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RISING WOMEN EXPERT
ADVICE...
What do you do if you have lost some
weight but now have hit a plateau?
There are many ways to lose weight and most people who have dieted over the
years have lost lots. However, it is keeping it off and knowing what to do
once you hit a plateau, that makes the difference.
Everyone has a metabolism. The fire is there. However, the quality of the
fire will be different depending on body types and individual diets. Think
of your metabolism like a fireplace. If you put on small, skinny and less
dense logs, they burn up quickly. If you put on large, dense logs on the
fire, it will burn longer. The other factor is the damper (pretend it is the
fat-burning thermostat). If you open the damper and allow too much oxygen in
the fireplace, then the fire burns too quickly. If you allow just the right
amount of oxygen in the fireplace, then the fire burns at a moderate pace.
Not enough oxygen will create smoke, and you will not burn up anything!
The damper is your metabolism. The logs are the food you eat. Dense foods,
like proteins and fats, burn longer and slower. Carbohydrates are like the
skinny logs. The higher the Glycemic Index, the skinnier the log. The fire
will fizzle out if you only have skinny logs on it while the larger logs
will keep the fire going for a long time.
My advice, keep your metabolism stoked with proteins and fats. It is also
very ideal to eat six times per day as this makes it much easier to lose
weight. If your weight plateaus, then you need to cut out all the
carbohydrates from grains, and eat vegetables and protein strictly, or a
protein/fat combination. This will usually be effective. However, each diet
has a different ratio on how to do this.
If you continue to plateau you may need to consider cleansing, or that the
glands affecting your metabolism may need attention. Other factors may
include your protein/fat combination being off, how often you are actually
eating, or whether you have more stress than you can handle. Stress causes
cortisol to remain at high levels, and this hormone will increase your fat
stores!
Factors such as gut health, including candida, parasites and lack of
enzymes, stress, lack of exercise, as well as lack of fiber and/or
constipation can cause you to crave carbohydrates. This results in making
you sluggish and interferes with hormones that will increase the metabolism.
For the best results, learn about what keeps the damper “open” enough to
keep your fire burning!
For more advice on practical weight loss methods, contact Monica
Hirai, Certified Herbalist/Holistic Practitioner at 403.276.5756 or visit
www.hiraihealth.com
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