Weight Loss For Health - Weight Loss That Stays Off

Recently all four Naturopaths here at the clinic – Melanie Humble, Emma Van Den Driest, Maedy Colenso (myself) and Meredith Lacy – all attended the latest seminar on OBESITY.

This seminar is my inspiration for this article to share with you the gems of latest research and ideas about weight loss. Australia currently has one of the worst statistics of obesity. 

Weight loss is a very interesting topic and yet also a very sensitive topic for many. Sadly, in society there are still many people that are judged differently for their weight. It is hard if you have never been big to understand what it is like to truly be overweight.  Obesity and weight is not simply a vanity thing it is a serious health concern, and as we get older having weight can lead to joint pain, inflammation, type 2 diabetes, heart conditions and more.

STEP ONE – Ask for guidance and help to lose weight. Like any condition, do not be scared to be upfront with your naturopath that you want our help with weight loss. This is the initial step and then we are on your team to help you get results. We can help you lose weight if you are keen - you will get results if you are on board and ready.  

STEP TWO – Playing detective and learning. Naturopaths are trained to be detectives and help you find out why you are carrying the weight. To do this we start with testing and looking at the cause and effect. You may have one or more of these triggers:

• Is it simply a case of energy in (calories in) outweighing energy out (exercise and activity)? 
• Metabolic syndrome
• Thyroid hormones
• Fluid retention
• Leptin issues
• Emotional 
• Medication side effects
• Liver health
• Microbiome – changing the ratio of probiotics can aid weight loss
• Cortisol levels – Stress can increase insulin resistance. Sometimes we need to work on stress before low carb eating is started

STEP THREE – Support, nurturing and coaching. In regard to dedicated weight loss programs, we will make more regular appointments. This is for support, nurturing, coaching and keeping the dietary focus there. For some people, this might be even be weekly to start with depending on how much help is needed.

It is not about losing more than a kilo a week but continuing the weight dropping as your health improves so the weight stays off. The aim is to guide the set- weight point to change as you lose weight. It is also to move things on when the weight loss plateaus, then maintenance. This helps you keep the weight off in the long run.

The more honest you can be with your practitioner the better. Honesty with your relationship to your body, your relationship with food, emotions, exercise, injuries, hunger, cravings, satiety, sleep and feelings. We are not here to judge but to help find solutions that work for the individual and the goals you want to achieve relative to your lifestyle. Our guidance and education is only as good as the team work with you, the client. We can easily give you a goal weight, yet to start with the goals need to be achievable.

Have you ever thought of food as habits? The more we fulfil our cravings, the more we will crave and fulfil the craving, till it is a never-ending desire for the wrong foods. They could even be allergies. Many people say they find healthy eating easy once they go strict and eat the right things. However as soon as they break their eating they go straight back into the cravings again.

I am a person that responds to low carb eating and the more I follow it the easier it is. I have noticed that if I eat the low carb breakfast then I am fine for the lunch and dinner but if I eat the wrong thing at breakfast it is much harder to make the right choice by lunch. It can for some people only be one cube of chocolate or one bite of toast to change the brain chemistry and set off the bloating and /or cravings. 

STEP FOUR - Breaks  Research from the seminar showed benefit of having breaks in the program. They call them pulse breaks. The suggestion is to do 6 weeks in a row of the eating plan program and then have 2 weeks off. This helps trick the system. It is easier to do and in the long run helps the weight drop and stay down. For some people the program can continue then two weeks on, two weeks off. Two weeks off still means a good eating plan but not as strict.

Lowering what is called a Set–Weight Point.

Did you know that everyone has a set- point where their body weight seems to like to be? Have you ever lost weight, then before you know it, you are back at your start weight or even higher? Your brain is very clever at increasing hunger and decreasing energy expenditure to bring you back to your set weight. The research on this topic shows the strategies for lowering the set point are:

1. Lowering palatability of food
2. Having adequate protein
3. Fat or Carbohydrate restriction depending on body type
4. Diet breaks to trick the system
5. Adequate sleep and sleep patterns
6. Physical activity 

If your weight is not dropping there is something you are doing wrong. We just have to help you find what that is. It could be one food you are having, it could be you are doing the wrong exercise for your genetics. It could be the alcohol, sugary drinks, chai powder, cereal or too much bread. How are you sleeping? Your practitioner can discuss what eating plan might suit your metabolism. Some people respond to low fat eating others to low carb eating, some intermittent fasting, 5/2 eating etc.  It is all planned around your individual body.

Questions and ideas to consider with eating plans

1. If things are too palatable will we choose to eat more?
2. Poor sleep and shift work creates hunger.
3. What can we do when we are emotional eaters.
4. Do we eat better with other people than by ourselves?
5. Do not mix fats and carbs as this is not good for weight loss. Egg cheese and biscuits, bacon burgers, avocado on toast. 
6. Do you give your digestion a break from food? Try early dinners and late breakfast.
7. Do your sauces contain sugar?
8. Are your probiotics helping you hold weight or loss it?
9. Are you more prone to estrogen dominance?
10. Would a protein shake help or hinder? If so, which one is right for you? Pure collagen, pea protein, whey isolate, brazil nut or even hemp protein?
11. Do artificial sweeteners slow down weight loss? 
12. Are you active in your everyday life? Are you moving enough?
13. Does sex help your metabolism?
14. Does stress help you hold your weight? Does it impact insulin levels?
15. Have you ever checked your thyroid properly? 
16. Have you ever thought of checking fasting insulin?
17. Is being vegetarian making you hold weight?
18. Am I at risk of ketosis? 
19. How do I use Ketostix?  Ketostix are used to check ketones in urine. 

All of these and more are the questions we help you find the answers to. We can help generally, and if needed really get to the fine tooth comb with food diaries and weekly coaching. Ask any of the practitioners, and we are on your side to help.

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