Eat less, exercise more. Is it really that easy? Losing weight and keeping it off is much more complicated than simply following a few one-dimensional diet recommendations. In fact, the concept of calories in and calories out may be the most significant misunderstanding people have about weight. The process of gaining and losing weight is more complex than some people may believe.
Let’s look beyond fad diets and focus on naturopathic weight loss in Atlanta. If you want to lose weight and keep it off for good, you need to be aware of some unknown factors affecting weight and metabolism. Let’s explore these together.
The Top 4 Factors That Contribute to Stubborn Weight Gain
1: Insulin Resistance
Insulin’s job is to help us transform food sugars into energy. But when we consume too many sugary foods and drinks, our body starts to lose its ability to respond to the insulin in our system. The pancreas tries to lower blood sugar levels by releasing insulin, but as resistance to insulin builds up, a dangerous cycle is created. Over time, this can lead to high levels of both blood sugar and insulin.
Excess sugar in the bloodstream is stored as abdominal fat, promoting a vicious cycle of sugar addiction. This is called insulin resistance, and it is widespread, impacting 1 in 3 Americans and, in many patients leading to Type 2 Diabetes.
2: Hormones
Do You Feel Full after eating?
The hormones leptin and ghrelin control how full we feel after a meal and the strength of our food cravings. When you are overweight, your fat cells produce excess leptin signalling your body to eat more as you aren’t feeling full. It’s a vicious cycle!
How is Your Thyroid?
Your thyroid regulates your metabolism, managing the speed at which you burn calories. When the thyroid is underperforming, it can cause fluid retention, weight gain, and constipation, among other issues, making it nearly impossible; to manage your weight. The stats are shocking, as 5 out of every 100 people have a low-functioning thyroid in the US.
Estrogen Dominance
When estrogen and progesterone hormones are out of balance, that is called Estrogen Dominance, even if levels of both hormones are low. Having too much estrogen in the body relative to progesterone causes many symptoms, including weight loss resistance, bloating, mood swings, PMS and heavy periods.
Adrenal Stress
Our adrenal glands rule how we respond to stress by regulating the body’s stress hormones. Chronic stress leads to wildly fluctuating cortisol levels, which means more weight gain and water retention.
3: Genetics
Genetic testing can tell us a great deal about how and why we gain weight and can be a game-changer for people who have tried everything.
The FTO Gene Variant
One particularly well-documented gene, the FTO gene, is also known as the human fat mass and obesity-associated gene. It controls leptin, ghrelin (the satiation hormones mentioned above) and adiponectin (which regulates glucose levels). Several other genes affect how we metabolize fats, carbs and proteins.
Genes that impact stress also play a significant role in weight management, especially if you’re a stress eater. These genes impact reward pathways, which can affect how you use food to reward yourself.
4: Toxins
Toxins in our environment can be so dangerous that our body needs to protect us by “walling them off” in a fat casing. The more toxins we have, the more fat cells we need to imprison them. Get rid of the toxins, and the excess weight may well follow.
Lifelong Sources of Toxicity
Current exposure to toxins such as heavy metals and pesticides isn’t the only concern. Research shows that even early-life exposure to bisphenol A (BPA) can increase fat levels. With microplastics having recently been found in the placentas of some women, the concern is legitimate.
Many toxins are major contributors to thyroid dysfunction, potentially leading to hormonal weight gain.
7 Easy Ways to Maintain a Healthy Weight
1: Cut Down on Natural and Artificial Sugars
Are you replacing natural sugar with artificial sweeteners? Sugar causes weight gain, and this is the case for both natural and artificial sugar since anything our body doesn’t recognize as a natural substance is treated as a toxin – including aspartame. Monk fruit and Stevia are two much healthier sugar-free sweeteners.
2: Eat more Fiber
One of the biggest benefits of eating more fiber when you are trying to lose weight is its ability to satiate. Soluble fiber such as that found in beans, flaxseeds, oatmeal and sweet potatoes helps you to feel full longer and slow down the release of sugars into the bloodstream. Your enzymes cannot break down soluble fibre, so it reaches the gut undigested where it feeds the good bacteria and helps them to flourish. One crucial aspect of soluble fiber is that it needs water to reach its potential, so staying hydrated is essential.
3: Green Coffee Extract
Don’t like the taste of coffee but want to take advantage of its weight loss benefits? Green coffee extract (GCE) helps maintain a healthy weight and reduce BMI and waist size – in fact, it has been proposed as a low-cost and safe obesity treatment.
4: Eat Real Food
Much of what we eat isn’t actually “real” food. Make sure you fuel your body correctly by avoiding pre-packaged and processed foods that are chock-full of preservatives, dyes and other chemicals. Focus on fruits, veggies, organic meats and healthy fats. Remember the more toxic your food, the more those toxins will get encased in fat cells.
5: Aim for 10,000 Steps Per Day
Getting those steps in can be hard when you spend more time at home. But where there is a will, there is a way! A combination of dietary changes and walking 10,000 steps per day was shown to help significantly reduce total weight, BMI and hip size. Bonus: lower anxiety levels are a natural outcome of making these changes as well.
6: Meditation
Did you know that calming your mind can be a powerful weight loss tool? Adding meditation to standard weight loss treatments can result in additional weight loss in as little as two months. Managing stress will help your adrenals and can positively affect your weight loss goals.
7: Intermittent Fasting (IF)
Intermitting fasting is one of the most effective ways to get rid of toxins and their corresponding fat prisons. How does it work? Designate several hours per day as your ‘eating hours’ and stick to it. This gives your glucose and insulin levels a chance to even out, gives your body a break from the strenuous job of digestion, and puts the focus on getting toxins out of your body. However, IF is not for everyone, so be sure to check in with your healthcare practitioner before you begin.
Are you ready to step out of the diet roller coaster? Give us a call! We can assess your insulin, stress response, thyroid, genes and toxin load. Together we can design a customized treatment plan with targeted supplementation, metabolism-supporting nutrients and nourishing foods. We can’t wait to join you on your healthcare journey!
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