Everyone wants tips on losing weight. I know I would like a few as losing weight is certainly not as easy as gaining weight. I have heard everything from eating cilantro to drinking maple syrup. What’s real and what isn’t? I decided to ask Olga for her best weight loss tip. She had two tips to share and you may be surprised by the second.
What is your best weight loss tip?
Actually, I have two.
Your best weight loss results aren’t going to be possible without Vitamin D. Consistently, the studies are showing that most women are not getting enough vitamin D, a vitamin that’s really a super hormone that affects every mechanism in the body, including boosting metabolism, burning fat, creating energy, and balancing hormones to prevent cravings and excess fat storage. The commonly recommended 400 IU of vitamin D is the very bare minimum your body needs to prevent the bone disorder rickets! Can you imagine that? It’s nowhere near what’s needed to optimize whole body health, especially for busy moms. Vitamin D experts agree that most women should be aiming for an intake of 2000 IU and 6000 IU daily, and getting tested for to ensure that their vitamin D levels are in the right place. Because most of us work indoors (so we don’t get a lot of sun exposure), or don’t often eat fish and seafood (which are among the best sources of D), it’s best to get your D from a supplement.
Is there anything I should look for when I purchase a Vitamin D supplement?
Be sure that your supplement contains only D3, the best absorbed type, and that it only contains D. The reason that some doctors are concerned about toxicity isn’t because of vitamin D itself, which is very difficult to overload on. It’s because of the other ingredients that are often paired with D in supplements (like vitamin A) which are easier to overload on. With these supplement mixes, if you start taking, say 6000 IU of D, you might end up with way too much vitamin A. This won’t happen if you stick with a D-only supplement. (I personally use Carlson D3 drops and that’s been successful at keeping my vitamin D levels healthy.)
What is your second weight loss tip?
Your best weight loss results are also not going to be possible without the help of your spiritual higher power. Interesting research coming out of the University of Arizona has found that people, who converse frequently with God, or their higher power according to their beliefs, lose weight more effortlessly and keep it off. By offering up their daily concerns and burdens, thanking for the day’s blessings, asking for support to overcome emotional eating—whatever it was they wanted to talk about or pray about—the study subjects were able to relieve stress, significantly reducing their cortisol levels. That’s the stress hormone associated with excessive cravings and belly fat. So thanks to lower cortisol levels, the study subjects were able to shed the pounds, and get more willpower over cravings and emotional eating to stop the weight from returning. The nice thing about this is that you can talk to your spiritual higher power at any time – and it doesn’t cost a cent!
Thank you! That information is very helpful and interesting.
So what about you? Do you take Vitamin D? What’s your take on spirituality and weight loss? I’d love to hear from you.
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