Dr. Michelle Hagel ND
“A promising new method to loose weight without exercising or changing your diet and lifestyle.” We hear it constantly, a new diet becomes popular and works for awhile then all that weight just comes pouring back on, seemingly more easily than the first time it appeared. Don’t fall for it, there is no miracle pill to loose weight, it is about being good to your body. Diets shouldn’t be about following the latest trend and loosing weight fast, it is about choosing healthy foods to fuel our body ‘our machine.’ What we put in our bodies is fuel, for optimal performance both physically and mentally we have to consume the appropriate fuel. Being denied all our comfort foods or treats lead to a good period followed by cheating, then the healthy diet disappears altogether. Education on/about how these diets work is not provided, which can be one of the most important factors in maintaining a healthy diet/lifestyle. Learning the impact bad foods have on our bodies, and reducing them can change our taste buds in about 2 weeks. We no longer have as many cravings and what used to be yummy becomes way too sweet. Finding healthier alternatives to our devilish desires like, dark chocolate instead of milk, avocado chocolate mousse, black bean brownies, cauliflower pizza crust. These choices can make the transition away from the bad stuff manageable while getting valuable nutrition from the healthy alternatives.
Weight Loss Guide NW Calgary
1) Broken Metabolism:
Certain diets can have damaging impacts on our metabolism. The average person puts on 11 pounds after every diet. Specifically, calorie restrictive diets, which can have initial weight loss (sometimes at a rapid rate) but in the long term may damage our metabolism. Your body cannot function on 800-1000 calories a day for extended periods of time. The body goes into protective mode believing it is in a state of starvation, when calories are limited from our normal. Our bodies are programed to protect us from starvation by increasing the hunger response and decreasing our metabolism, conserving our valuable energy (or storing fat and losing muscle). Balance is what we are always trying to achieve so if there is an increase use of calories (exercise) without change in diet, our metabolism adjusts. This does not mean to eat more and exercise less, but gradual long term changes are more adaptive than drastic calorie restrictive diets.
2) Toxins:
We are exposed to toxins everyday in the food we eat, and environment we live in. Obesity levels are rising, as are environmental toxin levels. Our bodies have an ability to “protect us” from toxins by storing the toxins we are exposed to everyday in our fat cells. The problem is when we begin to lose weight these toxins are released back into circulation. If we lose weight at a rapid rate it becomes faster than our body’s ability to get rid of the toxins. Signs you are carrying a toxic load include making it more difficult to loose weight: asthma and allergies, brain fog, depression, fatigue, headaches, memory problems, chronic pain, chemical sensitivity, and even infertility. Trying to minimize the amount of toxins we are exposed to everyday eating organically when possible (especially the dirty dozen), and avoiding chemical exposure. As well as supporting our organs of elimination, to ensure we are flushing instead of retaining the harmful toxins. Cleanses can be a great way to help to kick start weight loss, or continue seeing the weight drop after already have lost weight. It is important to select a good cleanse that supports your elimination organs during this flushing out period.
3) Inflammation:
Inflammation throughout the body has be linked to almost every disease. The major contributing causes of inflammation include food sensitivities/allergies (GMO’s), chemicals, sugar, and stress. Foods that are common allergens include soy, dairy, gluten, eggs, corn, sugar, and artificial sweeteners. This doesn’t mean that everyone will break out in hives by consuming these foods, they are common foods that create an immune response thus causing inflammation. Another factor that has increased inflammation is changing what we feed animals. Consumption of grains rather than grass-fed has increased our omega 6 to omega 3 ratio. Omega 6 fatty acids lead to more inflammation throughout our bodies.
4) Sleep and Stress
Cortisol is a stress hormone, released from the adrenal glands when we are in a heightened state of stress. Cortisol help the body prepare for “flight or fight” from stressful situations, freeing up energy stores. After this experience we have an increase in hunger because all of our energy should have been used to ‘flee or fight.’ However, when we experience chronic stress we have chronic cortisol release and energy is stored away in our tissues overtime causing weight gain and insulin resistance. Our parasympathetic nervous system opposes this and allows us to rest and digest, when we are relaxed or sleeping. Promote relaxation through activities like meditation, walking, expressing/receiving gratitude, reading or whatever activity you find re-charging and relaxing. Watching television can actually be draining and habit forming, with certain programs elevating our cortisol levels.
Lack of sleep causes inflammation throughout the body. When we have sleep disruption this has an impact on our circadian rhythm which can elevate our stress hormone cortisol especially at night. When we are tired, we get hungry and crave sugary/high carbohydrate foods to maintain our energy levels, we also move less. This is a double whammy contributing to weight gain. Shortened/disrupted sleep reduces our insulin sensitivity and impairs glucose tolerance, which is what Type 2 diabetics suffer with. Insufficient sleep also down regulates leptin levels (our satiating hormone) and upregulate ghrelin which increases appetite. So get your 7-8 hours minimum of sleep!
5) Exercise
Cardiovascular exercise has been largely promoted for weight loss, although it is very good for your health specifically heart it is not the most effective strategy to loose weight and keep it off. During cardio workouts you are burning calories however once you stop the workout the calories stop burning. Weight lifting and high intensity short duration exercise are more effective because your muscles continue burning after the activity itself. This short duration has greater effects on appetite suppression, while longer duration may actually increase your appetite. All forms of exercise are so important in maintaining health and body weight. It decreases cravings, stress, inflammation, improves sleep quality, mood and energy all important factors to weight loss.
6) Macronutrients
Fats are so important in our diet, they feed our brains, our joints and keep us full and satisfied. Contrary to popular belief healthy fats will lower cholesterol, rather than raise it. Low fat products aren’t very tasty like their full fat counterparts, so they are generally loaded with sugar. So opt out the low fat, processed, high sugary foods and go for whole healthy fats, to keep you fuller longer. Various vegetable oils can be inflammatory so try to stick to good healthy anti-inflammatory ones like olive oil (great for your heart) and coconut oil (great for your brain). Other heathy fat sources include wild fish, grass-fed beef, nuts, seeds and avocados.
Protein another important component often overlooked in diets. Protein like fat keeps us fuller longer, it also helps to reduce sugar cravings and decrease the impact sugar has on our blood-glucose levels by leveling out the response.
Carbohydrates Reducing (not eliminating) carbohydrates especially from grain sources. Focusing on getting your carbohydrates from vegetable and fruit sources that are packed with antioxidants, vitamins and minerals as well as fiber which like protein controls the blood-glucose levels. Consuming fiber is another important aspect especially concerning the toxins discussed earlier. Fiber helps collect toxins lingering in our digestive system, and gets it out of our system. Grain fiber sources are not the best because they generally have inflammatory qualities to them. Look to flax seeds, chia seeds, vegetables and fruit, they come packed with other anti-inflammatory nutrients. Avoiding sugar, sugar causes an increase in our blood sugar and insulin release which causes inflammation. Sugar has been called the most addictive drug, in a study conducted with rats they chose sugar over cocaine! The more sugar we consume will intensify our cravings, and removing it can cause withdrawal symptoms much like drugs. So managing these sugar cravings is vital to the success of healthy diets. Research is now showing that it may be the bad bugs in our gut that cause these sugar cravings, because that is what they feed off.
7) Surround yourself in a healthy, happy support system to hold you accountable and provide you with the will power to maintain your new healthy lifestyle.
My passion is education around healthy foods and lifestyle that are sustainable to treat/prevent diseases. Supplements can also be appropriate to adjust for nutritional deficiencies, to address underlying causes and support body systems. Contact the the clinic today to book a consultation – I would LOVE to partner with you today to create the healthy life and body you deserve. 403-452-6262