Weight loss can be a constant struggle for both women and men. There are a variety of variables that can impact weight loss. It is important to identify the issues that might be impacting you, specifically. Most individuals that seek assistance from Health Coach or professional to assist in identify your obstacles and create a plan that is right for you. I’m writing this post because I have 2 clients that are currently facing this struggle and I am developing an individualized plan for each them. Let’s discuss the most common obstacles to weight loss.
Lack of Sleep – sleep quality and quantity impacts health and weight loss. It is double edged sword because high stress impacts sleep which then impacts stress, weight loss and other health factors. Research shows that even small sleep alterations can increase cortisol levels and create insulin resistance. Lack of sleep is associated with a variety of health issues like high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity, heart disease, mood disorders and depression.
Poor nutrient intake – nutritious foods are essential for a healthy body. It is more important than you think to eat fruits, vegetables, healthy proteins and nuts. A diet high in nutritious foods that focuses on anti-inflammatory meals helps promote weight loss. Its important to avoid processed foods, granola bars, cereals and bread because they are filed with empty calories and create inflammation in the body. A diet high in healthy fats, protein and healthy carbohydrates from fruits and vegetables revs up the metabolisms and gears you up for a healthier lifestyle. Check out my presentation on You-Tube to see what harmful ingredients can be impacting your gut, brain and causing your weight gain.
Inflammation– inflammatory foods, like those in the video I shared, create a slow and constant inflammatory response that disturbs our body in many ways. The biggest problem with inflammation is that it is invisible, if people could actually see the damage inflammatory foods cause at the cellular level, they wouldn’t eat the foods that cause it (See video if you haven’t yet). Inflammatory foods are foreign invaders to our bodies and it responds with systemic inflammation. The cycle continues and inflammation multiplies, leading to a multitude of diseases anemia, autism, Alzheimer’s, carpel tunnel, gallbladder disease, GERD, autoimmune leaky gut, fibromyalgia, Hashimoto’s, psoriasis, Crohn’s, celiac disease and many more… (The purple diseases are some of my personal conditions related to chronic stress and inflammation). Some symptoms of inflammation are tired, fatigues, sleepy, brain fog, attention issues, upset stomach, bloating, achy joins and muscle pain. These are signs your body is going through inflammation and its time for an anti-inflammatory elimination diet to identify your food triggers. Now, let’s talk specifically about inflammation and weight loss. Inflammation impacts a hormone that regulates fat in the body. The hormone called Leptin, controls your metabolism and appetite. Healthy people get the message from leptin, causing their bodies to suppress appetite and speed up the metabolism, thus burning fat. Chronic inflammation impairs the bodies ability to receive the message from leptin to suppress your appetite, causing you to eat more and gain weight. As you can see inflammation can be a vicious cycle, the good new is you don’t have to tackle it alone. Back to ways to fight the chronic inflammatory response. The best way is to identify your inflammatory trigger foods, develop a diet and supplementation plan that will help build up your digestive tract, immune system and reduce the inflammation. Ask me how?
Chronic stress– stress is the biggest obstacle to weight loss and everyone has stress on a daily basis. We are faced with highly stressful fast paced lives, and stress is not going anywhere. Stress in the body causes a flight or fight response which impacts your cortisol and adrenaline hormones. This is a normal response but our bodies are faced with it too rapidly and frequently. This response elevates cortisol levels, which can cause weight gain. These continuous state of chronic stress impacts the immune system, lowers good gut bacteria and places individuals at risk for infection and autoimmune disease. Unfortunately, after 20 years of age our bodies lose the ability to properly fight stress at a cellular level. The simple fact is that our bodies no longer produce the antioxidant enzymes that help the body heal and recover from stress, thus it accumulates daily throughout our adult lives. The only true way to impact this stress daily is by fighting back with nutrigenomics. Ask me more?
Toxic overload– We are exposed to harmful toxins and chemicals throughout our lives. These toxins are in the water, food, hosehold cleaning products, lotions, cosmetics, paint, candles, plastic containers and much more. Even items that seem healthy can be filled with harmful chemicals, like toothpaste, bread and shampoo. These toxins can create inflammation and hormonal imbalances in the body. This also impacts the bodies Leptin response and created inflammation in the body. These toxic levels can stop your bodies weight loss even with exercise and healthy diet.
Estrogen Imbalance– More estrogen than progesterone can play a role in weight gain. Estrogen dominance causes increased cravings and decreased metabolism. The most common cravings are sugary foods, if this is the case and you can’t control your cravings, estrogen might by the culprit. Increased cravings, more calories and slow metabolisms promote weight gain. You can try to attack the inflammation in your body with an elimination plant to see if the cravings improve.
Low testosterone – It is well known that testosterone levels drop with age. This drop causes increased body fate, heart disease, insulin resistance and cancer. Interestingly, obesity can also cause testosterone to drop. The most visible sign of low-testosterone is belly fat and difficulty loosing weight. So if this sounds like you, its time to attack that inflammation and fight back.
Insulin imbalance – Insulin resistance occurs when the body is not able to absorb extra blood glucose and keeps generating more from the food you eat. The liver convert the glucose into fat and its a vicious cycle. Inability to regulate blood sugar and insulin levels creases excess belly fat and difficulty with weight loss. Processed foods, which we discussed earlier cause insulin resistance, inflammation, chronic stress, etc. It is important to find someone that will support you in your journey. Someone that can help you identify the foods that are harmful for you and develop a plan to fight back.
Losing weight can be a difficult journey but it is possible. The most important part is finding your particular challenges or obstacles and creating a plan with a Health Coach to tackle them. If you feel stressed or overwhelmed by all the information and possibilities, let me help you develop a plan that you can stick too. Some of these obstacles may require medications or supplements specific for that condition. If you are not able to resolve these issues with diet modification and supplementation, you may need medical attention, so make an appointment with your physician.
