When I start working with a client, we usually begin by listing the top 3 health related complaints they want to resolve.
99% of the time the inability to lose weight is on the list. It might be number 3 in terms of priority, after issues such as digestive complaints, aches and pains or low energy but weight loss is nearly ALWAYS there.
We all want to feel good, but maybe even more than feeling good, we want that outward glow and that tight, toned body that represents outwardly what we want to feel like internally. We want to look young, vibrant, energetic, healthy and without the bulges and extra pounds packed on our thighs and waist.
The million-dollar diet industry manages to successfully tap into this desire yet as most of us have found out the hard way: dieting hardly ever manages to achieve sustainable weight loss in the long run.
Excess weight is a result, not only of the way we eat, but also of a number of other possible internal imbalances, particularly hormonal, digestive, detoxification, or immune imbalances.
My focus with clients is working to rebalance their body through nutrition and lifestyle modifications so that the body can return to optimum function and find its ideal weight naturally. No quick-fixes. No deprivation diets. Just a functional approach that aims to identify and correct root cause imbalances in a way that is sustainable for life.
And if a client is truly committed to their long-term health, makes the necessary changes and is open (if need be) to investigating internal imbalances, this approach WORKS. Even the most stubborn weight-loss resistant cases start shifting after some time.
So while it typically takes more than a few quick tips, there are a 5 fundamental principles that form the foundation to natural weight loss and that you can apply RIGHT NOW in your daily life to kick-start your health and natural weight loss journey:
1. Balance Blood Sugar
Do you feel shaky, unfocused, moody or tired when you are hungry? Unable to last for more than a few hours without eating or snacking? Fluctuating blood sugar levels are likely to be the underlying reason. Not only do blood sugar swings contribute to these kinds of symptoms, they can impact your ability to lose weight by dysregulating hormones and causing low-grade inflammation.
In addition to reducing your intake of sugar and refined carbohydrates, to move towards balanced blood sugar levels include PFF with every meal:
PROTEIN – FIBER – FAT
Protein and (healthy) fat provide longer lasting energy and fiber slows down the absorption of sugar into your bloodstream, preventing the sugar high, which is followed by the crash that causes your symptoms and stimulates further cravings.
Breakfast is a great place to start: crowd out the carbs by choosing a protein rich breakfast: homemade sausages, quinoa porridge with nut milk, or a green smoothie with some leafy greens, avocado, flax seeds and a scoop of high quality protein powder.
Spread some almond butter on banana slices and sprinkle with ground flax seeds or eat some chia seed pudding for a snack.
In addition to better blood sugar balance, reducing your dependence on carbohydrates will allow you to last longer between meals thereby encouraging a shift into fat burning mode.
2. Sleep Your Way to a Thinner You
It is during sleep that the body goes through important growth and repair processes, which are critical for our health.
Continuous sleep deprivation or a lack of good quality, deep sleep affects our body and mind on multiple levels ultimately leading to a variety of health complaints including the inability to maintain our ideal weight.
Make it a priority to sleep at least 7-8 hours a day and incorporate the following habits:
- Follow a regular sleep time routine: best is to sleep early and rise early, at about the same time every day so that your body gets used to a pattern
- Create a sleep promoting environment prior to turning in at night: dim the lights a few hours before bedtime, turn off your screens 1 hour before, keep your bedroom cool and comfortable and turn off all devices to minimize Electro Magnetic Frequency (EMF).
3. Exercise Better
Moving is an essential part of a healthy lifestyle and of your weight loss journey. We all know that. It is HOW you move that makes a real difference. Endless hours on the treadmill are not going to help you achieve your goals. In fact it might end up doing the opposite.
I am a big fan of the Primal and Paleo approach towards exercising. The Primal/Paleo lifestyle looks at the way human bodies have moved for millions of years because that is really how we are genetically programmed to move even today. Mark Sisson who is one of the leaders of the growing Paleo movement in the U.S.runs a hugely popular fitness blog called Mark’s Daily Apple. In his blog and in his book, The Primal Blueprint, he explains in detail why and how we should move like our ancestors did. In a nutshell the philosophy is:
- Move as much as you can throughout your day. Take the stairs, walk where you can, get up every 20 minutes from your desk and move around a bit, etc.
- Spend 2 to 5 hours a week or an average of around 30 minutes every day walking, cycling, swimming, or rowing at 55 – 75 % of your maximum heart rate.
- Do brief, intense sessions of functional movement, 1 to 3 times a week for 7 to 30 minutes. Mark Sisson has a great article on his website with videos on how to perform these sessions at any level. http://www.marksdailyapple.com/a-fitness-plan-so-easy-a-caveman-did-it/
- High intensity, all-out effort, every 7 to 10 days for a maximum of 10 minutes. Research has shown that occasional short bursts of all-out effort have much more impact on fitness (and even weight loss) then longer lasting, medium paced jogging for example. This is also known as interval training and can be done through a set of sprints, on a bike, cross trainer or even in a pool.
4. Reduce Stress
Chronic stress in many different forms is pretty much what we all deal with in modern life. And it takes a toll. Not only does it affect our hormonal balance, it generates free radicals, we age faster, feel crappier and yes, it can cause weight gain. Especially those dreaded bulges around the waist.
Completely removing the stress in your life is not always a viable solution. So learning how to cope and how to support your body in dealing with what is sometimes unavoidable is a better bet.
One way to do so is to practice deep breathing every day. It activates the parasympathetic nervous system and relaxes our body and mind. You can carve out 10 minutes in the morning or right before bed to support restful sleep.
Here is how to do this:
Close your eyes and observe your breathing: the rising and falling of your belly, the air moving in and out of your nostrils. Feel your breath slowing down, your body relaxing and simply think “in” when you inhale and “out” when you exhale. Deepen your inhale by drawing the breath deep into the abdomen causing it to expand. Lengthen your exhale making it longer than the inhale.
5. Optimize your digestion
A compromised digestive system is at the root of many (if not most) health concerns, and weight issues are definitely one of them.
There can be many contributing digestive imbalances such as constipation, bacterial dysbiosis (research studies have shown that certain species of gut bacteria are linked to weight gain), intestinal permeability, and SIBO (small intestinal bacterial overgrowth – meaning too many bacteria in the upper areas of the digestive tract where they don’t belong).
All of these can potentially affect our metabolism, our ability to detoxify and contribute to chronic inflammation all of which can affect our ability to maintain our ideal weight.
Fixing your gut is a multi step process that includes eliminating foods that contribute to digestive distress, optimizing digestive “power”, rebalancing gut bacteria, repairing the intestinal mucosal barrier and working on the gut-brain connection. You can read more about my approach here.
It can be a bit challenging to give general advice around digestive health since everyone is unique. To give you an example: a diet which is high in fiber is healthy and will ultimately benefit everyone but I have worked with clients whose digestive system was so compromised that they needed to do a lot of repair and healing work before they were able to increase their levels of fiber intake.
Nonetheless, here are a few general tips on how to optimize digestion. If you feel discomfort or if you experience reactions while implementing any of these tips, I suggest starting really low and slowly building up and / or looking into doing some deeper investigative work into what is going on.
- Hydrate – making sure you drink enough water during the day. Being optimally hydrated is an easy way to relieve constipation
- Increase fiber intake – a diet high in a variety of rainbow coloured vegetables will ensure plenty of fiber which helps to move food along the digestive tract
- Include fermented foods – fermented foods such as sauerkraut, kimchi, home made yoghurt, kefir, etc. provide beneficial gut flora. Eating a small amount daily with your meals will help boost your digestion.
- Eat resistant starch – this is a type of starch that resists digestion by our bodies and instead travels along the digestive tract to provide food for good gut bacteria. You can read more on this here.
- Eat slowly, in a relaxed setting – stress slows down digestion and you definitely don’t want to be eating on the run. Instead, take out time to enjoy your meals, eating with awareness and gratitude.
Weight loss can be a struggle but an understanding of the connection between underlying imbalances and those stubborn pounds is an important starting point. If you follow the tips above and take a sustainable approach to diet and lifestyle, achieving your ideal weight is definitely within reach.
Be Well!
Monique
