INTELLIGENT WEIGHT LOSS How To Combat The ‘Quarantine 15’ Lockdown weight gain has affected almost half of us. Here, Harley Street nutritionist and leading weight loss expert Kim Pearson, shares how to tackle it intelligently. A recent study found that 47% of us have put on weight since lockdown began in March, with 16% gaining five pounds or more in the first six weeks. Researchers spoke to 2,000 adults and identified the top reasons for weight gain during lockdown which included increased comfort eating, a reduction in exercise, drinking more alcohol and a lack of routine. Many people are finding that lockdown is having an impact on their weight and this has certainly been reflected in the number of enquiries we have received at the clinic lately. Albeit a virtual clinic at present! Our clients are typically intelligent men and women who have a good understanding of the difference between ‘healthy’ and ‘unhealthy’ foods, but nevertheless, have still found managing their weight a challenge. Of course, eating the right diet is key, but a more comprehensive approach is often needed to ensure weight loss is successful and maintained in the long-term. From my 15 years working with clients to help them lose weight, I have identified five key pillars that are integral to successful weight loss. These form the foundation of my Intelligent Weight Loss Method. So what are they, and how can you implement them in order to manage your weight successfully? Here are the five steps to success.
Smart Diet
If you feel you could do with overhauling your diet, a good place to start is by keeping a food diary for at least one week. This will help to develop your awareness of your eating habits and review where you could make improvements. As a general rule, we teach our clients to structure meals around a source of protein (fish, seafood, eggs, tofu, organic meat and poultry), plenty of vegetables and salad (aim to fill half of your plate with them), and moderate amounts of healthy fats (such as olive oil, coconut oil, avocado, nuts and seeds). Whether for health reasons or fat loss reasons, it’s generally a good idea to avoid regularly eating refined carbohydrates, sugars and highly processed foods.
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Eating mindfully, chewing food thoroughly and noticing when you’re starting to feel full will help you to naturally manage your portions. I believe that a smart diet can allow for well-planned treats. Rather than turning to highly processed snack foods as a reaction to boredom or stress, make a plan to have a treat you’ll really enjoy once or twice a week. Planning is really key here, so decide when you will be enjoying treat foods and you can look forward to it.
Eating mindfully, chewing food thoroughly and noticing when you’re starting to feel full will help you to naturally manage your portions. I believe that a smart diet can allow for well-planned treats Lifestyle Refinement
Sleep, exercise and stress can significantly influence our weight so it’s important to not overlook them when it comes to weight loss. Working on improving your sleep is well worth the effort. When we are tired we produce more of the hunger hormone ghrelin, and less of the satiety hormone leptin, so we feel hungrier and less satisfied by what we do eat when we are tired. Start out by aiming to get to bed at the same time each night, setting an alarm to remind you when it’s time to turn off Netflix if you need to! Aim to eat your last meal three hours before bedtime, avoid caffeine in the afternoon and switch off
your phone/computer/tablet at least an hour before bedtime. Stress can be a trigger for non-hunger eating and increased levels of the stress hormone cortisol have been linked to fat storage around the middle. If stress is an issue for you, work on strategies for addressing it. Identifying route causes is an important step in developing your awareness of what triggers stress for you. Building in daily activities known to reduce stress – such as meditation and walks in nature – can have noticeable effects on your stress levels and your weight. Self-care is a term we hear a lot and it’s an important consideration when it comes to weight loss. When we don’t make time for ourselves we can quickly become depleted and reach for foods to ‘top up the tank’. Selfcare is all about what feels right for you, whether it’s spending half an hour reading before bed, taking a bath, doing a creative course or working on self-development. Scheduling at least 20 minutes of self-care into your daily life is more important than ever right now. We all know that exercise is good for our health and supports weight loss. It also positively impacts our state of mind and mental health, so it’s worth finding ways to work some activity into your daily routine. The key to staying consistent with exercise is finding an activity you enjoy. If burpees and push ups aren’t for you, there are plenty of alternatives. Exercising outdoors provides additional benefits – exposure to sunlight enables us to produce vitamin D and helps to regulate our circadian rhythms – so try going for a cycle, a run or a brisk walk. Alternatively, download a workout app or follow a personal trainer’s Instagram workout so you have a workout to follow. Buddying up with a friend or family member, even if remotely, will help to keep you accountable to your goals. Birthdays, vacations, the holidays - these events don’t have to be ‘all or nothing’. Having a plan before heading into the situation ensures we can enjoy good times without it triggering a downward spiral health or weight-wise.
Health Optimisation
It is always my goal that my team and I not only support our clients in achieving their happy weight, we also optimise their
