How To Be Successful on Your Weight Management Journey (Free Article)

We figured we should start by going over some of the more uncommonly known things in our food environment that can actually cause weight gain.

One of the clearest studies available on the topic:

The biggest meta-study on this comes from Hall et al., 2019 (Cell Metabolism). NIH researchers fed adults either ultra-processed or unprocessed diets, matched for calories, sugar, fat, and protein.

Here’s What it Showed

• People eating ultra-processed foods ate ~500 extra calories per day… without realizing it.
• They gained weight in just 2 weeks, while those on whole foods lost weight.
• The researchers concluded the additives, textures, and hyper-palatability drove subconscious overeating.

So, let’s get into some of the details.

Food Additives

It’s becoming clear that food additives… things like emulsifiers, artificial sweeteners, preservatives, and colorants can quietly contribute to weight gain by disrupting your gut, hormones, and metabolism.

Let’s unpack how that happens and touch on the research to back it up.

Emulsifiers

These are commonly used in creamy foods like ice cream, dressings, and baked goods. Studies have shown these can thin the gut mucous layer which then triggers low grade inflammation. This absolutely has a compound effect as well, so the more emulsifiers in your diet, the more compromised your mucosal barrier becomes.

Some of the most common emulsifiers on the market are:

• polysorbate-80
• carboxymethylcellulose
• lecithins

Here was an interesting study…

In a 2015 study from Georgia State University, mice who were fed these emulsifiers developed obesity, metabolic syndrome, and insulin resistance , likely due to microbiome disruption and inflammation.

To put it simply, inflammation blunts insulin sensitivity and activates your immune system.

This results in easier fat storage and slower metabolism.

Artificial Sweeteners

They are often marketed as “diet-friendly”, but evidence suggests they might backfire over time. Even though artificial sweeteners technically contain no calories, they alter our gut bacteria in a negative way which results in a higher glucose intolerance… not good for weight loss.

Negative Bonus Fact: They also confuse our brain’s reward system which results in cravings for more sweets and more food overall… also not good for weight loss.

How does this work?

Well, our brain anticipates calories when it tastes sweet foods. But when those calories don’t arrive as expected, it can stimulate your appetite to make up for those “missing” calories.

Here are a few of the most commonly used artificial sweeteners:

·       aspartame: diet sodas, sugar-free foods

• sucralose: diet sodas, sugar-free foods
• saccharin: sugar-free foods
• high fructose corn syrup: sodas, condiments, sweets

An interesting study from an article in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition in 2004, linked high-fructose intake to the obesity epidemic.

Preservatives and Artificial Dyes

These promote low-grade inflammation, which interferes with fat-burning hormones like leptin and insulin. This results in slowed down metabolism and mitochondrial dysfunction (not good for healthy aging).

Here are a few of the most common ones on the market:

·       Nitrites/nitrates: processed meats (lunch meat, hot dogs, bacon) and canned foods

• Dyes like Red no. 3 and 40, Yellow no. 5 and 6., Blue no. 1: candy, cereals, soft/energy/sport drinks
• Parabens: baked goods, tortillas, personal care products

Excess Sugar

Unfortunately, we can’t move on without addressing the role excess sugar in the diet plays in weight management. As so many of us enjoy the occasional sweet treat, we also have to learn how to manage the sweet tooth when it strikes.

To put it simply, excess sugar = excess fat storage.

Sugar isn’t inherently “bad”, but too much sugar tells your body to store fat.

How Excess Sugar Affects Your Body

When you eat sugar, it quickly raises blood glucose. In response, your pancreas releases insulin , the hormone whose main job is to move sugar out of the bloodstream and into cells. When your cells have more energy available than they need, then insulin directs that extra sugar to be stored… mostly as body fat.

• Repeated insulin surges
• Less fat burning
• More fat storage
• Increased insulin resistance (really not good)

This is especially true when sugar is consumed without enough protein, fiber, or fat to slow absorption.

The body also has limited storage space for sugar (as glycogen in the liver and muscles). Once those stores are full, excess sugar is converted into fat, particularly in the liver and abdominal area.

Here are some hints and tricks for managing those sugar cravings:

1. If you are going to indulge in a sweet treat, pair it with a high protein snack or meal to help slow the absorption and prevent a big insulin spike.
2. Consider alternative sweeteners when you are baking your own goods or need a dash of sugar for a recipe.
3. Stevia or Monk Fruit are excellent alternatives to try. These are natural, have zero impact on blood sugar, and have minimal metabolic side effects.
4. Honey or maple syrup can be natural replacements as well and they carry some health benefits too!
5. Important mention: Like everything, they are best used in moderation, especially if your goal is to reduce overall sweet cravings.
6. Consider starting your day with a big protein-packed power meal. Aim for 25-30 grams of protein for breakfast. This can reduce afternoon cravings and keep you fuller longer.
7. Drink a big glass of water and hangout for 15 minutes or so when you feel that sweet tooth hit. It has been shown that mild dehydration can actually result in a sugar craving!
8. Improve your sleep hygiene if this is an area of weakness for you. Poor sleep or lack of sleep can actually result in stimulating those hormones responsible for food cravings.
9. Go for a short walk. Doesn’t need to be long, even 5-10 minutes is enough to reverse a craving.
10. Recognize if the sugar craving is connected to a stress response or pattern. Check out our write up about “Common Barriers with Weight Management” for some helpful tips and tricks.

This doesn’t mean you have to cut out sugar forever. Moderation is key.

It’s about how often, what kind, how much, and what you pair it with. Stabilizing blood sugar with balanced meals helps your body use energy efficiently instead of storing it.

Organic Food

So, as we laid out in our write up about Weight Management 101: The Science Explains the Struggle, we learned how chronic inflammation caused by a wide range of exposures is linked to weight gain.

So, to put it simply, one of the best things you can do for weight loss is minimize toxin exposures.

We eat food every day, so choosing to eat food that has not been sprayed with a pesticide known to cause health issues, especially related to the gut, would be a great place to start.

Not so “fun” fact: Glyphosate strips produce of its natural vitamins and minerals. So, if you are primarily eating non-organic foods, then your food is less nutrient-dense. That means you have to eat MORE of it in order to gain the same benefits as eating organic food.

What Does the Science Say?

While the weight gain connection to glyphosate is “indirect”, it is still very real. How?

• Glyphosate disrupts the gut microbiome. Research has shown this reduces gut bacteria, promotes dysbiosis, and impairs short-chain fatty acid production.
• Glyphosate contributes to insulin resistance by increasing oxidative stress, impairing mitochondrial function, and promoting low grade inflammation.
• Glyphosate acts as an endocrine disruptor, interfering with normal estrogen signaling, thyroid hormone pathways, and cortisol regulation.

Consuming regular Glyphosate adds to the total toxin burden alongside:

• Other pesticides
• Plastics
• Heavy metals
• Ultra-processed foods

A high functioning, healthy body can clear small amounts of these toxins but chronic exposure may tax detox pathways, indirectly affecting metabolism.

So no, glyphosate alone does not cause obesity. There is no direct proof of that.

However, what is clear: A disrupted gut can make weight loss harder even with “good” habits.

Tips for Choosing Organic

1. Organic food choices matter most for people with:

a.     Insulin Resistance

b.     Hormone imbalance

c.      Gut issues

d.     Unexplained weight loss resistance

2. You don’t need to eat 100% organic. This does not need to be an “all or nothing” kind of approach. Focus on these first:
3. Choose animal proteins that fit the following criteria:

If you’d like to read more specifically about Glyphosate, then check out our write up where we go into more detail.

For some people, this difference matters… especially when weight loss feels stubborn or unfair.

1. Chronic inflammation is like the background “static” that makes it so much harder for your metabolism to hear normal signals.
2. Ultra-processed foods are engineered to create the perfect mix of salt, fat, sugar, and texture that your brain can’t resist. This overstimulation dulls the brain’s reward circuitry over time, meaning you need more to feel the same satisfaction. In other words… the addiction becomes harder to break.
3. These fillers shift your body toward storing more fat and burning less. Basically, resulting in the complete opposite of what we want!
4. This chronic low-level exposure keeps your immune system slightly inflamed. This compound inflammation interferes with insulin, leptin, thyroid, and normal sex hormone communication, all of which control how your body burns and stores energy.

Bottom line… the reasons above will result in weight gain and make it harder for you to lose weight even when you try to shed some pounds.

Practical Steps to Avoid Weight Loving Culprits

1. Choose minimally processed foods with 5 or fewer ingredients.
2. Avoid ingredients you wouldn’t cook with at home.
3. Prioritize gut healing foods like fiber, fermented foods, polyphenols (fruits and vegetables).
4. Sweeten naturally (and use sparingly): honey, fruit, or small amounts of maple syrup.
5. Choose fresh over frozen foods.
6. Check those labels… look for those that say “no preservatives or artificial sweeteners”.
7. Use natural dye additives for treats or baked goods. Things like beet juice or powder, turmeric, or spirulina.
8. Opt for “uncured” meats versus nitrates or nitrites added.
9. Choose organic when you can.

Exercise

We would really like to emphasize how “strategic” exercise will not only improve your overall health but will drop that extra weight in no time. Exercise does not have to be extremely vigorous or super time consuming or fancy. It can be simple and kept relatively short while putting in a comfortable amount of effort. Sure, it will absolutely take some time and planning but, the benefits you will gain are monumental.

The biggest advice here is consistency.

If you can learn how to add extra movement throughout your daily routines, then not only will you see the weight melt off, but you will just feel better. There are far too many studies available now that reveal the importance of everyday movement… so there is simply no counterargument to address.

Walking

Research has shown time and time again that simply just walking helps improve our immune system by reducing oxidative stress and inflammation. The most beneficial thing you can do is incorporate regular walking throughout your week.

You can make it fun! Call up a friend during your walks or ask one to join you. The gab fest will help time go by faster and you’ll begin to look forward to your “exercise” routine knowing you will be spending quality time with loved ones at the same time.

Tip: If you are sitting for more than 60 minutes at a time, then make a goal to get up and walk around your house for just a few minutes to get the blood flow moving. Your overall health will improve.

Bonus Tip: Ever heard of post meal walking? This would be a GREAT, simple first exercise routine to add if you are new to exercise. Post meal walking means you take a short, 5-10 minute walk within 60-90 minutes after you eat your meals. The goal would be to gradually increase the time of your walk as you learn to enjoy this new habit. There is research supporting how post meal walking tells your muscles to utilize the available glucose as energy instead of storing it as fat.

Resistance or Weight Training

This is one of those sneaky secrets for a successful weight loss journey. It is not uncommon to hear the frustration from people who have strict regular exercise plans but still cannot shed anymore pounds. Often, after a little digging, we find that a simple weight training routine is missing. Check out our write up on this for more detailed information: Resistance Training.

Important Note: Muscle burns more calories than fat. The more muscle you have, the more calories you are burning. So, even if you live a partly sedentary life (due to your work life, for example) then if you gain some muscle, you will be burning more calories sitting there doing your same job, resulting in an easier time maintaining weight!

Zone 2 Exercise

A less commonly known form of exercise but a very powerful one, especially when included in a weight loss plan. And… huge bonus… it is actually fairly easy and simple to do. It is called Zone 2 Exercise.

We cannot say enough good things about Zone 2 exercise, as this form of exercise activates and boosts our mitochondria. From the very core of how our cells, organs, and body systems function, we rely on tiny powerhouse energy generating factories called mitochondria. As we age, our mitochondria can shrink and become poorly functioning energy producers. This is not good! We all want high functioning mitochondria in order to feel good as we age.

We dedicated an entire write up to Zone 2 Exercise to help explain more about why this form of exercise is so powerful which includes a step by step guide as to how to do it. And just to reiterate… it is surprisingly easy.

Play

This means exactly that… find a way to play, and have fun with your exercise! This will be the easiest and most motivating way to incorporate exercise into your life. Exercise does not have to mean “going to the gym”. No matter your age, you can find some sort of “play” that excites you.

For example, one of our dads plays tennis with a 92 year old. He sure can’t run around like those 65 year olds, but he loves playing and gets some healthy exercise at the same time.

Ideas to Get Started

• Pickleball
• Tennis/Basketball/Soccer/Softball/Flag Football Leagues
• Take Golf Lessons
• Take your kids or pick up your grandchildren for an active date:
• Hit a bucket of balls at your local golf course.
• Basketball games: H-O-R-S-E, “Bump”, “Around the World”.
• Batting cages.
• A walk in the park, literally.
• Swim at your local pool.
• Bowling alley.

We know exercise can be such a daunting task. We hope that you can embrace the benefits of exercise as a natural motivation to get you started. Once you start feeling better, you will be looking forward to that regular movement and exercise.

General Guidelines For Making Healthful Food Choices

Obviously, making healthful food choices as we begin this weight management journey is step one. If we don’t pay attention to the food we choose to eat, then we really are behaving like that hamster on the wheel.

We touched on the many different “diets” in our write up Is There a Perfect Diet for Weight Loss and have explained our take on how there is no perfect diet. However, there are some basic guidelines that can help anybody, regardless of which “diet” you choose. Reminder… it is okay to not choose any specific diet if none of them resonate with you; following these healthful guidelines alone will bring some success for you.

1. More calories in than out will always result in excess weight.

In other words, if you eat more food than what your body needs, then the body has no way to use it so those extra energy molecules get sent to your natural fat stores. In the end, it is a basic math equation.

Best advice: Start with adding movement/exercise if this has been missing from your daily routines. This will rev up your mitochondria, retrain your body to burn calories more efficiently, and use up some of that extra energy it is getting throughout the day.

2. Protein is our best friend.

Protein-rich foods at each meal is not only providing you with the essential building blocks for everyday functions like immune system repair (needed to combat ongoing inflammation) but it will keep you feeling fuller longer. You will naturally find that your appetite changes with more protein in your life.

Best advice: Aim for 20-30 grams of protein per meal. One of the best ways to choose the right amount of protein for you is to divide your desired goal weight (within reason) by two and that number would be your daily protein goal.

For example, let’s say you currently weigh 200 pounds but your “feel good” weight would be 160 pounds. Then you would divide 160 by 2 and 80 grams of protein would be your daily goal.

To do a deeper dive on protein, check out our dedicated writeup on Protein.

3. Carbs are not the enemy… but they sure tow the line.

Carbohydrates have been given such a bad rap in recent years, especially in the weight loss world and there are some very convincing studies to help explain this. Frankly, our western way of eating is much to blame for this for several reasons:

• Highly processed foods typically contain lots of carbohydrates. Our fast paced lives in the west have resulted in the production of easy to eat foods and quick bites. Check out your popular processed food/snack choices and see how many carbohydrates are listed on the package.
• Many of our cultural meals are typically high in carbs. For example… cereals, oatmeal, pancakes, toast, potatoes, all kinds of sandwiches/wraps, chips, burgers, pasta and rice dishes, bread, etc.

The important thing to note here is how many carbs you are consuming in a single day.

• Carbs break down to be a fast energy source. So, as we eat carbs, they quickly break down into glucose which raises our blood sugar and tells our body to use the available sugar now as energy or else the body will store it as fat for later use. The problem here is so many of us live a sedentary lifestyle. So, too many of us don’t need that frequent, quick energy source because we’re simply not moving our bodies enough to utilize the abundant available energy.

Best advice:

• Aim to keep your carbs at 100 grams or less per day. Just a side note… we often see faster weight loss with more restriction.
• When you do eat carbs, add in a protein which stabilizes that blood sugar spike, resulting in less of an insulin release, and therefore less fat storage.
• Avoid highly processed foods as much as possible. Try your best to plan ahead and make your own snacks/meals. Choosing to eat whole foods for snacks (like carrots and hummus) versus grabbing a “protein” bar to eat is going to result in less carbs, calories, and processed ingredients.

4. Eating your fruits and vegetables is underrated.

It is common to see the eye roll when we hear those words, “You need to eat more fruits and vegetables.” But the truth is, many of us are essentially deficient in various vitamins and minerals which can actually be a causative factor in weight gain.

Nutrient deficiencies actually slow down our metabolism and also change our hunger signals, hormone balance, and fat storage patterns.

You may think you have plenty of fat stores that you’d love your body to access but if you have some unknown nutritional deficiencies, then your brain actually misinterprets this and thinks “we need more food”.

Example:

• Low magnesium: increased cravings for chocolate or carbs (because magnesium is used in energy metabolism).
• Low protein or amino acids: low satiety resulting in frequent hunger and snacking.

Best advice: Aim to eat a fruit and/or vegetable at every meal. If you’re not big on veggies, this would be a good starting point!

If you really don’t love your fruits and veggies, then consider investing in some nutritional deficiency testing to identify what you may need to supplement with. Need help choosing a test? We offer some targeted nutrition testing that you can access here!

5. Try to cut out snacking.

Frankly, a lot of us have fallen into the normalized habit that we need snacks in between our meals. This rings entirely true for children and maybe for high performance athletes or exercisers. But for the rest of us, if we are eating well rounded meals with 20-30 grams of protein, then we should be able to slowly (or quickly, depending on your motivation) start to cut out snacks.

This may take some retraining of the brain signals. You may feel those hunger pains from time to time but those will quickly go away as your body adjusts to a new balanced way of eating. Your brain just loves predictability. So if you’ve been feeding your body in a predictable way for a long time (even if it has not been a healthy habit), then remember that your brain will seek comfort and fight change.

Best advice: Start with planning your meals. If you just cut out snacks without making any other changes, you may have a more difficult time shifting into a more longstanding healthy way of eating.

If you plan your wholesome meals then in the end you will be eating more health conscious and fulfilling foods that will make cutting out snacks easy.

Grocery Shopping: Helpful Questions & Tips

Questions To Ask Yourself When Grocery Shopping

1. Am I hungry right now? If so, is this influencing my choices in a positive or negative way?

Advice: Eat right before you go grocery shopping, even if it is a small snack to help turn off the addictive part of the brain.

2. Does my cart have too many boxed items in it?

Advice: General rule of thumb is to avoid boxed, processed food as much as possible.

Try this fun exercise: Grab a box, take a quick look at the nutrition information and count how many “real food” ingredients are listed. Then count how many chemicals and additives are listed. IF there are more than 2-3 chemicals/additives, then I’d consider putting the box back on the shelf. This alone will hopefully catch your attention. 

If you missed the section above on how food additives and chemicals contribute to excess body weight, then consider scrolling to the top and reading the first part of this article.

 3. How many of my food items have added sugar as a listed ingredient? How many grams of sugar per serving? And how many daily servings do I typically eat of this particular item?

Advice: Sugar is commonly added to MANY processed foods. It is very difficult to avoid. Because we all know sugar makes food taste better! It is just a sad truth (sad for us who love food). But sugar is one of the major culprits that hits that positive feedback loop in the addictive part of the brain. We get a major dopamine rush (the feel-good hormone) and therefore we continue to feed that loop, both literally and figuratively. And to be clear, this is just added sugar we are talking about! This doesn’t even count natural sugar.

The scarier truth: For another “fun” exercise, pull out food items from your pantry (or your grocery cart) that you would typically eat in one day. Think of the food items you would eat for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, plus your typical snacks for the day. Then add up the “added sugar” from all those items to get your total for the day. Does that number seem a little high to you?

          -Added sugar should be less than 25 grams/day.

Added sugar looks like: Table sugar (sucrose), honey, agave, maple syrup, high-fructose corn syrup (would be best to avoid all together), cane juice, malt syrup, any processed sweetener.

If you missed our section above on how sugar contributes to excess body weight (not a big shocker here), consider scrolling back up to read about it. Hopefully this can help you understand what is happening at the deeper level in your body when you eat sugar and can help guide you in making more helpful choices.

4. How colorful is my grocery cart? In other words, do I have a wide array of vibrant colors from all the fresh produce in my cart?

Advice: Hopefully you answered, yes!

If not, try this new exercise: Before you head out to the grocery store, look up a highly rated recipe online that uses a vegetable you are unfamiliar cooking with. This way, you have a plan when you head to the grocery store. Assuming you find a delicious recipe each time, you will slowly add more and more fresh produce to your repertoire of meals. This does not need to be a stressful or overwhelming exercise, just think of it as a new adventure once a week!

Another tidbit of advice… Consider switching up the color of your typical fruit and vegetable choices. For example, instead of buying a bunch of orange carrots every time, grab yourself an array of purple, white, and orange carrots. Or grab two different types of lettuce for your salads so that you get a different set of nutrients from the different heads of lettuce. The more colors you have in your cart, the more variety of phytonutrients you will be consuming which will only add more health to your body.

Bonus: The more whole foods you choose to eat, the less processed food you will eat. So, if your healthy food options increase, you will likely see a decrease in the amount of processed and boxed items you eat. Score!

We hope this article was full of new information and ideas for you to try. The reality is trying to “be healthy” can be so overwhelming. The truth of the matter is we are blessed and cursed with the overabundant food options everywhere we go. Hopefully by following this general set of guidelines, you will notice a healthier version of yourself emerging!