If You Want to Lose Weight, It Starts With Your Gut

When it comes to weight loss, most of the advice offered by health experts today is based on information that was discovered decades ago. However, as in any other area, new advances have been discovered when it comes to our weight and the factors that influence it. One of the factors that we discuss in our new book Fat-Me-Not: Weight Loss Diet of the Future is that if you want to lose weight, you’ve got to change your gut. 
The Link Between Your Gut and Your Weight
Now, if this is something new to you, then you may be wondering what your gut has to do with your weight. To make a rather complex subject easier to understand, you must first realize that your gut is loaded with a variety of different bacteria (collectively called the microbiome). Although bacteria may sound like a bad thing, certain types of bacteria actually serve a very relevant and positive purpose within your body.
 
For instance, they help strengthen your immune system, aid in the control of cholesterol levels, protect you from vitamin deficiencies, prevent diseases and infections, and more. They also affect your weight, with some types of bacteria being beneficial to weight loss and others making it harder to shed excess weight, thus making the process more difficult than necessary, if not completely impossible. How?
 
Based on which bacteria are in your gut, different hormones are secreted that tell your brain different things. For example, if your stomach secretes ghrelin, it tells your brain to increase your appetite, and if it secretes NPY, it tells it to up your food intake. However, if your gut (specifically, your intestines) releases CCK, your brain tells your body to stop eating and your appetite is reduced. Other hormones, such as PYY and OXM decrease your appetite as well, which makes it easier to lose weight when they are released.
 
So, what influences your microbiome, or your gut bacteria? The microbiome in your particular system is based on factors such as your diet when you were little, the foods you eat now, any antibiotics you take, your stress levels, and whether or not you have various infections. So, as you can see, some of the choices you make in your life right this moment—from the foods you eat to how you deal with stress—can greatly impact your ability to achieve your weight loss goals.
 
How to Change Your Gut for Maximum Weight Loss
The number one thing you need to remember when it comes to changing your gut bacteria for maximum weight loss is that you can’t make short term changes and expect long term results. In other words, you need to tend to your gut bacteria continuously if you want it to secrete the hormones that make weight loss easier and more effective from your brain’s standpoint. One way to do this is by eating a well-balanced diet.
 
This means that eating a diet low in carbs or fat isn’t going to help you, as both will cause your gut to release the hormones that will tell your brain that you are hungry or that you need more food. In fact, if you are on either of these types of diet, you will find that you crave foods that aren’t good for you (think fatty and processed foods that are void of nutrients), thus making it more difficult to lose weight.
 
On the other hand, when you eat a diet that contains foods from all of the food groups, with a concentration toward high fiber foods, your microbiome has more fat-inhibiting bacteria. This changes your cravings as well, making you naturally desire healthier foods, such as those high in fiber and with greater amounts of vitamins and minerals. How great is that?
 
Another key factor that will help promote healthy gut bacteria involves eating the right amount of food. This means watching your portions, such as when using the HYPERLINK “http://www.slimplatesystem.com/slimplate-system”SlimPlateHYPERLINK “http://www.slimplatesystem.com/slimplate-system” System, to ensure that you get enough food without eating too much.
 
And don’t forget that stress is a factor that influences your gut bacteria as well. So, take the time to regularly de-stress by doing things that bring you joy. Go on walks to clear your head or turn on the music and just dance. Forget about life for a while and do what makes you happy.
 
To learn more about how to promote the growth of bacteria that supports weight loss versus hindering it, read Fat-Me-Not: Weight Loss Diet of the Future. Its modern approach based on recent research can help provide better results in your journey to the new, skinnier you.