This week, we wanted to discuss a few non-food related reasons that you may not be losing weight on a paleo diet. Also, check out our recipe for a spinach bacon quiche with a sweet potato crust and other office happenings. Enjoy!
 

Inflammation:

There are two kinds of inflammation in the body, acute and chronic. Acute inflammation is a healthy response to an injury. For example, when you break a bone, you will experience inflammation as a defense response caused by increased blood flow to the injury site resulting in an accumulation of fluid. Chronic inflammation on the other hand, is a low-grade, systemic issue that causes consistent damage to the tissues throughout the body. Chronic inflammation occurs when the tissues can't recover from the effects of the injuring agent. In order to lose weight, you must combat inflammation in the body or it will be nearly impossible to remove excess pounds. First, we need to identify inflammatory triggers. This can include eating healthy fats like avocados and coconut oil, adding probiotics and eating probiotic rich foods (like sauerkraut or kimchi), and by adding a fish oil supplement or L-glutamine to naturally reduce inflammation. Also, give yourself time to heal. Reducing inflammation is a long process. Be patient with yourself. 
 

Stress:

We have all heard this thousands of times, but it is incredibly important to reduce stress levels not just for weight loss, but for overall health and well-being. It is easy in our society to wear our stress as a badge of honor. "I am so busy/important and I prove that by being stressed!" At the very least, we tend to accept stress as an inevitable state of being. Here's a tough truth to swallow. You can't lose weight when you are stressed! Why? Stress causes an increase in cortisol levels, which in turn increases your blood sugar. This is caused by an increase in insulin levels (in response to sugar levels), which is released from the pancreas. This triggers the body to store the sugar as fat. For more on this topic, check out our blog post about the effects of chronic stress on the body. http://rejuvenatewellnesscenter.com/blog/b_60729_effects_of_chronic_stress_on_the_body.html. How do you combat this physiological response to stress? With stress-reducing practices...take a bath, a walk, a yoga or Pilates class, or time for meditation each day. Making the choice to take time for yourself each day to manage stress, will in turn help you to manage your waistline. 
 

Gut Health: 

If there is one truth to embrace, it's that the gut is the root of good health. You can't tackle any other health concerns in the body until the gut is healthy and balanced. What does this mean? It is critical that in addition to eating all the right foods, you also have to be able to digest these foods in order to extract the crucial nutrients.  Improper absorption can be caused by an infection in the gut, stress, use of antibiotics, poor sleep, inflammation, etc. First, address any fungal, bacterial, parasitic, or viral infections in the gut. You can ask Dr P to check for infections at you next visit. Second, you can increase probiotics, L-glutamine, and fish oil to assist the growth of good bacteria.
 

Thyroid Function:

The thyroid is a small gland located in the back of the neck, shaped like a butterfly. It is acknowledged as the master of metabolism. An under-performing thyroid can cause chronic fatigue, mood swings, anxiety, cold hands and feet, constipation, dry skin/hair/nails, or mental fog.  If you suspect that you could be in need of thyroid support, you can test hormone levels during your next round of blood work. 
 

Sleep:

We know that getting enough sleep is an important component of a healthy lifestyle, but how does sleep relate to weight loss? Insufficient sleep can cause insulin resistance and can lead to hormonal imbalances which prevent weight loss. What is our favorite trick for a night of restful sleep? Calm magnesium powder! Magnesium helps our muscles to relax which can aid in sleep. Also, some studies have shown that Magnesium helps to reduce cortisol levels as well. 

Supplements:

Supplements boost your metabolism by filling in the gaps in nutrition, or by supporting your bodies natural methylation and detox pathways. Finding the proper balance in supplementation (which, by the way, changes as your body adapts and heals), can help you to achieve optimal metabolism. We all have individual needs and deficiencies. This is why Dr P utilizes muscle testing during appointments to determine individual need.
 

Exercising Too Much (or too little):

Exercising makes you lose weight, right? While exercising is a critical component to weight loss, over-exercising (intense exercise, or extreme Cross-Fit style workout plans) can have an adverse effect on many bodies. Earlier, we spoke about the adverse effects of chronic inflammation in the body. Over-exercising can cause chronic inflammation and water retention in the muscles if you don't allow for proper recovery time. Water retention = extra weight and ill-fitting clothes. Exercising too much can also negatively affect your cortisol levels because it’s so stressful on your body. As we already discussed, increased cortisol levels inhibit weight loss. Conversely, if you’re not exercising at all, or doing small quantities of low impact exercise, your body could be craving movement! Sometimes a bit of intense weight lifting, sprints, or some kind of higher intensity training is just what your muscle fibers need to get things moving and stabilize insulin levels. This varies from body-to-body. Listen to yours! We are more intuitive than we give ourselves credit for. :)
 

Food Sensitivities:

Once again, we circle back to inflammation. Eating foods that you are allergic or sensitive to, will cause chronic inflammation and bacterial overgrowth in the gut. There is a reason that Dr P tests for food sensitivities during your first appointment. This is also why you start the program with a soup cleanse to eliminate foods that can cause adverse effects in the body.