At Empeal we take a holistic approach to health & wellness. We do it by supporting individuals with sleep, activity, stress, and nutrition to create long lasting results. In this interview we are joined by Ulrika Gervais to discuss weight management and the steps we can take to achieve optimal health and wellbeing. Ulrika is a qualified Nutritional Health & Lifestyle Coach and a Business Coach at Nordic Balance and has a deep passion for health and wellness.

Beginning a weight loss journey can be daunting for anyone and it can be hard to receive the right advice for your own individual journey. Ulrika tapped into her experience with working with clients and was able to give some great tips,

“Weight loss is a very complex journey and understanding the underlying reasons why you are overeating or why you have gained weight is an important start. Everybody is different and it is not as simple as calories in and calories out. It is best to seek professional advice at the beginning as cutting down calories but not changing your diet or understanding how to fuel your body is going to leave you hungry and slow down your metabolism and possibly putting more weight on then you started with. It is also important to focus on the quality of food going into your body and to learn how to properly fuel your body with the right amount of fats, protein, and complex carbohydrates. Most people have the proportions wrong, and the majority of their diet is high in carbohydrates like bread, pasta, potatoes etc. and low in non-starchy vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower, brussels sprouts etc. Fiber and protein are also key for weight loss and increasing these in your diet is probably the most important step you can take in your weight loss journey. Another tip is to practice swapping refined sugars with natural sugars and then gradually cutting down on your sugar intake.

Bad eating habits is another common issue individual’s often struggle with and in Ulikra’s opinion planning meals is a game changer.

“Planning your meals and snacks for the week can greatly help reduce bad eating habits. What works well is combining this with a shopping list as this will help you stick to the plan. Some other useful advice includes going for walks after lunch and dinner as this can help with distractions and is good for blood sugar balancing. When it comes to eating you should try stick to three main meals, two snacks and not eating after dinner if possible”.

Similarly, to Empeal, Nordic Balance highlights the important of taking a 360-degree approach to health. For Ulikra the reasons behind this are simple,

“It is important to look at a person’s overall health and wellbeing to give them the best advice, it is important to look at all aspects of a person’s life such as nutrition, movement, stress, and sleep. If you are aiming for long term success in your health goals, you can’t really work on one separately without the other. I have seen that often people find lifestyle changes hard as you have to tune into yourself a bit more and ask yourself inner questions”.

In any weight-loss journey it is important to think about the big picture and not just to focus on fast results. Seeking expert advice and empowering yourself with the correct information can be a significant aspect to working on barriers to positive change.

“It is important to take a gradual approach to weight loss and to take it slow. Often the small changes make a big difference in the end. In the start working with a professional can be really important to help individuals gain an understanding of how to properly fuel your body and to understand what barriers they have that is holding them back. Planning is also an important element to success. Small things such as bringing runners to work for a lunchtime walk is one positive step in which a person can take. In the mornings, I find that many people have a high carbohydrate breakfast, like toast and jam or cereal, but it is important to incorporate some protein into your meal such as eggs, yoghurt with nuts and seeds or a smoothie with added protein powder are some good options. Starting the day with high protein meal may help with blood sugar balancing throughout the day, and hopefully prevent afternoon slumps. Hydration is also key you should aim to drink one and a half to two liters of water a day. It is important to remember that weight loss is a complex journey, and you should remember to be kind to yourself”.