Do this to lose weight
You may be surprised to learn that the first place I recommend people who are struggling to lose weight look is deep inside their colon.
That’s right. Gut health plays a major role in weight maintenance and weight loss. As a gut health practitioner, I’m inclined to look at the gut no matter the health goal because, without a healthy, flourishing digestive tract, there’s a good chance you will never fully reach your health goals. And that is particularly true for weight loss.
If you want to read about the basics and dig a little deeper into the science, head on over to this article. It will break things down a bit further than I’m going to do in this article. For this article, I want to focus on the process I use with my clients when addressing weight loss.
What’s the connection?
First, it’s important to understand why there is a connection between gut health and weight loss. Yep, there’s a definite difference in the gut microbiome between lean and obese people.
When the gut microbiome is out of balance (dysbiosis), there is a level of chronic low-grade inflammation in the body. This inflammation occurs thanks to a toxin that is released from specific microbes and leads to weight issues including obesity and/or malnutrition.
Additionally, when there is inflammation in the gut, it can lead to “leaky gut” which makes it easier for toxins, food particles, nutrients, and other particles to leak out of the large intestine into the bloodstream. The lining of your large intestine is only 1 cell thick. Yikes. That means it’s very delicate and even the slightest inflammation can cause issues!
When these particles leak into the bloodstream, the body can attack them which triggers autoimmune diseases and weight imbalances. This is another form of inflammation. Moral of the story - keep as many of your toxins and food particles in the confines of the large intestine as possible so your microbes can do their job properly!
What’s the gut got to do with appetite control?
Great question! When you eat food, your gut sends your nutritional status to your brain. It’s like the floor worker sending the daily sales report to the store manager. Then the brain can assess whether or not you need to eat more food or it needs to send out more hormones to help regulate energy and metabolism.
Many of these appetite-regulating hormones are also produced by your gut microbes. These guys may actually be able to manipulate appetite and eating behaviors on your behalf! Pretty cool, right?
Yes, except when things like environmental toxins, chronic stress, poor sleep, regular alcohol use, and gut dysbiosis throw off the balance. Your appetite can get out of whack and your body may begin to put on weight.
What do we do about dysbiosis?
As I said, when someone comes to me wanting to lose weight or is frustrated because they have tried everything to lose weight and nothing seems to work, I start in the gut.
I take my clients through a comprehensive proven process to relieve their gut health issues.
In the first step of the process, we work to figure out the real problem. We do this by analyzing the food they’re eating, answering specific questions, and running some labs.
The most common functional lab test I recommend to assess the health of a person’s gut microbiome is the GI-MAP. This is the gold standard of gut microbiome testing. When we combine that with the food journal and questionnaire, we get so much data! Just one of those tools is great, but when you use all three….ahhhhh…..it’s magical! This lab test looks at microbiome diversity and imbalances, inflammation, digestion, and immune function.
There are other tests we can look into, but the GI-MAP is by and large the most helpful, in my opinion. Yes, it’s a stool test. You do it at home and are provided with complete instructions. It’s simple and quick! (As a note, since I’m not a doctor, this test is not diagnostic.)
Once we understand what we’re working with, then I can help develop a supplement protocol to help resolve any issues we uncover. That means we are well on our way to solving the real problem!
What’s next?
In addition to testing, we will also utilize other holistic approaches. That brings us to step two of the process.
In this step, we look at building up strength in the body. If you’ve been dealing with chronic inflammation, chronic infections, or an imbalance of microbes in your gut, your body has been dealing with a lot. So we need to give it some love!
We do this by eating delicious, strengthening foods, taking time to rest, developing a gentle exercise program, and improving our mindset and thoughts.
In my experience, when we apply a holistic approach to health, the body naturally lets go of unnecessary weight. Many times that is in the form of constipation and balancing the bowels to have good motility. But that also means that you naturally lose body fat and gain muscle.
When the body is properly nourished by eating healthy foods and can absorb all the nutrients it needs, weight loss occurs naturally.
Marcy’s story
Marcy came to me wanting to lose some weight. Well, to be fair, Marcy didn’t really want to lose weight, her doctor wanted her to lose weight. He was concerned because she was pre-diabetic and very close to reaching the diabetic threshold.
Marcy was having difficulty sleeping and struggling with eye issues for most of her life. She and her husband had very active social lives, they even lived in Florida for half the year. Traveling was part of their DNA!
Even though Marcy knew it would be in her best interest to lose weight and do what she could to avoid the dreaded diabetes diagnosis, she didn’t want to give up her favorite foods or stop going out with friends and family.
Because of Marcy’s travel schedule, we needed to come up with a plan that would allow her some flexibility but also be delicious so she wouldn’t be tempted to go overboard with the donuts!
I helped Marcy develop a customized meal plan, centered around delicious, whole foods that she and her husband already loved. I recommended an easy-to-follow supplement protocol to add some additional nutrients to protect Marcy’s immune system from all those flights and late-night travel.
Marcy began a gentle exercise program and learned strategies to navigate social situations so she could keep her eye on those health goals.
After only a few months of working together, Marcy lost 17 lbs, was sleeping better, and remained healthy despite those around her frequently catching colds. Best of all, Marcy’s doctor was pleased to report she was no longer pre-diabetic. And Marcy’s grandkids loved her new energy which meant lots more play time!
Oh, did I not mention, that Marcy was 85 years old when she began my coaching program. It’s never too late to get started!
How to get started
A simple approach to health is often the best. That’s what I pride myself on because I can take out all the fluff and confusion about what you “should” be doing.
The body is very predictable, but only when we understand what is going on deep down.
This is the time of year when many are looking ahead to the new year and getting ready to make some resolutions. Many of those resolutions involve losing weight.
If that’s you, I’m rooting for you! But let’s make sure you start on the right foot! I can help you develop a plan and help you every step of the way. I would like nothing more than to be your guide on this journey toward the best version of you. You can schedule your FREE consultation right here.
I’m hosting a FREE masterclass later this week called The Secret to Amazing Digestion and I would love to save you a seat. Click the button below to let me know. If you’re reading this article in the future, that button will also tell you when the next masterclass is happening.
This training will help you learn more about gut health and what it’s like to work with me as your health coach. Let’s figure this out together!