24 Oct Why is it So Hard to Have a Healthy Weight?
You eat less and exercise more and the weight stubbornly hangs on. Why is it so hard?
Weight loss is way more complex than calories-in-calories-out.
Your body is not so much a furnace burning up calories; it’s more of a chemical factory, taking the nutrients from your food and using them in all the processes in the body. So an efficient chemical factory will use your nutrients for health and energy. An inefficient chemical factory will slow or change your body’s processes and store fat for later use.
The main thing that can mess up your chemical factory is stress. A stressed body piles on pounds. The body is saving up the fat because it’s anticipating more stress to come.
So let’s look at some types of stress that can lead to weight gain.
Low thyroid. Very common these days is low thyroid function, especially among middle aged women. A low thyroid is like your body on a brown-out. There’s not enough energy to get the body working at full force. A major symptom of low thyroid is inability to lose weight.
High estrogen. Did you know that plants like soy have chemicals that imitate your estrogen? Chemicals in plastic can mimic estrogen. When your estrogen is not balanced with your other hormones, you can have problems.
High stress lifestyle. Doesn’t everybody have this? Your body will react to psychological stress and that will affect almost every biological process in your body. Stress causes the release of cortisol, which encourages weight gain.
Infection. An infection, like from yeast, virus, parasites, or bacteria, stresses your body. Weight gain can result.
Too little sleep. For some crazy reason, we think important people don’t sleep much. Wrong. It’s important to sleep, minimally 7 hours, but 8 or 9 could be what you need. This is my downfall. After a poor night’s sleep, I gain at least an inch in my waist. Ugh.
PCOS/high testosterone. This is a hormonal imbalance that women can have. Yes, women have testosterone too, just not as much as men. All hormones usually need to be in balance for a healthy weight.
Too little sunshine. Sunshine on your skin and in your eyes promotes vitamin D and teaches your body to be awake in the day, and sleepy at night. In our efforts to avoid burning, or from working indoors, we sometimes don’t get the sun we do need. For optimal functioning and a healthy weight, you need good levels of vitamin D.
Over exercising. What? Isn’t exercise the key to losing weight? Only if you don’t overdo it. Too much stress from too much exercise leads to weight loss resistance. So challenge yourself at a comfortable level.
Eating too little. Sure eating less calories may cause you to lose weight at first. When you go back to eating a more normal amount of food, you will likely gain it all back (and more) due to the stress you put on your metabolism.
Eating too little fat. Healthy fat does not make you fat. Olive oil, coconut oil, grass fed butter, and avocados support many organs and systems in your body. Fat also curbs your appetite and keeps your energy steady through the day, so you avoid binges or insulin spikes.
Eating too many refined carbs. Our bodies evolved eating real food that came from a plant, not what was manufactured in a plant. Your body needs nutrient-dense real food. Refined carbs spike your insulin, and insulin drives fat into fat cells. Those chips are worth it?
Eating food you are sensitive to. Some people don’t tolerate gluten, but there are many more foods that can be difficult for different people to digest. Some of the most common are corn, dairy, eggs, soy, and wheat. When your digestion is sub-optimal, often your weight is too.
Toxins, mold, chemicals. Often a symptom of exposure to toxins, mold, or chemicals is weight gain, among many other symptoms. Reducing exposure and detoxing can help.
The good news is that you can improve your health and release the extra weight by your lifestyle decisions. You can learn to improve your sleep or how to avoid foods that you don’t tolerate. You can find foods that support your hormonal balance and give you energy.
I can help you with your health and weight loss goals. I am a National Board Certified Health and Wellness Coach. I took the test in September and just got my scores. I am qualified to help you figure out what your stressors are. I can help you find easy and doable positive steps that fit with your lifestyle. I won’t nag or coerce you. I’ll listen to you and support you. And health coaching works. There’s research that validates its effectiveness. Contact me to set up a free introductory phone call.
This article is for information purposes only. See Disclaimer below.
No Comments