weight loss Archives - Help Me Be Healthy

Weight Loss Woes

Posted on January 23, 2015January 23, 2015 by jenny

DIETING DRAMAS

THE QUICK FIX

One thing that really upsets me, especially during the month of January, is the amount of ‘quick fix’, extreme and fad diet regimes that are promoted.

It is seemingly never ending – programs on TV, adverts, and social media all promoting the idea that we must lose some weight and we must do it quickly. Extreme exercise regimes and/or hugely restrictive diets may yield quick results. However, they are never sustainable and often the weight piles back on again, leaving you feeling more rotten than you did before!

The other problem is that all of these regimes promote the idea that weight loss is a simple matter of reducing calories in and increasing exercise. This is not always the case.

METABOLIC ISSUES

As I said last week, through our weight loss clinic we have discovered many different metabolic and emotional issues, which affect our clients ability to lose weight. If these are not taken into account, people will always struggle. In my opinion, understanding your possible metabolic issues and dealing with stress, anxiety and emotions will have a much greater effect long term on your ability and motivation to lose weight and keep it off.

UNDERACTIVE THYROID?

For example, we have discovered that there are many, many people out there struggling with a mildly under-active thyroid, which is responsible for poor weight loss, low motivation and low energy. If you suffer with a number of the following symptoms, this could be one of your issues as well:
Sensitive to cold;

low mood;
weight gain;
dry skin;
low energy;
menstrual problems;
muscle and joint pain;
forgetfulness;
falling hair;
anxiety.

If this does sound like you, then it is possible that until this is dealt with, energy, motivation, mood and therefore weight loss are always going to be a struggle for you. On top of this, if you do get desperate enough to try an extreme regime, there is the possibility that your metabolism could slow down even further!

So what is the solution?

IF YOU DO NOT TAKE THYROID MEDICATION:

Try Higher Nature Thyroid Support Formula. This contains all the nutrients known to support better thyroid function. I have used this for a number of people in our weight loss clinic and each time been impressed with the improvements in mood, energy and weight loss that follow.

IF YOU DO TAKE THYROID MEDICATION ALREADY:

Your body may not be using it efficiently. We have discovered that your body has to convert your thyroid medication into its active form and that the mineral selenium is needed for this. Therefore we often suggest that people who do take thyroid medication try Natures Aid Selenium for a couple of months and again we have been impressed with the feedback we have received.
FOR MORE HELP
If you are unsure what metabolic issues you may have, we are happy to provide a free metabolic analysis. To do this, click the link below, download your questionnaire and send it back to us when you have completed it. This should help you understand how to take more control not just of your weight loss, but also of you energy, mood and motivation as well.

sugar

Posted on January 14, 2014January 28, 2014 by jenny

: Mrs Magic / Foter.com / CC BY-NC-SA

Big news at the moment is…SUGAR! Finally people are starting to realise that sugar is one of the leading causes of weight issues, these days it’s probably more of a problem than fat. It’s no surprise to us, as we have been advising people who want to get healthy to try and cut sugar out of their diet for years, but this is not always made easy by food manufacturers and there are a lot of misleading claims made about the health of certain products. One of the adverts which annoys me the most at the moment is the one that is trying to sell Nutella to us as a health food, telling us it contains nuts and slow release sugars…ok maybe it does, but that does not alter the fact that the product itself is 55% sugar and therefore probably not the healthiest choice we could be making. Then again maybe I shouldn’t get upset about that, after all most of us would expect chocolate spread to be high in sugar, like many people may not be surprised that coco pops are 35% sugar. What may surprise you though is that cereals which are held up as healthy and good for people trying to lose weight are also high in sugar. For example All Bran contains 22% (that’s nearly a 1/4 as sugar) and Special K contains 6.8g per serving, which is actually more sugar than you would find in a McVities Chocolate Cake Slice! On top of this did you know that a weight watchers digestive biscuit has more sugar in than a standard digestive?!

The problem with all this is that when you eat something which is high in sugar, the energy from that food is released very quickly into your blood stream. Your body then produces insulin, which tells the cells of your body to take the sugar out of the blood stream to make energy. However, when you eat more energy than your cells actually need, insulin will store the rest of that sugar for later. Most of that excess sugar will be stored in the fat cells around your middle. Is it any wonder then, that despite their best efforts many people struggle to get the weight off eating foods they are told are healthy?

Weight issues are not the only thing affected by this high intake of sugars either. We see a lot of people with bowel issues, bloating and wind, who are surprised to learn that we believe the sugars are feeding the fermentation in their guts which is causing the problems. Cutting out sugars in those situations can make a massive difference – one girl I saw recently had been struggling with bloating and pain for years and was shocked that such a simple step made a massive difference to her in just two weeks!

Cutting sugar down then could be a key to weight loss and bowel problems, but we know it is often easier said than done – sugar is addictive and many people struggle with sugar cravings and sugar dips which affect their energy levels and their mood. There are things that you can do to help though and getting on top of those cravings and keeping your blood sugar levels balanced is a real key to this. We tend to suggest using a supplement like Higher Natures Metabolic Balance to start off with. This supplement is designed using nutrients like chromium and magnesium to help support healthy blood sugar levels, which will in turn reduce fat storage, and sugar cravings. Once the sugar cravings are more controlled, a low sugar diet is easier to stick to and weight loss tends to follow. When we see people for our weight loss clinic then, one of the first things we do is work with them to get as many sugars out of their diet as possible, get their blood sugar levels balanced and get rid of their sugar cravings and it is surprising how quickly this can be achieved. Using a low sugar diet alongside Metabolic Balance can knock those cravings and the cycle of fat storage and low energy levels on the head and give weight loss a real kick start.

Love your Liver – Detox and Lose Weight

Posted on January 9, 2014January 28, 2014 by jenny

: kanenas.net / Foter.com / CC BY

I read this week that film actress Gwynth Paltrow was saying that the best way to detox and lose weight was to limit your calorie intake take to 300 per day!! Not Possible!! Someone living a normal life, with jobs to do and children to run around after, cannot possibly function properly on 300 calories a day! Not only that, as we all know, when following a diet which restricts calories so hugely, the weight may come piling off quickly, but, it piles back on even quicker!
Actually, one of the best ways to detox AND lose weight is to follow a sugar free diet, which has plenty of fresh vegetables and protein rich foods like beans. Ideally you should Focus on foods like flax seeds, beetroot, walnuts, oily fish, garlic, greens and tomatoes and whilst avoiding alcohol and fizzy drinks. Drink plenty of water and limit tea and coffee. This limits all the stimulants and things that strip your body of nutrients. It also ensures that your body is getting all the nutrients it needs to heal itself and cleanse the tissues.
But as well as this it is absolutely vital to look at the health of your liver. Any detox diet which does not look at cleansing the liver, is not going to work as well as you would want it to. Your liver is your body’s main detoxifying organ – it breaks down all the wastes and eliminates them. It deals with all the chemicals and medications. Therefore, you can detox your tissues with juices, or cocao or lemon juice etc, but unless you clean your liver out, those toxins are not going to leave your body as effectively as you would like.
Your liver is also your main metabolic organ. Signs of a sluggish liver, to a practitioner of natural medicine will include weight gain, bloating, indigestion, skin problems, low energy, bowel problems and sugar cravings. Boosting the liver function then could be really useful – not just in ensuring that your body is detoxing properly but also in helping shift a few excess pounds. The best way to support your liver in my opinion is with Vogels Milk Thistle Complex This combines milk Thistle, which has been reported in clinical trials to help promote the regeneration of liver cells, with artichoke, which helps lubricate the bowel, easing bowel issues. Artichoke also helps with indigestion symptoms and bloating, making it a great addition to this remedy. Milk Thistle Complex also contains dandelion, which again with the breakdown of fats. Taking a course of this whilst following the simple dietary guidelines I have laid down, should help you achieve what you want from a detox, without starvation or feeling awful. We do have a free diet sheet available to support this – if you would like it, please contact us and we will email it to you.

Bloating? Sluggish? Lose weight & feel great

Posted on January 3, 2014January 28, 2014 by jenny

Bloating? Sluggish? Struggling with Irritable Bowel? Read on and learn how to banish bloating, ease IBS, lose weight and feel great, with a our New Year, New You, Detox .
In the diet:
Cut out sugars – including fruit and fruit juices – for a couple of weeks. This is because sugar feeds the fermentation process that causes the bloating and wind. It also leads to sugar cravings. So cutting it out of your diet for a few weeks can help flatten your tummy and keep sugar cravings in check.
Also cut out alcohol and limit tea and coffee, whilst increasing herbal teas and water – this will help to flush your system out. Again easing that bloating feeling. For those who would like it we do have a diet sheet available to help with this – if you would like a free copy, please contact us to let us know, we will email it to you.
Additional help:
Make sure your bowels are working daily – this is important because your bowels are the main elimination route for toxins. You are never going to effectively detox if you are not emptying your bowels each day. To help with this if it is a problem try some Coloclear Extra – a capsule which combines great fibres with things which help improve bowel function like Aloe Vera. We have had some great results with this, one lady who was only going to the toilet once a week swore that it was Coloclear that got her going to the toilet normally again!
Kill off ‘bad’ bacteria – it is often thought that it is a build up of the putrefactive, fermentative bacteria which lead to many of the symptoms of IBS, including wind and bloating. Using a supplement like citricidal, which is a natural anti fungal and anti bacterial supplement, over a couple of weeks could help to reduce their numbers and therefore in turn reduce bloating and wind.
Boost up your good bacteria – as well as killing off the fermentative bacteria, you need to make sure you have good levels of your friendly bacteria, which are involved in maintaining a healthy bowel function. This will ensure that the unfriendly bacteria you have killed off with the citricidal have no room to grow back and also that your guts are in the healthiest state possible. One of my favourite good bacteria supplements is Higher Natures Pro-Bio Daily a robust pro biotic which is not killed off by stomach acid and works hard to boost your colonies of good bacteria in the gut.
We have often found that addressing these simple issues has made a big difference to how our customers feel – one girl who had been struggling for years with bloating and IBS told us that she felt better than she had in years after only two weeks of this – so it’s definitely worth a go. To give this a go for yourself, click here.

How NOT to Lose Weight – 5 common mistakes.

Posted on November 2, 2013January 28, 2014 by Nicola

: Darwin Bell / Foter.com / CC BY-NC

Running a weight loss clinic has taught us much about the way people diet. We know what works and what doesn’t. Here are some of the most common mistakes we see and the first habits that we encourage people to change.

1. Counting calories – Much more importat than the amount of calories you eat is the type of calories. Calories are used to measure how much energy a serving of food will provide, but it is important to remember that not all calories are equal. For example, you may find that the calorie content of your chicken salad is equal to the amount in the small chocolate bar in your pocket – but it goes without saying that the first meal is the healthier! Think quality, not quantity.

2. Eating too much fruit – Fruit is lovely! It’s a really easy, tasty way of getting nutrition into our bodies. Unfortunately, it’s also full of natural sugars that while tasty, can be detrimental to weight loss if eaten in excess. When getting rid of unhealthy snacks, don’t replace them all with fruit. Dieters who do may find themselves bloated, windy and prone to IBS type symptoms. Look to vegetables for your 5 a day and choose protein based snacks, nuts and raw veggies.

3. Going hungry – Eating less does not mean you will lose more weight. What is does mean is that your blood sugar levels will drop each time you deny yourself a meal. Blood sugar drops will have you searching for sugary snacks or refined carbohydrates because these foods provide your body with quick release energy. Going hungry will make you miserable, your diet hard to stick to and your body very confused. Eat regulary, but eat healthy.

4. Buying low fat ready meals – Fat constitutes much of the flavour within our food and when companies remove it, they also remove the taste! Since nobody wants to buy tasteless food, common practice is to put the flavour back in using sugar. Sugar is the dieters enemy – providing a quick fix to cravings but resulting in more hunger, craving cycles and weight gain. Enjoy fresh foods and consume fats in their natural state but in moderation.

5. Fad diets – If the latest diet you are looking at involves complex regimes, forbidden foods, calculating points, or anything else that sounds like hard work – don’t do it. Even if you stick to it and you reach your target weight, it is unlikely you will maintain that kind of regime for the rest of your life. Dieting is not a temporary thing, it is exactly what it says it is – Your diet. It is the food you eat every day and it should make you happy. Choosing a long term healthy living plan that suits your needs is the best way to ensure that you will lose weight, keep the weight off and stay healthy.

If you would like to know more about eating healthy to lose weight, take a look at
our weight loss clinic
or contact us for more information.

By Nicola Parker