Stylist on the Street

Weight Loss - The Science Bit : Part ONE!

I’m studying nutritional information and the ways it’s written is so confusing many people just can’t digest (haha) the information.  Most of my clients want to lose weight and I’m creating some fact sheets with the science part. I’m summarising pages of complicated bla bla bla… and giving you the basics.

So you think weight loss is about restricting calories and a simple computation of calories in being less than calories out?

Think again….interesting facts coming up!

I already knew that when we eat our meal is broken down into sugars and our body produces insulin to push the fat cells into the liver to get used as fuel for our muscles……and if there is too much fuel it is stored in our fat cells for future use. (I doubt I’ll live long enough for my body to use all the extra stored in my butt!)

I also already knew that to keep insulin levels from dropping and spiking you need to eat whole foods regularly otherwise no matter how great your will-power your body will force you to eat!

I already knew that if you don’t eat regularly or skip meals, especially breakfast then your metabolism can slow down and make you gain weight and store more fat. Knowing it doesn’t mean I did the sensible thing! How many fat people were there in concentration camps? No food no excess fat? Right?

So smartass what didn’t you know then?

 When we eat our body creates Thyroid Stimulating Hormone (TSH). TSH helps convert a hormone called T4 into another one called T3. When this happens your body receives the message BURN BURN BURN and STOP EATING and your metabolism fires up.  If you don’t eat you don’t produce TSH and T4 can’t be created so your metabolism crashes.  It sends the messages STORE STORE STORE and EAT EAT EAT. Your body will store fat, you’ll be tired and that is just the start of your problems!

BUT skipping meals and eating too little are not y our only problems triggers….This is new to me!

If you think you have already lowered your metabolism by YOYO dieting and staving then you need to avoid these foods as they can create thyroid problems!

·  Peaches, strawberries, bamboo shoots, and peanuts
·  You need to make sure you cook cauliflower and broccoli, kale, bok choy, and kale
(I love strawberries and use raw broccoli and kale in my juices L)
·  And the number one culprit is SOY! A hidden ingredient in loads of processed foods which contains phytic acid, which blocks mineral absorption. Check your food labels!)

So what can we eat to help

·  Foods with omega 3’s like iodine such as salmon, herring and sardines
·  Foods with Selenium such as brazil nuts (they convert the T4 into T3 – boost boost boost!)
·  Beef, lamb, poultry, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, almonds, boiled spinach, whole grains help create more TSH
·  Foods with fatty acids including olive oil, avocados, hazel nuts, almonds, pumpkin seeds.