Article by My Wellness by Nature
Weight loss and fad dieting have surged to a billion-dollar industry over the past few decades. There are more and more American's looking for a fast fix to lose weight and they will try anything to drop a few pounds. So how does all this dieting affect our health and how do we know which diets are working and which ones aren't? The answer is simple, no diet will work to obtain long-term weight loss and health.
These short-term solutions may actually be doing more harm than good to your body. The answer to losing weight is simple & FREE, all you have to do is change your lifestyle.
The history of fad diets
Calorie counting dates back to the 1920s! The idea of being thin took hold of Americans and so began the numerous amount of companies launching various products to support weight loss goals.
Most, if not all of these products had little to no scientific backing but the demand began to surge. The diets got more and more ridiculous, in the early 1900's people who wanted to lose weight would voluntarily ingest tapeworms to drop a few pounds. This diet had obvious risks as doing this could cause organ swelling, anaphylaxis, infections of the digestive system, appendicitis, damaged vision & more. The thing about most fad diets is that they promise a lot and as with so many things it's most of the time too good to be true.
Get to the root cause of weight gain
One thing most people who want to lose weight ignore to do is get to the root cause of why they are gaining so much weight in the first place. Packing on sweets and processed foods is a pretty obvious reason for most people but what if your weight gain was happening by something completely out of your control. Did you know that weight gain is directly related to the hormones in the body? This is something most people forget on the long and frustrating road to losing weight.
Hormones & Weight loss
In order to lose weight and keep it off, we must understand how our hormones are affecting our journey. Let's take a look at how different hormones are linked to weight loss
Insulin
This hormone is directly linked to packing on a few pounds. Insulin is in charge of storing blood sugar and utilizing it depending on what your body needs along with fat storage. Preventing insulin imbalance is crucial for your weight loss goals!
Leptin
This hormone is all about your appetite. You can think of it as kind of like a natural appetite suppressant. When this hormone is imbalanced it can cause you to overeat because your body doesn't think that it's full. All of that overeating will definitely lead to weight gain.
Cortisol
Better known as the stress hormone it can trigger overeating and an increase in belly fat.
Shifting your perspective
When you think of a "diet" society has conditioned us to believe it involves some magic pill or a 30 day solution. Along with balancing your hormones, a healthy body starts with a healthy mind. By shifting your perspective about dieting to lose weight to have a healthy body & mind weight will start to shed faster than you think. When you chose to live a daily life that involves physical activity and treat what you put into your body as fuel you'll start to see that your gravitating towards a diet full of whole foods. The best part is that this doesn't include counting calories or cutting out carbs. This sort of thinking forces you to respect your body & mind and wellness will follow.
Could Bioidentical Hormone Therapy Be Right For You?
Take the first step on your wellness journey by taking our hormone self-assesment quiz. Bioidentical hormone optimization may be the answer you've been looking for if you want to safely & naturally balance your hormones to prevent hormonal weight gain.