I work with a lot of women clients, and many of them would like to lose weight in a healthy way. Many clients have dabbled in diets, cleanses and regimented food programs. When they meet with me, they want to get healthy, feel their best and lose weight naturally.
The holistic approach doesn’t do quick fixes or powdered, packaged foods with exciting short term results.
We dig deeper into what may be out of balance within the body, and we work on introducing a whole foods, REAL food diet along with lifestyles techniques and some supplementation on the side (many people don’t get enough nourishment of minerals/vitamins etc from their diet so we fill in the gap a bit by using high quality supplements).
I also really try to drive home the point that we must be happy with ourselves NOW, accept and love ourselves, because if we think we’ll be happy 20 LBS lighter, trust me there will be something else or some other thing that we must achieve before we are happy. I think it’s important that we’re happy and we love ourselves and then we show our bod the love it deserves.
If you’ve been trying to eat healthy, move your body regularly and lose weight and you have not seen a lot of success these 4 factors may be affecting your weight loss.
Stress Levels:
Our society tends to glorify “busy” and perhaps sometimes we feel unworthy or bad if we’re having down time or “not achieving or being productive” Stress is a killer and it will make weight loss very difficult. Not only will it strain your adrenal glands (which are in charge of stress hormones, blood pressure and our reaction + management to stress), but it increases cortisol levels in the body which makes our body hold onto stress tightly especially around the abdomen. Not to mention, stress has inverse relationship to happiness. Stressed out people are not as happy. ?
TIP: Manage your stress and process it on the daily. What do you enjoy doing and what brings down your stress? Have an action plan at the ready to help you deal and cope with stress. Eg. Going for a walk in nature or hanging with a good friend.
Stress is going to happen, it’s always going to be there, but we can change the way we view it and how we handle it.
#buhbyestress
Imbalanced Blood Sugar:
If our blood sugar is going up and down like a roller coaster throughout the day, it can be very hard to lose weight. Imbalanced blood sugar can often contribute to cravings and overeating, while also increasing our stress hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol. Each time our blood sugar flies high, insulin is released to shuttle the excess glucose out of our blood stream (and store it in our liver or as fat in our cells), and once our blood sugar drops, adrenaline must step in to bring our blood sugar back up to a normal range. Talk about a roller coaster. This can leave us with chronic stress hormones being released throughout our body. Not good my friends.
TIP: Balance your meals everyday allll day! I will never shut up about this. Always try to eat consistently throughout the day (every 3-4 hours) and make sure that you have fibre, fat and protein in each meal. You’ll be saying adios to fluctuating energy levels, moods and stress hormones pronto!
Unhappy Gut Health:
If our gut microbiome is out of whack and getting into a state of dysbiosis eg. The garden has too many weeds in it, then we can have a myriad of issues. From poor digestion, poor moods to difficulty losing weight, it’s essential our gut bacteria and gut health is feeling strong and balanced.
TIP: Add fermented foods to your diet, and a high quality probiotic, manage stress and ditch the chlorinated water which can mess with our healthy gut bacteria warriors.
Food Sensitivities + Inflammation:
Many folks these days have food sensitivities and often when we’re sensitive to a particular food this can make weight loss difficult and increase inflammation. People sometimes retain a lot of fluid when they are inflamed and allergic to foods and once they take a break from the common culprits (eg. gluten, dairy, processed sugars), they may find that they feel less inflamed throughout their body and lose weight.
TIP: Ditch the common culprit foods and see how you feel. Make sure to drink plenty of water and focus on low inflammatory foods eg. eating plenty of fruits and veggies and giving dairy, red meat and processed foods a solid break….maybe for the long term!
*Other factors to consider are: a sluggish thyroid, candida, leaky gut, unhappy hormones and a slow metabolism due to perhaps yo-yo dieting and not eating enough nourishing food.
Remember, there can be many factors that affect natural weight loss. That is why it’s a great idea to work with a nutritionist and someone who can review your food journals, dig into root issues and help you to nourish your body, reduce stress levels and allow your body to find its natural balanced state of health.
If you’d like to dig deeper into your health, book your complimentary discovery session with moi HERE.
I’d be happy to join you and help you along your health journey!
Cheers to feeling good in our bods,
Resources:
Babcock, Jillian. “Stressed? Fatigued? Gaining Weight? You Might Have This Condition.” Dr. Axe, Dr. Axe, 18 Sept. 2017, draxe.com/cortisol-levels/.
Murray, Michael T. “12 Signs Your Blood Sugar Is Out Of Whack.” Mindbodygreen, Mindbodygreen, 31 Oct. 2014, www.mindbodygreen.com/0-15959/12-signs-your-blood-sugar-is-out-of-whack.html.
