3 Ways You’re Making Weight Loss Harder than it Needs to Be

We all know that the foods/drinks we consume contribute to the body shape we carry around. Did you know that even “healthy” foods can be inflammatory? Depending on the health of your gut you could be consuming organic, grass fed, wild caught, prairie raised eggs, fish, meat and fruits/vegetables that don’t agree with you so they cause inflammation in your body and thus you hold onto extra weight.

The eight most inflammatory foods include: Soy, Wheat, Dairy, Sugar (Alcohol), Peanuts, Eggs, Corn, Artificial Sweeteners.  Minimizing or completely eliminating the foods above will help you to drop a few extra pounds of inflammation. 

Not sure or want concrete evidence that your body doesn’t react well to those inflammatory foods? You have two options - complete an elimination diet or run a food sensitivity testing panel. Both will help you decide which specific diet modifications are right for you.

Studies show that upwards of 75% of Americans are chronically dehydrated.  Some of this is due to a decreased water intake but also high consumption of dark colored beverages containing caffeine as well as alcohol. A great baseline is to consume 50% of your body weight in ounces of water. Did you know that adding fresh lemon juice or even chia seeds to your water will help you to remain hydrated longer? What fun!

Dehydration will often change the signals you’re receiving from your brain from thirst signals to hunger signals causing you to eat more than you actually need. Making an effort to remain hydrated and drink more water before you actually feel like you need it may be the best Pro-Active approach. And make sure that if you are working out, experiencing increased sweating or live/visit a warmer environment that you’re increasing your daily water intake.

Weight loss is not as simple as calories in < calories out. One of the biggest determinants of weight loss is stress level. This is a whole topic in itself but today we’re focusing on the basic implications of excessive stress. When we have high stress levels (or even prolonged low stress levels that are unaddressed) we have a tendency to produce more cortisol. Cortisol is a stress hormone that makes it hard to lose weight, and can increase body fat especially around the middle. 

 When you’re first experiencing stress you might notice a loss of appetite - so much so that you can negatively impact your metabolism. Prolonged stress will actually boost your hunger.

A few ways to work on managing stress if you’re looking to lose weight is to eat consciously - don’t eat in front of the tv, while in the car or while distracted. Utilize stress management techniques including gratitude, mindfulness, prayer and even deliberate breathing techniques.

If you feel like you’re making good choices and still having trouble losing weight please visit our Leasure-Life page to see if our Functional Medicine services are the answer you’re looking for. The underlying cause of your weight gain may be hormones, a latent infection or even a bacterial overgrowth in your gut. Let us help diagnose the cause and create an easy to follow treatment plan to help you lose those excess pounds, improve your energy and even your outlook!