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8.14.2013
How To Lose Weight Without Even Exercising
Alright, now before you go burn your yoga mat, lemme tell you something - I’m a HUGE advocate of moving your body and exercising in the right way for you. I LOVE me some yoga, pilates, dance, rock climbing, intense interval miming - whatever floats your boat. However, exercise is most definitely not the end all be all of shedding pounds. Quite the contrary.
While exercise has enormous benefits, there are key things you can do right now to lose unnecessary pounds without having to lift a single weight or run a mile.
1. Chill before you fill
The Parasympathetic is also known as the rest and digest response. This is the optimal state for digestion. When the parasympathetic is activated our metabolic power goes up.
The Sympathetic is also known as fight or flight. This is our stress response. When we are stressed out our digestion shuts down. The classic textbook example is that if a lion was chasing you after lunch you wouldn’t be concerned about digesting your sandwich. Your body needs full attention and focus on digestion - it’s serious business for your body!
Fun To-Do: Say grace, thanks, meditate, or show gratitude in whatever way resonates with you that you actually have food in front of you. Make it a ritual. Bring in a candle or some music! Whether it’s a gourmet meal or a quickie salad, that food is about to replenish your energy and nourish your cells. Thanks food!
2. Breathe deep
Fun To-Do: Take 5 deep breaths before every meal, and any time you’re stressed out!
3. Chew your food!
Fun To-Do: Count your chews for every bite, and try doubling the number to start!
4. Catch your ZZzzzs
Fun To-Do: Challenge yourself to get to sleep at a decent hour (10pm is great) and sleep for at least a full 8 hours every night for a full week. Play around with length and times - some people may need more than that!
Notice I didn’t even touch on what to eat! I’ll save that for a later time ;) For now, take on some of these fun to-dos and I guarantee you’ll see a major difference in your health. Now excuse me while I go back to miming my own business.
While exercise has enormous benefits, there are key things you can do right now to lose unnecessary pounds without having to lift a single weight or run a mile.
1. Chill before you fill
Taking a moment to honor your food, and staying present during your meal, can make a huge difference! The tradition of saying grace before a meal provides more than spiritual kudos. Taking that time before you eat to shift from go-go-go to Aahhhhh activates the parasympathetic response, allowing your body to get the proper juices flowin and shutting out the stressors.
The Sympathetic is also known as fight or flight. This is our stress response. When we are stressed out our digestion shuts down. The classic textbook example is that if a lion was chasing you after lunch you wouldn’t be concerned about digesting your sandwich. Your body needs full attention and focus on digestion - it’s serious business for your body!
Fun To-Do: Say grace, thanks, meditate, or show gratitude in whatever way resonates with you that you actually have food in front of you. Make it a ritual. Bring in a candle or some music! Whether it’s a gourmet meal or a quickie salad, that food is about to replenish your energy and nourish your cells. Thanks food!
2. Breathe deep
You may have heard of a little hormone called cortisol. We all need cortisol in our life, but this also happens to be the hormone that’s released when we’re stressed out. Studies show that increased cortisol in the system leads to fat accumulation. To boost metabolism you must RELAX and stop producing so much cortisol. How can we do that?
Conscious breathing. Conscious breathing turns on the parasympathetic response, which allows for better digestion, absorption and assimilation. We’re basically tricking your central nervous system. The brains says something like, “Hey, I thought I was a whacked out nervous wreck but I’m breathing like a relaxed person, I must be relaxed!” The result is a shift from a state of low digestive activity to full digestive force. How rad is that?
3. Chew your food!
Ok, so you might be like “uh...duh” with this one. But I challenge you to count how many times you chew every bite you take. Chances are you’re not chewing as much as you need to in order to optimize digestion.
Why is chewing so critical? Saliva has important enzymes that help break down food, making it easier to digest and assimilate which means more of it gets used by the body versus being stored as fat. Saliva gets activated with the chewing mechanism.
Together, the mechanical process of chewing + saliva not only preps your food for digestion, but they also stimulate your gastric juices so that you can further optimize digestion. Bonus! Chewing your food more times also slows down consumption which allows your body to signal when it’s actually full versus overstuffed cuz you guzzled that lunch too fast.
Why is chewing so critical? Saliva has important enzymes that help break down food, making it easier to digest and assimilate which means more of it gets used by the body versus being stored as fat. Saliva gets activated with the chewing mechanism.
Together, the mechanical process of chewing + saliva not only preps your food for digestion, but they also stimulate your gastric juices so that you can further optimize digestion. Bonus! Chewing your food more times also slows down consumption which allows your body to signal when it’s actually full versus overstuffed cuz you guzzled that lunch too fast.
4. Catch your ZZzzzs
Sleep is paramount. This is the time when our body goes into repair and restoration mode. This is also when some pretty powerful antioxidants, including melatonin - the master detoxifier - are released into your body.
What does this mean? When you sleep, your body is able to address the causes of inflammation, normalize your hormones, detox all the sticky ickies that accumulate in your bod, and regenerate your liver (yes it regenerates just like in a sci-fi movie!), which means boosting your ability to cleanse and detoxify. Das alotta stuff people. So get good sleep!
What does this mean? When you sleep, your body is able to address the causes of inflammation, normalize your hormones, detox all the sticky ickies that accumulate in your bod, and regenerate your liver (yes it regenerates just like in a sci-fi movie!), which means boosting your ability to cleanse and detoxify. Das alotta stuff people. So get good sleep!
Notice I didn’t even touch on what to eat! I’ll save that for a later time ;) For now, take on some of these fun to-dos and I guarantee you’ll see a major difference in your health. Now excuse me while I go back to miming my own business.
Thanks for your ears :) If you dig this post, share your thoughts on Twitter and Facebook. I'd love to hear from you!
And if you're ready to make some real changes in your health, email me to sign up for a strategy session and uncover your unique roadmap to wellness town!
And if you're ready to make some real changes in your health, email me to sign up for a strategy session and uncover your unique roadmap to wellness town!
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