Does Birth Control Make You Gain Weight? Toronto Weight Loss Coach.

If you ever got on a pill, you probably asked yourself this – does birth control make you gain weight? The short answer is “yes”, the long answer is “it’s possible, but it depends on a few things and this weight may not even be permanent”…

Does birth control make you gain weight or not is a highly debated topic. The idea that a pill you’ll be on for (potentially) many years may cause uncontrollable weight gain often deters many women from going on the pill. But is this true or just an old wives tale? (Kick start your brand new, healthy routine with Body Beautiful Online Personal Training Program!)

It’s hard to study issues surrounding weight in humans. The research is insufficient to demonstrate whether or not oral contraceptives cause weight gain or loss. Concerns about weight gain is one of the main reasons why women may avoid birth control, which in turn places them at greater risk for an unplanned pregnancy.

Check out this 10 week transformation:

Get similar results with Body Beautiful Online

Decades ago, hormonal contraception used hormones at levels much higher than we use today. It’s true that high levels of estrogen can increase appetite and invite fluid or water retention. Changes in hormonal birth control and advances in combination forms of the pill are addressing these issues. Most, pills lack high enough estrogen levels to cause weight gain from body fat.

Study after study has examined the relationship between today’s most popular forms of hormonal contraception and weight gain. The vast majority of these studies have found no reasonable evidence to support the claim. Weight gain that occurs in the first weeks or months after beginning birth control is typically due to water retention. It isn’t actual fat gain.

RELATED: TOP 7 EXERCISES THAT HELP YOU LOSE BELLY FAT

That said, if your estrogen levels are already high and you start taking a pill that has a higher estrogen content, you may put some water weight as a result. Now the good news is that you will simply pee the extra weight out, when cycling off the pill.

That said, gaining weight may cause discomfort and could interfere with your weight loss plan. If you feel that you are retaining water, you might need to discuss other pills or methods with your doctor.

How Does Birth Control Make You Gain Weight?

Some pills still have a higher-dose of estrogen to progesterone can cause water retention. This is why many women feel bloated before their period, as estrogen levels are higher. The key to estrogen causing bloating, breast tenderness or general water weight gain is high dose of estrogen. For those concerned about water weight gain, make sure you ask your doctor about the lowest hormone dose pill that will work for you.

How Do I Take Birth Control Without Weight Gain?

Out of all birth control methods, only pills that contain drospirenone can keep you from unwanted water retention. This is because drospirenone acts as a diuretic and rids your body from the excess water.

RELATED: NUTRIENT TIMING 101: TIME YOUR MEALS AND LOSE WEIGHT FASTER

Are Some Women More Likely to Gain Weight?

Studies don’t show that any particular groups of women are more inclined to experience weight gain than another. The new generation pills varying in the type and amount of hormones estrogen and progesterone they contain, just as our bodies naturally produce different amounts of these. This is why side effects that women experience can be as varied as the options on the market. Don’t be afraid to talk with your doctor about side effects you are experiencing – there may be a better birth control option for you!

 

The post Does Birth Control Make You Gain Weight? Toronto Weight Loss Coach. appeared first on Toronto Boot Camp, Personal Training, Bikini Competition Prep.

source https://www.buildmybodybeautiful.com/does-birth-control-make-you-gain-weight/

Delicious Pumpkin-Cinnamon Bun Overnight Oats Recipe

Overnight oats are one of those food trends that makes me so happy! They are extremely good for you and will boost your metabolism right at the start of the day. Good bye inches, hello delicious breakfast!!!

Unlike some food trends (sorry Starbucks, but I love using your fraps as an example), there are those that are just as healthy as they are delicious. Overnight oats have been a personal favorite of mine, as they are extremely easy to make and provide a couple of extra health benefits than their cooked counterpart.

Everyone knows that oatmeal can reduce the risk of heart disease and lower cholesterol. It is also packed with fiber, protein and resistant starch. Resistant starch is a cool form of a carbohydrate that nourishes the healthy gut bacteria, help you feel fuller for longer, boost your immunity and help you burn fat.

In fact, studies suggest that replacing just 5% of your total carbohydrates with resistant starch can boost your post meal fat burning process by 30%!

The soaking process of overnight oats breaks down the phytic acid, an ANTI-nutrient that prevents the digestion of oats. This helps you digest your overnight oats much better than the cooked version and increases the absorption of the healthy nutrients from your meal.

Enjoy this delicious overnight oats recipe!

Many people make overnight oats in a mason jar (perhaps this makes them taste better?), so you might want to pick one up. If not, then any food container will do just fine.

What you need:

• 1 cup dry Rolled Oats
• 1/2 tsp Vanilla extract
• stevia to taste (I like liquid, adding about 5-10 drops)
• 1/2 cup, Almond Milk unsweetened
• 1/2 cup Canned Pumpkin Puree
• 1/2 cup Greek Yogurt – Fat Free or low fat – Plain
• 1 tsp, Cinnamon
• 2 scoops vanilla protein powder

What you do:

Combine all ingredients, in a mixing bowl and mix well. Spoon into 3 containers or jar. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Aaaand that’s it! Who would have thought that eating healthy can be so easy? If you had any doubts, then you will definitely enjoy the Body Beautiful Recipe Book with 100 delicious and healthy recipes that will help you boost your metabolism and lose weight.

The post Delicious Pumpkin-Cinnamon Bun Overnight Oats Recipe appeared first on Toronto Boot Camp, Personal Training, Bikini Competition Prep.

source https://www.buildmybodybeautiful.com/overnight-oats/

Why You Are Always Tired: Hypothyroidism Symptoms You May Not Know About

Trying to lose weight but things aren’t going as planned? Exercising hard and dieting diligently, but instead of feeling energized, you are always tired? This might be a more serious (and surprisingly, more widespread) issue than you think. Working with clients as a dietitian, I am trained to recognize hypothyroidism symptoms. What I did not expect to find out is how widespread the issue is… 

A little while ago I wrote a blog about the ‘adrenal fatigue’ myth that’s been terrifying fitness enthusiasts for over a century. Turns out, adrenal fatigue is a non-issue at all and it is a term that was invented as a marketing scheme to sell more supplements that would help you get rid of this fictional condition.

But as Toronto’s weight loss coach and a registered dietitian, I have been noticing a different issue working with clients, and this one totally sucks!

As a fitness professional working at the heart of our hectic city, I interact with many clients throughout the day. And SO MANY of them report that they have the exact same symptoms: always tired, difficulty losing weight, constipation, the “blues”, cold hands and feet, and feeling puffy all the time. If you are experiencing any of these symptoms, contact me – I always happy to help!

Could this be a coincidence? The fitness geek in me demands shedding light on this…

The bitter truth is that these are very common hypothyroidism symptoms, or in other words, signs of a low functioning thyroid gland.

I have helped more women lose weight that I can count (check out these body transformations!), but weight loss with hypothyroidism can be a difficult task.

This is because thyroid is literally a gland that decides whether you are going to burn fat or not. It’s main function is to control your metabolism. If your metabolism is too slow – you simply can’t burn fat.

But, the thyroid does so much more than determining how much weight you are going to lose…

Low levels of thyroid hormone also leads to poor digestive function, including low digestive enzymes and constipation. There are strong connections between the thyroid and other hormones. Meaning a woman with hormonal symptoms every month, may actually have a thyroid issue driving it.

SURPRISE!!! That awful PMS that many women experience could actually be beyond the female hormones!

Low thyroid hormone also impacts brain chemistry. For example, low thyroid hormone can cause low dopamine levels, leading to loss of motivation and will-power.

In other words, thyroid is a very important gland. It is also a very sensitive gland. There are millions of people with a thyroid problem that do not know it because of flaws in understanding of basic thyroid function and in the way the thyroid is tested today.

Hypothyroidism Symptoms

Here are just a few hypothyroidism symptoms:

• feeling always tired
• weakness
• weight gain
• difficulty losing weight
• coarse, dry hair,
• dry skin
• hair loss
• cold intolerance (you can’t tolerate cold temperatures like those around you)
• muscle cramps and frequent muscle aches
• constipation
• depression
• irritability
• memory loss
• abnormal menstrual cycles
• decreased libido.

If you have several (or all of these symptoms), you should probably talk to your doctor. Hypothyroidism symptoms can be triggered for many different reasons. Unfortunately most of the causes often get missed in the conventional medical system.

How to Treat Hypothyroidism Symptoms

Without proper testing and a complete assessment, it’s hard to pin down the one or two things you’ll need to do to resolve a thyroid issue. However, when travelling down your fitness journey, you must start with the first few steps. Here they are:

1. Take a good look at the hypothyroid symptoms listed earlier in the article. If you have many of those symptoms, you may want to work with a doctor to examine your own physiology with testing.
2. Next, get a good blood work thyroid panel done. A good panel includes TSH, total T4, free T4, total T3, free T3, T3 uptake and thyroid antibodies (TPO and anti-thyroglobulin).
3. Get it interpreted by someone who uses a functional/optimal reference range and actually understands thyroid physiology.

In the end, the thyroid is a very different gland when it comes to health, as well as our ability to lose weight. When functioning well, you’re laughing. However, when your thyroid system isn’t functioning well, there are a lot of links in the chain that need to be examined.

If you are trying to lose weight, exercising vigorously and eating healthy, it is very frustrating when your weight doesn’t budge. If that’s the case with you – contact me to schedule a free consultation and let’s start working on developing a diet plan that fits you and your circumstances!

The post Why You Are Always Tired: Hypothyroidism Symptoms You May Not Know About appeared first on Toronto Boot Camp, Personal Training, Bikini Competition Prep.

source https://www.buildmybodybeautiful.com/hypothyroidism-symptoms-always-tired/

Top 11 Healthy Thanksgiving Dinner Ideas to Avoid Weight Gain

There’s nothing better than having friends and family for a holiday meal in with good food and plenty of laughter. Make sure you really are the hostess with the mostess, using these healthy Thanksgiving dinner ideas.

As a Toronto nutritionist and weight loss coach, I specialize in helping women to achieve the best results from their training and diets. My moto is to never put my precious clientele through gruelling dietary restrictions and make their diet plans follow-able long term.

That said, there is nothing more frustrating than putting in the sweat and tears at the gym and not seeing results (if that’s you, read my blog about exactly this topic). And even if you follow your plan to the T, one dinner in the middle of your fitness journey can set you back literally for days.

Yo-yo dieting is exactly that, making progress, sliding back, then playing catch up again. The truth is, life happens. All the time. And if you open your calendar, I bet you a cup of coffee that you can find a reason not to follow your fitness plan at least 2 days a week. If you are already a member of our bootcamp classes, or working with one of the Body Beautiful coaches in person, or online you already know that we use cheat meals to help you enjoy the foods you like.

The main thing here is that these cheat meals are scheduled and still have some rules, so that you don’t set yourself back. Problems happen if cheat meals are too sporadic, too frequent and uncontrolled. It could be a work event on Thursday, a friend’s birthday on Friday and you’re going to a party on Saturday. Oh guess, what? It’s Thanksgiving this upcoming Sunday, so throw that in the mix too!

So the point is not to become anti-social and cancel all of your events. The point is to lay some ground rules to mitigate the damage and stay true to your fitness program without losing friends.

Thanksgiving dinner can easily pack 1,500 calories without even trying. When I work with my clients, I make sure that each one of them gets a list of tips for each and every single holiday, so that we do not playing catch up with their results. The healthy Thanksgiving dinner ideas below are basically what each one of my clients is going to use this upcoming Sunday and I highly recommend you trying them to avoid the yo-yo effect!

My 11 Healthy Thanksgiving Dinner Ideas That My Clients Follow to Avoid Weight Gain

These healthy Thanksgiving ideas are easy to follow and will save your waistline. All you need is a little bit of planning!

1. Small canapés are more satisfying than low-fat snacks. Fill celery stalks with hummus, serve mini turkey meatballs, or top endives with smoked salmon and a smudge of Greek yogurt and dill.
2. Flavoured sparkling water makes a great alcohol-free alternative to wine. Switch between the two and you’ll wake up with a clear head and a budget that isn’t blown.
3. Quality not quantity makes a good buffet, so prepare a few well-chosen dishes rather than lots of smaller options. This also makes it easier to work out how much you’ve eaten.
4. Say yes to natural flavours. Healthy food can taste so, so good! You just have to know what you’re doing! Cook with plenty of spices and seasoning, bake or grill your food, dress your salads with olive oil, lemon or balsamic vinegar (or all three!).
5. Eat early in the evening, so you don’t become ravenous and then overeat – or drink too much.
6. Desserts can create a minefield. One trick is to serve something you’re not that keen on, but friends will enjoy. Or opt for fresh fruit salad, and perhaps add a dash of alcohol to add a bit of interest.
7. Position yourself well. Don’t put yourself right in front of the candy dish. Who needs the agony? Plant yourself elsewhere, facing other pleasures – a nice fire, warm smiles, good tunes and a dance floor. You’ll have a much better time, and you’ll like yourself a lot more come morning.
8. Avoid too many leftovers by checking recipe instructions carefully. It’s a challenge having a fridge full of goodies the next day.
9. Savor every bite. Eat slowly, putting your fork down between bites, and really savor each mouthful. It’s one of the easiest ways to enjoy your holiday meal without going overboard on calories.
10. Do what you want; No One’s Watching. People often think that if they say “no” to certain dishes, everyone notices, when in fact there’s a very good chance that everyone is caught in a conversation with their neighbour and are completely unaware. Just play it down. Simply say, “No thanks, I’m full,” or “Try me later.” Then, sit back and enjoy the rest of your healthy Thanksgiving Day.
11. Plan fun post meal activities! A hike or walk after is the perfect way to end a meal. What a wonderful way for families to enjoy the holiday together. Another tip: Plan some outdoor fun before dinner, like a game of soccer or volleyball with the kids. (It’s a great strategy for keeping the appetizer buffet at bay, too.)

These healthy Thanksgiving dinner ideas are simple, yet extremely effective when you actually apply them in action. Try them and see how much more fun you will have when you take food out of the equation!

What If These Healthy Thanksgiving Dinner Ideas Didn’t Work?

In case if the tips above didn’t work for you and you ended up not following them for whatever reason – you need a back up plan.

The best thing to do is to get back to healthy eating and fast! Body Beautiful’s 7 Day Detox Plan is a fantastic way to reverse the damage from the dinner and get back on track with your fitness goals. It is the best way to lose weight in a short time and do so in a healthy way!

Download it here and apply promo code BBEAU123 to get it for absolutely free! And make sure to help your friends with these healthy Thanksgiving dinner ideas by sharing this post with them!

The post Top 11 Healthy Thanksgiving Dinner Ideas to Avoid Weight Gain appeared first on Toronto Boot Camp, Personal Training, Bikini Competition Prep.

source https://www.buildmybodybeautiful.com/healthy-thanksgiving-dinner-ideas/