So, you’ve committed to losing weight, but do you have a weight loss checklist to ensure success?
Contrary to popular opinion successful and lasting weight loss isn’t about starving yourself.
Sure, deprivation can produce short-term results, but the weight usually comes back on, leading to yo-yo dieting.
Want a smarter and easier solution? Tap into your body’s innate ability to keep you slim and healthy.
In this post I’ll give you a weight loss checklist of the 10 things that will set you on the path to true success!
10 TIPS TO INCLUDE IN YOUR WEIGHT LOSS PLAN
1. Reduce toxins
I talk a lot about toxins on this blog.
And it’s because toxins are everywhere and they contribute to inflammation.
Toxicity and inflammation are two things that disrupt your endocrine system, making it much harder for you to lose weight.
There are several sources of toxins in our daily lives.
Now, rather than trying to avoid all of them at once, start with the most critical: your food.
In this case, that means reducing your exposure to things like:
- Processed fats
- Processed sugar
- Artificial flavors
- Additives
- Preservatives
- Pesticides
- Genetically modified foods
- Dyes
- Processed meats
Adding this single step to your weight loss checklist does wonders for reducing inflammation!
It also gives your body a chance to reset.
End results? Your body sheds weight with greater ease 🙂
2. Drink more water
This one always seems too simple.
Yet, the importance of water in your health and weight loss goals cannot be overstated.
So here’s the deal: your body is approximately 60% water.
Water is necessary to extract energy (i.e. calories) from food. (Hint: when your body struggles to extract the energy that in food, it ends up sitting on your waist, hips and thighs).
And to top it all off, water can boost your metabolic rate by as much as 30%!
This is huge because your metabolic rate measures how many calories your body uses to do everything.
So in order to pump blood through your body, regulate your hormones, or blink your eyes, your body is using up energy.
All of these functions are part of your metabolism, and your metabolism affects how easily you lose weight.
So your mission here is simple yet powerful: drink more water.
And if you want to mix it up a little, you can drink fruit or veggie infused water. Check out this post for recipe ideas.
3. Eat whole foods
One of the greatest ironies of modern life is that we eat a lot of calorie-dense foods, and very little nutrient-rich foods.
Whenever we have a scenario where a population isn’t getting enough nutrients, that leads to malnutrition.
Malnutrition isn’t just the images we associate with children in developing countries. Excess weight, is another outcome of improper nourishment.
Having said this, calories have their role.
But calories are definitely not the only thing that determines the value of a food.
Your body needs nutrients. Lots of it.
And real food has lots of it.
So from now on, before you eat anything ask yourself this question “is this a real, wholesome food that is high in nutrients?”
If the answer is yes, eat it.
On the other hand, if the thing you’re about to eat is a food-like product, well, you know what to do 🙂
4. Take good quality supplements
Modern, commercial farming is designed to make crops grow faster, produce more yield and be resistant to pests (hence the heavy use of pesticides).
These are all great for business profits, but it’s bad for the rest of us.
Why?
Because these farming techniques produce food that is not as nutrient-rich as it used to be.
For example, did you know that you would have to eat 8 oranges today, to get the same quantity of vitamin C that previous generations got from ONE orange?
Studies in the U.S and the U.K. show a staggering decline in vitamin C, vitamin A, phosphorus and other nutrients in our fruits and veggies.
So what can you do?
Invest in good quality supplements.
You don’t need a ton (unless a medical practitioner has prescribed a specific set for you).
What matters most is the quality.
When it comes to supplements the sourcing, certification and method of delivery (tincture vs. capsule, for example) all matters.
Remember, a Kia and a Rolls Royce are very different cars in terms of quality.
Their prices also reflect this difference in quality.
Same goes for supplements! Give your body the absolute best.
5. Move regularly
Have you heard of the Blue Zones?
These are regions around the world that have an unusually high number of people aged 100 (or more).
One thing that these populations have in common is that they move everyday.
Note that they don’t “exercise” in the formal sense (e.g. jogging or going to a gym).
They simply move a lot more throughout the day and they don’t lead overly sedentary lives.
So, the lesson here is that strenuous exercise isn’t a must for weight loss.
What your body wants is for you to NOT be sedentary.
How you go about is entirely up you.
Find activities you like – a walk, dancing in your living room, gardening – etc.
Moving your body naturally, versus being sedentary (which is definitely unnatural), is what your body craves most.
6. Heal your gut
Did you know there are 500 species of bacteria, weighing in at 3 lbs, living in your gut?
Surely those 500 species are not just hanging around doing nothing!
Those bacteria play a role in regulating hormones, eliminating toxins, breaking down food and of course, helping you lose weight.
But that’s not all, gut bacteria also correlates to cravings!
You see, the type of food you eat affects the balance of gut bacteria.
If you eat a lot of processed sugar, for example, you start to get more bacteria that lives off of processed sugar.
And then guess what happens? Those bacteria “push” you to eat more processed sugar because that’s their “food”.
That’s why it can feel like you don’t have control over your cravings.
So, how can you crush cravings and support your weight loss?
Start eating more whole foods. The more of those you eat, the less of junk-food loving bacteria will be in the body.
By including gut health in your weight loss checklist, you will crowd out the bad bacteria with friendly bacteria!
7. Balance your hormones
Your hormones regulate all of the communication that occurs in your body.
That means nothing happens in the body without your hormones being part of that communication.
So, if you start experiencing uncontrollable weight gain, or difficulty shedding weight, then there are “weight gain” messages being sent in your body.
Now you be wondering “does that mean I am a slave to my hormones?”
And the answer is “not at all!”
Your hormones respond to everything: stress, drugs, food and so on.
So for successful weight loss you want to bring harmony to your hormones.
The best way to do this?
Make choices in diet and lifestyle that support hormones health.
Happy hormones contribute to a happy waistline 🙂
8. Strengthen your immune system
Although we often think of think the immune system as the thing that protects us from viruses or bacteria, it also affects our weight.
That’s because things like toxins cause inflammation in the body.
Inflammation is equivalent to stress.
And when the body is under any type of stress, the immune system uses up a lot of resources.
This means there are less resources available for other parts of the body.
This leads to endocrine system, the gut and other parts of the body working less optimally.
Ane once that happens, it cascades to weight gain.
So, you need to include immune support in your weight loss checklist to get the results you want.
9. Reduce cortisol
Stress is a a fascinating thing.
It comes in various forms: emotional worries, toxic food, polluted air and so on.
In each case, the body responds the same way: the adrenals release cortisol.
This is a perfectly natural and beautiful response because cortisol is the most powerful anti-stress (anti-inflammatory) agent we have.
But we want to make sure that the stress doesn’t become a long-term, chronic stress.
That type of stress contributes to weight issues.
Imagine spending decades eating food that is full of pesticides and/or additives.
That is long-term toxicity, inflammation and stress that builds up for years.
At some point, you will need to eat less toxic food and flush out the toxins that have built up.
So your goal is to reduce cortisol and that starts with getting enough sleep.
You also want to reduce the number of stressors in your life.
Or at least, cultivate habits that manage your response to stress when it does occur.
10. Support the thyroid
The thyroid gland is the control center for your metabolism.
That means each cell in your body relies on the thyroid to regulate its metabolism.
Talk about pressure for the thyroid!
Given that your metabolism affects weight loss and weight gain, you definitely want to include thyroid health in your weight loss checklist!
There you have it!
These 10 tips will help you lose weight and maintain it without losing your mind.
If you’d like to get on the fast track to weight loss, start with my curated collection of hormone balancing recipes.
This collection comes with delicious and healthy recipes for breakfast, lunch, dinner and those moments in-between. So, whether it’s smoothies, wraps, stir-fries or desserts, this collection takes the guesswork out of what to eat.