What strategy do you generally adopt when you want to lose weight/excess fat? Almost everyone counts calories & focuses on creating a calorie deficit irrespective of what food, how much quantity & what time they eat. We also live in a myth that we should control carb consumption which is actually not true. The amount of carb one should consume varies from individual to individual & depends upon genetic predisposition to carbs. We also end up trying a lot of diets, be it- low carb, low fat, keto, atkins etc., but end up with mediocre & successful results! Or perhaps it works for a while & then you regain weight revert back to your previous situation.
So why does this happen? I am afraid Calorie counting & calorie deficit is not a solution for your weight loss worries.
You are not alone! Overweight & obesity is a global problem with 2/3rd of total population & 52% of total adult population are overweight or obese.
There is something else going on ! With such a worrisome numbers, weight loss is not your fault:
- It is bigger than the calorie deficit.
- It much larger than lack of willpower & motivation
- It is much more serious than some extra weight on your abdomen.
Every year, Obesity causes 4.7 million premature deaths worldwide. And the question is till now, we have not been able to figure out how to handle this epidemic.
Before we get into more specifics about weight loss, let us take a look at what is actually healthy weight. Everyone’s ideal weight is different & it depends upon:
- Genetics & inherited tendencies
- Lifestyle-stress, work, family
- Culture-social habits around good & body shape
- Location-climate, food available
This may give us a pause- with some many different variables, how is it possible to compare weights globally. This is an important question considering the obesity situation we are facing currently & may need a revision.
Currently, we look at BMI or body mass index to compare weight between individuals. This is how the formula looks like
BMI= Weight(Kg)/height^2(m2)
However this number is fat from perfect since it does not take into account body muscles & body fat. For example, it does not consider muscle mass heavier than fat.
Many athletes & body builders are considered as obese inspite of having low body fat. This is because of higher than normal lean body tissue. Old age people have high healthy BMI range.
It is important to note that BMI formula is just a guide & cannot be considered for children. Therefore, we should remember:
- BMI comparison are not perfect
- BMI is how current weight statistics are generated.
When you are evaluating your health, do not go with weight since it is just a number. You should consider evaluating healthy eating habits & lifestyle. We all have a healthy normal & it is different from everyone else.
How big is this weight loss problem anyway?
Two generations ago, hardly anyone was overweight. Compared to that now 2/3rd of population is either obese or overweight. WHO reports that globally obesity has tripled since 1975
So what has changed?
Almost everything. There are multiple factors that are pushing obesity. We have collectively created the perfect environment for obesity to thrive. A worldwide phenomenon that makes humans store fat. How?
- Diet: High fat, high sugar, junk & nutrient deficient highly processed foods habits, resulting in consuming more food than we can burn/use.
- Low physical activity: Glued in front of laptops & TV screens. This has further been exacerbated by long working hours & fear of losing jobs.
- Stress: Mental health & physiological conditions such as depression plays an important role in weight gain.
- Genetics: Your genetic predisposition( coming from your both parents) plays an important role in attracting obesity.
- Deficient sleep: not getting adequate sleep is another reason for weight gain.
- Toxin exposure: Chemicals( Obesogens) that directly impact our hormones that regulate metabolism & weight.
- Food supply & processing: Agriculture practices including food processing, marketing, distribution & transportation has changed. All these impact the quality of food we consume.
- Social Pressures: Obesity promoting activities in our modern living culture such as alcohol consumption.
AND ABOVE ALL,
9. Microbiome changes: Changes in our microbiome directly impacting our balance & diversity of our gut microbiota & bacteria encourage weight gain. Western eating habits & lifestyle & antibiotics are the main reason for this.
AND in spite of various marketed weight loss solution by endless number of players such as
- Weight loss plans- endorsing calorie deficit, supplements consumption & workout
- New & better diet advice
- Pharmaceutical drugs
We still can’t lose weight- and even if we do it is not sustainable.
Diseases linked with obesity such as diabetes, high blood pressure, thyroid which is accelerating spread of obesity. These diseases are promoting disability, reducing productivity & lifespan. This has now plagued entire mankind with children also attracting obesity. Diseases which impacted adults, have also starting affecting children
- Insulin resistance have started showing up earlier- from age band of 55 to 60 years to 35 to 40 years
- Metabolic Syndrome has started impacting children & adolescents & is associated with several diseases such as diabetes.
Really! Is obesity due to willpower or choice?? “NO”! So what is the solution? How can we manage this over long term?
Answer lies in gut health
Recent advances in DNA technology has enabled detailed research into links between Obesity & gut bacteria. Gut bacteria of obese & non-obese individuals have distinctive differences. These differences explain how our body & microbiome uses energy from food we consume. This essentially means that our gut bacteria controls the amount of energy released from food & how that energy is processed in our bodies. This makes a shift how we look at our weight management- from a bad food choices to attracting diseases
Let us discuss how weight & gut bacteria are connected
Our gut is a house of trillions of microorganisms. There are around 500 to 1000 species of bacteria living in our gut. These bacteria use the food we eat to grow & form complex networks, thereby exchanging nutrients & energy with us & various other fungi & viruses that make us our microbiome. They extract nutrients from our food & release others which are then used by our cells to support our health. So what determines who are living in our gut anyways:
- We get some of our microbiome from our mother’s microbiome
- Our diet plays an important role- the food we eat feeds certain group of bacteria
- Lifestyle(stress, environment, exercise, relationships) changes our microbiome more than we previously assumed.
- Chemicals & antibiotics that we consume have a detrimental impact on our gut.
Our gut bacteria plays a vital role in determining quantity & quality of nutrients taken from our food. Therefore our gut acts as an important factor in determining our current understanding of obesity as compared to what we earlier thought.
Microbiomes also impact our metabolic processes & our gut lining. Bacteria known as Akkermansia not only overcome the issue of leaky gut but also are associated with improved weight loss outcomes. Besides, bacteria such as E.coli releases protein which makes us feel full. In addition, some gut bacteria which make short chain fatty acids such as Butyrate stimulated gut hormone that reduces our food intake. These short chain fatty acids, products of fermentation of carbs & fibre, play an important role in maintaining our gut health. These are produced by 2 bacteria groups-Firmicutes & Bacteroidetes. Having a high proportion of Firmicutes as compared to Bacteroidetes essentially means you have more energy harvesting bacteria than you require. This may result in weight gain & attract a number of diseases.
Let us discuss both these bacteria groups in detail,
- Firmicutes: This refers to a group of bacteria who have similar rod shaped gram positive physical structures. This consists of > 270 subgroups of bacteria with multiple bacterial species. These also contain harmful bacteria & are found in various environments. They are active in fibre & carb digestion. Many of these produce beneficial short chain fatty acids. Some important Firmicutes bacteria include Lactobacillus & Clostridium.
- Bacteroidetes: These are another group of bacteria that too are rod shaped but gram negative physical structures. They are well distributed in environment & soil but are also found in humans.These perform various functions such as,
- Energy production & conversion
- Amino acid transport & metabolism
- Carbs digestion
We can find a lot of symptoms associated with overgrowth between these groups, Starting from IBS to weight control. Both these groups produce different short chain fatty acids.
3. Firmicutes produce- Acetate & propionate while Bacteroidetes produce butyrate & acetate. Butyrate is said to reduce inflammation & improve health of gut lining while propionate controls appetite & maintains blood sugar level.
Let us also discuss role of inflammation in weight gain
Inflammation impacts our cellular processes that we rely on for our health & leads to many health problems. One of the important reasons for inflammation is abundance of non-beneficial bacteria. Harmful bacteria bring lipopolysaccharides(LPS) which impacts our immune system & promote inflammation. Inflammation also encourages insulin production, resulting in excess insulin & insulin resistance which on long term bases reduces our body’s ability to burn fat. This plays a major role in attracting diabetes.
So how can the gut help you lose weight outside of traditional diet & workout advice> The best way is to eat food that helps in promoting/producing beneficial short chain fatty acids. If you want to increase the production of Butyrate & Bacteroidetes, eat food that is high in resistant starch. For propionate production & firmicutes eat lot of grain, legumes, fruits & vegetables.
Good fat has a positive impact & feeds good bacteria while bad fats such as vegetable oil & hydrogenated oils feeds bad bacteria. The trans fat which derives from the process of hydrogenation has a chemical structure that differs from natural fat structures. You should focus on maintaining a healthy balance between omega-3 & omega-6 fatty acids which generally happens when we consume health & natural fats. The best strategy would be to avoid oils such as vegetable oil, soya oil & canola oil. You should focus on foods rich in omega-3 such as wild fish, extra virgin olive oil & avocados.
So summing up,
- Whole foods: Have a lot of whole foods rich in fibre, focus on leafy green. 2/3rd of your plate should consist of vegetables coupled with healthy fats & good protein sources
- Resistant Starch: Eat resistant starch by including green bananas & cooked rice. These are great microbiome foods. Since resistance starch cannot be digested by us, we rely on our bacteria to break it down. When bacteria perform this function, we benefit from beneficial short chain fatty acids we discussed above.
- Healthy fats: Have a lot of omega-3 in your diet through food such as olive oil, avocados, & grass fed butter. Avoid vegetable oils & processed foods.
- Prebiotics: Fibre rich foods such as fruits & vegetables act as feed for good bacteria. They directly help your gut in thriving on good beneficial bacteria. Kimchi, Kefir & Sauerkraut are great sources of prebiotics.
- Have adequate sleep of about 7 to 8 hours daily
For weight loss, do not focus on calorie deficit rather focus on a diet that can flourish your microbiome. Include foods that can feed beneficial bacteria & ditch those who help bad bacteria to grow
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