There is one thing you can do when you lost the control over what you eat and can not exercise enough to burn that extra! Yes, you read it right, for the first time science has come up with something so easy and free to do, when you are in that super guilty mood!!
RELAX, BREATHE AND BURN!
Have you ever come from a holiday, ate more then usual yet you have not gain as much as you’ve expected? What is one thing, that is different we do when we are on a holiday? RELAX! You live and eat slower, take longer times to eat and your mind is not busy with the next report you have to write or client you have to see or the cooking, homework for kids to be finished!
Well, the good news is there is science behind it now, showing that the slower you eat, that faster you metabolize! When we relax we move from chronic sympathetic dominance (the part of nervous system that activates the stress response and suppresses digestive activity) to a parasympathetic state (the part of nervous system which relaxes the body and activates digestion) and our frame of mind has the power to change the metabolism to such degree that we can eat more and yet lose weight! How cool is that?
I am reading this great book calledThe Slow Down Diet by Marc David,which explains in detail how important it is to slow down, in order to have a healthy body, loose and sustain weight. Marc David is the founder of Institute of Psychology of Eating and a leading visionary and teacher in nutrition and eating psychology. You can find many useful articles and videos in their website on the effect of psychology on eating disorders.
So, the more relaxed and slowed down you are, the more oxygen you get into your body and that helps enormously to metabolise what you eat. On the reverse case, if you eat fast plus do not pay attention to what you eat (awareness and mindfulness), the body does not have enough oxygen to burn the calories and the brain does not register what you ate and keeps asking for more food! So, next time when you eat, sit down, look into your food, take deep breaths in between and stop looking at your mobile or TV please!
BURNING FAT VERSUS GLUCOSE
And it is not only him who tells us to slow down to burn more, there are other scientists and researches that prove that. One of them is Dr.Libby and she also has lots of articles and studies on how stress effects the life of, especially women, as they are highly multi-tasked in this modern world. Her Tedx talk is very inspiring in this area, Here is the one where she explains how you can not burn fat if you are always stressed or keep adrenalin high with too much coffee and tea (i.e. caffein)! A quote from this article:
” When we live on adrenalin we tend not to sleep restoratively, crave (and give in and eat!) sugar despite our best intentions, and find it harder andharder to utilise stored body fat as a fuel,instead burning glucose.Yet when we primarily burn glucose as a fuel (instead of body fat), because it is our “get out of danger” fuel, the body can’t risk the glucose fuel tank getting too low so the desire for sweet food gets switched on… hello harsh self-talk when you give in to your sweet cravings even though you said you wouldn’t.” Dr.Libby
She gives examples from her own life where start losing fat even though she stopped running for marathon and started doing only relaxing sports and keep eating the same way! The only difference was her level of stress and this is how she started investigating how this effects the weight loss in ur bodies.
So, hearing and reading it from different sources and knowing the wisdom of many cultures who encourages you to meditate, pray, do relaxing-recharging activities or just slow down, I do hope you spend more time in relaxation and getting rid of toxic thoughts.
I DO EVERYTHING RIGHT BUT WHY AM I NOT LOOSING WEIGHT?
Sometimes you really do things right, eat well and exercise, yet still can not get rid of the excess fat in your body. Well, in that case, check with your mood and level of stress and caffein consumption. If you are doing highly demanding exercises, don’t forget to add a relaxing one like yoga and meditation. Sleep more (no less then 7-8 hours) so that the next day you have the right mood and level of energy to burn fat and have the patience for dealing with life! Your level of insulin is highly effected by your mood and the more stressful you are the more insulin will be pumped up the excess of that will turn into fat again!
Of course you make sure that you get your daily dose of fibres and nutrients from vegetables and fruits, protein from healthy sources, preferable more the plant ones (e.g. legumes like lentils, beans, etc), lower and make it more complex when it comes to carbs (like whole grains) and healthy fats like nuts, seeds and avocado. Add lots of water to this equation to hydrate enough. Do your daily exercise and spare time for relaxing, breathing and sleeping. Feel and show your love and gratitude as often as you can. Do things you really love. Then watch the magic happening!
So again, it is not a as easy as taking a pill or making a crash diet, yet it is absolutely the right and sustainable way to stay healthy and slim!
Please ask me and write me more if you have any questions and comments .
