Health Matters in 2020
Everyone wants to be healthy in 2020!  January begins our serious health-promoting efforts. At the top of the list for many is weight. Why? Because the doctor says so, the mirror says so, and we say so! Unfortunately, efforts to control weight, or bring it back into control, are difficult. The elusive 10-15 pound weight loss comes off with more effort than was required to gain it!

The Complicating Factor and Winter Blues
What complicates this for us in January is guilt! Yep, guilt. We are finished with the holidays, and many of us feel guilty. Why? Because while the holidays were either great or not great, we, unfortunately, ate things we regret.  Regret leads to guilt, guilt leads to shame, shame leads to giving up, giving up leads to depression and the winter blues.

My answer to this is, STOP! Stop this thinking! Hopefully, you enjoyed the holiday. Even if you gained some weight, you can enjoy today by thinking differently. Allow yourself the privilege of starting over! This is “forgiveness living,” and it releases you from a shame-based mindset that sets the stage for failure, not success. Forgive yourself, accept the results of your holiday choices, and continue again on your health journey.

My Hat Goes Off to You
If your journey involves a weight loss program of small or large magnitude, my hat goes off to you! This is no small task, which involves many things from nutrition, exercise, sleep, and stress reduction. Where do you begin?

Strategy Begins Here
Begin with the next simple, right thing. Begin with hydration, which often helps clarify true hunger cues. We often mistake thirst for hunger and then eat to satisfy thirst! So, hydrate yourself instead.

Next, make a plan. No one size fits all when it comes to anything, including a weight loss. That’s why we shouldn’t compare ourselves to someone else. If something is working for someone, great, but don’t think everyone needs the same thing.

That being said, here are two simple principles that apply and can be helpful.
1) Reduce calories (eat less than you want). Commit to ½ portions. Commit to fueling your body, not over-fueling.
2) Increase or continue regular exercise.

Another approach that works for many is intuitive eating. This involves listening to what your body needs. Respond properly to your body’s cues for thirst, hunger, nutrients, and distinguish these from emotional, environmental, and social triggers that lead you to overeat.

This might sound like the same old advice! And you might protest, “Doesn’t work for me!” In a way, much weight loss involves the same tried and true principles, but it is also complicated.

Insulin Resistance
One of the things that complicate weight loss is insulin resistance. If you have ever been told you have insulin resistance or any number of health issues related to it (Pre-diabetes, Type 2 Diabetes, Metabolic Syndrome, PCOS, etc.), weight loss for you is more complicated than just restricting calories or cutting back. Let’s see how insulin works and how it facilitates weight gain.

Insulin is one of the major hormones that regulate our blood sugar. It escorts any carbohydrate we eat into our cells to be used for energy. To regulate blood sugar, insulin pushes sugar (glucose) into our cells and stores the glucose as fat. Without insulin, the sugar stays in the blood, our blood sugar becomes dangerously high, and our cells starve for energy.  

The problem is that our bodies can become resistant to insulin’s effects. When this happens, our body senses the resistance and produces more insulin. As insulin climbs, it stores more sugar as fat. It actually locks the fat down so it can’t be used for energy. As if this isn’t enough, elevated insulin levels also create cravings for more carbohydrates! Do you recognize a cycle?

The Cycle
The cycle goes like this. Eat carbs, produce insulin, store glucose as fat, lock down your fat stores, crave carbohydrate. Here we go again, eat carbs, produce insulin, store glucose as fat, … and so forth. If you are stuck in this cycle, cutting calories won’t help you, but cutting carbohydrate will. Enter low carb eating! This is not a fad or trend. It is an answer for people who are stuck in this cycle. If this is you, take heart. YOU can improve your situation by eating differently.

Keep a Food Journal
I will cover some low carb eating ideas in future blogs. Until then, keep a three-day food journal of everything you put in your mouth (honestly, no one is looking, but you!). Next, take an inventory of your current concentrated carbohydrate intake. Mark each of the following in red: desserts, processed treats, sugar-sweetened beverages, breads, pasta, starchy foods. Now that you can see the obvious carbs, ask yourself if you might be addicted to any of them. If so, what would it take to make a change? Would you like to consider a carb makeover?

Remember, this is a journey, not a race. We are learning about our health. We are setting goals, not resolutions, for it in 2020 and beyond!