A More Efficient Gut Ecology for Weight Loss By increasing water, fiber, and fats, our intestinal microbiome can begin to turn our guts (and bodies) into fat-burning machines.
We hear a lot about metabolism when talking about weight loss, but what is metabolism? Metabolism is simply the body’s ability to make energy. The foods and liquids we take in as well as the oxygen we breathe all convert to energy needed to process nutrients for growing tissues, making hormones and regulating those hormones, and eliminating waste products. One of the first steps for healthy weight loss is to reset metabolism; without a metabolic reset, metabolism constantly stays at the same set point, and weight is static.
In order to achieve a metabolic reset, three things need to be increased: water, fiber, and fats.
- Water has zero calories and aids in detoxification (toxins are stored in fat, so detox is a critical part of weight management and overall health). Water is also a fundamental part of metabolism; metabolism is energy production at the cellular level, and water is a critical component of what makes our cells operate. Our daily goal should be to drink a minimum of one half our body weight of water in ounces and to start each day with a full glass of water or lemon water. (Tip: caffeine-free herbal teas count as water intake.)
- Fiber maintains blood sugar by controlling how the body processes glucose. Fiber is best from food sources like vegetables as well as added in through seeds such as flax and chia. Fiber also decreases appetite because it creates bulk, and it also helps with detoxification because it stimulates and cleanses the bowels. A goal should be to take in a minimum of 24 grams of fiber every day.
- Fats are broken down into two categories: saturated and unsaturated. Saturated fats are solid at room temperature (beef tallow, ghee), while unsaturated fats remain liquid at room temperature (olive oil, avocado oil). Unsaturated fats are further broken down into mono-unsaturated and polyunsaturated fats and contain Omega 3s, 6s and 9s, which are found in foods like fish, walnuts, and flax seeds. One caveat: industrialized modern “seed oils” (unsaturated fat) are treated with high temperatures, which converts them into saturated fats, producing a trans fat that is pro-inflammatory, extremely toxic to the body and is considered to be a slow-acting poison. Trans fats should always be avoided.
Our microbiome is our gut’s ecosystem. Its total environment. This is where billions of microbes digest proteins, fats, and carbs while also controlling and regulating many different processes including the production of hormones and vitamins—they even control and turn on, turn off and regulate our genes. Even the possibility of getting cancer or other diseases is regulated by our gut microbiome.
On the other hand, our microbiome is being established and regulated by the foods we eat. This is why it’s so important to eat organic produce and grass-fed organic meats—if the produce we eat or the soil it’s grown in has been treated with pesticides and other chemicals, those toxins also go into our ecosystems, increasing its toxic load. When it comes to meat, industrially raised grain-fed animals are given antibiotics that promote weight gain—when we eat the meat of these animals, we’re getting high levels of glucose (pro-inflammatory) and we’re ingesting those antibiotics that kill off the good bacteria in our gut and allow the bad bacteria to overtake it. Eating these meats and/or taking antibiotics for extended periods increase the risk of obesity. Having a healthy gut microbiome by eating the right foods and supplementing with probiotics can help us lose weight while improving our overall health and wellbeing.
Learn more about how the health of the gut microbiome affects weight, or how probiotics can assist with weight loss, by tuning into Module 2 of The Down5 Pounds Challenge.
Participants who have implemented the strategies learned in the 5-Day LIVE Weight Loss Challenge have reported less pain, fewer headaches, more energy and weight loss. However, The Down5 Pounds Challenge is not the promise of a cure and does not constitute medical advice. To learn more about The Down5 Pounds Challenge: How to Curb the Midlife Madness Overtaking Your Gut!, please visit our website at learn.getwell-now.com. For questions or To dig a little deeper into your own unique biochemistry or learn about root cause healing and functional medicine, visit us at Get Well Now and schedule a Discovery Call.
About Dr Pucci - Dr. Doug Pucci, Founder, Pucci Wellness Center, is a functional medicine pioneer and Bergen County’s Face of Functional Medicine. He was honored to receive both The Best Of 2020 Awards for Functional Medicine in Oradell, NJ, and entry into Trademark Publications’ 2020 Who’s Who Directory, Honors Edition. Contact (201) 261-5430.
Food 101 is about food, and specifically how food is metabolized into energy. Why excess energy from simple carbohydrates induces a stress response that produces fat.
We begin to examine the food we eat and separate the “good” from the “bad” in each category (carbohydrates, fats, proteins). There are so many myths about food, fad diets, dietary strategies, and so on, that we want to tease these apart. All too often patients become paralyzed about what to put in their mouths or on the table.
Gaining Weight, Eating Too Often and Still Craving the Wrong Foods? is a primer on some of the ways that even a good dietary plan, such as keto, paleo and vegan, can go wrong.
The gut is not a sterile or empty environment. Indeed, it is filled with life. Learn about the GI Effects test from Genova, and the gastrointestinal tract. This test gives us indications for five broad categories that affect digestion and colon health: maldigestion, inflammation, dysbiosis, metabolic imbalance and infection.
Gut Health and Weight Loss is a look at why starving ourselves to lose weight isn’t the answer. And for most people, an excessive amount of exercise isn’t either.
Fiber is Key to a Healthy Gut Microbiome is about the life teeming inside and the fuel it craves. We’ve always known that fiber-rich foods are important to good health, but scientists are now finding out why.
Why A Diversity Of Probiotic Strains Matters? How to know whether the probiotics we’re taking are right for us? Is yogurt really the best choice? Dr. Pucci explains why diversity matters.
Stress Eating and Healthy Weight is about avoiding the tendency for takeout and a few suggestions for stress management techniques.
Toxic Stress is Causing Leaky Gut is about how cortisol stress begins to erode our barrier system, the lining of our mucosa, when toxins permeate the gut.
Foods that Trigger Immune Reactions is about the pro-inflammatory nature of modernized grains, fats and dairy and why these trigger an immune reaction.
Food Scores Download the EWG (Environmental Working Group) App application to learn which of our produce is ranked highest in pesticide use and which is adhering to pesticide free guidelines.
Answers to Listener Questions A ton of questions came up during the LIVE taping. Register for The Down5 Pounds Challenge to review the complete list of answers related to food, what we eat and why.
Easy Breezy Morning Routine is about the 10 tiny habits that will create change and even transform the day.
