The longer it takes, the easier it is to maintain.
Bikram Choudhury, the inventor of Bikram yoga, always says that the longer it takes you to perfect a yoga asana, the more benefits you receive from the pose and the easier it will be to maintain them. For instance, if you take a crash course in perfecting the splits in the shortest amount of time, you will probably have to continue doing the splits every day after “perfecting” the pose or else you’ll lose it or even become injured while doing the splits. But if you practice the splits just a few times a week for one or two years, and then finally “perfect” the pose, you will probably be able to do the splits any time you want thereafter without having to maintain a daily practice of the splits. And you might receive more health benefits from the pose than if you had rushed into it, such as healing from sciatica or lower back pain.
Why Crash Diets Fail
This same phenomenon seems to happen with weight loss and weight maintenance. If you go on a crash diet and lose a significant amount of weight very quickly, as soon as you go back to eating normally again, the weight comes back on fast. Some people may even gain more weight than they had lost during the crash diet. This is not only caused by your metabolism slowing down significantly when you’re on a diet, but also because the body has a way of maintaining a “set point” at a certain weight, even if that “set point” is not your ideal weight. The longer you are at a certain weight, the more the body tried to keep you at that weight.
We also know that being overweight actually causes changes in the brain control centers for appetite regulation and also causes inflammation (and some degree of brain damage) in the hypothalamus. Therefore, instead of feeling full because you’ve had enough food to eat and you’ve got plenty of energy stored in your fat cells, you continue to feel hungry! Contrast this with individuals who are thin or of normal weight, who actually have high levels of fat-burning, insulin-lowering, cardioprotective hormones leptin and adiponectin. These individuals can burn calories at a fast rate and feel fuller, while also eating less, than overweight individuals or those who have recently lost weight very quickly. This weight loss “problem” can be advantageous if you are of normal weight and you suddenly become sick and lose 10 pounds from diarrhea, vomiting, and not being able to eat anything for a few days. As soon as your illness is over, you can quickly regain back to your original weight without having to deliberately overeat to the point of discomfort.
The Solution
So what’s a person to do in order to lose weight and successfully keep the weight off? This is the conundrum that neurobiologists, nutritionists, drug companies, marketers, and the average dieter are all trying to solve. If the answer was simply, “Eat less food and exercise more; calories in, calories out,” any person could get skinny and stay that way with just a little sustained effort and willpower. But that way is not the answer.
You have to “fix” your metabolism and lose weight slowly, over time. There are no shortcuts, but there are answers. Below I have outlined some of my #1 tips for fixing your metabolism for achieving safe weight loss and not regaining the weight back.
1. Eat foods high in nutrient density and avoid “empty calories” or foods that have few nutrients for the amount of calories. Some nutrient dense foods include:
- organ meats
- fish & seafood
- grass-fed meat
- bone broths
- grass-fed butter
- pasture raised eggs
- green leafy vegetables
- sea vegetables
- cruciferous vegetables
- berries
- cultured vegetables and beverages
- tonic herbs and edible herbs
2. Use supplements that fight inflammation (in the body as well as in the brain):
- CoQ10/Ubiquinol
- Astaxanthin
- Cod Liver Oil
3. Use supplements that lower insulin and blood sugar, raise adiponectin, and lower appetite:
- Coffeeberry
- Wu Long Tea Extract
- Carb Crave
- Astra 18
- Hoodia with EGCG Green Tea Extract
4. Get toxins out of your body including heavy metals, xenoestrogens, and others that cause low thyroid and estrogen dominance, as well as other endocrine concerns.
- PaleoCleanse
- Estrogen Blockers (safe for women and men)
5. Avoid high carbohydrate diets and vegetarian diets. *Note that while a high-carb or veggie diet may not cause weight gain in some individuals who can tolerate large amounts of sugars and omega-6 fats and low amounts of proteins and omega-3 fats, a high-carb or vegetarian diet can be problematic for individuals who are trying to lose weight and keep it off by repairing their metabolism.
6. While exercise alone does not induce weight loss because it tends to subsequently cause an increase in appetite that causes you to replace burned calories by eating more food, exercise can be part of a healthy weight loss plan. Short duration, high intensity exercises such as sprinting for 30 seconds and resting for 90 seconds (performed up to eight times in one workout) done only one time per week, three times a month, can contribute to significant fat loss over time. Finish sprinting sessions with low intensity movement such as a slow, 30-minute walk, can accelerate fat-burning even more. Do all this on an empty stomach at least 16 hours after your last meal to see even more dramatic results.
7. If you want even more advanced tips for losing weight and keeping it off, or if you need accountability, meal plans, customized herbal formulas, and one-on-one guidance, I’m here to help you. For more information, go here and if you have any questions, hit me up.
