Protocol themselves. So, we understand on a personal level how positive and impactful this experience can be.
So, when you sign up for Ideal Protein, you’re gaining one-on-one coaching from someone who cares. Your weight loss coach will guide you through each step of your personalized process. This means checking in with you each week to answer questions, reset your focus, and help you accomplish your goals.
It’s time to get your confidence back and feel healthy.
With the Albano Clinic, you can break the cycle, and finally see the results you’ve always wanted. We’re here to help you get back to feeling healthy, energized, and confident in your skin.
Schedule a consultation about our physician-supervised weight loss program in Utah today by calling (385) 243-7503 or reaching out on our website.
Check out our patient’s weight loss journey at The Albano Clinic HERE!