Work Smarter, Not Harder
Grrrrrrr. Few things are more frustrating than working hard towards a goal and not getting any results.
I know we're taught to focus on the journey, but I admit it... I'm a results-oriented person too. If I'm going to put the work in, I want results. So I understand when my clients feel this way and I like to help them get maximum results for their effort so they don't waste their precious time and money.
I see this in the form of stubborn belly fat all the time. You start an exercise routine. You watch your calories. You do All The Things. And nothing shifts.
Similarly with labs. I see folks who get their labs back and cholesterol comes back high, maybe their blood sugar and liver enzymes too. They try to improve it on their own for 3 months, but it doesn't shift fast enough and on medication, they go. Nothing wrong with medication, but we'd all love to take fewer pills and actually FIX the problem instead of masking the symptoms with drugs. Right? Especially if it also results in a healthier weight.
So here are my Seven Steps to help push past that block and ...
WORK SMARTER, NOT HARDER
1. DIAL IN BLOOD SUGAR AND INSULIN
Blood sugar and insulin regulation might be really key here. Insulin levels control your fat storage and ability to "burn" stored fat. Each person deals with carbohydrates differently and it varies according to what you eat, when you eat, stress levels and your sleep. Testing can really help you understand this, using test strips at strategic times during the day. A very useful way of tracking is a continuous glucose monitor. While expensive, they can be used for just a few months to understand how your own body reacts to food so you can find what works for you. Otherwise, trial and error is the way to go.
You might be experiencing Metabolic Syndrome or "Pre-diabetes". If so, you might want to learn more about that specifically HERE.
2. EAT ENOUGH PROTEIN
When I ask my clients to keep a diet diary, I almost always find they are coming up short on protein. Also, this protein should ideally be spread throughout the day. Eating at least 50% of your daily intake by lunchtime will help. Good protein sources include both animal and plant-based sources such as food made from eggs, beef, chicken, lamb, fish, cheese, beans, nuts and seeds. It can help to know what your actual protein needs are and how to meet them. In this article, I give you a way to calculate your mimimum needs and when you would want to get more than the mimimum. I also appreciate the convenience of a protein smoothie now and then as I detailed in a previous post.
3. MEAL TIMING
We operate on a circadian rhythm. In terms of our metabolism, this means we can metabolize glucose better at breakfast and lunch than we can at dinner. So while time-restricted eating has become more popular, people often use it unwisely to justify skipping breakfast and waiting until lunchtime to eat. I find this can often lead to overeating in the evening and doesn't translate to the weight loss people are looking for. It also doesn’t give your body the fuel it needs when it needs it. Like, to recover from a workout! This can lead to higher cortisol levels and lower metabolism. I mean, it’s telling your body there isn’t enough food, so better store some fat for later! I say frontload your day with protein and nutritious meals. THEN, be sure to stop eating 2-3 hours before bedtime. If you HAVEN’T been doing this, that’s my top suggestion for you.
4. SLEEP
Poor sleep will derail your weight loss efforts every time. It will also increase your cholesterol levels and blood sugar. But balancing blood sugar will improve sleep! So working on both your diet AND your sleep will be the most beneficial.
One strategy I use and recomend is mouth taping. Because sleep apnea is so common and nose breathing is so important for optimal health, this simple hack is one everyone can try to improve the quality of their sleep (and minimize snoring). I track my sleep to make sure I not only get enough HOURS but also quality sleep. Deep sleep is critical for recovery and healthy insulin levels. This happens mostly in the first 4 hours of your normal sleeping time. Going to bed an hour late can cut your deep sleep by up to 50% (ask me how I know). As unsexy as it sounds, consistenty in your sleep schedule is king.
5. STRESS LEVELS
Never underestimate the power of stress to cause all of your health problems. (Ask me how I know!) I know it's hard to hear this because many of us don't even know how stressed out we are until we aren't stressed anymore. Even if we do know, we don't know what to do about it. It ruins our sleep and raises our blood sugar and blood pressure. I explore the relationship between blood sugar, stress and sleep in this article.
6. THE RIGHT EXERCISE
Too much exercise without adequate recovery can actually INCREASE our stress levels leading to all the things stress does. Overexercising can negatively impact sleep, weight gain, cravings, etc. How frustrating is that?? So we need to balance it with good recovery. Also, 45 minutes of cardio may not be the answer. Walking daily is great, but it also might not be enough. Strength training where we focus on building muscle may give you more benefits. You may want to look into switching things up a bit. Keep your walk at a Zone 2 pace. Add in strength work twice per week and consider lifting heavier (gradually) rather than high reps with light weights.
MIX IT UP & BUILD STRENGTH!
7. THYROID LEVELS
Get these checked. And I don't mean just TSH levels, I mean a whole panel. TSH, Free T4, Free T3 and Reverse T3. Subclinical hypothyroid will cause your metabolism to really slow down, leading to weight gain, hair loss, brain fog, poor digestion and other hormone disruption. And you know what can slow down your thyroid? Stress, not enough food, nutrition deficiencies and inflammation. So here we see how addressing some of those underlying health issues like infections, dysbiosis, food intolerances, nutritional deficiencies and eating ENOUGH will create the foundation for healthy weight in the future. The good news is that even without testing, smart exercise and fueling your body correctly will help optimise your thyroid levels.
It's all really about learning to work WITH the body instead of against it. Some of this requires good lab testing to see what's going on. But a lot of it is very un-sexy work of making those small but consistent efforts to improve your sleep, moderate stress, eat protein at breakfast and cut out inflammatory foods.
How to measure your progress?
My #1 way to help my clients work smarter is using a continuous glucose monitor (CGM). Rather than doing ALL THE HEALTHY THINGS, it helps us create a highly individual strategy for you where you can choose only the methods that move the needle for you, and nothing else. I like to think of it as the minimum dose of healthy to reach your health goals.
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