I have avoided writing this blog for a while.
I'm not a big fan of “weight loss”, I find there's too much fear surrounding it, too much superficial marketing and fanfare and it can encourage some very unhealthy practices.
I generally like to go deeper and focus on developing real strength, mobility and fitness as well as encouraging practices that improve digestive, immune, brain function, etc.
The health of the entire organism.
Because being thin doesn't mean you're healthy.
However your weight is certainly a marker for your health, while you can be “overweight” and healthy, chances are an overwhelming majority of us don't fall in that category. Most of us would benefit from losing some weight. There is of course an important difference to be made between weight and body fat which is what we're really trying to lose, particularly visceral fat. I do believe there can also be an issue with carrying too much muscle (how many body builders live to 100?) but generally the weight of the body fat we need to drop is greater than the weight of muscle we need to put on so overall, weight loss is a good idea for most people.
So, why aren't we all doing it? Well I guess a lot of us are trying... but not many seem to be succeeding and certainly positive long term outcomes seem even more scarce. Is it just really hard? It does involve a bit of conscious effort but it theoretically is no harder than changing a career or moving to a new area, starting a new relationship or beginning a course. You have to change behaviours to switch to your new lifestyle.
When it's a new job or relationship you just do it (unless they keep forcing you to watch reality TV!) but weight loss, health and fitness is different. Mainly, if it's just not working out with your job or your new GF you can just move on but if you're not losing weight you can't just not eat. Well you can, but it will almost certainly end badly.
So what could be happening that is making this simple thing (your body burns fat constantly) so difficult?
You're not eating enough. Restricting calories for an extended period of time will help you lose weight but a lot of that weight will be muscle mass, killing your metabolism. If you've done a few diets before, often opt for the low calorie options or tend to be “too busy” during the day to eat you may just need to eat more food. In the short term, with a slow metabolism your body may very well store this extra food as fat but, as long as you're not stuffing yourself full, if you persist you will find your energy starts to pick up and your weight starts to go down.
Your hormones are out of balance. Hormones are number 1 for a lot of things, including body weight. You have hormones which tell you when you're hungry or full and hormones which tell your body to store energy or release it. Leptin, Ghrelin, Insulin, Glucagon, Cortisol, Testosterone, Estrogen, Thyroid and more are all hormones which impact your weight. Your hormones can be chronically high or low leading to fatigue, anxiety and all sorts of physical issues. No hormone is bad on it's own (you would die without them), it's only when they are out of balance that it causes problems. Sugar and modern processed foods can wreak havoc on your hormones so cut them out. Fats – specifically cholesterol, believe it or not - are required as the building blocks of all hormones so if you're not eating enough fats add them in! If this doesn't help find a health practitioner who has achieved results with correcting imbalances (naturally is always better, if possible).
You have a poor diet. This is an easy one but still a lot of people think they can get away with “moderation”. The best way I've heard it put is something like this: You have a moderate amount of donuts, a moderate amount of beer, a moderate amount of chips, a moderate amount of chocolate and pretty soon the majority of your diet is junk food. If you are having to choose between a chocolate bar and a carrot stick ten times a day, you are eventually going to choose the chocolate bar, the more decisions you have to make, the less willpower you have. Use this to your advantage, plan ahead and take the decision out of it. If you have your food for the day with you at work, it will be far easier to ignore any outside junk. People also often overestimate how “clean” their diet is, be honest with yourself, if you're not cooking/preparing at least 80% of your food, or you still find yourself overeating then your diet almost certainly needs work.
You're not efficiently removing toxins. This follows on from the poor diet, if your liver is overloaded with toxins from food, alcohol and the environment it will begin storing them in places where it won't affect the body, namely, fat cells. Your body is incredibly intelligent, it won't release those toxins (which means it won't burn those fat cells for energy) as long as the liver and immune system are still working overtime trying to process the constant new toxins. Of course quality food and quality movement are important for everything health related and will help with removing toxins but specific things that may be overlooked with toxins are environmental factors. The products you use on your skin and hair, your bedding, carpets and furniture as well as cleaning products all produce toxins that your body has to process. You also could have mould in your house or work environment which may be affecting you. Some of these are impossible to remove from our current lifestyles but by getting out in the fresh air more often and/or getting an air filter inside, using less toxic skin and cleaning products and getting your environment inspected for mould you will make life much easier on your liver!
You're not moving enough. Another easy one but another one that many people fail with, including me at times. This is not just about training, it's about moving constantly throughout the day. Do some mobility work in the morning, go for a walk at lunch, get a training session in after work, or tidy up the house or work on the yard or go to the park and kick the footy (note: this is not about doing high intensity training 3 times a day!). Look to move at every opportunity. Put music on and dance if you have to. To make it simple – you can't be at your best without moving and it helps you lose weight in a number of ways.
You have poor quality or quantity of sleep. Sleep is huge. It plays an enormous role on your recovery and your hormones which we have talked about above. Just one poor nights sleep can leave your body in a pre-diabetic state by hiking up your blood sugar. This leads to a cycle of cravings, poor choices and crashes as well as the fact that getting a training session in is the last thing you want to do when you're really tired. If you have short or interrupted sleep or you just wake up feeling tired all the time look at implementing one or all of these; - go for a 10 minute walk outside early in the morning - cut off caffeine after 4pm at the latest (preferably earlier) - turn off all electronic devices one hour before bed - completely black out your bedroom (you shouldn't be able to see your hand in front of your face!)
You are chronically stressed. Stress is commonly thought of as always bad, but without some stress your body couldn't adapt and grow. Training is a really good example, without placing that training stress on the body you wouldn't get stronger or fitter. However, constantly worrying about how much you have to get done at work and at home will destroy your health and any attempt at losing weight. It leads to poor decisions and imbalanced hormones. What are some of the best ways to overcome stress? Quality food and quality movement. Again. Improving your sleep will also go a really long way. A few other things you can do are to get clear on what you want to achieve and remove any tasks that won't help you achieve it. If those tasks still need to get done, delegate them. This will obviously reduce your workload but improve your work quality by focusing on what you want done. Even at home, you can have a roster for cooking and cleaning or hire someone if you are really that busy. The biggest thing other than the big 3 (food, movement, sleep) is to practice mindfulness. This can be meditation, a walk, listening to music, reading a book or anything that helps you calm the mind and slow the body. It will allow you to feel as though you have more time to make the decisions you need to make to improve your health and life.
Weight loss is an emotional thing. When you are struggling with your weight it can seem like you'll never get it right, like it's an impossible task. But nothing is impossible. While you're going through it your motivation will come and go, situations and even friends will test your resolve. But nothing is impossible! There will be times where you have more than enough energy to move, train, make good decisions and do everything you need to do and these will happen more frequently as you progress. There will be times where you feel support from everywhere then you will begin to realise that you don't even need the support even if you appreciate it because you are so focused on doing this for you. As the weight starts to move the feeling of accomplishment will trump anything you have pushed through to get there. Please be aware, that the job is not done when the needle starts to move and it still isn't done when you have reached your “destination”. A return to your old lifestyle will be a return to your old weight, this is your new lifestyle now. Don't feel like the lifestyle you used to lose weight will have to be the one you keep forever either, you will adapt and change as you go.
If this is what you want, it's time to put away all the excuses, they clearly don't help you. If you need help I am here, and there are many others willing and able as well. Pick one thing on this list and start doing it, today! Let's do this!
