Good Morning!
I want to write about something I have written about before, maybe more than once. Its a topic that so many people talk about, work hard to achieve and unfortunately, so many of us don't achieve the results we wanted. You guessed it, losing weight.
There are so many factors that involve proper weight loss. For some people, working out and eating right will do the trick, while many others can practically starve themselves, work out like crazy and still not lose a pound. Some of the more common complaints that I hear is "I am on a diet, but I'm not losing any weight." Or, "I eat pretty well but I can't lose any weight." The key here is WHAT are you eating? What kind of diet are you on? Are you afraid of fats and staying away from them because you are diligently counting calories? Well this might come as a shock: we need healthy fats to help us lose weight! I used to listen politely when people would tell me they'd never touch an egg or an avocado because they are too fattening. Now I speak my mind and let people know that healthy fat is good! We need it! Its not the egg yolk making you fat, its very likely the "energy bar" or low fat yogurt or granola that is making you fat, or it just might be something else you aren't even thinking of...
If we look deeply into ourselves we can find many hidden secrets that might be inhibiting weight loss.
When any problem arises in life, its best to look inside ourselves and see where we might be stuck. A relationship issue? Loneliness? Lack of spirituality? Childhood trauma? Anything can make us feel stuck in a negative place, and when this happens, it can cause our bodies to be physically stuck as well, and in one way this can mean extra pounds that are just stuck and won't budge. This requires some deep introspection to free ourselves of unwanted emotions. Try to figure out why you are stuck, why your body is holding on to those extra pounds. Luckily we all have our ways of releasing. For some its art, others music and dance, and some like to write. Whatever your talent is, use it! You will be amazed at how you can free yourself of unwanted thoughts and feelings using a creative outlet.
The next common cause of weight gain and the inability to lose weight comes from eating improperly, and finding the proper foods can be really difficult. Without getting into too much detail in this post (we will save it for another one), remember, eat as cleanly as you can. Avoid processed foods (foods that come in a box, package, etc), flour products, sugars and too much caffeine. Eat loads of fruits and vegetables, clean meats, fish and eggs and drink lots and lots of water instead of sugary or diet drinks. Avoid any label that says "low fat, fat free, sugar free" because these products have other unhealthy ingredients added to them that can contribute to weight gain and other health problems. Get adequate amounts of healthy fats and protein from avocados, eggs, healthy oils, etc. You can also help stimulate your liver which rids the body of toxins by adding lemon or lime to your water or making a juice with dandelion and any other fruit or vegetable you want. (Liver cleanse coming soon).
Next is sleep. I know many of us do not get adequate amounts of sleep every night. For whatever reason you might not be sleeping well, just keep in mind that when we don't sleep enough, our body needs to get extra energy from somewhere. So our adrenal glands send out a hormone called Cortisol which is a fat storage hormone that gives our body extra energy. Down the line, using up our stores of cortisol can lead to other problems such as adrenal fatigue syndrome. In short, lack of sleep can make you gain weight and not let you lose it!
There are two other important weight loss/gain factors. Those are the health of your thyroid and adrenal glands. When these are out of balance and not functioning as they should because of lack of sleep, improper nutrition, emotional trauma, etc, you will most likely have a hard time losing that weight. (Many forms of birth control also cause weight gain/loss issues.)
There are many more causes for weight gain and the inability to lose weight. The point here is, that it is not just about how often you exercise and what kind of low fat/diet foods you are eating. We need to think about our body as a whole, and how every aspect of our lives effects our body. Take one step at a time. Begin a slow, steady exercise program, find a time for self introspection and creativity, make one small healthy change in your diet, drink one cup of water instead of a diet coke. Eat a healthy fat, make a juice, get a good night's sleep!
Once you have built up to an all around healthier lifestyle, and if the weight still is not coming off, there are other places to look to see if something else is out of balance.
No, this is not a quick fix, "let me go on a crazy diet, lose tons of weight and then I'll look into becoming healthier" diet plan. This is a life style change, its a choice we all have to make on our own. It doesn't come easy, but with determination, confidence and self respect, it will come.
Happy choosing everyone!
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