There’s no doubting the value of weight management. Rather than being just a few extra uncomfortable pounds, excess weight carries legitimate risks. In fact, dropping between 5-10% of your weight has been proven to lower your chance of developing heart disease. This is just one of the many benefits of choosing a weight loss program. However, what should you look for in order to figure out which one best fits your needs? Are all weight loss programs essentially the same? No. There are significant attributes that the right weight loss program will have that others may lack. We will take a look at what a program needs to have in order to help you live a healthier lifestyle.
Individualized Diet Plan
A weight loss program needs to come with a healthy lifestyle coach that is considerate of your specific dietary needs. True, everyone’s body needs the same basic building blocks in order to be healthy, and the metabolism of certain macro nutrients tends to be relatively uniform. However, the way the body processes each food can be as different as the body itself. This is due to several factors. For instance, the fat the body chooses to burn on one person may be in a completely different location than that of another. Because the location of fat can affect the internal organs, the rate at which it is burned or replenished is going to vary depending on the situation of each client. This necessitates an individualized diet plan. Simple implementing “healthy eating” is not enough. You need a registered dietitian with the know-how and dedication to provide you with the dietary guidelines that are going to get you the results you need to lose weight.
Individualized Exercise Plan
Group exercise is fun, and the social aspect adds a special flavor to the activity that many people enjoy. However, each exercise should be carefully chosen to meet the goals and genetics of the individual. This is particularly important because of the health risks involved with various exercises. For example, if someone suffers from scoliosis, the choices of exercises need to be adjusted accordingly. Otherwise, significant injury could result. Or if someone has a history of tendinitis in the knee, the types of lunges, step-ups or even jogging will likely need to be customized. If you walk in and are given a list of exercises before a thorough interview, that is a sign of danger. Everything needs to be personalized.
Personalized Lifestyle Plan
A healthy lifestyle coach is one that understands the value of making adjustments to a client’s lifestyle. Changes to diet and exercise can be difficult to adjust to. The lifestyle of the client needs to be conducive to any shifts necessary to lose weight. This involves adjusting time schedules and even home and work obligations, particularly if the need to lose weight is urgent. This process needs to be executed carefully in order to increase the chances of long-term success. A healthy lifestyle coach can help the client evaluate his or her lifestyle and find areas that can be adjusted to make room for the work needed. In this way, the efforts made to lose weight are going to be more sustainable and easier on the individual and his or her family.
Face-to-Face Meetings with all Those Involved
Perhaps one of the most overlooked attributes of a successful weight loss program is face-to-face communication with everyone involved. Yes, meeting with your healthy lifestyle coach should be a given. However, that is not enough. There are other members of your team that you should be able to sit down with and have a conversation about how things are going, what is working and what can be improved. These include professional trainers, dietitians, counselors and physicians. While face-to-face meetings with one or two of these individuals are relatively common, a truly comprehensive—and effective—weight loss program is going to include meetings with all of them. This is because getting information from a professional is often not enough to help enable true change. A personal interchange of thoughts and feelings can often reveal ways to improve that would have been overlooked in the absence of face-to-face interaction.
Your body and mind deserve the best. Don’t be afraid to demand excellence from your weight loss program.
