Reboot Your Metabolism – Part 1

Reboot your Metabolism

 Part 1

 Science shows that your body is hard-wired to fight weight loss- so how can you lose weight and keep it off for life.

 So losing weight should be simple.  So exercise more and eat less and the kilos should fall off …  well that is the theory.  Yet how many times have you dieted to shed unwanted only to find the weight soon back on and you end up weighing the same, or more.

 You probably beat yourself up because you couldn’t sustain the drastically restricted food intake forever.  Your body is very clever so it activates defence mechanism to fight weight loss and defend your level of fatness to get you back to your set point.

 So how do you switch off the defences.  The best approach is called interval weight loss because it turns your body into your weight loss ally unlike other rigid eating plans it doesn’t require slashing carbs or kilojoules or a whole range of food.  Instead you alternative between periods of weight loss and weight maintenance.

 There’s a growing awareness among weight loss experts that your body is hard wired to defend against weight loss and go back to set weight.

 According to ‘Set Point Theory’ your body defends a particular level of body fat and body weight and will return to it regardless of which diet you try.

When you lose weight below that set point, your body goes into a famine reaction, triggering adaptive responses to oppose weight loss.

 These defence mechanisms include changes to appetite hormones and fat burning.  When you stop dieting, your body tends to revert back to this set point but often with addition of some unhealthy changes that adversely affects your appetite and the rate you burn kilojoules.

 So what determines an individual set point?  Why does it reset during different life states so that your body holds onto more weight.  Apart from your genes, lifestyle factors such as poor diet, being a couch potato, skimping on sleep and constant stress can be to blame.

However some people are more vulnerable to gaining weight due to these lifestyle factors

Amanda Salis of the Boden Institute says if you carry the obesity genes your set point can establish itself higher so that your body defends against storing more fat and holding on to more weight.

 How to Set Your Body Weight

 Here’s how you can cycle through a pattern of weight loss and maintenance and keep off those extra kilos, for good.

Month 1

Weightloss 

During this time aim for one to two kilograms of weight loss per month and no more than half a kilogram per week.  Focus on increasing your intake of filling foods rather than obsessing about cutting kilojoules.

Make sure you don’t reduce your carbs too much.

 Carbs are your body’s main source of fuel, so when you reduce them too low this can make you feel hungrier and more tired.  This increases your risk of overeating and reduces the energy you have to exercise.  The trick is to choose the right kinds of high fibre carbs, which

give you a long, slow release of energy.  Go for whole grains such as soy-linseed bread, legumes such as lentils and starchy vegetables such as sweet potato with the skin on.

 Eat proteins at every meal including lean protein sources like fish, chicken, eggs at each meal will help you stay full for longer.

 Count liquid kilojoules because drinks that don’t involve chewing we often think they really don’t count.  Alcohol, smoothies and juice even fresh ones can pack a big kilojoule punch.  Same goes for take away coffees, so order a small or regular latte, not large.  Where possible stick to water which has zero kilojoules.

 Reconfigure your plate think of vegetables as your main meal and other foods like pasta or rice as the side dishes. 

 Taper food intake over the day make breakfast served on a dinner plate your biggest meal  and dinner served on a bread plate your smallest meal.

 Bulk up your meals, special nerve stretch receptors in your stomach help signal your brain that you are full.  Fibre is your friend here.  Aim to eat plenty of filling vegetables, like leafy greens, as well as lentils, beans and chickpeas to trigger those stretch receptors faster.

Meals that have a large percentage of fluid such as stews, can also do the trick.  Or start lunch and dinner with a vegetable soup.  This habit can reduce kilojoule intake by 20 per cent.

 Feeling the cold like a drop in temperature can indicate that your body fears you are in a famine situation and is slowing your metabolism to reduce the rate you burn kilojoules.

 Constant hunger most women have been on so many diets, they think that chronic hunger is just normal emotional response to dieting.  Being constantly ravenous is not healthy or normal it’s a sign that your body is going into defence mode to stop you losing weight.

When you are so hungry you can’t focus this is a sign you need food, so snack on a hand full of nuts to reassure your body you are not starving it.  Other good snack options are carrot sticks dipped in hummus or a cup of plain popcorn.

 So start making the above changes in your diet and really have a look at what you are eating.  Write a food dairy for a week this will show you where you are going wrong.

You can look out for my part 2 of this post in a week’s time and I will give you a seven day meal plan. Good Luck!