The Four Pillars of Weight Loss

Often, we are told that in order to lose weight it is 80 percent nutrition and 2 percent exercise; however the reality is that it takes much more. The reality is there are 4 things that we must control and work on in order to lose weight and be healthy. They are the 4 Pillars of Weight Loss.

The First Pillar is Sleep

Sleep is one of the most underrated, most important part of losing body fat and gaining muscle (which helps to burn fat). Hence, when it comes to toning and sculpting your body, sleep should be your number one focus.

Research shows that when we do not get enough quality sleep, we are more likely to gain weight – specifically belly fat. One study showed a group of people who had the exact same exercise regimen and diet were split into 2 different groups – 1 group slept well while the other group did not. The well-rested group lost weight while the sleep deprived gained weight. Furthermore, those who were sleep deprived had a 55% decrease in fat loss and an increase in the loss of fat free body mass by 60%! Therefore, the foundation of the four pillars is SLEEP.

People who lack sleep produce more Ghrelin (hunger hormone), are more likely to consume sugary or caffeinated beverages, and have a 32% increase of carbohydrate consumption – further perpetuating sleep patterns and creating a vicious cycle.

Human Growth Hormone (HGH) is essential to human growth and development, fat

burning and muscle repair and is most powerfully produced while you are sleeping. If you are lacking quality and quantity in your sleep, your body will miss the valuable time it takes to repair and will result in decreased strength and increased fat.

If you are putting in the time to exercise and not getting enough sleep, you are undermining your efforts. Just like you cannot out train a bad diet, you cannot out train bad sleep.

The Second Pillar is Nutrition.

We must know and understand that the things we eat are creating the foundation and tissue that make up the actual shape and structure of your body – and every time you exercise, you’re simply putting the finishing touches on the beautiful physique you’ve sculpted by the things you have eaten.

One of the MOST important parts to weight loss is eating a balance of nutrients.

So, let us talk about the macronutrients – the carbs, protein and healthy fats you need – but you also need the micronutrients from greens and plants for essential body, brain and hormone functions. Vitamins and minerals are essential for cell growth, function and development. For so many reasons, it is essential that you take your eating just as seriously as you take your workouts.

I know we have this tendency to have an outside in approach to health and stick to our exercise plan more religiously than we stick to our eating but you cannot exercise your way out of a nutrient deficient body that is not functioning at its best.

Do yourself a huge favor and get the education and knowledge you deserve about what nutrients your body needs. (Many of my upcoming blogs will educate you on some of this.)

The Third Pillar is Stress.

We all know that stress can affect so many things and yes one of those things is weight loss. If you are in the habit of putting this at the bottom of your list, I would invite you to reassess that practice. Chronic stress has been scientifically proven to cause us to reach for comfort foods, undoing your efforts to have a balanced nutrition intake.

Every time you get stressed, fight or flight stress hormones are released. While stress is an important adaptive mechanism that protects us, constantly getting stressed by traffic, family situations and even negative thoughts about ourselves can lead to disruption in our hormone cycles and cause fat storage.

Elevated levels of stress cause the body to produce more cortisol. While cortisol is an important hormone, when it is chronically elevated, over time it affects where and how much fat is stored. And often, that place of storage is in your abdomen.

Chronic stress greatly affects our brain which in turn lowers our immune response, so we get sick more often, causes us to recover slower from injury, and results in a decreased ability to maintain a state of health and vitality.

For you to see the results that you want, lose unwanted fat, and have a great impact on your health, it is imperative that you begin to cultivate habits that mitigate stress. Things like meditation, mindfulness and practicing gratitude are all great ways to combat stress.

The last and Final Pillar is Exercise.

There is no excuse you must get moving. You can do explosive cardio whether that be High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) or Tabata, explosive cardio is the best way to maximize overall fat loss during your workout. Make sure you TRAIN YOUR BODY 360 DEGREES AROUND, not just one specific part.

The body is super smart and designed for balance. If you only focus on building muscle on one portion of your body, like only doing a lot of crunches, leg lifts or sit ups, you will actually only go so far in the amount of muscle you’re able to develop.

This is your body’s natural way of protecting you, as too much muscle on one side will put undue stress on your underlying bones.

Thus, while you are exercising don’t just do cardio, but try resistance (or strength) training to help sculpt lean muscle, which makes you a more efficient fat burner and will change your body composition and shape.

Resistance training also elicits the release of HGH, (especially in training sessions that utilize many large muscle groups at once) – so you will be a more efficient fat burner and muscle builder. So be sure to balance your HIIT with some strength training to see amazing results – you are not going to get bulky just by adding heavier weights to your workouts.

Attached below are reference article that you can read up on. If you have any questions please feel free to comment below or reach out through our contact us page.

Remember to be Happy, Healthy and Wealthy,

R. Nicole

References:

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8627466/

https://www.hindawi.com/journals/ijpep/2010/460549/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25365337/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23319909/