If you feel like you’ve been doing everything right and still aren’t losing weight, your hormones might be to blame! If you find yourself:
- Struggling to lose the last 10 pounds.
- Experiencing digestive issues or bloating.
- Doing all of the right things but nothing seems to work…
Then it might be time to strengthen your approach. Balanced hormones are one of the secret ingredients of every effective weight loss plan. Clean Eating is naturally balancing for your hormones, and these extra tips will help you reach your goals in no time!
1. Food is Your Foundation
The food you consume on a daily basis is the foundation for the rest of your life. Your energy, your mood, your cycle and inflammation levels all respond to what you eat. When you begin to eat clean consistently, it’s easier to recognize the impact fried foods, sugar or empty carbs have on your body. You might notice yourself feeling more puffy, bloated or inflamed hours, or days after consuming something outside of your normal diet. But when we’re eating this way all of the time, you may be less tuned into your body’s responses and may not even realize when you’re in a state of constant inflammation.
Reducing or eliminating your consumption of fried foods, refined oils and processed sugars for a period of at least 30 days can make massive improvements to your health. Try taking the 30 Day Clean Eating Challenge if you’re looking for a way to create consistency and lose weight.
2. Make Sure You’re Eating Enough
You’re trying to lose weight, so you might be reducing your food intake. This is actually counterintuitive to weight loss for a few reasons. When you don’t fuel your body consistently, it can negatively impact your metabolism, causing it to slow down and hold onto the weight.
Secondly, having erratic eating windows can mess up your blood sugar and cause cravings that lead to overeating or choosing sugar-laden foods over clean foods.
To ensure your hormones are balanced, you need a good ratio of high-quality fats, protein, and carbs. Aim for 5 smaller meals per day and finish eating at least 2 hours before you go to sleep.
3. Cook your Cruciferous Veggies
Cruciferous vegetables are full of antioxidants and other phytonutrients that have anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory properties. If you have a thyroid imbalance, however, it’s extra important to cook your broccoli, cauliflower, kale and collard greens! That’s because these potent veggies all contain oxalates and goitrogens, which can block or inhibit thyroid function when eaten raw in large amounts. Simply cooking these vegetables and eating them with grass-fed butter or coconut oil and sea salt can help with nutrient absorption and thyroid function.
4. Smart Supplementation
Supplementing with the proper vitamins and minerals can help supply your body with what it needs for optimal hormone function. The following supplements can support your adrenal glands, thyroid, and nervous system while giving you a natural energy boost too.
B-Complex: When we’re deficient in B-Vitamins we may experience hormonal imbalance and low-energy. Taking a quality B-Complex can support your body in progesterone production, removing excess estrogen from your system and creating hormonal ease.
Vitamin C: Found abundantly in fresh fruits, veggies, and dark leafy greens, Vitamin C is a major player for the immune system. Supplementing with Vitamin C can support your liver in filtering out excess toxins and improve your bodies ability to produce the hormones you need to feel healthy and energized.
Magnesium: This mineral plays a major role in the endocrine system. Magnesium deficiency can impact the HPA axis, causing irregular ovulation and menstruation. Try taking a scoop of magnesium in water before bed as most minerals are better absorbed at night.
Liquid Zinc: this trace mineral is used by every cell in your body. You don’t need a lot of it, but without it, a whole host of health issue can occur ranging from fatigue to low-hormone levels, brain fog, digestive issues and unstable blood sugar. You can supplement with liquid zinc found on Amazon.
5. Add Adaptogens Into Your Day
Adaptogens are an incredible way to balance hormones, soothe your nervous system and create inner harmony. These special herbs work to bring levels into balance, whether they need to come up or down. They respond to the environment, rather than entering the body with their own agenda the way a pharmaceutical does. You can find most of these herbs at a local health food store or on Amazon.
Holy basil: commonly used for anxiety and inflammation, holy basil is found in tea or capsule form. You can drink the tea 2-3 times a day, or before bed for a boost of antioxidants and stress relief.
Ashwagandha: a stress balancer and adaptogen. Ashwagandha can be used for mood disorders, PMS symptoms, stress, anxiety and hormonal imbalance.
Maca: support your beauty hormones and boost your immune system with maca. Some people use maca to boost libido and level out mood swings. It has a unique, earthy flavor and can be taken in capsule form, or used as a powder in smoothies.
Lions Maine: this potent mushroom is being well-studied for its ability to help heal memory loss and improve brain function. Lions Maine is also strengthening for the immune system and loaded with antioxidants.
6. Nourish Your Gut
When the gut is overrun with bad bacteria, the whole body can fall out of balance. Taking antibiotics, eating too much sugar and stress can all negatively impact your gut bacteria. If you catch every cold that’s going around, feel run down and tired, have a lot of sugar cravings or get bloated and gassy after a meal, your gut bacteria may need tending.
To begin healing your gut, start taking a good probiotic, try taking L-glutamine and removing processed sugar from your diet. The 30 Day Clean Eating Challenge is an excellent source of security and structure if you need an extra boost to keep you motivated. All of your meal plans are provided, along with support and accountability from the CleanFoodCrush team.
7. Get to Bed Before Midnight
Sleep! How often do we hear this and ignore it? Without proper sleep, our body can’t heal and repair. All of your efforts are wasted if you’re not tucking yourself into bed on time and getting at least 8 hours a night. Drink a cup of holy basil tea, turn off the screens, and make sure your bedroom is cool and dark. To get good REM sleep, it’s best to keep your room cold enough that you need a blanket. Instead of watching TV right before bed or checking your social media, try reading a book to relax your nervous system. Getting a good night’s rest can help balance your hormones naturally and help you lose weight.
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