Top 10 Weight Loss Tips, Part 1

Top 10 Weight Loss Tips (Part 1)

While there are many ways to lose fat, in my world as a holistic nutritionist counting calories in/ calories out isn’t really what it’s all about. There is a certain balance of energy needed, but there are many factors which affect how we gain weight and keep it on. It is about lifestyle changes rather than a temporary “diet” which may be successful in the short term, but doesn’t address how to live after the diet is over. Here are 5 of the top 10 for today’s blog. You don’t have to adopt all of them at once, but the more you apply to your life the more success you’ll have making long lasting changes to your body’s fat composition. Small changes will get you started on a path to a healthier, slimmer you. There are other interconnected ways as well, which I will touch on as we go.


1. Power up with #Protein

Protein is the macronutrient that helps build and repair our tissues, assists in metabolism (fat-burning), builds important substances like enzymes, blood, hormones and antibodies, and it helps keep our blood sugar balanced thereby reducing cravings. Pair some protein with your carbohydrates to create this blood sugar balancing effect. Many of us don’t get enough protein in our diets and that is to our detriment both for our energy levels and our waistline. Make sure to choose good quality meat, fish, poultry, eggs, or if you prefer more vegetarian fare, combinations of beans and grains, nuts, seeds and lots of low starch veggies.

2. Curb the Crappy Carbs

A vicious cycle is created when we eat “crappy carbs”. That is processed sugars, flours and those treats made with them. We eat this “tasty” high carb food and our pancreas goes into a bit of a panic with all that sugar and quickly excretes insulin to deal with the “emergency”. This quickly solves the alarming situation of high blood sugar and there is a quick drop in levels. This signals the body that it’s hungry again and you crave more sugary treats. These processed foods are created to taste good, cause more cravings and unless you burn off all that potential energy, only a small amount can be stored as glycogen in your muscles and liver, the rest will be stored as excess fat, especially around your middle. Better to choose more complex carbohydrate foods that release their sugars slowly and don’t cause that sudden spike and drop. These complex carbohydrates are whole plant based foods with their fibre and enzymes still somewhat intact, such as fruits, vegetables, whole-grain products (watch what they are combined with). It is no wonder coffee shops are a goldmine. Add some caffeine and you can magnify the blood sugar disrupting effects of these simple carbs. Don’t fool yourself into replacing the sugars with artificial sweeteners. They are even worse as they consist of chemicals that your body doesn’t know how to deal with.

3. Fat Friends and Foes

Fats are critical for healthy bodies and healthy weight management. Fat can be used as an energy source once glucose/glycogen stores are used up. Fat is needed for hormone manufacture (see tip #3), and carries our essential fat soluble vitamins A, D, E, K. Fat is a component of all of our cells protecting them from chemical damage and giving them flexible structure and is critical for nervous system health as it helps build the electrical impulse signaling parts of our nerves. Fat also makes things taste better, and assists with satiety. We don’t need a huge amount of fat as it contains more than double the calories per gram of either carbohydrates or protein. Because of this, quality is of paramount importance. Contrary to what we’ve been told, PUFA’s or polyunsaturated fatty acids, such as corn oil, canola oil, safflower oil, sunflower oil, soy oil etc. are not the best choices. These oils are highly unstable and therefore are highly processed to keep them shelf stable. They also consist largely of omega 6 fatty acids, which are pro-inflammatory and therefore related to many degenerative diseases. Monounsaturates are a better choice such as olive oil, peanut oil, avocados. Naturally saturated oils are also a good choice as they are very stable for cooking and general eating. These include coconut oil, palm oil, butter, ghee.  Just ensure they are of the best quality, extra virgin, cold pressed or in the case of butter organic and grass fed is best (though grass fed can be hard to find). The worst choices would be hydrogenated fats, which contain trans fats that the FDA is working to ban as its consumption is correlated with many health risks.

4. Harmonize Hormones

This is a topic worthy of its own post, so I will just touch briefly on the basics. As with everything else in our body, it is always striving for balance, or homeostasis in science-speak. This is where the whole calories in/calories out theory goes out the window as unbalanced hormones can cause us to store fat even when we are starving ourselves thanks to evolutionary and survival mechanisms that are rarely needed in today's wealthy countries. We have had an epidemic of unbalanced hormones in the last few decades due to hormone disrupting chemicals, poor eating and lifestyle habits and of course excess stress. The hormones that cause us to gain fat are estrogen, insulin, ghrelin and cortisol. The hormones that help us with weight control or metabolism boosting include thyroid, adrenaline, glucagon, progesterone, DHEA, Testoterone, Growth Hormone. To aid in appetite control we have: Melatonin, serotonin, dopamine, acetycholine, GABA, and vitamin D3 (yes, vitamin D3 actually acts as a hormone). The best protocol for keeping all of these hormones in balance is balanced healthy diet that is digested, absorbed and assimilated, enough quality sleep, moderate exercise and keeping stress manageable and balanced with stress relieving activities. Easier said than done but worth the effort to prevent symptoms such as: fatigue, insomnia, digestive upsets, irritability, depression, heart disease, diabetes, PMS, perimenopause symptoms, and of course obesity.

5. Move Those Muscles

Most of us know that muscle is more dense than fat, so it takes up less room. It is also more “thermogenic” or metabolically active than fat. In other words it burns more calories even at rest. We can do aerobic exercise to lose fat, but we really need to work at some sort of resistance training to build and maintain our fat-burning muscles. We tend to lose muscle mass as we age to the tune of 3-5% per decade after age 30 unless we work to maintain that muscle. It is essential to find activities that you enjoy doing to stay healthy, fit and functional so that you can be motivated to make them part of your life. There are loads of options out there both online or in your neighbourhood. Be sure to get expert advice when trying any new activity. Look for ways to use body weight resistance exercise – no equipment required. Check with your doctor if you have been inactive or are overweight before starting a weight loss exercise program

Next week I’ll finish up with the other 5 of the 10 tips. But in the meantime, if you are thinking of doing something about your weight, contact me for information about a program I’m launching in September.     
#weightloss #exerciseforweightloss #weightlossfordiseaseprevention #proteinforweightloss #bloodsugarbalance #hormonebalance