Five steps to help you lose weight without using supplements

If you are overweight or are looking to lose a few pounds, then you will not be able to do this unless you change your diet. Most people get stuck in a rut with food. They continue to eat their usual diet and find it hard to shift the weight. Unfortunately, there is no quick fix when it comes to weight loss. It takes hard work and determination to stick to something. Often people make excuses for not tackling their weight problem, but any time is good to make the change because the change can bring fantastic results.

There are many reasons why someone can gain weight; eating too much, not exercising enough and choosing the wrong foods to eat, but there are also theories about bacteria being a cause, and I believe that bacteria could be one of the most underestimated reasons for weight gain. Weight gain is very typical in women, particularly after they have had children. During my Candida overgrowth research, I discovered a microbiologist called Ruth Ley, at Cornell University, who uncovered the change in microbiome in a pregnant mother [1]. Because of my journey with Candida overgrowth and I believe in this theory; I suddenly had an onset of urine infections, which led to the use of antibiotics, further changing the balance of my microbiome. Antibiotics are one of the main causes of yeast overgrowth. Aside from pregnancy, eating a higher sugar diet and less whole foods further creates a problem for the microbiome and the nutrients and minerals your body needs in general. If you deprive your body of the goodness in these foods, then it simply cannot function properly. Many raw vegetables are known as prebiotics, which means that these foods help beneficial bacteria to colonise in abundance in your gut. If you eat less of these, then the less diverse your bacteria range will be.

Here is a list of my simple 5 steps to help you lose weight without taking supplements:

1. Eat / Drink bone broth. A high-sugar diet, coupled with alcohol, stress, pharmaceutical drugs and more, could cause damage to your gut lining causing an inflammatory response. Inflammation of the gut presents a number of symptoms including IBS, bloating, weight gain and food intolerances. Many functional doctors believe that including bone broth daily can help to reduce gut inflammation, therefore improving the digestion of food. [2]

2. Cut out all sugars, even fruit sugars for a while. Often people think I am mad when I say this, but it’s important to understand that your body does not know the difference between a bar of chocolate and a juicy orange. It can only detect sugar levels. Did you know that in 58 grams of dates, there is equivalent to 13.5 teaspoons of sugar? [3] Sure, dates have other nutrients, but if you are overweight then you are frequently loading yourself with sugar, contributing to a potential yeast problem.

3. Eat more raw vegetables, especially leafy green vegetables. Leafy green vegetables are rich in many nutrients that your body needs. Kale is called King Kale for a reason, it’s one of the richest plant-based foods you can include in your diet packed full of Vitamin A, K, C, B6, Manganese, Calcium, Copper, Potassium, and Magnesium [4]. And eating vegetables raw means that you are not losing the nutrients during the process of boiling. Chewing raw vegetables activates the enzymes in your mouth to begin the process of digestion, helping to release the important minerals and nutrients your body needs.

4. Start exercising. Exercising can be daunting and often people who haven’t exercised for a while will start off exercising too much. They set unrealistic goals for themselves, basically setting themselves up to fail. The best approach to exercise is to start slowly and do a little bit of exercise frequently. Even if you start with a short walk for 20 minutes, then increase it to a jog, then increase over a longer time, this helps to introduce exercise to your body. Your heart will have to work harder and this will make it stronger, your heart is a muscle, and exercise helps to build muscle. If you can join a gym, then great idea. Get someone to help you with a program or ask for a personal trainer, but if you don’t like the idea of gyms, then simple bodyweight exercises can help build muscle. Check out some exercises on YouTube for tips on what you can do at home.

5. Eat more protein. Protein is essential for body growth. Most bodily functions require protein and protein is generally made by the body itself. However, there are essential amino acids that the body needs, and it cannot make, so we must get them from food. Meat, dairy, fish, eggs and some grains and legumes contain the essential amino acids. However, plant-based foods do not contain all of the essential amino acids, it is only meat and meat-based products which all these amino acids can be derived from. Muscle repair requires all of the essential amino acids. When we exercise our muscles tear, they become damaged, and the only way to repair them; making them stronger and bigger is the essential amino acids. Meat proteins are where you can get these proteins from. Some plant-based proteins will help, but unless you have a very good understanding of nutrition and exercise physiology, it can be very difficult to ensure your body is receiving the complete full set of amino acids to repair your muscles. It’s very important to remember that the more muscle you have, the less fat you will have. Muscle burns fat, so get training and eat more protein.

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Five steps to help you lose weight without using supplements