strategies Archives – Dr. Bishop's Ottawa Weight Loss Center

19 03, 2021

“It’s Not Working”

Doug Bishop2021-03-19T13:29:26-04:00March 19th, 2021|Motivational Letters|

I often hear the sentence: “It’s not working.” I hear this from patients, and from myself. I hear you. Frustrating. Totally frustrating. We think we are doing everything right, and the scale is not moving! What is going on? How do we break through this? To this complaint, I wish I had an easy answer; the reason is that the answer may not reside in the food you are eating, or not eating, but other factors. Presently, lack of movement is the most common thing I notice. I do strive for an hour of movement daily; my motivation for this [...]

18 12, 2020

Planning is Key for the Holidays

Doug Bishop2020-12-18T14:10:25-05:00December 18th, 2020|Uncategorized|

If we attempt to eat ‘perfectly’ during the holidays we’re more likely to fall into that all-or-nothing trap, and overindulge without restraints after the first “mistake”. By preplanning treats, you are less likely to feel a loss of control. Plan in advance how you will conduct yourself and what you will eat (not what you will NOT eat, since you must plan positively). This will generate a feeling of self-control and self- confidence that will do wonders for self-esteem. This is the best advice to counteract the feelings of helplessness and guilt that accompany impulse eating. Your pre-planning should include [...]

4 12, 2020

Now is Not the Time to Give Up

Doug Bishop2020-12-04T15:03:57-05:00December 4th, 2020|Motivational Letters|

I suppose it’s the stress and frustration of isolation, dealing with all the rules and regulations around this pandemic, along with changes in plans to visit family and friends, or looking forward to a holiday; whatever it is, more and more people are finding it difficult to stay on track. They use phrases like, ‘lack of motivation” or, ‘lack of energy to do anything.’ I get it. However, if there ever was a time to boost your immune health through proper eating and exercise, it is now. We can do a lot for our immunity by concentrating on simple lifestyle [...]

31 07, 2020

The Evening Snack Struggle

Doug Bishop2020-07-31T13:53:15-04:00July 31st, 2020|Motivational Letters|

If there is one area of eating (or nibbling) that I could eradicate in all of us, it’s the mindless snacking we all seem to do in the evening. Mind you, I do meet the rare person who doesn’t have the urge to nibble while watching TV or reading a book. I’ve talked about my own struggles with this before, but it bears repeating. We all know that eating at this time is rarely out of hunger, it’s simply the desire to eat. The major issue, as you all know, is that these are extra calories (usually in the carbohydrate [...]

29 06, 2020

Tomorrow is a New Day

Doug Bishop2020-06-29T16:07:07-04:00June 29th, 2020|Motivational Letters|

After a number of days of hit-and-miss when it came to choosing proper foods (I’m trying to think about health mainly, fat loss being a factor in that), I was pretty frustrated with my inconsistency. You must realize: I’m constantly listening to medical podcasts discussing the positive results of good nutrition on metabolic and immune health; nevertheless, what I was listening to, and my poor food choices were inconsistent. I desperately wanted to be eating and exercising for optimal health. Yes, I was in a funk. I was disappointed in myself; disappointed in my food choices, food timing, sleep, exercise [...]

22 06, 2020

Creating a “New Normal” Healthy Lifestyle

Doug Bishop2020-06-22T17:39:52-04:00June 22nd, 2020|Motivational Letters|

Lifetime success in health and weight management involves not only changing the way we interact with food but also changing our mindset. Unfortunately, many of us continue in the attempt to get healthier without taking the time to reassess our strategies. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, many of us have been forced to develop new strategies to adapt to a new “normal” when it comes to our eating and lifestyle. What may have been a good routine 4 months ago all of a sudden didn’t work anymore. We must stop and ask ourselves questions about what might have worked in the [...]

14 06, 2020

Today’s Habits for Tomorrow’s Health

Doug Bishop2020-06-14T13:55:12-04:00June 14th, 2020|Motivational Letters|

One of my personal questions is: if we could more accurately measure how our choices impact our health, would we change behaviours? If we knew specifically that what we were eating or snacking on was improving, or worsening, our immune system, accelerating the aging process, or increasing our risk of dementia, would we make different food choices? If we knew that a certain dose of exercise doubled our mitochondria, improved heart function and improved endurance, while it also improved anxiety and depression, would we make that dose of exercise a priority? If we knew that only getting 5 hours of [...]

15 05, 2020

Health First

Doug Bishop2020-05-15T15:30:36-04:00May 15th, 2020|Motivational Letters|

Not a day goes by where I don’t hear peoples’ experiences of unhealthy (meaning highly processed) food choices. Whether it is the isolation, the anxiety of the unknown timeline of all this, the frustration of not being able to be with friends or other family members; all these things are affecting our moods. This varies from boredom to anger to frank depression, which can lead to carb cravings and extra snacks. I get it. It is extremely hard to maintain good nutritional discipline when we are feeling down. It also is a difficult time to be thinking about weight loss. [...]

24 04, 2020

Be Strong

Doug Bishop2020-04-24T10:07:34-04:00April 24th, 2020|Motivational Letters|

As time goes by, with no real light (yet-hopefully soon) at the end of the isolation tunnel, I find myself, and others starting to drift. We lose focus on ourselves. We begin to drift somewhat throughout the day; we move less and find our motivation wanes. In a way, when the isolation began, it was not enjoyable, but it was novel (excuse the viral pun). We did adapt and create a new routine. I found I was more focused on moving more, and keeping myself as busy as possible throughout the day. Unfortunately, I (and I am sure many others) [...]

17 04, 2020

Ideas from the Masters – Our Patients!

Doug Bishop2020-04-17T12:41:10-04:00April 17th, 2020|Motivational Letters|

We are thinking of you all and hoping you are able to do a few things each day that ground you in health: physical, mental, nutritional, social…we may not hit each of these needs every single day, but focusing on one or two aspects will keep your body/mind healthier than it might otherwise be. Every day we get to hear about our patients’ coping strategies and how they are taking care of their health. I am so inspired by peoples’ strategies in their varying life situations; they’ve been able to find resolve and determination, in whatever capacity, to keep re-focusing [...]

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