6 Tips To Aid In Weight Loss

However, this wish of mine can never become a reality and I am going to tell you why!

There are so many products out in the marketplace that promise things like weight loss. Although, when you really think about it, how can one product work the same way for every single person if science tells us that we as individuals are biochemically unique? How are we so unique, you ask? Well, it comes down to the trillions of bacterial cells in our gut that make us so unique. Its these bacterial cells that influence how our body reacts to internal and external factors that we face daily. Therefore, a customized approach is needed for every person when it comes to weight loss.

Here are some general tips that you can start incorporating into your daily routine to help with your weight loss journey.

1. A Healthy Relationship With Food Can Benefit Your Waistline.

If you are making healthy choices 80% of the time, don’t be too hard on yourself the 20% of the time you feel like having something that’s not necessarily classified as “healthy”. I’d rather you enjoy that “slice of cake” instead of stressing about it because “stress” is actually doing more harm than good. Pertaining to weight, stress can overtime lead to excess weight gain in the belly.

2. Drink 2-4 Cups Of Water 30 Minutes Prior To Consuming Any Meal Or Snack

This will help reduce your consumption of food without you having to worry about counting calories. On a side note, if absolutely needed, you can have small sips of water with your meal, but never large amounts of water. Some of my clients believe that by drinking large amounts of water with their meals, they will eat less.  This may be the case, but the problem with that is large amounts of water with your meals can actually dilute the digestive enzymes needed to break down the food that you are eating.

This means that the food you are consuming isn’t optimally being digested, which leads to poor nutrient absportion, negatively impacting your health. Therefore, when consuming larger amounts of water, I recommended waiting a minimum 30 – 60 minutes after each meal and/or snack if you want to drink more water.

3. Add A Cup Of Organic Green Tea To Your Daily Routine

Green Tea extract has been shown to contribute to weight loss. In addition, a compound called L-theanine found in green tea has also been shown to help with anxiety. Therefore, it’s definitely worth trying! It is a great addition as a snack with a handful of nuts and / or seeds.

4. Aim To Chew One Bite Of Your Food At Least 32 Times, Without Any Distractions

This will help you slow down and increase the length of your meal or snack so the brain has time to understand when you are full, which can prevent you from overeating.  It will also help the food be more enjoyable and taste that much better when you focus on what you are putting into your mouth, you are able to savor the texture and flavours.

5. Avoid Eating When Stressed

When we are consuming food in a stressed state, energy is taken away from optimally digesting our food. Instead, I recommend taking 10 deep breathes before your meal so that your body is in rest and digest mode. As a result, your body will focus on digesting, which will allow you to better absorb nutrients from the food, benefitting your overall health.

6. Do Not Consume Any Food 3-4 Hours Before Bed

By not consuming food right before bed, your body can focus on resting and repair when sleeping versus working hard to digest the food you just ate.  As a result, your sleep should also be positively influenced, and it can benefit those that struggle with heartburn.

Start by adding one of these tips and then once you are comfortable with one of them, then work on adding the next and so on. Hopefully, by the end of it you will notice a difference! I would love to hear about your experience. Feel free to email me at info@gutvantage.ca to tell me about which of these tips helped you the most. In addition, if you feel you are still struggling with weight loss after following these tips, reach out to me to book a FREE 15-minute consultation to learn about how I can support your health journey using a more custom approach!

– Samantha Gill, CHN 

Continue Below To Learn More About Samantha Gill

Samantha Gill is a Certified Holistic Nutritional Consultant™ that graduated from the Canadian School of Natural Nutrition and is also a member of the Canadian School of Natural Nutrition Association Alumni, in good standing.

As the founder of GutVantage, she collaboratively works with her clients to create custom evidence-based recommendations to help them alleviate their symptoms and/or manage their health condition. She specializes in working with the gut to simultaneously optimize brain and metabolic health conditions that are listed under the services section of her website (www.gutvantage.ca).

Now, here is the twist! She is also a Certified Pharmacy Technician and understands that Western Medicine has its place. She is NOT against Western Medicine and instead works with clients to offset/manage the side effects of medications, and the nutritional deficiencies they can cause, through whole foods and natural supplements.

Samantha is passionate about educating and inspiring others to better understand how to fuel their body so they can become the most efficient, effective and productive version of themselves. After losing a close loved one, she believes that life is too short to not make your health priority…so why wait?!?!