You know when kids go away to university and come home all chunked out, they call it the Freshman 40. Well, I’m calling this my Winter 10. It’s a bit of a misnomer because I’m pretty sure I had my ‘winter 10’ during all of last summer. But who’s counting? Aside from my husband. Seriously, I don’t like it. It’s got to go.
So why is it so hard to drop that last 5/10 pounds? What-is-the-deal? Even my skinny friends now say they have 10 pounds to lose. And the guys do too! Why is it so hard? I’m about to tell you. And I’m about to give you my work around.
I know what you’re thinking, “If it works, why aren’t you skinny?” Because I only just figured this out smart-ass. It’s a process, through research, school, time. And the book that helped me figure this out is called, The Cortisol Connection. If you like this topic, get yourself a copy.
Basically, when you get older it’s harder to lose weight thanks to cortisol, our main stress hormone, alongside adrenalin. Cortisol sends blood sugar through your veins. It tells the body to release glycogen stores from the cells, i.e. glucose, sugar. If there were an emergency to tend to, like a saber tooth tiger or a car accident, the effects of cortisol would be well used, high blood sugar pumped ever so quickly to large muscle groups. Perfect for a sprint.
However, these days, the cortisol pumps for nearly any stressor: sitting still, in our cars, at our desks, having a conversation, cooking dinner, watching the news –if you’re stressed, and worried about time, or a recent argument, the sugar flows. Eventually insulin, also part of the process, comes to “save the day” by telling your cells to take the glucose back, get it out of the blood stream. It’s getting sticky in here! And when we are chronically stressed, as is typical in the 21st Century, and eating the Standard American Diet (a lot of highly refined carbs) the body’s systems stop working per design, and all that sugar causes insulin resistance, a precursor to diabetes type 2.
Chronic stress is a little like eating a glazed donut with sprinkles, all day.
Eventually the body stores this excess blood sugar as fat, and we literally grow around the waist and the liver. Muffin top, pot-belly, menopausal weight, age-weight—it doesn’t have to be that way. Over time, even if we could get a handle on our blood sugar, our fat cells store cortisol and have an enzyme, HSD, that will activate this dormant cortisol, from the fat cell just cause, causing this vicious cycle to continue. Welcome to 10 pounds of buttery frustration.
Maybe not the most scientific explanation, just know that stress, cortisol and your fat cells are working against you in the goal to lose weight. I know, Work with me people!
Even if you think you’re not stressed, your body may not agree, you may be just a good coper, like me. So what’s the answer to drop those 5-10? And I don’t mean drop and give me 10, because you won’t lose weight doing a couple push-ups. It comes down to diet. Then supplements. Then exercise.
The good news? I’m not going to tell you to lower your stress. That will just stress you out. Let’s get your nutrients balanced first. Five rather simple steps.
Step 1: To lose weight, you need to (at least in the very short-term) eliminate sugar, alcohol, coffee, refined carbs, fruit juice and any crap like MSG. It’s a neurotoxin and will throw your chemistry off. These stimulants pack on the pounds and keep your system sticky with glucose.
Step 2: Eat the rainbow. Kids love this. Tons of vegetables and some fruit. Add fermented foods to enhance digestion and balance microflora. Balance your proteins with your veggies. Eat an egg. Don’t be scared of high quality fats like avocados or brazil nuts.
Step 3: Take these supplements:
1) B-complex, that means it has all the B Vitamins, whole food based. I use Garden of Life, Vitamin Code, Raw B Complex.
2) Vitamin C, the real stuff, sourced from cherries, camu camu also good. Take one dose in the morning and one around dinner.
**You can not take too much B or C Vitamins (folate is the exception), as they are water soluble and you’ll just pee out excess.
3) Magnesium and Calcium – these minerals are seriously depleted in times of stress.
4) Omega 3s or Fish oil. Look at my very first post on my Top 6 Supplements – it’s all there.
**You may also consider supplements for targeted cortisol control – ask your naturopath, as there are herbs and specific amino acids that can help you, but it’s a personal thing.
5) Finally, consider an adaptogen like ashwagandha or kava kava or an adaptogenic complex. I’ll talk more about that in part 2.
Step 4: Exercise. Not hellacious iron woman type exercise either, that’ll raise cortisol. Go hiking, swimming, biking, yoga, some intervals within this is great.
Step 5: Some stress management is key. Get an outlet, could even just be a group of friends. Or learning to breathe deeply, diaphragm breathing, any chance you get.
Ok, that’s Part 1. I know you want to start losing now, and you will, but first you must work for balance in your body. My tricks for losing weight a little quicker next episode.
xo Shannon PS. Click on the YouTube button below to see the video version of this blog.