Why diets fail and how to successfully lose weight!
Diets do not work! In fact, you may be one of the 70% who end up weighing more shortly after ending a diet than you did at the start! So, let’s look at why diets fail and what you need to consider to successfully lose weight.
By exploring what it is exactly that is making you put on the weight, I can support you to make the changes you need for your body type. There are numerous reasons why you may struggle to lose weight. It could be a food intolerance, a hormonal issue or even stress making it difficult for you to manage your weight. By exploring what the underlying causes are, you can take the right steps to resolve the blocks.
Why don’t diets work long-term and how to lose weight for good?
Calorie-restrictive diets do not work in the long-term. A simple survival mechanism means that our bodies will always figure out a way to lay down stores of fat. If you deprive your body of food and place it under stress of restricted calorie, then it releases cortisol. Chronically high cortisol, in the long run, makes weight loss harder to achieve.
There are many other obstacles to weight loss that have little to do with your calorie intake or how much you exercise. These involve nutritional and hormonal imbalances, leaky gut, changes in your micro-biome, environmental toxins and even your genes.
So, what are the key things we need to look at if you want to lose weight in an effective and sustainable way?
Balance hormones must be addressed if you are to successfully lose weight:
The monster hormone that causes weight gain, inflammation and chronic disease is insulin. The consumption of sugar, flour and refined carbs can cause a spike in your insulin levels. When this happens just a bit too often, your cells become resistant to its effects resulting in more insulin being produced. As a result, you can become trapped in a vicious cycle of insulin resistance and increased insulin production. Insulin resistance is a major factor in weight gain.
Balancing blood sugar levels is also critical to weight loss:
Extra weight around your middle, cravings for carbs and sugar, “crashing” (especially after eating carbs), having “moobs” (man boobs) and feeling angry when you are actually just hungry might all be signs that your blood sugar levels are out of balance.
Consume metabolic-enhancing foods:
Protein-rich foods give your metabolism a boost by requiring more energy to digest. Known as the TEF (Thermic Effect of Food), it refers to the number of calories needed by your body to absorb the nutrients in your meal. Other foods such as chilli or ginger can have metabolic enhancing properties. Eating the right foods can also help control the speed at which food enters the blood stream.
A hidden food intolerance can be yet another reason as to why you are struggling to successfully lose weight:
Having an underlying food intolerance can be a trigger for inflammation and hormonal imbalance which may be a factor in weight gain. I find clients often know deep down what foods are problem foods for them. With a little bit of guidance and coaching on eliminating these foods and introducing alternatives they can make a tremendous difference to how they feel and look. You might like to look at my post on gluten:
Ensure healthy thyroid function:
Your thyroid gland regulates your metabolism. Iron, zinc, and selenium are all required for its proper functioning whilst some other foods contain thyroid-blocking compounds. If you eat a lot of raw cruciferous vegetables, soy products and foods high in gluten you may be hampering your thyroid function.
However, these are general guidelines, and you cannot look at them in isolation. Your body is unique to you. All these factors have a complex and interconnected part to play in how your body metabolises the food you put in your mouth. Nutritional therapy is an evidence-based practice that looks at your requirements on an individual basis.
It is only by addressing all these issues personal to you and combining this with positive lifestyle changes that you have any chance of sustaining a healthy weight.
The elephant in the room – could there be a psychological reason that is blocking you from achieving your goals?
You may find that there are psychological blocks that are preventing you from achieving the weight that you want. This is where Wellbeing Coaching comes into play. By looking at all aspects of your life, we can work out what are the underlying blocks to your weight loss. By helping you to explore the reasons why you want to make changes and what motivates you. If you look at your fears, at what is your self-sabotage and your negative self-talk then we can start to turn things round. Together we can set goals that you know you can manage and by identifying the small changes which you decide you can make I support you to take charge of your health.
