Want to Lose Weight? Eat More.
Want to lose weight? Stop undereating and restricting calories. Want to reduce your anxiety? Stop undereating and restricting calories. Sick of being bloated, constipated or your other symptoms of IBS? Stop undereating and restricting calories. I know, it sounds too easy. Are you thinking ‘she’s crazy, if I even look at dessert, I gain weight’? No, I am not crazy. I fell into this trap myself.
Keep reading.
Are you barely eating yet gaining weight? Or maybe you just cannot satiate your hunger? There’s a lot more to weight loss than calories in vs calories out. Our bodies are amazing machines, and what we eat, not just how much we eat, has a huge impact on our weight, energy, digestion, and overall health.
I worked with a client recently who came to me because she was struggling to lose weight. Her average day of meals looked like a coffee, a granola bar, and a sandwich. Sometimes she’d eat less. Sometimes she’d treat herself to some fries or pizza. She had no energy, wasn’t pooping and was stressed. I cannot tell you how many times I’ve heard a similar story; as women we tend to eat less and less expecting our bodies to drop weight. This will work for a little bit, until it stops working. And then a whole cascade of issues other than weight gain come into play.
The average woman in her 20s needs 2000-2400 calories per day, in her 30s she needs 1800-2200, and it drops only slightly lower at age 60, with a need of 1600-2000 calories. Our bodies need a minimum of 1200 calories to SURVIVE. Not to function optimally or thrive – simply to keep us out of the hospital. And eating less than 1000 calories per day has the same physiological effect on our bodies as total starvation. We can eat at these low levels for a period of time, but eventually our bodies adapt to survive.
When we consistently under eat we create nutrient deficiencies. Period. We are not just undereating, but undereating nutrients that our bodies need to support the production hormones, neurotransmitters, and enzymes. This creates physical stress within our bodies. Add to that the emotional stress we feel when we eat (fear and/or guilt about calories, specific foods or whole food groups). This all equates to being in a sympathetic state (aka in fight-or-flight). When this happens, our bodies prioritize the production of cortisol, the stress hormone that prepares your body to either fight or flight the stressor, and it puts things like digestion and sex hormone production on the backburner. So now you are undereating nutrients, and without proper digestion, your body cannot efficiently absorb the nutrients you do eat. The result is a cascade of events; your body doesn’t have the raw materials to create digestive enzymes and gastric juices to break down your food. This allows for larger food particles and bacteria to enter our small and large intestines which creates issues like dysbiosis and a leaky gut. Now we’re bloated, gassy, or perhaps have diarrhea and/or constipation amongst other symptoms of IBS. Our body downregulates sex hormone production, including thyroid, and metabolism slows causing easy weight gain and difficult weight loss. Hunger hormones are impacted, which messes with our feelings of satiety and causes our bodies to hold onto weight, even if we’re not eating much. Other hormones and neurotransmitters are affected as well, either creating or exacerbating anxiety, depression, insomnia etc.
When restricting calories, women tend to under eat fiber, fat and protein in particular. This is a problem. Let me explain why.
Fiber
Trillions of microorganisms live in our digestive system; collectively referred to as the gut microbiome and for it to thrive, it needs fiber. Our gut is connected to the health of our digestive system, immune system, skin, skeletal system and our brain. In other words, the health of our gut impacts every facet of our overall health. This is why it’s important to feed our beneficial bacteria. When we eat fiber, our gut bugs produce short-chain fatty acids that have an anti-inflammatory effect. Maintaining a healthy gut has been shown to increase fat-burning and decrease fat-storage, and to protect against Type 2 diabetes, certain cancers and digestive disorders including diarrhea, Crohn’s and colitis.
Fat and Protein
Protein is in every single cell of our body. Along with fat, it is the building block of hormones and neurotransmitters, which are involved in just about every body function. Billions of neurotransmitters work continually to keep our brains working, managing everything from our breathing, to our heartbeat, mood, sleep, digestion and appetite. So when we under eat fat and protein, we are depriving our bodies of the raw material it needs to function. Let’s dive into how this impacts our bodies.
Insulin
When we eat carbohydrates, it increases our blood sugar (glucose). In response, our pancreas releases insulin which allows for this circulating glucose to enter our cells to be used for energy or storage. A gentle curve is normal. When we eat simple carbohydrates without fiber, fat or protein to balance it, or if we simply overeat carbohydrates, it results in a blood sugar spike. Our body overcompensates and releases too much insulin in response, and our blood sugar then rapidly drops. These swings in blood sugar generate chronic inflammation in our bodies, and inflammation contributes not only to weight gain but is underlying all disease and illness. Over time, the body sees so much insulin it becomes numb to it, and we develop insulin resistance where it becomes harder to drive the glucose into the cell. Both blood sugar and insulin remain high in this situation. When we have more insulin circulating, it signals to the body that glucose is around, so it blocks fat from being burned for energy, making it that much more difficult to lose weight. Ideally, we want to be metabolically flexible. This means we have a body that uses glucose when it’s around, but when there isn’t much there (like first thing in the morning or between meals) we can flip to fat burning. Hanger is a sign that we are not metabolically flexible. We feel hangry when our blood sugar is low, and our body does not switch to using fat for energy. How can we keep our glucose and insulin spikes low, and tap more into fat burning? Focus on eating whole foods, limit our refined carbohydrate intake, eat the right amount of carbohydrates for our individual needs and balance every meal with fat, fiber and protein.
Leptin
Leptin is our ‘satiety hormone’. It tells our brain that when we have enough fat stored, we don’t need to eat and can burn calories at a normal rate. So the more body fat we have, the less hungry we should be – right? Unfortunately, there’s a condition called ‘leptin resistance’ in which leptin signalling doesn’t work and even if there’s copious amounts of this hormone in our blood, the brain doesn’t see it. It is believed to be one of the main biological contributors to obesity because our brain thinks the body is starving, and it encourages us to eat more while slowing our metabolic rate, meaning we don’t burn as many calories at rest. How do we become leptin resistant? A couple of key factors are inflammation and elevated triglycerides. As touched upon, blood sugar swings create inflammation, as does a diet high in refined foods, sugar and inflammatory fats and oils, obesity, stress, poor sleep quality and smoking. These things also increase triglycerides. Overeating carbohydrates in general increases triglyceride levels because the excess glucose is converted into triglycerides which are then stored in fat cells. How can we avoid leptin resistance? Eat protein and fiber at every meal and avoid processed foods. A high-protein diet improves leptin sensitivity, fiber can protect against obesity, and processed foods drive inflammation.
Ghrelin
Ghrelin is our ‘hunger hormone’. Its main function is to increase our appetite and it also promotes fat storage. The higher our ghrelin, the hungrier we get. The lower it is, the fuller we feel, and we find it easier to eat fewer calories. A high protein diet lowers levels of ghrelin.
GABA
GABA is a neurotransmitter that inhibits or slows the brain’s functions, which is important to relieve anxiety, reduce stress, improve sleep and to prevent brain damage.
Oxytocin
Aka ‘the love hormone’, oxytocin acts a neurotransmitter, and studies have shown that it has the potential to regulate weight by reducing cravings and appetite, urges to binge, and increasing the metabolism[1]. Signs that you’re low include feeling stressed, tired, a lack of joy and affection, lonely and disconnected, having a lower sex drive, cravings for sugar, muscle aches, and sleep disturbances.
Serotonin
The ‘happy hormone’, serotonin also acts as a neurotransmitter, and it impacts our entire body. It is key to stabilizing our mood and promoting feelings of well-being and happiness. We need it to make melatonin, which is critical for sleep. It’s important for digestion and it reduces our appetite as we eat. Low levels of serotonin can contribute to depression, anxiety, chronic pain, insomnia, disturbed sleep, and a tendency to overeat. Tryptophan is an amino acid, and it’s needed to make serotonin. We can only get tryptophan from our diet, and it’s found in high amounts in animal protein. And approximately 90% of our serotonin is produced in our gut, making fiber another vital nutrient to maintaining it levels.
Dopamine
Dopamine is the ‘feel-good neurotransmitter’. It helps us feel pleasure and reward, which motivates us to repeat a specific behaviour. And low levels of dopamine are linked to reduced motivation and enthusiasm. Easiest way to increase dopamine? Eat lots of protein and feed your gut with fiber. Research has shown that certain species of bacteria that live in our gut are capable of producing dopamine.
The Summary
When restricting calories, women tend to under eat fiber, fat and protein in particular. This is a problem because:
Fiber
We need fiber to feed our gut microbiome which impacts every facet of our health, including our ability to burn fat and protect against Type 2 Diabetes, certain cancers and digestive disorders including diarrhea, Crohn’s and colitis.
Fat & Protein
Protein is in every cell of our body, and along with fat, it is the building block of hormones and neurotransmitters which are needed to keep our brains working. They manage our heartbeat, ability to breath, our mood, sleep, digestion and appetite. When we under eat fat & protein, we will be deficient in the raw material our bodies need to function.
When we under eat Fiber, Fat & Protein, the following hormones & neurotransmitters are impacted which has a huge & negative effect weight, mood, digestion and energy:
Insulin
When we eat simple carbohydrates that are not balanced by fiber, fat & protein, or simply too many carbs, it results in blood sugar swings and eventually insulin resistance. These things create chronic inflammation in our bodies, which contributes to weight gain and underlies all disease and illness. By eating whole foods, limiting refined carbohydrate intake, eating the right amount of carbohydrates for our individual needs and balancing every meal with fat, fiber and protein we can easily maintain blood sugar balance and tap more into fat burning.
Leptin
If our bodies have inflammation and elevated triglycerides, ‘leptin resistance’ can result, and it causes us to eat more while slowing our metabolic rate (thus causes weight gain). To avoid this, eat protein and fiber at every meal and avoid processed foods. A high-protein diet improves leptin sensitivity, fiber can protect against obesity, and processed foods drive inflammation.
Ghrelin
The higher our ghrelin, the hungrier we get. The lower it is, the fuller we feel, and we find it easier to eat fewer calories. A high protein diet lowers levels of ghrelin.
GABA
Important to relieve anxiety, reduce stress, improve sleep and to prevent brain damage.
Oxytocin
Has the potential to regulate weight by reducing cravings and appetite, urges to binge, and increasing the metabolism. Signs that you’re low include feeling stressed, tired, a lack of joy and affection, lonely and disconnected, having a lower sex drive, cravings for sugar, muscle aches, and sleep disturbances.
Serotonin
Low levels of serotonin can contribute to depression, anxiety, chronic pain, insomnia, disturbed sleep, and a tendency to overeat. Our bodies need protein and fiber to maintain its levels.
Dopamine
Helps us feel pleasure, reward, & motivation. Eat lots of protein and feed your gut with fiber to maintain optimal levels.
Every person has individual needs for exactly how much protein, fat and carbohydrates but here are some guidelines that will help you to not only lose weight, but to balance your mood, support your digestion, give you energy and support your overall health:
Eat protein like fish, poultry, beef or eggs at every main meal.
For snacks, incorporate 2-3 tbsp of nuts or seeds to get all 3 macronutrients.
Include healthy fats like avocado, grass-fed butter, coconut or extra virgin olive oil at every meal.
Eat LOTS of low-starch veggies like broccoli, asparagus, zucchini, cauliflower, leafy greens and kabocha squash.
Incorporate more moderate amounts of starchier veggies, fruit and whole grains.
Want to hear more about how I can help you get out of the undereating rut while working towards your goals? Book a free session and let’s chat!
