About Weight Loss

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Weight loss is far more complex than the outdated “calories in, calories out” myth that still lingers. It can be so frustrating to know you are doing all you can to lose those stubborn pounds without any results to show for your effort.

Why Weight Loss Can Be Difficult

Weight Loss Resistance In Women

There’s no one thing that causes weight loss resistance in all women. A wide range of metabolic or physiological imbalances can make losing weight and maintaining a healthy weight nearly impossible. And sometimes, you can have multiple imbalances – so even if you heal one, the others will still block your ability to lose weight.

However discouraging that may sound, it’s important to remember that there are lifestyle changes you can make that will impact multiple imbalances and help restore you to good health.  Hormonal imbalance can result in problems when it comes you losing or gaining weight.

Certain major hormones such as insulin and cortisol along with minor hormones such as estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone when they become imbalanced can lead to weight gain. This can lead to higher levels of sex hormones, which may cause more weight gain, and make weight loss resistance stronger. This is a cycle that can continue for long periods of time.

If you have a thyroid imbalance impacting weight loss resistance, you probably have an underactive thyroid. The thyroid helps regulate metabolism and how your body uses nutrients. It also affects many other processes in your body, so if it becomes sluggish, your neurotransmitters, sex hormones, and adrenal glands are all affected – and all of these have an impact on weight loss resistance.

Some women have one issue contributing to weight loss resistance, while others have a combination of imbalances. It’s crucial to identify the underlying issues that are keeping you from the life you want to lead and the person you know you are.

Finding a healthcare professional you trust and a supportive community to help you through the process is essential. When you do, you’ll discover how to use your own individual physiology to reach your optimal weight.

What might surprise you, however, is the fact that the food you eat often cannot provide all of the nutrients you need. Soil depletion, agricultural practices, and the way food is processed can have an impact on the nutrients your food provides, and research has shown that fruits and vegetables are far less rich in vital nutrients than they used to be.

You can ensure that you have the nutritional base you need by adding a comprehensive multivitamin/mineral supplement to your daily routine. This will support both healthy metabolism and hormonal balance.

Overcoming Weight Loss Resistance

1. Vitamin and Mineral Deficiencies

What might surprise you, however, is the fact that the food you eat often cannot provide all of the nutrients you need. Fatigue, depression, stress, and other symptoms may cause a lack or depletion of essential nutrients necessary to promote a healthy weight,

Soil depletion, agricultural practices, and the way food is processed can have an impact on the nutrients your food provides, and research has shown that fruits and vegetables are far less rich in vital nutrients than they used to be.

You can ensure that you have the nutritional base you need by adding a comprehensive multivitamin/mineral supplement to your daily routine. This will support both healthy metabolism and hormonal balance.

2. The Food You Choose To Eat

With weight loss resistance, what you eat – and when you eat it – matters a great deal. You can either eat to give your body energy or set yourself up for a crash. Blood sugar levels and insulin are two important factors that impact all of the metabolic issues that can lead to weight loss resistance. Choosing starchy foods or too much sugar increases blood sugar levels, which can throw insulin out of balance. And once that happens, your other hormones can also be impacted.

Planning what you eat is essential to a healthy weight. Try to avoid unhealthy snacks and meals available at all times can help you make better choices, so you won’t reach for the sugar and starches that create the blood sugar highs and lows that can lead to weight loss resistance.

3. How You Respond to Stress

Stress comes at you from all directions, in ways you may not even realize. Excess time on screens, including computers, tablets, and phones, job stress, and a constant stream of obligations at home all add up to more continual stress than any of our ancestors ever had to deal with.

But when our bodies produce a steady supply of the stress hormone cortisol it has an impact on many other hormones and systems, including your ability to maintain a healthy weight. Cortisol is part of the endocrine feedback loop in your brain, so it can disrupt the production of hormones in your ovaries – and this can lead to excess belly fat.

Using Supplements For Weight Loss

All vitamins are NOT created equal. The kind you find on a supermarket shelf may not do anything to support your health, since they often aren’t easily absorbed, or don’t contain the right form of the nutrients you need. Many aren’t tested and may not contain what they say – or may contain unnecessary fillers.

Multivitamins are designed to allow your body to fully absorb the vitamins and minerals you need.

While many vitamins stick with the recommended daily allowances (RDAs), what most people don’t know is that these are the minimum amount of a vitamin or mineral needed to prevent major disease.

So many nutrients are the foundation of enzymes and hormones your body needs to function properly. These include magnesium, potassium, zinc, folate, and vitamins A, B6, B12, C, and D – and many others. To make things even more complex, these vitamins and minerals work in conjunction with one another in very specific ways sometimes.

Long-term deficiencies of any of these crucial nutrients can lead to big health issues, which in turn can lead to weight loss resistance.  Selenium and iodine, are critical to healthy thyroid function.

The Foods You Eat

As we all know the higher quality the food is, the more it is going to cost you. I am talking about organic foods. The foods that are cheaper and are most often found in convenience stores are processed foods and they do not offer you the quality you require if you are serious about eating nutritious and diet-friendly food.

When it comes to weight loss, it’s even more important to pay attention to what you are eating. A healthy balance of key components at every meal is important to weight loss since it allows you to get the nutrients you need, gives you plenty of fuel to keep you moving, and keeps your blood sugar levels stable.

Proteins:

How is protein important to weight loss?

The carbohydrates in your meals create a rush of insulin, and protein is also critical in helping to counterbalance that, which keeps your body from either storing the energy from those carbs in your cells or converting it to fat.

Protein can also help give you a full feeling and keep sugar cravings at bay, due to its relationship with insulin. Protein plays a key role in building and repairing your body, including hormones and neurotransmitters.

Important things to think about:

The typical dose of protein for women is between sixty to seventy grams per day. However, if you lead a very active lifestyle and feel a lot of fatigue, you may need to increase your protein intake. You should have protein at every meal whenever possible (and snacks too). If you eat protein at each snack, you’ll keep blood sugar well balanced and feel full longer.

Why does your body need carbohydrates?

It is important to know the difference between simple and complex carbohydrates as some diets suggest you cut down on carbohydrates. But you need some carbohydrates because your brain needs the glucose they provide to keep your head clear and your body energized.

Eating the right type of carbohydrates and finding a balance is important, finding the necessary balance. Cutting out all carbs is not a good idea will reduce insulin which helps your blood sugar levels, which in turn can cause depression fatigue, and bone loss.

What are the best carbohydrates to consume?

A carbohydrate is made from sugar, while complex carbohydrates are sugars bonded together. This bonding makes it more difficult for digestive enzymes to break the sugars down, which slows digestion and reduces the amount of sugar converted and stored as fat. It can be confusing at first to know which carbs are good, and which should be avoided.

Types of Carbohydrates:

Fast-Acting Carbs

Alcohol
Cookies
Cake
White Bread
White Pasta
Cereal with added sugar
Juice

Intermediate-Acting

Carbs
Fruits
White potatoes
Sweet potatoes
Carrots
Beets
Winter Squash

Slower-Acting Carbs

Whole brown rice
Quinoa
Millet
Sprouted Grains
Other whole grains
Broccoli
Nuts
Milk and yogurt

Fiber An Important Component of Weight Loss

Why your body needs fiber:

Healthy fiber, found in non-starchy vegetables and fruits, provides vitamins, minerals, and micronutrients that all have an impact on aging, and on our genes. When fiber is eaten with carbohydrates, it can help slow down the spike of insulin, keeping you feeling full and helping to prevent other food cravings.

Important things to think about:

• You always have a green light to eat non-starchy vegetables. See the sidebar for good choices.
• It is important to include fiber in your meals just like protein.
• To get the most nutrition from your fruits and vegetables, buy organic and local as often as possible.

Fats:

Despite the best efforts of the sugar industry to convince us otherwise, fat is NOT the enemy. In fact, you need fat for good health – and weight loss.

That’s because consuming fat prompts the release of a hormone that triggers that “full” feeling. The fat in your body does not go to waste, it is used to process estrogen and other sex hormones instance.

Important things to think about:

• Natural fat is what you need. It’s best to stay away from man-made and damaged fats. Don’t be fooled by labels that claim the food has no trans fats but has the word “hydrogenated” on it!
• Make healthy fats a part of your meals.
• Foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids are particularly good for your health.
• Store your oils in the refrigerator to keep them fresh.
• Cook at low temperatures when cooking fish and fatty meats.

More On The Foods You Eat

• Make sure you read food labels carefully.
• Chocolate is a big trigger for many women, who find themselves eating an entire bar at once, often without even tasting it. Very dark chocolate (70% cacao content or higher) can satisfy your sweet tooth but stick to just one ounce every once in a while.
• Hidden food sensitivities can make weight loss exceedingly difficult. Many have seen positive results when they reduce or eliminate gluten from their diet. A great way to assess whether avoiding gluten will make a difference for you is to cut it out entirely for a month. Eliminating some foods is a good way of checking for food sensitivities.

Does your weight go up? Are you bloated or irritable? If so, you may want to stay gluten-free. When avoiding gluten, it’s important to know that it hides, just like sugar, in many products. Check labels carefully.

• Choose organic dairy or try those made from goat’s or sheep’s milk. If you have noticeable symptoms from dairy, consider using products made with unsweetened
almond, coconut, or soy milk instead.

When Eating Out

• Mention to your friends that you are on a wellness diet. Ask for their support before you even sit down.
• Substitute extra vegetables for starchy sides. Decline the breadbasket.
• Don’t be shy about what you need, especially when it comes to preparation. Ask for your share of vegetables if you see none on your plate. Even if stir-fried, steamed, or sautéed vegetables aren’t on the menu, most restaurants can accommodate a special request. All you have to do is ask!
• Eggs with vegetables and a side order of cottage cheese instead of potatoes make for a healthy breakfast.
• At lunch or dinner, choose salads with protein. Avoid salads with sugared nuts,  raisins, etc. Those can add a lot of sugar to an otherwise healthy choice. A tossed or Caesar salad with salmon, chicken, or shrimp is perfect. And skip the dressing – use a squeeze of lemon or a small amount of oil and vinegar instead.
• Choose simple options without heavy sauces.
• Cheese or fruit plates make a delicious dessert.

Eating At Work

• Repeat your favorite meals as many times as you like. Some people like a lot of variety. Others like the eat the same thing every day. While you should vary your vegetables to get as many nutrients as possible, if you have a healthy choice you love, eat it often!
• Make extra soup or chili on the weekend and take it to work with a salad or other veggies.
• Wrap your meat and veggies in lettuce or a thin cheese slice instead of bread.
• Whole grain pitas and corn tortillas are a great option; fill them with nitrate-free meats, fish, cheese, veggies, egg, tuna, or chicken salad.
• Roll up meat and veggies in long, thin cheese slices or wrap them up in a lettuce leaf for a carb-free alternative.
• Enjoy your meal! To make it easy to transport, buy a nice set of containers (glass, preferably), pack utensils, and a real plate to make your meal a relaxing, pleasant event.
• Leave your desk! Take a real break from your day and really taste your food.
• Eat outside if weather permits or find a quiet corner to relax and enjoy your lunch.

Exercising For Weight Loss

There is a wealth of research that shows that exercise is a key component in maintaining a healthy weight. When you exercise, you boost your metabolic rate which helps your body burn fat for energy. Some research has shown that your metabolic rate stays higher for hours after exercising! Sweating helps cleanse your lymph system as it expels toxins and excess hormones from your body as well.

Here are a few ideas that you can try if you’re looking for new ways to stay active. If you haven’t been exercising at all, start with walking and build from there. There’s no wrong way to get more active – even taking the stairs instead of the elevator counts. Try adding more movement to your life with a combination of the following ideas to boost that metabolism and keep muscles strong, fending off stubborn weight gain.

Quality Sleep

Difficulty sleeping often stems from the way your body interprets your daily activities. So much of what you do, including things you enjoy, is perceived as stress. And your body responds to all stress in the same way – as a possible threat to survival.

For instance, you might think a roller coaster is an exciting thrill, but your body thinks you’re plummeting toward death. Your stress response is activated, which keeps you on high alert, ready to respond to danger, for several hours. This disrupts your circadian rhythm, the natural sleep-wake cycle of your body.

Sleep is also when your body repairs and rejuvenates damaged tissues, so getting the proper amount of sleep is essential to the detoxification process, reducing stress, and soothing symptoms of weight loss resistance. Research is showing more and more connections between getting enough sleep and losing weight!

To be sure you are getting the sleep you need, try setting a regular bedtime routine that is calming and peaceful, to let your body – and your parasympathetic nervous system – know that it’s time to settle down and get ready for sleep.

Weight Loss Method.

Conclusion:

The same principles that apply to women apply to men. Diet, exercise, and sleep are the best things you can incorporate to maintain a healthy weight and good overall health.

Thank you for reading,

Michael

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