Northshore magazine showcases the best that the North Shore of Boston, MA has to offer.
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NORTHSHOREMAG.COM 52 MARCH 2018 personal trainer, and orthopedic exercise spe- cialist, as well as a Precision Nutritioncertied level 1 nutrition coach. "One of my clients calls me the tness trifecta," she says. For instance, one client had been strug- gling to lose 10 pounds despite exercising ve to six days a week and believing that she ate well. A food log revealed to Swanson that her client clearly wasn't getting the right nutrients, which caused her body to work sub-optimally. "Within a couple of months I had her down 10 pounds and 6 percent body fat just by changing a few things around and adding in the nutrients she was missing," Swanson says. "I don't tell people what to eat or when to eat. I teach them the skills that are required for them to eat well." Other clients rst need to work on the mindset of regular exercise and healthy eating. "ey never mentally set themselves up for success," Swanson says, pointing to another woman who built up to exercising over the course of several months, by rst getting up and moving around rather than sitting all day, and then committing to walk her dogs. "We just slowly added things into her day," she says. "You're getting these chains of successes in a row." Enter omas Arnold, 45, of Andover, the client who struggled to organize his busy calendar. Although he was active already, he describes Swanson's work helping him to organize as the rst step in helping him truly integrate tness and wellness into his lifestyle. "It was no good to say I was going to work out somewhere if I wasn't always taking care of the other aspects," he says. From there, everything else has fallen into place. "What better job is there?" Swanson asks. "You're changing people's lives and making them feel better about themselves," she says. CONTACT bodyandsoulcoaching.com / L I V E + P L AY / 1 E A T M I N D F U L L Y Even people who think they know how to eat sometimes don't realize that they're missing key nutrients or snacking a lot during the day. "Until they start logging their food, they don't really know what they're eating," Swanson says. Awareness is the first step to making healthy changes. 2 L O A D U P O N V E G E T A B L E S We get all our vitamins and minerals from vegetables. Without these key micronutrients our hormones will not be balanced, and we will not be able to convert our food into energy easily.•Try adding 2 cups of vegetables to each meal. You'll be pleasantly surprised with the outcome. 3 T A K E B R E A K S D U R I N G T H E D A Y If you sit all day, it's important to take regular five-minute breaks to de-stress, stretch, and move throughout the day. Sitting for extended periods is now known to contribute to increased risk for type 2 diabetes, poor posture, reduced aerobic capacity, and elevated LDL.• 4 B U I L D Y O U R C O N F I D E N C E W I T H S M A L L S U C C E S S E S Slowly add changes to your routine to build new habits, such as adding protein to every meal or walking 10 minutes a day. Be sure you begin with steps you know you can be successful with at least 90 percent of the time. As your confidence grows, layer in more and more healthy habits. 5 D R I N K Y O U R W A T E R If you do nothing else, get your water in!•Every single function in your body needs water, including fat burning.•Without adequate water, don't expect to see a whole lot of change. 6 D I E T S A R E N ' T T H E A N S W E R "Stop looking for a diet," Swanson says. Rigorous meal plans and fad diets aren't the answer. "Forget the meal plan! Let's teach you how to eat." This approach will not only get the weight o' but keep it o'. 7 G E T Y O U R B E A U T Y S L E E P When you don't get enough sleep, your leptin levels (the hormone responsible for feeling full) decrease and your ghrelin levels (the hormone responsible for feeling hungry) increase. The result? Your hunger increases and you don't seem to get full. That's on top of the fact that without adequate sleep, we tend to make poor choices. 8 S T O P W A S T I N G H O U R S O N T H E T R E A D M I L L Jogging for an hour or more on the treadmill at a moderate pace will not get you lean.•I know you've seen those people at the gym, and you also see that their bodies never change. In order to make a change, you need to switch it up, and you need to push yourself past your comfort zone. Try shorter- duration, higher-intensity workouts a few times per week. 9 D O N ' T B E A F R A I D T O L I F T H E A V Y Most people fall into the trap of performing three sets of 15 repetitions. If you want a lean physique without bulk, you need to eat right and lift weights heavy enough to get your repetitions down to 8 or 10 without reaching muscle fatigue or failure.•If you are new to this, I recommend hiring a professional to help you with both form and program design. 10 D O N ' T L E T F E A R O F F A I L U R E D E R A I L Y O U R S U C C E S S People haven't really failed if a fad diet hasn't worked in the past. "The diet failed them," Swanson says. Diets are meant to be a short-term fix.•They're unsustainable, and more important, they're not created with your unique needs in mind. IN THE KNOW TEN TIPS FROM LISA SWANSON WELLNESS ADVICE FOR OPTIMAL HEALTH "I don't tell people what to eat or when to eat. I teach them the skills that are required for them to eat well."