Imagine being full of energy and looking your best!
Sound too good to be true?
It’s not. It’s possible to feel great and therefore look great.
This key that I’ll be talking about is something I’ve had years of painful struggle with. I’ve also spent years trying to overcome it as well as still in the process of getting to where I’d like to be with my health and fitness.
In this article I’ll go into what I mean by the unknown key to losing weight.
I’ll introduce the concept that I’m going to be talking about and then I’ll tie it in to how it’s the unknown key.
I understand this is a bold statement but it’s something that you probably already intuitively know. I’ll just be peeling back the layers more to explain in depth what’s happening.
If you do have a great takeaway from what I’m saying then it may be just what you need to successfully lose weight.
Okay, enough building it up – let’s get into it!
The Gut
The gut health is the unknown and hidden key to losing weight.
I know, it’s a bold statement but I’ll explain this complex concept throughout the article.
Think about the gut like the gas tank of a car. If the car’s gas tank is overloaded, has holes in it and is filled with water or other liquid then the car won’t work right.
It’s the same with a person’s health as it relates to their gut. If the gut isn’t fed the right foods for them, is overloaded or has holes (leaky gut) in it then they’ll have a difficult time losing weight and being healthy.
What is the gut?
The gut is the power house that breaks down and utilizes food. It’s part of the digestive system.
It’s made up of the intestines and also hosts trillions of bacteria that help regulate multiple body processes.
Why Intestinal Health Matters
Your intestinal and gut health matters because it controls numerous body functions and processes.
It can effect our mood, anxiety levels, metabolism functionality, control our weight, regulate our appetite and plays a significant impact with disease.
For me, I have Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) and overall gut health is directly correlated with that. I’ve done Viome testing (I’ll explain what that is later) to analyze my gut makeup and I know that my bacterial diversity and strength is poor.
The stomach and gut is also the first place outside objects come in to be a part of the body.
If the gut is healthy and working correctly then when a person eats food it will be properly broken down with the right nutrients taken out to best replenish the body.
The gut digests food, breaks down nutrients and helps eradicate harmful pathogens.
Think about the gut like a wood chipper machine. As big logs get put into the wood chipper it then grinds them down to be used for different functions throughout a yard, for decoration or for practical purposes.
Our gut is similar to the wood chipper because it’s job is to digest the food and pulverize it down to it’s base ingredients to be used for different functions throughout the body.
The gut is responsible for digesting food properly so that there’s no constipation, bloating, diarrhea or worse symptoms.
If the gut is not working right then these issues will come up as a byproduct to the real issue going on.
How Gut Optimization Is The Hidden Key To Losing Weight
The microbiome in the gut have a significant impact on our ability to lose weight. They (the trillions of living organisms in our gut) are part of the hidden key to losing weight!
There was a study recently published by Kings College London, The Department of Twin Research and Genetic Epidemiology and Nutritional Sciences, that analyzed the gut and it’s ability on visceral fat accumulation (visceral fat is the fat around our organs in our abdomens).
It took 1,760 women, looked at their gut microbial makeup, analyzed their visceral fat and then dissected the role the gut has on losing visceral fat.
What they found was amazing.
They discovered that specific microbes affect fat mass regardless of diet.
“Our results suggest that while the role of certain nutrients on VFM appears to depend on gut microbiota composition, specific gut microbes may affect host adiposity regardless of dietary intake. The findings imply that the gut microbiota may have a greater contribution towards shaping host VFM than diet alone” – study recently published by Kings College London, The Department of Twin Research and Genetic Epidemiology and Nutritional Sciences
It basically means: bad gut health = hindered ability to lose fat even with a good diet. That’s a huge discovery!
There’s also a gut-brain connection that effects our mood and therefore our choices of food we eat.
This connection is through various nerves that are formed at birth. If the gut health isn’t the best then it’ll have an impact over the brain, our focus and can cause brain fog (brain fog is when your thoughts aren’t clear and you don’t have very good concentration).
There was a study created on how improper gut functionality leads to brain fog and may cause mental illness that points out this concept well.
With such impaired mood, focus and concentration we may lack the discipline to stay away from bad foods, thus causing a cycle of poor eating -> poor gut health -> not losing weight.
By focusing on optimizing your digestion and getting better gut health it’ll help you make better food choices. Better food choices will in turn help you to lose weight.
For example, McDonald’s is not good for your gut, therefore if you’re optimizing your gut then you’ll have to eat healthier and cleaner food.
Now does that mean you can never have sweets or pizza again? No. Just that 90% of the time you’ll be eating clean food to best serve your gut, intestines and digestive system.
Can I Eat Whatever As Long As It’s Good For My Gut and Still Lose Weight?
Not necessarily but it depends.
The hidden key to lose weight is our gut but we also need to keep in mind how many calories we’re eating in a day and that we can still gain weight eating foods that are optimized for our digestion.
They key to gut health comes in because getting the gut right will help the rest of our body function properly, it will help our mood which in turn helps us want to eat healthier and if we’re focusing on optimizing our gut then we’ll have to pick foods that are most likely going to be healthier choices for us (such as leafy greens, vegetables, organic protein…etc).
Overall we still need to be cognizant of our portions, quantities of fats/carbs through the day and types of food.
In general, we can lose weight easier when we optimize our digestion because everything will be in alignment instead of forces pulling in different directions.
How To Start
To summarize, the gut is part our digestive system and is imperative to various functions of our body such at metabolism, mood, cravings, appetite, immune system, diseases and more.
The microbiome can affect our weight even if we’re eating well. Our goal then must be to not just eat clean but eat foods that are healthy and helpful to our digestion.
So, How do we know what foods are best for our individual digestion?
That’s where Viome comes in.
Viome is a company that analyzes people’s poop and gives food recommendations based on the live bacteria that inhabit that specific gut.
I sent in my sample a few months ago. Since getting the results back, and implementing them, I’ve felt the best I have in 5 years!
They pointed out foods to me that I didn’t know were bad for me, such as asparagus, black pepper and potatoes. Before I got my Viome results I ate those foods almost every day because they’re supposedly good foods but not good for me.
To know how to optimize our digestion we must know what to eat and what to avoid. Viome helps us know this information.
To start, buy a kit from Viome, get your poop analyzed and go from there!
Also, I get no monetary kick-back from you buying a Viome kit, I’m recommending doing it because I fully believe it works with no strings attached.
It’s possible to feel good, not have bloating every day and to look our best. I’ve seen significant changes for myself over the past few months I haven’t been able to achieve in years; it’s all because I said “no more!”
No more to food taking over my life and bloating ruling my day. I’m in control and so are you. Together we can change our bodies, feel great and bring positivity to the world.
Disclaimers
I am not a doctor and do not recommend anything on this site, or blog post, for anyone without consulting with their doctor first. Please read the privacy policy for more information.
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