8 Pillars of Sustainable Weight Loss
The world of nutrition and weight loss is so confusing. Why can't I have sugar? Why is a banana bad to eat in the morning? How do I lose weight and keep it off?
These are questions that my clients ask me on a regular basis because they're serious about losing weight, feeling confident and making lasting changes. I hear that! In an ideal world we would all eat perfectly, work out and be stress free, but this is reality and that isn't the case.
Losing weight and keeping it off is so much more than just the food we eat or how often you hit the gym. For example, you can eat whole foods, drink water and work out on a regular basis but if your job stresses you out and you feel anxious or stressed all day long, your body is going to store fat because it thinks it's in trouble. It will not let go of that fat until you relax.
I'll let that sink in.
In the mean time, I want to share with you the 8 pillars of sustainable weight loss. Guess what - only ONE is directly related to food.
1. Drink Up
Water is on every single thing I write about losing weight, curbing cravings or overall wellness. I don't need to go into a lot of detail but just remember this will help keep you from over eating, curb cravings as I've mentioned, and being hydrated has a lot of extra bonus perks. The great thing about drinking more water is that it's easy and cheap! This is one new habit you can commit to that will spiral into other great habits like choosing to eat healthy or giving you enough energy to fit in a work out.
2. Sleep Deep
Again, sleep makes its way onto almost everything I write about because it's so important! When you get to the deep stages of sleep, your growth hormones are hard at work repairing your body and keeping you young and beautiful. Research has also shown that getting less than six hours of sleep increases your chances of obesity by 23% - that's a good reason to get your shuteye.
Other benefits of sleep include better stress management, less cravings and increased overall health.
Not catching enough ZZZZ's can decrease your immune function; lead to overeating and poor food choices plus a disruption in hormones (which control everything is your body from triggering hunger to telling your body to store or release fat)
3. Exercise Steady
Exercise is great for sustainable weight loss because it goes way beyond burning calories. First of all, someone who is normal weight but sits around all day has a greater chance of heart disease than an over weight person who is working out.
Plus, when you workout, your brain released endorphins which give you a feeling of being on top of the world. This helps relieve stress, which then gives you the mindset, and time to eat something healthy. When you eat better, you sleep better and when you sleep better you make better food choices. When you have better food choices you're motivated and have the energy to work out. See how that works?
4. Stress Less
Here's the reason stress can sway your weight loss attempts. When you become stressed, your cortisol (stress hormone) will rise. Once this happens, your body will store fat, increase carb cravings and increase your appetite. For women, this fat is stored around your mid-section. Great, I know. The reason? That's where our babies grow and that area needs to be protected to protect our species.
The great news? When your relaxation response is activated, your stress response cannot be activated. So, when you feel the stress coming on, commit to 5 minutes of sitting quietly and breathing. If you're sitting in traffic or your boss just dumped a huge project on you, practice breathing in for 8 counts and breathing out for 8 counts. It's quick, easy and super effective.
5. Eat Empowered
Here it is, the one food related tip. It's important to eat clean, maybe even organic if it fits in your budget but eating empowered is much more than dieting or refusing to eat carbs. Eating empowered is changing your mind set from €I can't have€¦.cake€ to €I choose to have€¦fruit instead€. The point is YOU control your life, not the food. If you want to eat that piece of cake you can, but be conscious about it and forget about feeling guilty.
6. Live Consciously
It's important to have a clean organized home and office. I think the most important room to have organized is your kitchen. If your kitchen is a mess and you can't cook dinner because there's no room or you snack on junk because your fridge is full of rotten food, it's going to be harder to eat healthy meals and snacks. Having a pretty fridge also motivates you to eat the healthy foods on display! Here are some of my favorite kitchen organization tips.
Another big one, your closet! Think about the time you waste and frustration of not being able to find something to wear, or find that other shoe. Organize your closet and get rid of clothes that don't fit anymore.
7. Love More
When you're feeling mushy and in love your brain releases something called oxytocin. This is an antioxidant and also an anti obesity hormone. The antioxidants being released into your body are responsible for that flushed glowing look after sex.
I'll leave it like this: Losing weight can help your sex life (more confidence, more energy, better sex drive) and having sex can help you lose weight (sure, we'll call it exercise - plus the release of oxytocin) In conclusion, have a lot of sex.
8. Nurture Yourself
This is my favorite because I'm just not getting comfortable with taking care of myself. Especially us women, we put everyone else first but if you're serious about losing weight for good, this has to change.
Nurturing yourself is not selfish, it's not lazy and it's nothing to hide. There are plenty of physical and emotional benefits to getting a massage, having a bubble bath, getting a manicure etc.
Do something daily, even if it's just taking a few minutes away from the hubby and kids. Identify what makes YOU feel good and schedule it into your day.
These are questions that my clients ask me on a regular basis because they're serious about losing weight, feeling confident and making lasting changes. I hear that! In an ideal world we would all eat perfectly, work out and be stress free, but this is reality and that isn't the case.
Losing weight and keeping it off is so much more than just the food we eat or how often you hit the gym. For example, you can eat whole foods, drink water and work out on a regular basis but if your job stresses you out and you feel anxious or stressed all day long, your body is going to store fat because it thinks it's in trouble. It will not let go of that fat until you relax.
I'll let that sink in.
In the mean time, I want to share with you the 8 pillars of sustainable weight loss. Guess what - only ONE is directly related to food.
1. Drink Up
Water is on every single thing I write about losing weight, curbing cravings or overall wellness. I don't need to go into a lot of detail but just remember this will help keep you from over eating, curb cravings as I've mentioned, and being hydrated has a lot of extra bonus perks. The great thing about drinking more water is that it's easy and cheap! This is one new habit you can commit to that will spiral into other great habits like choosing to eat healthy or giving you enough energy to fit in a work out.
2. Sleep Deep
Again, sleep makes its way onto almost everything I write about because it's so important! When you get to the deep stages of sleep, your growth hormones are hard at work repairing your body and keeping you young and beautiful. Research has also shown that getting less than six hours of sleep increases your chances of obesity by 23% - that's a good reason to get your shuteye.
Other benefits of sleep include better stress management, less cravings and increased overall health.
Not catching enough ZZZZ's can decrease your immune function; lead to overeating and poor food choices plus a disruption in hormones (which control everything is your body from triggering hunger to telling your body to store or release fat)
3. Exercise Steady
Exercise is great for sustainable weight loss because it goes way beyond burning calories. First of all, someone who is normal weight but sits around all day has a greater chance of heart disease than an over weight person who is working out.
Plus, when you workout, your brain released endorphins which give you a feeling of being on top of the world. This helps relieve stress, which then gives you the mindset, and time to eat something healthy. When you eat better, you sleep better and when you sleep better you make better food choices. When you have better food choices you're motivated and have the energy to work out. See how that works?
4. Stress Less
Here's the reason stress can sway your weight loss attempts. When you become stressed, your cortisol (stress hormone) will rise. Once this happens, your body will store fat, increase carb cravings and increase your appetite. For women, this fat is stored around your mid-section. Great, I know. The reason? That's where our babies grow and that area needs to be protected to protect our species.
The great news? When your relaxation response is activated, your stress response cannot be activated. So, when you feel the stress coming on, commit to 5 minutes of sitting quietly and breathing. If you're sitting in traffic or your boss just dumped a huge project on you, practice breathing in for 8 counts and breathing out for 8 counts. It's quick, easy and super effective.
5. Eat Empowered
Here it is, the one food related tip. It's important to eat clean, maybe even organic if it fits in your budget but eating empowered is much more than dieting or refusing to eat carbs. Eating empowered is changing your mind set from €I can't have€¦.cake€ to €I choose to have€¦fruit instead€. The point is YOU control your life, not the food. If you want to eat that piece of cake you can, but be conscious about it and forget about feeling guilty.
6. Live Consciously
It's important to have a clean organized home and office. I think the most important room to have organized is your kitchen. If your kitchen is a mess and you can't cook dinner because there's no room or you snack on junk because your fridge is full of rotten food, it's going to be harder to eat healthy meals and snacks. Having a pretty fridge also motivates you to eat the healthy foods on display! Here are some of my favorite kitchen organization tips.
Another big one, your closet! Think about the time you waste and frustration of not being able to find something to wear, or find that other shoe. Organize your closet and get rid of clothes that don't fit anymore.
7. Love More
When you're feeling mushy and in love your brain releases something called oxytocin. This is an antioxidant and also an anti obesity hormone. The antioxidants being released into your body are responsible for that flushed glowing look after sex.
I'll leave it like this: Losing weight can help your sex life (more confidence, more energy, better sex drive) and having sex can help you lose weight (sure, we'll call it exercise - plus the release of oxytocin) In conclusion, have a lot of sex.
8. Nurture Yourself
This is my favorite because I'm just not getting comfortable with taking care of myself. Especially us women, we put everyone else first but if you're serious about losing weight for good, this has to change.
Nurturing yourself is not selfish, it's not lazy and it's nothing to hide. There are plenty of physical and emotional benefits to getting a massage, having a bubble bath, getting a manicure etc.
Do something daily, even if it's just taking a few minutes away from the hubby and kids. Identify what makes YOU feel good and schedule it into your day.