Shedding Winter Weight – Get Your Body Back With a Registered Dietician

AT LAST!! Winter is winding down with the first vestiges of spring peeking through the clouds. Soon enough (well, maybe not "soon enough" for some) we will be back out there enjoying the sunshine and warmer weather. But, yikes, wait!! Warmer weather also means less clothing – meaning no more hiding behind those bulky winter sweaters and snuggling up in track pants. If you want to start shedding some of that comfy winter weight, why not get turbo-charged with the help of a registered dietician? 

Why? Because we all know how difficult it can be to lose weight (it's not even a fraction as easy as putting weight on) and for most of us, typical diets don’t garner long-term results. While a quick fix seems great, what's the point if you just gain the weight back a few months down the road? Not only is that strategy a lot of wasted effort, it's arguably damaging to your metabolism in the long term too. So if a one-size-fits-all approach to weight management doesn’t actually fit anyone, why bother? 

The benefits of working with a registered dietician are vast, but the most significant is the creation of your own individualized program - a collaboration between you and your dietician, factoring in your goals and lifestyle. It also includes establishing a meal plan that doesn’t leave you feeling starved throughout the day, taking into account which foods you prefer around the limits of one's budget. This makes sticking to the regimen far easier. Who wants to live a life of deprivation eating salad for breakfast, lunch and dinner, in pursuit of an unrealistic outcome?  Rare is the person who can maintain a menu that rigid, so a healthy and satisfying meal plan that gives you an extra boost can mean the difference between success and failure. 

A registered dietician will also help you to set fitness goals and work with you to stay motivated. It's a given that any smart weight management plan should include exercise, but a surprising number of "diet strategies" disregard exercise. When your body revs-up to burn calories from physical exertion, staying in shape with reasonable effort is an obtainable result. Be it a gym, yoga classes, or designing a workout routine for home, a registered dietician will work with your lifestyle to make routine exercise easy, fun, and achievable. 

Don’t let winter weight keep you down, not to mention overdressed while hiding behind your winter wardrobe. Work with someone trained and experienced in transforming people through an effective, healthy, long-term weight loss program.  Reach your goals and say hello to a lifestyle makeover!  

For more information about weight management, or to speak to our registered dietician Stefanie Senior, contact Athletic Edge Sports Medicine at 1-416-800-0800.

What Factors Influence Female Fertility

If you're trying to conceive but find that things are taking longer than expected, concrete information from credible sources regarding female fertility remedies can seem elusive. So which route can one take when things aren't going as planned?

Start by checking out the following video from Health Choices First, which explains what factors influence female fertility.  Understanding what might be affecting your ability to conceive sure beats staying uninformed. After all, you can’t fix a problem if you don’t know what it is!

The video discusses various things that can affect your ability to get pregnant. Every woman is different, and problems may be self-remedied or require the help of a fertility specialist. So whether the inhibitor is as straight forward as a weight-issue, or something that requires a little more attention, this video helps you recognize when it's time to consult a doctor.  It also references options you may want to consider if fertility is indeed the issue.

http://www.healthchoicesfirst.com/category/fertility/female-fertility/what-factors-influence-female-fertility

The good new is: with the many medical advances that have been made: you have options.  So before becoming discourages, inform yourself.  Find out what is influencing your fertility and take it from there.

For more information about factors that influence female fertility or to explore your own personal options, contact AESM today at 1 416 800 0800. 

Body Feeling Off-Balance? Try Yoga Therapy

If you're feeling a bit off-balance, or are dealing with the grip of aches and pains due to some kind of sports related over-exertion, it can be difficult to find some release. Often people opt for invasive treatments that can put them out of commission for extended periods of time. Others choose to refrain from participating indefinitely – or at least until the pain recedes or disappears. But when you suffer from sports-related pain, why just accept defeat? Especially when there are viable, affordable and reputable options that you can help you find relief. One such renowned treatment is yoga therapy. 

Yoga therapy is a well-established treatment that not only helps to keep the body in good shape, it can also help to re-establish your equilibrium and bring much needed relief to both acute and chronic pain. 

How? The aim of yoga therapy is to create harmony between the mental and physical. Different positions promote balance, as well as restore symmetry. Breathing techniques help to center the mind as well as to oxygenate muscle tissue and can actually massage organs. Together these work to relax your system and help with concentration and energy.

Think yoga is just a fad? Think again. This ancient and proven exercise of the body and mind has many benefits that go beyond just staying in shape. There is good reason yoga has been celebrated for so long. When done properly, yoga therapy can be extremely valuable in returning the body to its natural, balanced state, and can help to address a number of different ailments. 

Here are just a few of the different issues that can be helped through yoga therapy: 

-        Asthma

-        Arthritis

-        Insomnia

-        Stress

-        Athletic injuries, such as those from asymmetrical sports, overuse injuries, or repetitive injuries

-        Fatigue

-        Depression

Whether you choose yoga in a group setting, or a have a unique routine designed to fit your schedule, goals and fitness level, investing in a professional assessment ensures you to get the most from this exercise. Yoga can be done pretty much anywhere you have a little space to stretch out. Once you learn how to properly maintain specific postures and regulate your breathing correctly, the option to do it on a mat at the gym - or even in your own living room -  holds great practical appeal.

Stop suffering from needless aches and pains – there is a way to help alleviate them. Embrace yoga therapy as great way to reestablish your body’s balance and energy. For more about yoga therapy, contact Athletic Edge Sports Medicine today at 1-416-800-0800.

Avoiding Injury When Shovelling – Tips from a Sports Medicine Specialist

As we head into March, winter begins to look like it will never end - until the one warm, sunny day that gives us hope.  Lured by longing for spring, we often routinely forget that Mother Nature usually has a few more snow blasts left in her during that final stretch towards the new season's warmth and sun. 

 

Despite an injury-free winter so far, many find these final weeks of winter especially difficult when it comes to staying focused on certain "winter" best practices. 

 

Which ones? Well, perhaps shovelling - which we've all had enough of about now. Ironically, the mere knowledge that snow-shovelling can be tough on our bodies isn't enough to spare us from the temptation to become lax, forgetting the shovelling techniques that have helped us prevent injury though winter so far.  With this in mind, we thought we’d refresh your memory with this handy little how-to video.   

In it, sports medicine specialist Dr. Grant Lum offers tips to staying injury free when out there dealing with March snow flare-ups.  

                                                    

Don’t get hurt just because winter is on its way out, and you're feeling fed-up with the whole thing!  Stay pain free by following the video's tips. And if you've already suffered an injury thanks to the snow, don’t just grin and bear it! Speak to a sports medicine specialist today to get the relief you need. Call Athletic Edge Sports Medicine at 1-416-800-0800.