1) Started eating protein, health fat and fiber with every meal. 𝗪𝗛𝗬?? Eating protein,HF, and fiber with each meal will help you keep your blood sugar levels balanced and keep you fuller longer. High levels of insulin and glucose in the bloodstream can signal to the body to convert excess glucose to fat for long term storage.
2) Stopped restricting calories and counting calories for weight loss. 𝗪𝗛𝗬? restricting calories puts stress on the body and will actually tell your body to store fat. It may work short term to reduce weight but compensatory mechanisms in the body will override calorie restriction leading to increased weight gain in the long run. Most people who lose weight in calorie restriction will gain the weight back. When you lose weight this way you also lose muscle and end up gaining the fat back.
3) Started prioritizing movement, sleep and stress reduction 𝗪𝗛𝗬? we all know stress can make you hold on to weight or make it harder to lose but do you know why? If we are constantly living in a state of “fight or flight” where the sympathetic nervous system is turned on we use glucose as fuel for our bodies instead of fat when we are exercising. To make matters worse, when you are in this “fight or flight” mode when you sleeping you are ever so slightly awake (in case there is a threat) this starts to impact your sleep. Once sleep loss occurs it will have an impact on other important hormones in the body. Low leptin levels and high gherlin will cause your appetite to increase. Your body will look for quick ways to increase energy levels and boost your glucose stores when you aren’t actually hungry and you just need rest. Lastly let’s talk about movement. Finding ways to live in motion throughout the day is so important. This is called NEAT (non-exercise activity thermogenesis) you can try upping your NEAT by stretching while you watch TV or start your day with morning yoga. Go for a walk in the evening after dinner. Next you want to try and up your BMR (basal metabolic rate) how do you do that you may ask, strength training. The more muscle you have the more calories you burn by simply being.
