It Is All A Simple Math Problem

Wouldn't it be nice if the body worked like a math problem!?

It is all simple math:
One pound of fat equals 3500 calories
To lose this one pound you need to eliminate 3500 calories
Do this over a period of one week by decreasing your caloric intake by 500 calories daily
After one week, you should have lost one pound

But does this work? Is it really a simple math equation? Ask yourself, has it worked for you? Have you dieted and dieted, counting calories, starving yourself and yet not lose weight? That is because the body is not a simple math equation. It is very complex, complicated and there are many, many factors involved in losing weight.

Let's talk about some of these.
Calories in vs calories out and why this doesn't work:
Weight lose is not as much about eating less and starving the body. Weight lose comes down to hormone control and nourishing the body. It is about controlling your master hormone, insulin. When insulin levels are high, you will store fat because insulin signals the cells to store fat, one of it's many rolls in the body. If you are eating a high carb diet, anything over 150 grams of carbs, you are consuming what the body sees as sugar and therefor must produce insulin to take care of this sugar. If the sugar was to stay in the blood stream, it would cause great damage to the body. This mass production of insulin takes the sugar out of the blood stream and also triggers the body to store and create fat.

We tend to think of weight lose as needing to deprive the body and cut out foods that contain fat and starve the body by decreasing food intake. This never works. When we under consume our requirements for calories and nourishment, we signal to the body a time of great famine, just as if we lived before modern times with an abundance of food. Our cells do not know or understand we are only trying to lose weight. This self made "famine" triggers the body to hold onto calories and the little you are eating, it needs to keep you alive. When this is coupled with over exercising, we create and even greater caloric deficit, which makes the problem even worse. So, under eating and over exercising is not the answer, this defeats your goal of weight lose and puts the body at great risk of malnourishment.

Over exercising doesn't work either. You cannot out exercise what you ate. Our hormones do not work that way, weight lose doesn't work that way. When you are exercising too much, you over stress the body, creating a greater need for more nutrition, not less. The body does not want to take that energy need, calories, from it's fat stores. The body needs those stores due to the "famine" you continue to create by not eating enough and over exhorting yourself. If you do not eat enough, you create even more stress and the body hangs onto what little you give it. Even worse, the body will take from your muscles and nutrient stores to give you the nourishment you need before digging into fat stores. It is all about survival, your body wants you to live and it is programmed to do that. Exercising creates more nutrients requirements.

Better options:
We always need to think of nourishing the body first, remember the famine scenario? Eating whole foods, full of the vitamins, minerals and nutrients the body needs to function and thrive will do this. By giving the cells and genes this nourishment, our genetics, cells and therefore bodies will begin to thrive optimally. Creating an amazing body.

Healthy fats nourish the body. Fats are not only a great source of energy, long, stable energy, but they are also some of the most nutrient dense foods we can consume. We find more vitamins and minerals in fat than we do in most other foods. All of our fat soluble vitamins, A,D,E, and K are needed by the body to function properly. Without fat or very low fat diets, below 30% of calories, we do not get these all important nutrients, along with SO many more healthy fat provides. In fact, fat is needed by the body to uptake the nutrients found in veggies and fruits which are important for having a nourished body. Do not be afraid of fat and nourishing the body.

Fat has very little impact on insulin levels as well. When we keep insulin levels stable, not only are we triggering our bodies to burn fat for fuel, think about the stored body fat, we will have more stable energy levels. You will also sleep better, have better brain function, less brain fog, achy joints become a thing of the past, and other nagging health issues begin to go away. Fat is your friend.

The solution, eat more healthy fats and less carbs, not no carb, just less.
With that in mind, foods to focus on:
butter, of course,
full fat dairy products
whole eggs
fattier cuts of meat
organ meats
coconut oil
coconut milk and cream
avocados
olive oil

Decrease foods that will spike your insulin levels:
sugar
processed foods
candy
sugary drinks
do not rely on grains, oats, rice as the base of your diet, some can be very healthy, based on your body and genetics
do not over consume heavy carb veggies, potatoes and squashes, eat what you need, after your fat and protein for your energy and body needs

Yes, this is a simple version of a healthier lifestyle, but really, it does not need to be complicated. Focus on nourishing the body first. Love your body, Give it what it needs to thrive. Do not over exercise. Sleep. Live to your fullest. One day, you might wake up and realize, you have an amazing body!

Saving the world one stick of butter at a time.
God bless,
Jenn