9 Changes to Boost Energy and Jumpstart Weight Loss

1. Include a good fish oil capsule (2-4 daily) in your diet every day. This kind of Omega 3 oil helps decrease inflammation, and helps mobilize stored fat in the body.

2. Take digestive enzymes with every meal. It's not just what you eat -- its what you can digest. Most people don't need antacids -- just more digestive enzymes. A little organic apple cider vinegar (in some water) before a meal can aid digestion and decrease appetite.

3. Add kelp or iodine to your regimen. The lowest incidence of breast and prostate cancer in the world is in Japan, amongst elder Japanese on high sea weed (high iodine) diets. Iodized salt is the wrong type of iodine.

4. The body needs to move. Find an exercise that you enjoy and do some 5 times per week, for 40 minutes. Weight training burns more fat than cardio workouts!

5. High cholesterol? Increase your fiber by taking fiber supplements and eating more fresh fruits and vegetables and brown rice. Try vitamin supplements of Choline, Inositol (B vitamins) and Lecithin to break up dietary fat.

6. Eat small, frequent protein meals. If you eat the same amount of calories, but in small, frequent portions rather than 2-3 larger portions, you will boost your metabolism and lose weight. Munch on nuts and seeds, have lettuce wraps of cheese and meat. Cut out wheat for a week and see how much better you feel.

7. Eat real/whole foods. Did your great grandparents eat it? Then it is probably real food. Food should not have a shelf life unless it is dried. Save technology for electronics. Human beings need food that Nature created, not food companies. (Soy powder is highly processed and a hormone disruptor; as well most soy crops are genetically modified.)

8. Add a probiotic supplement daily. There are a few hundred little bugs in the body, mostly of the helpful variety. "Good" bugs keep the "bad" bugs at bay and the colon healthy. When the colon is healthy, toxins do not leak into the blood, which helps prevent allergies and infections.

9. Look for the best Vitamin E -- wheat germ oil. The body needs whole Vitamin E for heart health and to make hormones. Hormones tell the organs (brain, liver, heart) what to do by sending little messages through the blood. Heartbeat faster when you see someone special? Thank your hormones.

Comments

[DrBrendan]

Perhaps adding nutrients that boost mitochondrial function would be worth adding. Approaching the most delicate portion of the organism is often a wonderful means to achieve success in weight loss. Mitochondrial function can be co-opted via environmental toxins so:

1: Organic foods as much as possible and since we are in challenging fiancial times maybe refer to Environmental Working Group's list of the dirty dozen ( a list of the 12 most heavily pesticide treated fruits and veggies). If you purchase anything on the list ensure it is organic.

2 Avoid exposure to heavy metals such as lead, cadmium and mercury. Often mercury is found in fish, cadmium in cigarrette smoke and lead in toys from China or old paint.

Another way to promote weight loss is to approach food sensitivities. Allergens such as gluten found in wheat and casein found in dairy have very negative impacts on thyroid metabolism (shutting down Thyroid conversion). There are wonderful books on the subject, such as Mark Hyman's "Ultra-Metabolism"

And finally of course eating a vegetable based diet with 10-20% of the diet being lean meats or alternative protein sources.

Probiotics can have an interesting impact on hunger, research shows a solid probiotic base reduces food cravings.

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B82Y1-4SM0XRY-1&_user=10&_rdoc=1&_fmt=&_orig=search&_sort=d&view=c&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=dec0c5a4b5ecf1df0193fa5ed0b0c541

Dr. Brendan
http://www.protealife.blogspot.com

[LaniMuelrath]

Hi Anne!

Great simple list. Isn't it amazing how much is really common sense? Whole foods, move more, eat dark green. It's good to have it spelled out as a reminder.

There is one item in the list that I debate the conventional fitness wisdom-speak about, and that is the many mini-meals. Research has not proven this to be of statistical significance when it comes to weight management, as the effect on "metabolic rate" of eating more frequently is negligable. If eating smaller, more frequent meals helps one to stay on top of overall quantity, then it is very helpful. At the same time, for many, the multi-mini plan means those many meals are so small it can become a difficult quantity management problem!

Personally, multi meals, fewer meals - hasn't made the difference. It is the overall quantity and what helps you manage that best rather than the metabolic rate boost of eating more often. I know, there is a LOT of word out there about thermogenesis of eating! I'm continuing to research the literature to get to the bottom of the truth about this!

Again, thanks for a well-written, clear article!

Lani
http://www.thetruthaboutfatlossforwomen.com

[Anne Dunev - Huffpost Blogger]

Hi Lani;

Thanks for your input. Here is my observation: one of the major keys to weight stability and metabolism is balanced pancreatic hormones. I suggest small, frequent protein meals to keep blood sugar balanced and take the burden off the pancreas. I think that the quantity may be less important than tweaking the body into a higher rate of metabolism. And there is one study that showed that the same amount of calories, spread out, caused weight loss, as opposed to eating big quantities at one sitting. I also find that, when the blood sugar is kept in balance, there is less binge-eating or reaching for anything to stuff in because of reaching the stage of imminent starvation.

What is amazing to me is how much we have to get on top of this and become educated health consumers these days! Anne