How many times have you lost weight but then put it back on again – maybe ended up heavier than you were previously? The mainstay of the weight loss industry for the last 50 years has been calorie counting. This method will be successful to start with as your body loses glycogen or water but it’s not sustainable in the long term. Often the weight will go back on plus more. This is because crucial elements have been overlooked the key one being that not all calories are equal!

There is a different thermogenic value to a protein calorie compared to a carbohydrate calorie and there is a different response in the body to a fat calorie than to a carbohydrate calorie.

A protein calorie’s thermogenic value is much higher than a carbohydrate calorie because of the process the body goes through to break it down and rebuild it into anther form of protein. It uses calories to achieve that.

Fat has no relationship with insulin so when you consume good quality fat calories it doesn’t cause an insulin release or the rise and fall in sugar levels that you get with carbohydrate calories. Fat also has a slower release in the stomach than carbohydrate so good quality fat leaves you feeling fuller for longer.

Also, calorie counting every meal and snack you consume is really stressful! When you become stressed your body releases cortisol which is one of the main hormones that leads you to put on weight.

The reasons for weight gain are personal and varied and include overeating, food intolerances, poor gut function, emotional issues, lifestyle habits, lack of exercise and nutritional deficiencies. However, the top three that I come across time and time again are:

  • Eating the wrong foods
  • Hormone imbalance
  • Toxicity in the body

Eating the wrong foods

The typical western diet is just too high in carbohydrate. The carbohydrate breaks down into glucose (sugar) and if you don’t use that sugar as energy it will be stored as fat. Type B malnutrition is becoming more and more common. What is it? – consuming too many calories but not enough nutrients! If you’re eating regularly but battling food cravings you’re probably nutrient deficient and borderline type b malnutrition. If you’re craving sweet foods that’s a magnesium deficiency and if you’re craving bread and butter there’s not enough good fats in your body.

Hormone imbalance

Hormones control your body’s weight management system including it’s metabolism, appetite and cravings therefore any hormone imbalance will sabotage your weight loss efforts regardless of diet and exercise. If you’re eating the wrong types of food your body gets stressed and your cortisol levels go up. High levels of cortisol lead to blood sugar imbalance which inevitably leads to insulin imbalance. Insulin and cortisol will then work together to deposit fat, especially around your middle.

Toxicity in the body

The level of toxicity we’re regularly exposed to from pollution, chemicals in beauty products and even food packaging puts phenomenal pressure on your liver. The liver is designed to detoxify your body naturally and keep everything in balance. The more pressure on the liver to detoxify the less it will metabolise fat and the more it will focus on getting toxins out of your system. When your liver’s stressed it will send toxins to be stored in your fat cells and the body can’t burn those fat cells.

So you see there is so much more to weight loss than counting calories. In fact counting calories is not particularly helpful at all. If you want to lose weight and lose weight for good you need to look at the type of food you’re consuming, understand your unique hormone imbalance and work on reducing the toxicity in your body.