Most people think about weight loss in terms of calories, food groups, and exercise. But getting to your ideal weight and maintaining it requires a deeper level of understanding of your body, mind and spirit.
Here are three things that prevent you from looking and feeling great in your body: 1. You have food sensitivities and you don't know it. Food sensitivities cause inflammation in the body, which leads to weight gain and a whole array of conditions such as headaches, low energy, indigestion, constipation, bloating, diarrhea, skin conditions, mental fogginess, loss of libido. Food sensitivities are not the same as allergies. Symptoms can be very subtle (such as bloating, indigestion or constipation), and it can be difficult to make the connection between what you've eaten and how you feel. Over the years, this sensitivity takes a toll on the immune system, which is mostly located in your gut. Inflammation is one of the biggest causes of weight gain and disease. So why not test yourself with a detox and elimination diet?During an elimination diet, you'll remove the main food triggers for a week. These include:
Sugar
Gluten
Grains
Nuts
Soy
Dairy
Beans
During a transition phase, you reintroduce these foods in a guided and planned way, one at a time, so that you can discover your sensitivities. This will give you your personal blueprint to your health, happiness and weight. 2. You're stressed out and it's messing with your digestion. Stress doesn’t allow us to digest our food properly. There are several different types of stress that need to be taken into consideration:
Physical Stress: due to long work hours, lack of sleep, tight deadlines or the physical discomfort caused by pain or disease in the body
Emotional Stress: due to arguments, resentments, lack of confidence, pessimism, negativity
Financial Stress: due to real financial struggles or fear and limiting beliefs around money and abundance
Spiritual Stress: Don't dismiss this! It includes not having a spiritual practice where you spend time with yourself everyday to understand what your needs are so that you can take care of YOURSELF!
Stress keeps you going back to food cravings and habits that sabotage you. We all want to feel energized, happy and great in our body. Identifying the stress in your life, and then learning to manage it, is a key component to figuring this out. 3. You're not following your dreams. This is a huge stressor that is very often overlooked. Most people do not love their jobs, their bosses or work environment, yet, they spend most of their life putting up with it. This creates negativity and spiritual pain because their true calling is not being fulfilled and they don’t feel like they have a meaningful purpose. All of these emotions create toxins that build up in the body over time. A toxic body cannot digest food properly, which is the key to your ideal weight and health. The amazing thing is that your body truly does crave a perfect balance for you! It craves happiness, joy, satisfaction, meaning, purpose, loving relationships and of course, healthy food. Solutions It can be a challenge to tackle all these three categories at once. It’s best to choose one, work on it until you see results, and then move on to the next. 1. Do a detox and/or elimination diet with guidance and support. 2. Identify your stress type and put a strategy into place to start to get it under control through meditation, yoga, therapy, relaxation techniques, etc 3. Begin to get in touch with your true calling and your passion through meditation, journaling, a vision board, working with a coach, or walking in nature to help you gain clarity.