Cut the B.S Wednesday – How to Lose Weight Healthily

1. Enhance your digestion – here the aim is to make sure that your digestive system is on top of it’s game! Your digestive system is responsible for breaking down food into it’s usable parts – vitamins, minerals, carbohydrates and amino acids. A weak digestive system that is overloaded with irritants such as junk food and processed chemicals will begin to weaken over the years, causing a possible state of inflammation or irritated tissue. This can cause food particles to start circulating around places they shouldn’t be, causing gas, bloating, indigestion and inflammation in other parts of your system.  An incompetent digestive tract leads to an inability to absorb, transport and utilize nutrients. When your body doesn’t receive the nutrients it needs to bring itself into a state of balance (homeostasis) this can impede your ability to lose weight.  A diet rich in whole, unprocessed foods, hydration and high in fiber is key to the health of the colon. Herbs such as garlic, mint, onions, and ginger should become a part of your daily diet. Including turmeric in cooking is also a gentle way to decrease inflammation through the use of everyday herbs.  An episode of Simplicity TV all about herbs for digestion is coming up in a few weeks, so stay tuned for that!
2. Probiotic Products and fermented foods (Yogurt is NOT on my list!) – a good quality probiotic supplement is highly recommended, as probiotics can help to bring your gut back to a state of equilibrium. The largest collection of our microbial friends lives in our gut – yes, your gut harbours trillions of bacteria. Recent studies have indicated that the health of your immune and digestive system are directly linked to the number of healthy bacteria living in your gut. Some of these bacteria’s (namely Bifidobacterium bifidum and acidophilus) help with the synthesis of B vitamins, like B12, which can directly effect your energy levels. These bacterial strains are also indicated in increased food digestion and help to inhibit the growth of unfriendly bacteria, such as salmonellae. Other foods that you can begin to include are sauerkraut, kimchi, miso, tempeh, kefir, cultured ghee, Kombucha (an sparkling cold tea), and one of my favourite fermented products Genuine Health Fermented vegan+ protein powder.
3. Hydrate your body – Our Simplicity challenge to you is for the next 7 days to drink a minimum of 2-3 liters of water Every. Single. Day. This one you can implement starting RIGHT NOW. This will help to curb your appetite and your cravings. Often your cravings for salty or sweet are actually just your dehydration talking. Next time you have a craving, try a glass of water and see if that makes a difference.
4. Start going to bed between 10-11 pm every night – this is critical to help balance your adrenals and reset your hormonal balance over night. The adrenals control reproductive hormones, neuro-chemicals that regulate your stress response, immunity, blood pressure and much more. Cortisol is another big player in the intricate system of hormone regulation. Excess cortisol caused by persistent stress can begin to:

• Eat up lean muscle tissue, making exercise goals difficult to meet
• Leads to unstable blood sugar levels, affecting your mood
• Increase in insulin production – your NUMBER ONE fat storing hormone
• Imbalance of your hormones can affect your ability to reach a healthy body weight
• Weight gain around your waist and upper arms or face
• Increased inflammation leading to joint pain, muscle stiffness, and skin problems

5. Eat every three to four hours – including small balanced meals made up of whole foods, and create a balance of complex carbohydrates, fat and protein.  Are you eating breakfast within an hour of waking? Breaking fast is key to jump starting both your metabolism and digestive system to get them started for their day of work ahead. Breakfast could quite possibly be your new lifeline, giving you the energy, zest and fuel you need to be more productive and even happier throughout the day.
6. Cut the CRAP – do a kitchen OVERHAUL – get rid of all your processed crap, junk food and ‘diet’ food. STOP buying it, stop bringing it into the house – just stop. If it says “light”, “sodium-free” “low-fat” “sugar-free” you don’t buy it. Just walk away. Cut out your Coke Zero, Diet Coke, sugar free soft drinks, sugar-free yogurt, and your chemically dyed candy – it may say “ZERO FAT” on the side of your candy wrapper, but it is PURE sugar, glucose-fructose OR corn syrup which metabolizes and is stored as FAT on your body.
7. Eat real, natural, nutrient dense food – eat the rainbow! Buy a variety of produce, fresh fruit, eat fiber rich beans, healthy lean hormone/antibiotic free meats, wild fish, organic eggs, raw nuts and seeds, olive oil, coconut oil, avocados, nutrient packed smoothies – all of these are the basis of a healthy diet which helps to build a lean healthy body.
8. Weight training exercise is THE KEY to building lean muscle mass and changing the shape of your body. Cardio is not going to cut your waistline, despite what you might have been told in the past. We are aiming for a lean, healthy body with strong muscles and strong bones. Get into a gym with a personal trainer, or do at-home interval training. Planks, push ups, lunges and squats are a great place to start your at home weight training practice – these exercises help you to use your own body weight to tone your muscles.
9. Make time for stillness. Release your tension and stress. Practice deep breathing and reconnect with yourself. If you cant let go of your stress and tight muscles, how can you expect to let go of your excess weight?

Disclaimer: The information contained is intended to be used for general health care information purposes only, and should not be considered complete or used in place of a visit, call, consultation or advice from a physician and/or healthcare provider. Individuals are encouraged to contact their own private physician or healthcare provider regarding continuation or changes in their symptoms.​