Female Hormones Weight Loss – Diets and exercise not working? Don’t give up!
“Calories in, calories out” has traditionally been the mantra of doctors counseling women on weight loss. While your best friend can eat hot fudge sundaes without gaining a pound, you look at a bagel and it seems to go straight to your thighs. Your doctor may tell you you’re clearly consuming more calories than you realize. But if you feel that you are starving and the scale doesn’t budge, consider another part of the weight-loss equation–your hormones. – Livestrong
Female Hormones Weight Loss – Statistics show hormones cause Weight Gain in 75% of Women
Here are 7 signs your hormones are out of balance:
Gaining weight around the middle and can’t shift the weight no matter what you do.
Feeling tired, irritable more often than not.
Feeling bloated often these days.
Everything is starting to stress you, even the little things.
Rely on coffee, tea to give you a pep up often during the day.
Can’t think properly, your brain feels like it is full of cotton wool.
Finding your way out of hormonal chaos is achievable but not always easy. Did you know 75% of women have mild to severe symptoms as they move into menopause and 50-80% of women experience PMS? Meaning that statistically, hormonal based symptoms will affect most women during their lifetime.
Hormones typically act in one part per trillion and can be embedded in a complex cyclical and bio-feedback system that make resolving hormone based conditions and finding underlying causes very challenging.
Intermittent fasting is the latest buzz word in the health and wellness industry….which can immediately make you roll your eyes and dismiss it as just a craze.
But, before you do, I’ve seen fantabulous results from intermittent fasting, particularly in clients that have been doing all the right things but still can’t shift the weight or were inflamed, had high blood sugars or poor liver function test results.
Fasting has been practiced by many cultures for thousands of years, whether as part of a religious practice, to conserve food supplies or as part of a healing treatment.
In today’s world, we’re literally eating ourselves to death. Food is a comfort tool, social connector, reward, celebratory tool and much more.
What is intermittent fasting?
Intermittent fasting means eating in a compressed feeding window, so your digestive system gets a rest for a specific period of time. During the fasting phase you can drink water or clear non-caffeine herbal teas with no sweeteners, such as lemongrass and ginger, chamomile, or peppermint tea, if desired.
Why intermittent fasting works
Intermittent fasting gives your digestive system a break and uses that excess energy to clean, repair and rebuild your body. Digesting and absorbing your food can take up to 5 hours after eating and during that time your insulin levels are high, so your body can’t easily burn fat for energy.
When you’re in the post digestive phase, that takes place 8-12 hours after your last meal and your insulin levels are lower, you can easily burn fat.
When in the fasting state, your body naturally finds ways to extend your life. It’s kind of like a survival mechanism, where when faced with the possibility of starvation, your body will do everything in its power to heal and keep you alive.
Health benefits of intermittent fasting
Weight Loss
In my clinic I’ve seen huge success with 16:8 intermittent fasting for losing weight, especially if clients are already eating well but were lacking the results. For instance, they were eating cleanly, hydrating, de-stressing, doing a mix of strength and cardio exercise, sleeping well – yet their body still holds onto those extra kilos. It’s very frustrating for those people, but also comforting to know they’d do well if starving in the desert!
16:8 intermittent fasting practised daily dropped off the weight consistently and quite quickly.
Initially there will be hunger pangs but if you use herbal teas and lemon water in this period and ride them out, they will reduce over the days to follow.
For best results exercise at the tail end of a fast. Eg, Exercise in morning, eating window 11am to 7pm & fasting 7pm to 11am.
Gut Health
Giving your gut a break frees up energy for detoxifying, cleaning, repair and building, and also resets and lowers your appetite.
Intermittent fasting also improves gut microbiota, increasing the ratio of beneficial gut flora. This is a by-product from the positive changes of reducing inflammation, losing weight and normalising blood sugar levels.
Blood Sugar Levels
Intermittent fasting keeps blood sugar levels more stable and prevents the constant spiking and crashing of insulin levels that can have you craving sugars and chasing caffeine fixes all day long. It’s very helpful for those with diabetes or those struggling with fatty liver.
Reduces Inflammation
Inflammation is your body’s natural response to injury, toxicity and disease. Chronic inflammation is at the heart of many chronic degenerative diseases and ageing, as well as cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular problems and much more.
Intermittent fasting also enhances your body’s natural resistance to oxidative stress which reduce inflammation throughout your body.
Longevity
If you’ve ever seen an interview with a centurion, most talk of eating less, often one meal a day, and having gone through extended periods of fasting, whether their choice or not, in their life.
There’s an old saying “The less you eat, the longer you’ll live” and I’d have to agree with it.
Brain Health
Intermittent fasting prevents cognitive function decline and decreasing memory and learning as we age. And the anti-inflammatory effect can slow the progression of neuro-degenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease.
Heart Health
Intermittent fasting can improve your heart health by helping to lower the following common risk factors that contribute to heart dis-ease:
Blood sugar levels
High blood pressure
Inflammation
Cholesterol
Perfect for those with a looming family history of by-passes, stents, strokes, heart-attacks and more.
Ways to intermittent fast
There are three ways:
16:8 Method
Most popular and easiest method, involves you eating in an 8 hour window and fasting for 16 hours. This can look like first meal of day at 11am and last meal of the day at 7pm or 7am to 3pm. Set your own window to suit your life.
You can do this every day, only weekdays or a few times a week depending on the results you want and what works into your schedule.
Remember you can start anywhere and improve over time. It’s better than not starting at all. You learn by doing.
5:2 Diet
This involves eating a maximum of 600 calories two days a week. I liken it to whole food fasting. Make sure your diet on those days is of quality wholefoods like vegetables, fruit, nuts, etc.
24 hour
This method requires you to fast for 24 hours, ideally from dinner one day to the following day, once to twice a week.
Intermittent fasting is definitely worth trialing to set yourself up to remain healthy, energetic and disease-free.
Love to hear if you’ve tried it and what results you’ve gotten? Or if you need help to get started?
Natural Remedies for Insulin Resistance – Tired, Hungry, Gaining Weight? Want To Learn How To Make It All Stop?
Natural Remedies for Insulin Resistance – Have you been feeling tired, hungry and gaining weight? Hitting a wall in the afternoons and feeling “blahhh” more often than not? Maybe waking at night to go to toilet or feeling thirstier than normal?
These can be common signs of insulin resistance.
Did you know it is estimated 500,000 people in Australia suffer from undiagnosed insulin resistance? Most of them are unaware they have it and it just creeps up on them. I over hear them saying things like, “I think I’m just getting old” and leave it at that, like there is nothing you can do about it.
Well, that’s so not true! And it makes me even more determined to teach you otherwise. In truth, it’s a sign, your blood sugar levels are not as good as they should be. You don’t necessarily have diabetes, but you’re well on the way towards it.
Getting your blood sugar sorted, will mean you have less chance of getting diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, gaining weight or not being able to lose it, polycystic ovarian syndrome, breast cancer, and much more.
Eating in a way that balances your blood sugar, reduces inflammation and oxidative stress, and improves your liver detoxification is the key to preventing and reversing insulin resistance and diabetes. – Huffpost
Good news is, it’s not that hard to manage and heal. Let’s take a look at insulin resistance more closely and some Natural Remedies for Insulin Resistance.
I see, hear, feel and totally get the frustration and challenges that go along with trying to arrive at your ideal weight. On the surface, eating a balanced diet and exercising sounds so simple, yet it’s not always that easy to arrive at your destination.
This is because being overweight is not about gluttony or laziness, but rather a complex interplay between your biology, environment and behavioural patterns.[1]
Lisa was one of those stories.
She’d struggled for over 15 years to shift the extra kilos that kept stacking on around her waist, hips, arms and bum.
Lisa had starved herself until she couldn’t do it anymore then flipped to bingeing. She’s tried turning up the exercise dial but it was hard to budge and get momentum.
Dejected she spiraled into the I give up and who cares until she was now a borderline diabetic with close to 25kg to lose.
That’s when she saw me.
We negotiated a plan that suited Lisa, found what was sabotaging her success, then worked consistently testing, measuring and refining until we found what really worked for Lisa.
Six months later and Lisa’s a different person, both in body and mind.
She is now 70kg, exercises daily and loves it. Has 100% more self-confidence, is more active, feels freer and more engaged with her family and life. It has been 7 years now and still maintaining her 70kg target weight.
Do you want to find your path to weight loss success, just like Lisa?
Let’s explore 4 factors that can prevent you from making your weight loss goals real.
#1 Your metabolic set-point
Unknown to many, is your weight is under unconscious control; just like blood pressure, blood sugar regulation, pH and body temperature. Your body weight remains quite stable (unhealthy weight or a healthy weight) due to your metabolic ‘set-point’.
That is, your body will adjust your energy expenditure and appetite to restore fat mass back to its set-point;[2,3]despite your best efforts.
But don’t lose hope there’s ways to reset this set point so you can lose and maintain your weight long term. Pivotal to this are small changes done consistently but it’s slightly different for everyone. Hence no one size fits all generalised how to. Click here to book in to create a plan to change your metabolic set point.
#2 Stress
Stress is a big barrier to weight loss, especially chronic stress. Under stress, your body releases cortisol that redirects glucose to your muscles, but causes your blood glucose levels to fall. This can trigger cravings for calorie rich foods that lead to weight gain and hinder weight loss. Emotional eating is also closely associated with stress. During periods of stress and emotional turmoil, you’ll tend to feel hungrier, with a preference for ‘hyper-palatable’ foods (high in fat, sugar, flavours and food additives), and you guessed it, weight gain.[4] This is where help and guidance from a naturopath can help you build mental and emotional resilience, which may just one of your answers to losing those extra kilos.
#3 Sleep
Poor sleep quality and/or quantity can stifle your weight loss by reducing your metabolic rate, increasing cravings and turn down appetite regulation. Research has found poor sleep to be associated with an increase in weight, waist and waist-to-hip ratio; and can also drive up your metabolic set-point. [5] Poor sleep also affects your energy balance, affecting what you eat, how much you eat, as well as your willpower and motivation to exercise. If a good night’s sleep is something you dream of, talk to me and I’ll help you restore healthy sleep patterns.
#4 Inflammation
Often missed, inflammation can be a silent barrier to weight loss. Inflammation can increase blood glucose levels that triggers weight gain, whilst excess stored fat produces inflammation in your body. Reducing your body fat can lower levels of inflammation significantly. However, the toxins stored in your fat cells are liberated during weight loss and dial up inflammation, once again impeding your weight loss. That’s where as a naturopath I can help you dial down your inflammation through clearing these excess toxins with a tailored clinical detoxification program to get you back on track again. Click here to book in for your tailored Detox program.
Don’t do it alone
Losing weight is not always easy and everyone will face their own challenges at some point. Seeking the help of a naturopath who specialises in weight loss can make sure you’re channeling your energy in the right direction and provides solutions when you hit a plateau or fall off the wagon. Click here to book in to get a helping hand on your weight loss journey today.
[1] Bray GA, Heisel WE, Afshin A, Jensen MD, Dietz WH, Long M, et al. The science of obesity management: an Endocrine Society Scientific Statement. Endocr Rev. 2018 Apr 1;39(2):79-132. doi: 10.1210/er.2017-00253.
[2] Schwartz MW, Seeley RJ, Zeltser LM, Drewnowski A, Ravussin E, Redman LM, et al. Obesity pathogenesis: an endocrine society scientific statement. Endocr Rev. 2017 Aug 1;38(4):267-296. doi: 10.1210/er.2017-00111.
[3] Speakman JR, Levitsky DA, Allison DB, Bray MS, de Castro JM, Clegg DJ, et al. Set-points, settling points and some alternative models: theoretical options to understand how genes and environments combine to regulate body adiposity. Dis Model Mech. 2011 Nov;4(6):733-45. doi: 10.1242/dmm.008698.
[4] Raman J, Smith E, Hay P. The clinical obesity maintenance model: an integration of psychological constructs including mood, emotional regulation, disordered overeating, habitual cluster behaviours, health literacy and cognitive function. J Obes. 2013;2013:240128. doi:10.1155/2013/240128.
[5] Taheri S, Lin L, Austin D, Young T, Mignot E. Short sleep duration is associated with reduced leptin, elevated ghrelin, and increased body mass index. PLoS Med. 2004 Dec;1(3):e62. doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.0010062.
Female Hormones Weight Loss – Diets and exercise not working? Don’t give up! “Calories in, Read more
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