Weight Loss MYTH #2 : Just Eat Less and Exercise More

Trivia Question: What else other that food and exercise can influence your weight, but contains ZERO calories?  
Answer: Hormones, stress, and sleep.

Hormones & Weight

​Being overweight may be a symptom of a hormone problem.
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YOU Are Your Hormones!  Your hormones control who you are.  They are a major factor in your weight distribution and body composition.  The big players when it comes to body weight are the hormones:

• insulin (controls blood glucose levels and is the fat storage hormone),
• leptin & ghrelin (control appetite and satiety), 
• cortisol (the main stress hormone), and
• the sex hormones estrogen (even in men), testosterone (even in women), and progesterone.

 
Food is NOT just calories, it also conveys messages to your body via its impact on your hormones.

​Balance your hormones with food:

• Give up the "white stuff": this means the refined foods including all types of sugar and grains (which act just like sugar in your body). Over time, sugar damages and prematurely ages every part of your body. Droopy skin and premature wrinkles are telltale signs.  A large hip to waist ratio (belly fat) is another sign.
• Get in your healthy fats!  They are essential for the body to function well and support the weight loss process.  They help keep blood sugar levels stable. Avoid the unhealthy oils and trans fats that cause inflammation.
• Have three healthy meals and two or three healthy snacks a day. This will give you sustained nutrients and energy for the day, keeping hunger pangs at bay.
• Protein is essential for the body to grow and repair; it also keeps you feeling fuller for longer.
• Limit caffeine. Stimulants like tea, coffee and cola consumed for an energy boost actually have the opposite effect. They give you a blood sugar rush, but then a corresponding dip, leaving you lacking energy and looking for your next caffeine ‘fix’.

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​Stress & Weight

Stress wreaks havoc with your hormones.  Stress slows down your metabolism and makes the body store more fat – especially around the middle, due to excess cortisol hormone. Your hormones can also dictate where your weight is distributed on your body. 

So... What causes stress? 
(and subsequent weight gain) 

*Your mindset!
We all have stressful day-to-day activities and people we deal with.  Through it all, your mental attitude is vitally important.  Your outlook can completely make a difference in your health and it's completely up to you. If you want better control of your thoughts, I suggest to try mediation or yoga.  The easiest thing you can do is to focus on your breath; that will quickly calm you down.  Try it and feel your cortisol decrease! 

Check out my article: Your Health & 10 Simple Ways to Lower Stress.

DID YOU KNOW? Your gut bacteria play a crucial role in your weight and your mental state. Probiotics can be a tool for weight-loss, depression, and anxiety.

*Lack of sleep!
Everything just seems much more manageable after a good night's rest, doesn't it?  Sleep offers restoration on many levels. Your hormones and stress level are directly related to your quantity and quality of sleep. Adults should make it a priority to get 7-8 hours per night. 
See my post "Sleep like a baby"  for info to get some zzzzz's.

*A poor diet!
Are your food choices nourishing or depleting?  A diet of junk foods is a huge stressor.  Your body must work extra hard to digest and detoxify these "frankenfoods." That extra energy expended depletes your body's nutrient reserves and your health will suffer.  Avoid foods with artificial chemicals such as additives, preservatives, dyes, and other non-pronounceable ingredients.  Stored toxins have a significant impact on slowing down metabolism and contribute to weight gain. Read more about this in my article: Toxins: Are They Making You Fat & Sick? 

Extreme diets are also a BAD idea.  Too low-calorie, low-carb, or low-fat will throw your body into hormonal imbalance.

Eat a nutrient rich, whole food diet.  It's heavenly to your body!

*Under-eating can also be a huge stress!  
Putting your body in starvation mode will only make it try to hold on to what it has. In the long run, it will be harder to lose weight. Under-eating causes hormone imbalance, poor sleep, poor concentration, a bad mood, and lack of energy. Depriving your body vital nutrients and nourishment is a very unhealthy way to lose weight!  

A slender body does not always = a healthy body!

(Also note: Intermittent fasting is a big topic right now in the health-sphere.  It can be good for men, BUT very damaging to hormone balance in women.)

*Exercise can be a HUGE stress to your body!
(You read that correctly!) The best exercise is any type you enjoy doing.  I, myself, love to play tennis, lift weights, and practice yoga.  Exercise has numerous immeasurable benefits for your body, mind, and spirit.  If you're not already active...  get moving!  
(I wrote a whole article about why tennis is great for holistic health.)

However, here's how you know when exercise is a stressor:

• When you're already under excessive stress and your adrenal glands are taxed from putting out excess cortisol, exercising may be detrimental to your health.  How can you tell?  If you feel energized after exercising, then it was good for you!  (Being a little sore or tired from a workout is normal.)  However, if you feel completely depleted, weary, and taxed after exercising, then you should have worked on resting and restoration instead of working-out.  
• "Chronic cardio" exercise can also be stressful to the body.  For the same reason: it can tax your adrenal glands and cause an excess cortisol output. That's why you may see people at the gym on the treadmill day after day (like hamsters on a wheel), but they never seem to lose weight.  High-intensity interval training is significantly more effective to get you into shape.
• Do you have sports injuries due to over use?  They're a sure sign of stress.  I myself have suffered from tennis elbow.  It's no surprise that it developed after playing on 5 different leagues in the same spring season.  It was way too much!  
• When you combine exercise with under-eating. After we cool down from exercise, our body needs to replenish the nutrients it has expended.  (On days after a huge 3 set singles tennis match, I'm usually very, very hungry!) Give your body the whole-food nourishment it needs in order to thrive.

For those of you like me, who have a tendency to over-train:  
It's OK to take a break from exercise once in a while or whenever you need it. DO NOT feel guilty about it!  Resting is just as important as exercise.  (In fact, we build muscle on the day AFTER we lift weights.) I personally believe that for females, menstruation is the time Mother Nature is telling us to "take it easy".  Listen to your instincts and exercise with your personal rhythms.

Put your feet up and relax... for what ever reasons you need to de-stress.   Try a gentle walk in nature.  Sometimes that is the perfect Rx for your health (and weight regulation).  Make it a habit!
​(Read my article: The 5 Stages of Illness & Why Rest is Vital.)

​Addressing MYTH #2: "Just eat less and exercise more" ...

The truth is, to lose weight:

Sometimes you need to eat less and exercise less!
Sometimes you need to eat more and exercise more!
And... Sometimes you need to eat more and exercise less!
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(Read that twice and let it sink in.)

Sometimes you need to make some real changes in your life that manage stress. 

You've probably come to the conclusion that hormone balance can be VERY complicated.  All of the hormones in your body are inter-related and impact each other.  Our age and gender matter, too.  Our metabolism slows as we age, especially when we stop growing, and again when in middle age. It's common to need to eat less as we age, but it's quite dependent on activity level and other factors. Living a healthy holistic lifestyle can keep our metabolism good and strong.

I encourage you to get the book by Dr. Jade Teta: The Metabolic Effect Diet: Eat More, Work Out Less, and Actually Lose Weight While You Rest  it's a fabulous resource of information about achieving a healthy weight through hormone balance.  It explains more in depth and detail about the amount to eat vs. exercise and how to achieve hormone balance. 

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• Counting calories? Go back and read MYTH #1.
• Coming next, Weight-loss MYTH #3 and (Part 4) Real Weight-loss: Au Naturale Nutrition Style!

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