Here at Faithfully Guided, we understand that finding a path to healthy weight management may be a lifelong struggle. The conversation of weight management is saturated with talk of fast diet plans, intense exercise routines, and seemingly unattainable lifestyle regimes. Because of this, the word “weight” is often met with an intimidated mindset and negative outlook; however, a guide to healthy weight management can change your mindset with attainable lifestyle practices and empowered choices. 

How to Maintain a Healthy Weight

When beginning any conversation about weight, it’s important to distinguish that losing weight isn’t the answer, maintaining your health is. Our team will help you develop a comprehensive lifestyle health plan designed specifically for your individual needs and will provide you with the support and resources you need to discover wellness. 

When engaging in healthy weight management, it’s important to remember to:

• Make gradual changes. Health is a lifelong commitment that gives your spirit, mind, and body the care they deserve; sustainable change is mindful change. Try incorporating one positive change into your lifestyle at a time, and once that change is fully rooted in your life, plan another change. These small victories will create a positive mindset to continue on your journey.

• Avoid pressuring yourself with absolutes. It may go against many of the weight management practices that you normally hear, but don’t approach nutrition and health with harsh absolutes like “never” and “always.” Be realistic about your lifestyle and your schedule, but also be kind to yourself when your day doesn’t go as planned. This practice will support your spirit and mind.

• Incorporate movement into your daily routine. Adults need a minimum of 150 minutes of exercise each week. That might sound like a lot of time, but remember that it can be spread out throughout the entire week. Try to get at least 30 minutes of movement per day for 5 days out of the week. Visiting the gym or taking an evening walk with a friend are both great forms of exercise.

• Nutrition is the key, not calories. Not all calories are created equal. That’s why only looking at your caloric intake won’t help you maintain a sustainable and healthy weight. Food doesn’t simply fuel your body, it partners with your body to provide nutrition that supports every bodily system and function alongside your spiritual and mental wellbeing.

• Be mindful of what and how much you put on your plate. When you eat, a good rule of thumb is to have most of your plate be non-starchy vegetables, filling about ½ of the plate. Aim for a variety of types and colors, and remember, potatoes don’t count here. Whole grains, non-starchy vegetables, or fruit and protein should fill the remainder of the plate at about a ¼ of the plate each. 

Diet is a Lifestyle, Not a Fad

When you hear the word “diet” you may immediately think of it as a short-term eating routine designed to produce quick results. However, these fad diets won’t provide sustainable weight loss. Avoid diets that only focus on a few foods or food groups, extreme calorie reduction, and “detox” diets with big promises. These diet plans tend to subject your body to abnormal conditions, and once you stop the diet, your body will regain the weight, and many times, you’ll end up gaining more than you lost.

However, in nutrition, “diet” simply refers to what you eat regularly in your day-to-day life. Nutrition entails so much more than calories, and the food you eat contributes to so much more than your weight. While food contains calories for energy, there is also a complex assortment of vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients that play vital roles across every aspect of your health. Nutrition is a component of your lifestyle that works to help your spirit, mind, and body achieve whole health. 

Focus on Complete Health

Reaching and maintaining a healthy weight can help guide you to complete health. Your body is a holistic system, so when you make a positive change in one area, you’ll notice benefits in other areas of your health. Even modestly engaging in healthy weight management can provide a huge impact on your total wellness.

• Sleep and weight management work together. Beyond the physical impact lack of sleep produces, sleeping less suppresses the activity of your frontal lobe, encouraging you to make more impulse-driven decisions. This can lead to giving into unhealthy cravings and poor choices. On the other hand, proper weight management can help you sleep better, and restorative sleep is essential for your spiritual and mental health.

• Weight management and lower stress levels synergize. Lower stress levels can make it much easier to manage your weight and blood sugar, while weight management practices like exercise can help you feel less stressed.

• Nutrition and exercise can directly affect your mood. The food you eat contains the foundation for the chemical compounds and hormones that your body uses for mood. For example, vitamin B6, niacin, folate, and iron are essential nutrients for the production of dopamine, the chemical that provides feelings of pleasure. Exercise also naturally releases dopamine, making you feel happier after working out.

• Healthy weight is the result of a healthy brain. Healthy weight management is actually connected to a healthy brain, specifically the prefrontal cortex (PFC). When we struggle with food or weight, it can be a result of an unbalanced brain or weak PFC. Faithfully Guided’s comprehensive assessment helps our team learn about your brain health and target regions that may need greater balance, which can result in healthy weight management.

Your spirit, mind, and body work in harmony to provide abundant life. Healthy weight management supports this harmony by not only improving your physical wellbeing, but also restoring your spirit and mind.

Find the Support You Need at Faithfully Guided Health Center

Your journey to healthy weight management is not one that you have to navigate on your own. Our team is here to fully support you and will help you craft manageable practices and make empowered choices tailored specifically to your health needs.

At Faithfully Guided, we won’t simply give you the tools to find complete health. We will work with you to find the tools that fit best within your life, guide you as you learn to use them, support your spirit, mind, and body throughout your journey, and serve as lifelong partners along your path to abundant life.