Why do you fluctu-weight?
Inflammation can happen in minutes, whether it is caused by stress, dehydration, a bad night of sleep, negative thoughts or nachos from the baseball game. How can you support your body and help your rings or your waistband to not feel so tight?
Our bodies are brilliant and creates a set point in which your body is programmed to weigh and will fight to maintain that weight to create homeostasis. AND good news it CAN change! At your ideal set point weight, fat cells produce a given amount of leptin, (Leptin interacts with areas of the brain that control hunger and eating behavior) which maintains the internal energy balance needed for necessary cellular function and proper weight management. In most healthy adults, changes in body weight will trigger changes in leptin, causing appetite to either increase when body fat falls or decrease when body fat rises. However, in some susceptible individuals this energy-balance system seems to malfunction.
Dr. Christiane Northrup says it best, you can gain 3 liquid pounds in one day from any of these factors plus heaps more.
- Stress
- Dehydration
- Malnutrition & Processed foods
- Eating our emotions and emotional distress
- Medications
- Poor sleeping habits
- Digestive issues
- HORMONES:) Which shift every 7 years!
- High simple carbohydrate meals
- Food allergies
- Thyroid and Immune System Issues
Before you go into ultra reactive stress mode, try these tips to help clear the inflammation as quick as possible.
- Switch up your quantity and quality of food: EAT MORE for a couple of days. Try adding in heaps of raw veggies or have an extra serving of sweet potato. Just like when you need to hydrate your skin, you add extra quality moisturizer, when you add in more quality food this will saturate your cells. Initially after eating more you will balance your blood sugar and give your brain and other organs the glucose it has been needing. This will also support your body to turn off the famine (fat storing) switch and turn on your fat burning switch.
- Increase your water intake: Try a water challenge by adding in 50 oz of water by noon or 75 oz by 3 pm. This will help your lungs, kidney and bladder release toxins and water retention.
- Add in extra Potassium and Magnesium: Add in foods that are dense in these minerals. When you go to the grocery store, grab these first: spinach (cooked), almonds, quinoa, black beans, coconut water and dried apricots.
- Add in stretching or a new movement routine: Try to wake up and stretch first thing in the morning or before you go to bed. This can support your circulation and lymphatic system to reboot upon waking or before sleep. Another idea is to try an activity you have never done before. Whether it is something you have always been curious about or use to love to do like jumping jacks, lunges or jump rope. I personally tried kettle bell swings consistently for 3 months, and felt stronger during my yoga classes and swimming.
- Decrease your sodium intake: The most recent Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend limiting your daily sodium intake to less than 2,300 milligrams per day, which is equal to about one teaspoon or six grams. I love my sea slat but when I try this, I can taste the natural flavor of whole foods.
- Add in new or change up your supplements: Try taking them at different times of the day or switch up the amount. If you have been wanting to add in a new supplement, this may help your body get over the plateau. Some examples are; alpha-lipoic acid, cinnamon capsules, higher doses of Vitamin C, Vitamin D3 (balances hormones) and different combinations of B-vitamins.
- Throw in a curve ball: Whether it is a gratitude practice for your body, visualizations, meditations, breath work or a change in your routine, your body knows best and there is a reason it is holding on. By shifting your consciousness and perspective can change your outcomes and results.
Let us know if any of these support you and what has helped you jump over your personal plateaus!
Let’s be fluctu-GREAT,
Heather Fleming, C.C.N
P.S. Speaking of experimenting, I tried these bean burgers and surprisingly turned out great! Please subscribe to my YouTube channel to receive new videos!
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