This is a topic I have wanted to write about for ages and I will warn you I have a bee in my bonnet about it so I’ll try to keep the ranting to a minimum…..

 

It is a hugely important topic. Especially in this culture of fat-phobia and judgment towards anyone who is not rake thin.

 

And the ironic thing is this insidious way of thinking is having a big impact on people’s relationship with food and getting in the way of people just eating in an intuitive and healing way…..because why would you bother to eat awesomely if you feel like and are told, you’re a failure?

 

This idea that ‘being fat’ is a sign of moral failing. By this, I mean the idea that if ‘you are fat’ it is because you are doing something wrong. You’re lazy, greedy, have a lack of self-control or self-discipline. That it’s because you have failed somehow as a person.

 

It becomes personal.

 

And, gosh, can you not just eat less and exercise more!? (arrrrrgggggghhhh, *heavy sarcasm*)

 

The language we use around weight connects it to who we are as a person. ‘I am so fat’, ‘Fat slob‘, even things like ‘fat bi*ch‘ (I hate that word!). So if we dare to gain weight it is not just biological, but suddenly a symbol of who we are. A sign of our true self and our identity.

 

WTF?!

 

We say people are fat, not that they have fat, interfering that fat is something you are as a person not just a part of your body or a bodily imbalance on show.

 

Now I am all for taking responsibility for your own body and if you have gained weight you have a responsibility to look into that. But for lots of my clients, it’s not because they are eating pie and sitting on the sofa all day!

 

We have a culture that says being overweight means you are lazy, greedy, stupid person. And it.does.my.nut.in.

 

There are some people out there who have been eating tonnes of rubbish foods and sitting on the sofa, no veg, no movement, no water, just takeaway food and crisps. These people will gain weight and need to get off their butt and take responsiblity. BUT there are lots of other people I see and work within my one to one health coaching practice or group program (opening soon – for a pre Christmas healing blast!!), who exercise 4-5 times per week, they eat healthy whole foods but they are still putting on weight or are unable to lose weight. They then feel like a failure because they are ‘doing everything right‘ and gain this identity of an essentially flawed or lazy person and that is just not the case.

 

(To join the wait list for the Flourish Academy – the place to be to heal your body become a fabulous fat burning female, without the B*S or ‘eat less’ crap, click below! Opening soon.)

 

 

Why might you gain weight or struggle to lose it?

 

So many things can be going on in your body to result in this added fat to your belly/arms/thighs/feet (!?). It can be a sign inflammation in the body and generally that something is off – physically or emotionally.  Here are the most common reasons I see people gain weight or unable to lose it:

 

1.It can mean your thyroid and adrenals are off.

This really effects your metabolism, basal temperature, how your body stores fat and even digests food.

>>Click here to read more about the thyroid.

 

2.Your blood sugars are wonky.
If your blood sugars are really out of balance you will be storing lots of fat around your belly and middle. This is usually due to a diet that is high in carbohydrates and sugar (in addition to genetic factors and other health issues). Too much glucose in the blood generated by eating a high carbohydrate/sugar diet tires out you insulin receptors causing problems.

>> Click here to read more about how to balance out your blood sugars

 

3.Your sleep is terrible
Not getting enough sleep imbalances your blood sugar and makes it really hard to lose weight. There has been tonnes of research around this. If your sleep is poor or you never get more than 6 hours sleep per night you will not be losing weight because your body is stressed out.

 

4.Poor gut microbiome.
There is research that shows a lack of a diversity within your gut bacteria leads to obesity. Also, research that points to specific strains of bacteria within the gut that leads to obesity. If your gut microbiome isn’t diverse, resilient enough or there is an infection, parasite, yeast or a leaky gut it will affect your bodies ability to lose weight. Now this research is still developing but show a very interesting link between weight gain and poor gut health.

>> Click here to find out how to help your gut!

 

5. Your sex hormones
If your oestrogen is too high (very common due to pollutants, poor liver function and crap in our air and water) or your progesterone is too low (again very common due to lack of fat or excess cortisol production) , or both are too low or your testosterone is too high, it can affect your weight.

Hormones need to be in just the right ‘Goldilocks’ amount, and if too much or too little it can cause certain women (not all – remember we are all so unique) to gain weight.

>> Click here to learn how to balance out your hormones 

 

(Also note as you get older you metabolism does slow too so this can be  reason for slight weight gain but I often see this used as an excuse and there is nearly always other issues at work.)

 

These factors and many more, can lead your body to feel threatened. And when the body feels threatened or stressed, it can go into ‘defense’ mode and for many people, this ‘defense’ mode means storing extra fat. Especially for childbearing women, just in case you get pregnant or a famine starts or a bear chases you for days on end. Remember our physical bodies are wired to survive and breed.

 

Being overweight is not a failing. Sure it can suck, feel confusing and you can feel judged by others but honestly, as someone who grew up 2/1/2 stone overweight and was bullied for it for years, it is nearly always a sign that there is some DEEPER at work. A hormones imbalance, a trauma in need of healing, an addiction or even just a lack of good bacteria in your gut.

 

Sure for a some people it will be their body saying ‘get off the sofa and eat some veg‘ but for most people I see it is far, far, far more complicated than that.

 

If you want to get your body in fat burning mode and become a fabulous fat burning machine then make sure you:

A. Click Here to join the wait list for my fabulous 6 week group coaching program – The Flourish Academy where I will be personally taking women through how they can HEAL and burn fat. It will open end of October so join the list to get the early bird offer!

B. Click below to grab the meal plan!

 

 

You are awesome, your worth is beyond measure and can never be summed up in numbers or weight.

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