The Key to Healthy Weight Loss: It’s Not What You May Think
While there is no shortage of strategies for weight loss, very few have science-backed results. Many times, it seems as though we are spinning our wheels with eating and exercise plans — only to find a little shift in our body fat composition. Trends will come and go with the annual $72.6 billion weight loss industry in the United States, but studies show Americans are heavier than ever. Beyond avoiding processed foods, refined sugar, and getting enough exercise, researchers have found three methods for supporting a healthy weight. Their findings may surprise you.
Encourage a Robust Microbiome
I have written plenty about the importance of gut health for immune function, inflammation, and autoimmunity. It is after all the foundation of health. But did you know it also impacts whether or not you are able to maintain a healthy weight? Interestingly, researchers have isolated a gut bacteria and a single-celled organism implicated in obesity — Prevotellaceae and Archaea, respectively. When a person has an abundance of these in the gut, body fat storage becomes prominent due to an increased capacity to harvest energy from food. The team suspects this may be why obesity can run in families as the bacteria are transmitted from one person to another.
However, obesity isn’t set in stone. Another study found when gut bacteria known for producing butyrate were supported, it led to weight loss. Their recommended method to do this? Consume probiotics. These can be found in active yogurt, kefir, kimchi, sauerkraut, miso, tempeh, and kombucha. Eating a diet high in fiber and prebiotics also encourages a thriving microbiome and butyrate production. For additional gut support, see my Balanced Gut Blend in the apothecary.
Manage Stress Levels
Most are aware that excessive stress can cause weight gain because it increases fat-storing, appetite-increasing cortisol. Chronic stress can also trigger cravings for “comfort” and junk foods in an attempt to boost the feel-good neurotransmitter serotonin; impairs the effectiveness of insulin, thereby leading to fat storage and obesity; increases the accumulation of dangerous abdominal (or visceral) fat; and contributes to insomnia and subsequent weight gain.5 Stress also disrupts the microbiome, leading to the proliferation of harmful bacteria in the gut.
Best practices for managing stress include: exercise, breathing techniques, stretching, meditation and prayer, gratitude, and spending time in nature. Our Anxiety & Stress Blend is also an outstanding option for soothing the stress response — more on this potent formulation below.
Get Enough Quality Sleep
If you are suffering from insomnia or poor sleep, this too can encourage weight gain. How so? Research suggests that when we are not getting enough quality sleep, it slows down metabolism, promotes insulin resistance, and increases cortisol. A number of studies have also found getting less than 5-6 hours per night leads to a greater risk of obesity. My potent Sleep Blend can help. Learn more here.
Herbal Extracts: Naturally Calming the Stress Response
Since stress disrupts both the microbiome and healthy sleep patterns, which can lead to weight gain, it is crucial to address chronic stress first and foremost. My specially formulated Anxiety & Stress Blend contains the following medicinal herbs to effectively quiet the stress response:
Ashwagandha
- Adaptogenic
- Calms inflammation
- Soothes anxiety and depression
- Balances hormones
- Improves cognitive function including attention, processing speed, and memory
Lemon Balm
- Anxiolytic (soothes anxiety) and helps calm the body and mind
- Improves sleep quality
- Reduces inflammation
- Relieves insomnia
- Calms ADHD symptoms
- Balances blood sugar levels
Lion’s Mane Mushroom
- Anti-inflammatory and decreases gut inflammation
- Boosts cognitive function
- Lessens insomnia, anxiety, and depression
Reishi Mushroom
- Reduces inflammation
- Neuroprotective
- Fosters quality sleep, alleviates adrenal fatigue, and encourages healthy immune function.
- Strengthens the body against the negative effects of stress, including: hormonal imbalances, high cortisol, fatigue, and low energy
AMAZING PRODUCT!
“I love this tincture! I take it in the AM and it keeps me calm and happy all day long.
Thank you Nicole for an amazing product!” – Anaivette T.
Are you ready to support your weight loss goals by calming chronic stress, boosting gut health, and supporting quality sleep? If so, there is no better time than now to explore our range of high-potency tinctures.
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Thanks 🙏 for your guidance. Go in peace and greet everyone you meet with love 💓
I struggle with my weight. I do intermittent fasting from 6pm to 10 am. (Sometime even longer)
I eat more raw food than cooked, I sleep very well, I don’t have a stressful life.
I have done John warts parasite 🦠 cleanse.
I have used diatomaceous earth to do a full body cleanse, activate charcoal powder, I work my butt off in the yard. I have been stuck at 260 for 8 years. I only eat junk food in moderation. Like birthdays or when I crave it once a month. I do my best to make it.
I hate I let the medical system take my gallbladder 😟
Several years ago there was the HCG craze that worked very quickly to lose a lot of weight. I wasn’t that heavy but I got the first one listed when I googled it and dropped 13 lb in a couple of weeks. When I ran out of it, you couldn’t find it anymore at all, but I kept losing weight even without it. About the same time I found out I was allergic to wheat and stopped eating it altogether, which resulted in more weight loss. Then covid hit and my husband’s health was deteriorating so that I was running all day long taking care of him and going to his appointments, visiting him in the nursing home and hospitals. Covid cost me 7 lbs and I never regained it due to the stress of his needs. He’s been gone nearly a year and I was declined for life insurance renewal because I’m too thin and according to them have a greater chance of dying than the average person! But I feel great and do not go to doctors at all. I hope you find what works for you.