Goodbye excess weight: how Ricardo lost 15 kg with Nutrium Care

We all know someone who has overcome the excess weight, and the thought is always the same: “how did you do it?”. Ricardo Branco, a Full-stack Developer at Nutrium, is an example of how a change in eating habits can have great results. This allowed him to lose 15 kg in just one year.

When Ricardo joined Nutrium, he decided to take advantage of the free nutrition appointments the company offered him.

He started to be followed by the nutrition professional Joana Castro, through the Nutrium Care - Corporate Wellness Program, which allows companies to offer their employees everything they need to become healthier and improve their eating habits.

Eating better, effortlessly: Ricardo's experience

For Ricardo, the extra weight was a reality, but not necessarily a concern. “I've never really felt bad about my excess weight,” he says. However, he understood early on that the health consequences were real, and they were bound to get worse. So when the opportunity to have free nutrition appointments arose at his company, he didn't hesitate to try it.

After years of having excess weight, he began nutritional counseling with Dra. Joana Castro, one of the nutritionists of the Nutrium Care Program, and the experience couldn’t have been more positive.

For Ricardo, the most important thing was to have a meal plan that did not force him to change his life and routine too much. “I didn't want to start a life of eating X grams of this, Y grams of that. I didn’t want to change my life”, he says.

Dra. Joana Castro understood Ricardo's needs and started following him in a way that was 100% adapted to his lifestyle. The plan was created to lose weight to keep most of Ricardo's meals without cutting out the foods he liked the most, but with small changes here and there, to make his routine healthier gradually and with little effort.

He started by changing the amount of some foods and adding some healthier ones. The results soon started to come out. Body fat started to decrease, and exercise entered his life as a new habit and routine.

After the weight loss phase, the maintenance phase arrived. With a weight already adjusted, the challenge was to maintain it in the long term. Also there, Ricardo considers the role of Dra. Joana was essential. The challenge was overcome, and Ricardo keeps the weight until today. He has been in maintenance for 2 years.

Not only in adapting the meal plan to the weight maintenance phase but also in keeping motivated to not go back to old eating habits. “I am now in maintenance mode. The weekend is already an open bar”, he jokes.

For Ricardo, the maintenance phase doesn't cost, especially when he looks at his older photos and sees the big change in his body. “You get excited about the results, you don't want to go back to where you were before,” he explains. When he has questions or needs help, he always counts on his nutrition professional, who keeps in touch with him, whenever necessary. 

Like Ricardo, other employees who have already used Nutrium Care show very positive achievements and feel that they are now a better version of themselves.

Get to know the story of Daniel Almeida, who gained weight and muscle mass in a healthy way, or José Alves, who found in his nutrition professional the solution to the Irritable Bowel Syndrome that had been with him for over 10 years.

Having excess weight doesn't have to be a reality

In Portugal, almost 70% of the adult population is overweight or obese, 50% of the population does not eat the number of vegetables or fruits recommended by the WHO and 40% have diabetes or pre-diabetes. Bad eating habits, physical inactivity, stress, and inadequate sleep habits have a major impact on this prevalence.

In our country, bad eating habits are one of the five risk factors that most contribute to losing years of life.

Being overweight affects millions of people, but it doesn't have to be that way. Changing the diet is easier when you have external help from specialized professionals so that the change in habits is done in a personalized way and with more effective results.

Seeking help from a nutrition professional is the key to changing habits, not only in terms of eating but also in terms of lifestyle. Health starts with food, and healthy eating habits can have several benefits, such as:

• Achieving the ideal weight
• Increasing the muscle mass
• Improving the sleep quality
• Increasing the energy levels
• Fighting heart disease, diabetes, and cholesterol
• Improving intestinal transit
• Increasing self-esteem and motivation

Healthier companies with Nutrium Care

Are you looking for a benefit to offer your employees and help them become healthier and more motivated?

Nutrium Care, a Corporate Wellness Program, may be the solution. An inclusive program that all employees can benefit from, regardless of age, physical condition, or objective.

With our program, you can offer your employees follow-up with excellent nutrition professionals, unlimited nutrition appointments, a 100% personalized meal plan, webinars, workshops, events, and themed days, and exclusive content in the field of health and nutrition.

Moreover, there is a free mobile app, which allows regular monitoring and puts the nutritionist a click away anytime and anywhere!

Find out more on our Nutrium Care page.