How to Lose the Unwanted Body Fat and Keep It Off

How to Lose the Weight and, Even Harder, Keep It Off

Decide to Do It

Here is your staring point.  Set a personal goal and have a good reason for it.  Be motivated, persistent and patient. 

Habit Formation

To accomplish your goal of attaining your healthiest body weight, you need to create short-term goals, or strategies, that will help you to accomplish your long-term goal.  Perhaps your first strategy is to eat more nutrient dense “whole” foods and your next strategy is to consume less sugar.  Great!  Now how, exactly, are you going to do that?    Behavior change can be really, really hard for most of us, so start small! List the small, concrete and doable steps you can take to achieve your goal.  For example, choose to eat one more servings of vegetables a day and come up with strategies to consistently implement that. 

Personalize Your Nutrition

Everybody is different.  Each of us has a unique metabolism and unique nutrient demands.  Our genetics, health history and lifestyle influence these variables and need to be taken into consideration when determining how one can eat the most healthy, nutrient dense diet.  Working with a dietitian or nutritionist can help determine what course of action is best for you. 

Love Your Gut

A healthy gut microbiome is the hidden key to a healthy metabolism.  If you do not have a healthy metabolism, it can be quite challenging to nearly impossible to lose excess body fat and keep it off in the long-term.

Your gut flora (microbiome) is the complex community of microorgansims that live in your digestive tract. We have only just begun to understand the extent of the gut’s flora in human health and disease.  A healthy gut microbiome is essential for normal digestion, nutrient absorption, regulation of metabolism, elimination of toxins, and immune function.

When your gut microbiome is unhealthy, it can cause more than just stomach pain, gas, bloating, diarrhea or constipation.  Because much of our immune system is located in our gut, dysregulated gut flora has been linked to hormonal imbalances, autoimmune diseases, food allergies or sensitivities, inflammatory bowel disease, diabetes, chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, anxiety, depression, frequent infections, irritability, eczema, rosacea, Parkinson’s Disease, poor memory and concentration, among other chronic health issues. 

Recent research shows that the gut flora also plays a significant role in obesity.  Gut flora can influence your appetite and metabolism. Specifically, gut flora influences the rate at which we absorb fatty acids and carbohydrates, and the storage of calories as fats.  So, someone with dysregulated gut flora could eat the same amount of food as someone with a healthy gut, but extract more calories from it!

Sleep

Sleep controls your diet.  Poor sleep not only affects your metabolism, but also your judgement and impulse control.   Not enough sleep means you are always hungry, reaching for bigger portions, desiring types of foods that are bad for you, and you don’t have the proper brain functioning to say “no”.  Most people do best with between 8-9 hours of sleep per night.

Also, what you eat can affect your sleep.  I am sure you have heard too much caffeine sand alcohol can interfere with sleep.  But did you know that people who consume high fiber tend to sleep better than those who do not?  And that eating healthy carbohydrates at dinner can also have a positive impact on sleep?  Also, high amounts of saturated fat at dinner have been shown to adversely affect your sleep duration and sleep quality.

Stress Management

Studies show that stress not only leads to weight gain, but it also inhibits weight loss.  Even if you are eating well and exercising, chronic high stress can prevent you from losing weight.

Cortisol (a stress hormone) can increase appetite, drive cravings for junk food and make it easier to accumulate body fat. 

Helpful strategies to managing stress include exercise, meditation, yoga, learning to say “no”, diaphragmatic breathing, massage, social support, having realistic expectations, spending time outdoors, getting quality sleep, and making time to do what you enjoy.

Mindful Eating

Learn to pay attention to what you are eating, why you are eating and how you feel during and after eating.

Practice the following:

• Slow down.  Chew thoroughly.  Put your fork down after each bite.

• Ask yourself: What are your body’s hunger signals (stomach growling, low energy, lightheaded) and what are your emotional triggers (stress, sad, bored)?

• Eat at the table.  No tv, no phone, no computer, no multi-tasking.

• Eat with others when you can.

• Eat intentionally.  Pay attention to the flavors and textures.  Enjoy your food.

• Express gratitude for your food.

• Try to eat at the same time every day.  This can optimize your metabolism. 

Social Support

According to research, having friends or family members who are supportive of your healthy eating and exercise goals is important for long-term weight loss. 

Additional resources include support groups and a weight-management coach, such as a dietitian or nutritionist.  Having someone guide you, support you, hold you accountable and root for your success can be extremely beneficial for your short and long-term health goals.

Movement

Exercise is great, movement is better.  Move as much and as often as you can during the day.  Take the stairs, walk during your lunch break, get a standing work station, take frequent, microbreaks.  Move your body!

Exercise

The best exercise for you is the one that you will do consistently.  Picking an exercise that you enjoy (or at least, can tolerate) is the most important thing.  Secondly, it has to be convenient.  If those two are present, it will make it easier to make it a habit. 

Having said that, the best exercise for weight loss and maintenance seems to include weights or resistance training and interval work (such as HIIT=high intensity interval training).  Start where you can, such as brisk walking and body weight squats.  Be safe and use proper form.  Exercise should not be painful.  Make sure you are not overtraining and make sure you are eating enough healthy carbohydrates to support your activity level.

Not only does exercise enhance your metabolism, but it can also improve sleep, decrease stress and improve your gut flora.  Join a team or pick a work out buddy and now you have social support, too!