14. Look into Vitamins and Minerals
One of the main mistakes people make when losing weight is not eating enough fresh produce. By skipping out on the nutrient-rich foods, you’re very likely to experience a nutrient deficiency.
Make sure to make wise food choice with plenty of quality calories and nutrient-rich foods during your weight loss efforts and consult a naturopath and dietician to get some extra support. If needed, supplement your diet with quality supplements.
Vitamin D is particularly important since most North Americans are deficient in the important vitamin. Multiples studies have determined the importance of vitamin D in weight loss support in women and men alike (14,15).
15. Practice Intermittent Fasting
If you think about it, ancient humans didn’t eat regular meals, they never really knew when their next meal would come. In fact, many people still live with food insecurity around the world.
For the privileged few who never have to worry about their next meal, limiting your meal window can meal support weight loss. Intermittent fasting isn’t a complicated diet my any means. While you should avoid processed foods anyways, there are no rules to what you can and can’t eat.
A 2007 review by University of California, Berkeley, concluded that fasting every second day (16):
- Decreases cardiovascular disease risk
- Decreases cancer risk
- Lowers diabetes risk
- Improves cognitive function
- Protects against some effects of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases
Since only eating only every other day doesn’t work for most people living a modern schedule, there is another way to benefit from intermittent fasting: the 16/8 method. The concept is simple: fast for 14-16 hours and limit your eating period between 8-10 hours a day. For example, you can limit your eating period between 10-6pm or 9-7pm, depending on your work schedule.
Children, pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers, diabetics and people with digestive disorders or serious illnesses should avoid intermittent fasting and consult their healthcare professional.
16. Exercise
Exercise is key to healthy weight loss and weight management down the line. Not only does exercise burn stored fat, it also ensures that you’re spending more energy than you’re taking in through your diet.
Exercise also improves the medical factors that contribute to weight gain, such as stress, poor sleep, and hormone imbalance. While making healthy choices like going on walks and taking the stairs is a step in the right direction, significant weight loss requires regular cardio and weight training: the more muscle mass you accumulate, the greater the number of calories your body burns during rest since your muscles need energy for proper maintenance and recovery after exercise (17).
17. Check your Hormones
Hormonal issues can be the underlying cause of excessive weight gain, particularly if you have a thyroid problem.
In fact, weight gain is a key symptom of hypothyroidism, a condition that occurs when your thyroid can’t produce enough thyroid hormones to keep up your proper metabolism (18).
Other symptoms include:
- Fatigue
- Increased sensitivity to cold
- Constipation
- Dry skin
- Puffy face
- Hoarseness
- Muscle weakness
- Elevated blood cholesterol level
- Muscle aches, tenderness, and stiffness
- Pain, stiffness or swelling in your joints
- Heavier than normal or irregular menstrual periods
- Thinning hair
- Slowed heart rate
- Depression
- Impaired memory
Hypothyroidism can be remedied through proper diet (including adequate levels of iodine), exercise, and lower stress levels.
Sex hormone imbalance, caused by menopause, andropause (in men) and polycystic ovary syndrome all lower muscle density and lead to weight gain. Excess stress hormones also lead to weight gain by increasing your appetite and lowering sleep quality. As with thyroid hormones, sex and stress hormones (19,20,21)
“Diet” isn’t a nasty word, it simply means “what you eat”. The negative connotation associated with the word makes us feel bad. It’s more helpful and supportive to think of changing food choices rather than “dieting”. Losing weight isn’t only about lifestyle choices, it’s about your perception and attitude. Taking charge of your health is the ultimate goal, isn’t it?