Confused About How To Lose Weight?
Here are 6 Things You MUST prioritize
1. Calorie Deficit – you must consume fewer calories than your body burns! To calculate, do this: multiply goal bodyweight X 12 (example 150lbs X12 = 1,800 kcal) This gives you a good starting point and you may have to adjust as you go. Make adjustments based on metabolic adaptation. Example: If you lose 10 lbs you now need to adjust your calorie intake in order to lose more… just keep doing the math! Hack: start eating off of lunch-size plates instead of dinner plates! We strongly suggest downloading CARBONAPP BY DR. LAYNE NORTON to help you track (much better than myfitnesspal or any other app)
2. PROTEIN INTAKE – to build & retain muscle and to help you reduce hunger. To calculate how much you need daily do this: multiply your goal bodyweight x 1 (for example, if you want to ideally weigh 120lbs X 1 = 120g protein daily is needed) If that blows you away and seems high then multiply by no less than 0.8. For the first 2 weeks actually weigh your protein portions to train you in how big your portions should be. Do your best to spread your protein throughout the day (not all at 1 meal).
3. Strength training – for muscle definition and overall strength target 2 – 4 x per week at least 30 minutes up to 45 minutes each session. Focus on progressive overload (getting stronger and increasing weight or reps over time) and ensuring you do the reps close to failure ( that means getting to the point where you almost can’t do the final rep with good form). Never do past that point with bad form!
4. SLEEP/STRESS – ensure recovery. Don’t lift weights every single day, manage cravings and energy levels. Target at least 7 – 9 hours of actual sleep per night. Both stress and sleep influence fat loss. Remove drama-filled people and A&&HOLES from your life.
5. NEAT / CARDIO – find enjoyable ways to stay active. NEAT stands for “Non-exercise activity thermogenesis”. This is the energy expended for everything we do that is not sleeping, eating or sports-like exercise. It ranges from the energy expended walking to work, typing, performing yard work, undertaking agricultural tasks, and fidgeting. Cardio is a tool but not required for fat loss. It’s still important so make sure you get your steps in every day.
6. Balance HORMONES for YOUR body: Insulin, Cortisol, Progesterone, DHEA, Free Testosterone, Estradiol, TSH, Free T3, Free T4, Reverse T3, SHBG, Pregnenolone. Balance as naturally as you can with diet and natural bio-identical hormones. (We utilize saliva testing for accuracy)
DO THE BASICS!
There is a literal flood of info on social media every single day screaming at you to take this supplement or do this program… as if to lose weight and get stronger there “MUST BE A SECRET”.
YES… there IS a secret! It’s called DOING THE BASICS!
If you’re NOT doing the 6 basic steps above then quit looking for some other “thing” that’s going to magically pull the weight off of you and build your muscles. It ain’t gonna happen. You have to put the work in consistently. Not when you feel like it and not just on weekends and not just some of the time.
Do the work. Get the Results. Be CONSISTENT!
As you age you might need just a few supplements:
Creatine monohydrate – 5 grams & Taurine – 2000mg to facilitate bone, muscle growth & exercise recovery! (you can purchase these on amazon.)
B complex – methylated form is best (our ACTIVE complex)
Multivitamin – without crap fillers and tons of adaptogens and herbs (our FOUNDATION multi vitamin)
Iodine – 12.5mcg (our Iodoral)
Magnesium – bisglycinate is my favorite -our REGULATOR) 3-6 nightly to help unwind
Vitamin D3 – get tested and monitor (this is actually a hormone; our IMMUNITY product)
Omega 3 or good fatty acid (our MAINTAIN)
Probiotic – (Our ALIVE and GLP-1 probiotics are 2 that are ideal) …take 1 of each daily!
CREATINE monohydrate – If you’re over 40 and / or work out a lot (which you SHOULD) you need 5gr of creatine. We recommend the brand CREAPURE or CREAVITALIS from Germany as the highest quality purest form.
Taurine – 1000-2000mg daily
AND LAST but not least: get onto natural hormones based on proper testing!
Not all supplements are created equal. We have worked for over 25 years and carry the highest quality at the best price for our clients and always based it on their individual needs. There are lots of companies offering quality supplements. Just ensure you work with someone who knows what the heck they are talking about and don’t just buy off the shelf because YOU thought it was good. Clients come in daily with bags of junk to show me. I don’t ever expect every client to buy only from us. That is not my viewpoint at all… I just want to ensure that you get your 6 BASICS in and only supplement based on proper testing.
Weight gain and Weight loss During Peri-Menopause and Menopause
IT’S NOT YOUR HORMONES MAKING YOU FAT!
Menopause and hormonal changes do not cause you to gain weight or stop you from being able to lose weight. It IS a bit more difficult… sure… you’re getting older!
What we know for a fact is that lifestyle choices will still override menopausal changes in the body and it is understood that making those lifestyle choices is difficult.
We know that lean mass decreases and fat mass increases in menopause (PMID:34898344) But… these same changes appear similar with age regardless of menopause status (PMID: 37265230). What I mean by that is: that body composition changes similarly across the years of menopause as it does during aging in adult women who have not reached menopause.
We do know that lean mass declines with aging and that does affect the basal metabolic rate. Basal metabolic rate (BMR) and lean mass (LM) both decrease due to decreased physical activity (PMID: 37265230 & 34802032).
If a woman CONSISTENTLY does resistance training and regular exercise it has been clinically proven to PREVENT the decline in lean mass. (PMID: 20019638). This particular study showed that over a 6-year follow-up that menopausal women who strictly adhered to a resistance training program and regular exercise had NO INCREASES in fat! It clearly shows that they did not gain fat, did not lose lean mass, and had no changes in basal metabolic rate! So… while hormonal changes may not inherently affect BMR, that doesn’t mean fat loss isn’t more challenging. It is.
To lose fat you HAVE to create an energy deficit (energy expenditure has to be more than caloric intake). Sure… this does become more difficult during menopause for a number of reasons.
First… energy levels drop ((PMID: 34802032). Now you can scream and yell all you want that “That isn’t true! I exercise the same as or more than when I was younger!” – but physical activity isn’t just exercise… physical activity energy expenditure is exercise AND non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT).
NEAT is spontaneous physical activity and unconscious movements throughout the day that you aren’t aware of doing such as dieting and pacing. NEAT is NOT purposeful physical activity. You do it without realizing it.
Hormonal changes can make women feel far more fatigued and even though they may still exercise like when they were younger, they don’t spontaneously move as much due to fatigue throughout the day. NEAT can vary up to 2000 Kcal/day between individuals of similar size! (PMID: NBJ279077). Not only that but menopausal changes may also increase appetite (PMID: 34065065).
So what does all this add up to? This means that without realizing it your energy expenditure is reduced by menopause-induced fatigue and your calorie intake may increase due to a higher increase in appetite and snacking.
With all that stated… the RULES of weight loss still apply. They don’t change. Yes, lifestyle changes may be a bit harder or a lot harder to implement but they can still be done. Resistance training + higher protein + high fiber (removing processed foods) can help you to hold on to lean mass and maintain strong basal metabolic rate. Staying purposefully physically active (tracking your steps, and keeping a consistent exercise schedule) can offset the decrease in NEAT. Calories in Calories out… still is the name of the game…
BOTTOM LINE: In order to lose weight, you must be in a calorie deficit. Many people were claiming they were in a deficit & didn’t lose weight, but these clients by DEFINITION were not in a deficit if they didn’t lose weight. You might have eaten in what you THOUGHT was a deficit but if you didn’t lose weight over time, it wasn’t a deficit.
The confusion stems from a few places:
1) People are BAD at tracking their calories accurately. On average people underreport by 30-50% from what they actually eat & overreport their physical activity by ~50% (PMID: 1454084)
2) People overestimate the calories burned from exercise. For example, ‘smart’ watches overestimate calories burned during exercise by 28-93% (PMID: 32897239)
3) People weigh in sporadically. Day-to-day weigh-ins are far more influenced by fluid dynamics than actual mass gain/loss. If you aren’t weighing in regularly, first thing in the morning, on the same scale, & comparing weekly averages, you have no clue what is happening with your weight. You could weigh in starting a diet at a weight, then a week later weigh 1 lb more & claim ‘a deficit didn’t work’ when if you’d weighed daily you’d see overall your average is down & you just weighed on a high fluctuation. Don’t psych yourself out of the game!
4) You did an online calculator that told you a calorie amount was a deficit & you didn’t lose weight. Or you’re using a bunch of different sources for info on calorie count and portions. Choose one and stick to it!
5.) Calorie leaks. This is where little hidden calories creep in and you ignore their impact: the salad dressing you used on your salad, the creamer to your coffee, the ranch dip for your veggies, the cheese on your pizza or the sugar added to your drink or sauce. It all adds up and can account for up to 1000 extra calories a day not accounted for.
What is more likely going on? You are violating the laws of thermodynamics or maybe it’s one of these. I know… it sucks. You THOUGHT you were doing everything right. But your measurements were not accurate (eating more calories than you thought or not moving as much as you thought). Just follow the law and be consistent.
Check out our amazing probiotic blend to curb cravings!
How Does SLEEP Impact Weight Loss?
Let’s say you are trying to manage your weight or you’re dieting to lose weight but you’re not getting sufficient sleep…
Yes… you can still lose weight BUT (and it’s rather a big ‘BUT’) the problem is that almost 60% of the weight you lose will come from lean muscle mass and not FAT! In other words when you are “under-slept” and dieting you keep what you’re trying to lose, which of course is the FAT… but you lose what you want to keep which is lean body muscle!
Your body does something interesting in its removal of different types of energy stores in your body when you have not slept well. It becomes very stingy with fat and will not give it up when you’re sleep deprived.
The reason for this is: muscle is such a metabolically demanding tissue that by not sleeping well you’re sending signals that there isn’t a capacity to take care of what you already have so it lowers your body’s muscle tissue.
If you’re “under slept” that is a literal warning sign to any species that things are dire and whatever has the higher level of energy stores (fat) I’m going to hold on to in order to save me! And I’ll give away the stuff (muscle tissue) that doesn’t have as much caloric value (energy) comparatively.
So sleep is VITAL to a weight loss of FAT!
Turn off your electronics, and only use your bed for sleep or sex (not watching tv or playing on the computer). Get sunlight or bright light first thing when you wake up. Stop eating 3 hours before bedtime. Make sure you’re getting enough protein in your diet. Avoid caffeine after 12 noon. Turn your temperature down to 67 or 68 degrees. Ensure your bedroom is dark (no lights at all). Journal before bed and list all the positive things that happened that day. Don’t bother with supplements unless all of those fundamentals are in.
If all of your fundamentals are truly in … then ensure your hormones are well balanced (testosterone, progesterone and estrogen are KEY as is cortisol).
And lastly, you can now get with a good practitioner to help you find out what vitamins minerals / amino acids / probiotics your specific body might need to help you sleep more soundly and curb those cravings
You are NEVER BEYOND HOPE!
Give us a call and we CAN help you. Office Phone: 337-989-0572
Check out our amazing probiotic blend to curb cravings!
Legal: The information provided is not intended as a means of diagnosis or treating illness or as a replacement for any medicine or advice from a competent physician. Individuals having serious health problems should consult a competent licensed physician specializing in their condition. The FDA has not evaluated these statements. We assume no responsibility for anyone choosing to self-administer any suggestions in this publication; they do so on their own determinism. The information in this publication is for educational purposes only.
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