Most people I see are interested in losing a little or a lot of weight but as far as I can see, most people are confused about how to do this. As far as I’m concerned, short term weight loss is pointless. If you are losing weight only to regain that weight (oftentimes plus some) then ultimately you can be contributing to more health issues, not to mention metabolic derangement (which means an inability to lose weight).
So I thought I’d share my top tips to lose weight but more importantly keep it off.
1. Know your Kryptonite foods: Most people I see have intolerances to certain foods. These foods upset their system and may cause symptoms like bloating, gas, constipation, diarrhea, and more. Eating these foods not only causes inflammation in the body but also causes the body to store more body fat. Identifying these foods and eliminating them can be one of the most powerful ways to remove stubborn fat (especially around the belly area).
2. Eat more regularly: I have seen people who are morbidly obese and are eating fewer calories per day than I am eating in one meal! We’ve been told time and again that we need to “eat less and exercise more” but that paradigm just doesn’t stack up. For women particularly, not eating for long periods of time will result in a slowing of the basal metabolic rate and a predisposition to storing fat. When I work with clients, I usually space their eating times out to improve metabolic function/blood sugar and even though they’re eating more they lose weight.
3. Manage Cortisol levels: The best way to keep weight on your body is to have high-stress levels. Chronic stress hormones (mainly cortisol) makes it super hard to lose the spare tyre. Sometimes the stress can be obvious, other times it is more obscure. Most of us are rushing around and fitting WAY too many things into our day-to-day lives. Combine this with inflammatory foods, negative thoughts, environmental toxins, and more and you have a recipe for stubborn weight gain. Removing stressors and working on the nervous system is key to long term weight loss.
4. Meditate: As mentioned in point 3, we’re all running around producing too much Cortisol. One of the best ways to reduce this is to meditate. Yoga, Tai Chi, Chi Qong, and nature are other ways of reducing Cortisol, ultimately improving metabolic function.
5. Drink less: Sorry, this one is annoying for most people but for those that are drinking regularly, it’s one of the most powerful tools we can use. Alcohol blocks fat burning for 24 hours after consumption and encourages fat storage of anything that is consumed at the same time (what a deadly combo). Most people’s favourite beverage is also packed with sugar. Alcohol also interferes with Melatonin production which disrupts sleep which again can have an adverse effect on blood sugar. Finally, it’s been declared by the World Health Organisation as a Group 1 Carcinogen similar to arsenic and asbestos so it’s probably not a bad thing to cut out for more reasons than our waistline!
6. Sleep more: Anyone who has seen me professionally or heard me speak would know how passionate I am about Sleep Hygiene. Getting good quality sleep is something that evades so many of us and in my opinion, it’s probably THE single most effective thing we can do for our health. But when it comes to weight loss, it is literally the difference between losing it and gaining it. When we get less than 8 hours of quality sleep, we produce a hormone called Ghrelin which makes us crave sugar and other crappy foods. On the positive flip side, when we get a good quality deep 8-hour sleep, we will produce healthy amounts of a hormone called Leptin which makes us feel satiated and much less hungry. It also gives us energy. Yet another reason to get more sleep and work on its quality.
Obviously, there are more facets to weight loss but in my opinion, these are the basic things that need to be maintained to achieve consistent and long-term weight loss. I hope this provided you with some inspiration and insight into this matter. Please email with any questions.
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