In last month’s article I introduced you to Fitness Together’s new nutrition program called Nutrition Together.  In case you missed last month’s article, Nutrition Together has been designed and written by Dr. Janet Brill (our National Director of Nutrition, a registered dietician and PhD exercise physiologist) for the purpose of empowering our clients to implement sensible strategies for eating healthy and staying fit.  The Nutrition Together program has been founded on ten specific strategies, the first five of which I discussed last month.  In review, strategies 1 - 5 are:

Strategy 1: Eat Healthy to Stay Healthy

Strategy 2: Lose Weight at a Safe Rate

Strategy 3: Learn to Control Emotional Eating

Strategy 4:  Control Calories and Portions

Strategy 5: Keep a Journal

This month I’ll be discussing strategies 6 through 10 to help you live a healthier, more satisfying life.

Strategy 6: Weigh Yourself Often.

While this strategy may surprise you, the evidence is overwhelming.  Frequently weighing in helps individuals lose weight and maintain their successful weight loss more consistently.  Weekly weighing has been shown to be effective during the losing phase while daily weighing has demonstrated to be most effective for maintaining weight loss. Nutrition Together encourages private, weekly weigh-ins as well as periodic body fat analysis.

Strategy 7: Receive Support and Get Rewards for Your success Along the Way.

People are most successful at making positive lifestyle changes when they receive weekly contact with a support person and when they are provided incentives for their changes, in this case, weight loss.  At Nutrition Together we reward you for a job well done (no matter how small) via contests, prizes and non-food rewards. We also provide you with ongoing support in two ways: in person and online.  Nutrition Together consultants are specially trained to give you personalized weekly coaching to help motivate you during your session. But, for anytime you have a question or need support from others going through the program just like you, we’ve created an internet forum resource for you to ask questions or lean on other clients and health professionals when you need them most.

Strategy 8: Eat Small, Frequent Meals.

The fewer meals you eat a day the higher your body weight will be.  Sounds counter intuitive doesn’t it?  But it’s true nonetheless.  Furthermore, people who eat breakfast are often leaner and healthier.  Eating small, frequent meals throughout the day will actually raise your metabolic rate - your total calorie burn - making it an ideal strategy for achieving your weight loss goals. With Nutrition Together you’ll learn how to ensure your eating the right foods, in the right amounts at the right times, to fire up your metabolism!

Strategy 9:  Choose Macronutrient Content of Meals Wisely.

The food you choose to eat can help boost your metabolism as well as help you stay fuller and satisfied longer.  Generally, foods containing lean protein and fiber are most effective in elevating your metabolism and keeping you satisfied for longer periods of time.  At Nutrition Together we teach you how to select foods and snacks that will increase your metabolism and keep you satisfied throughout the day.

Strategy 10: Combine Exercise and Diet for Better Health, Fitness and Weight Control.

The most successful programs for promoting health and long-term weight control have involved combinations of exercise and diet.  Although it is popular to hear the “gurus” confidently state that weight loss success is 80 percent nutrition (or some similar percentage) there is no support for such a statement.  It is, in fact, the synergy created from combining proper exercise (strength training and cardiovascular exercise) and nutrition that delivers the most impressive results.  Fitness Together combines the support and customization of private one-on-one training with our Nutrition Together program to provide a comprehensive, integrated program that delivers results like no other.  After all, training & nutrition really is better together.

If you would like to learn more about Nutrition Together including how you can get Nutrition Together for FREE contact Glenn at 407-208-0620 to learn more.

Article by Glenn Beard, PT