A Sustainable & Holistic Approach to Weight Loss according to a nutritionist

Let’s set the record straight:

No, a shot of apple cider vinegar, celery juice or cutting out entire food groups isn’t the key to shedding excess pounds. 

If you're not eating a balanced diet, not getting enough sleep, or not moving your body enough, taking a shot of apple cider vinegar every day is not going to give you the results you're hoping for. Weight loss and managing a healthy weight for your size and body doesn’t come from restricting a single food or following a one-size-fits-all “hack.” It requires a holistic approach—looking at your overall lifestyle and taking care of your body and mind in multiple ways.

The Whole Is Greater Than the Sum of the Parts

To achieve healthy weight management, you can’t rely on isolated strategies. It’s not about “cutting calories” or “hitting the gym hard.” Instead, the key is a lifestyle change; nourishing your body and mind across four main areas:

1. Food
2. Movement
3. Sleep
4. Mindfulness and Relaxation

When you focus on all of these areas together, you’ll not only lose weight more effectively, but you’ll also develop healthier habits that last.

1. Food: Fuel Your Body, Not Just Your Calorie Deficit

While creating a calorie deficit (consuming fewer calories than your body burns) is important for weight management, what you eat is just as critical. It’s not just about how much you eat, but what you eat.

A balanced, nutrient-dense diet supports your metabolism, helps regulate your appetite, and keeps your energy levels stable. Instead of drastically cutting food groups, focus on filling your plate with whole, unprocessed foods.

Key Focus:

• Mediterranean Diet: Embrace whole grains, fruits, vegetables, oily fish, and healthy fats like extra virgin olive oil. This way of eating has been linked to long-term health benefits and is much healthier than the ultra-processed foods typical of the Western diet.
• Avoid an ultra-processed diet: This dietary pattern is richer in refined sugars and saturated fats. The methods of processing often make it hyperpalatable and therefore it is easily consumed in excess. Furthermore, consumption of ultra-processed foods may increase appetite through suppressing the production of GLP-1* (a hormone that promotes satiety), making you feel hungrier.
• Avoid Restriction: Diets that eliminate entire food groups or restrict calories too often backfire. Moderation is the key to sustainability. A little indulgence (like one biscuit here and there) won’t derail your progress.
• Consider the Effects of Caloric Restriction: Prolonged caloric restriction can lower your metabolic rate over time, making it harder to lose weight. A better approach is to focus on nutrient-dense foods that fuel your body and support a healthy metabolism.

2. Movement: Keep Your Body Active and Metabolism Healthy 

Our increasingly digital world has made it easy to live a sedentary lifestyle, but movement is a key player in weight management. Here's why:

• Increased Calorie Expenditure: Physical activity helps burn calories, increasing energy expenditure, which can contribute to weight loss.
• Glucose Control: Movement, especially muscle activity, helps your body use glucose for energy rather than storing it as fat. This helps manage your blood sugar levels.
• Boosting Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR): Regular physical activity, especially resistance training, helps increase your resting energy expenditure (REE). This means your body continues burning more calories even at rest.

Simple Tips to Incorporate More Movement:

• Find an exercise you love—whether that’s yoga, swimming, weightlifting, or a team sport.
• Short bursts of activity throughout the day are just as effective as longer sessions. Try adding a 5-minute walk between meetings, or doing 10 push-ups every couple of hours.
• Make small changes in your daily routine—take the stairs instead of the lift, carry your shopping bags, or walk a bit further to your bus stop.

Pro Tip: Resistance training is especially beneficial for preserving lean muscle mass during weight loss and targeting fat loss. Research evidence shows it can help improve metabolic health and reduce the risk of diabetes.

Importance of breathing in exercise:

Nasal breathing makes the gas exchange in respiration more efficient. It builds up our CO2 tolerance which has significant positive implications for performance and reducing the feelings of breathlessness. Thus, a person may feel more motivated to exercise as performance rapidly improves with a faster recovery rate. Conscious breath control turns exercise into a moving meditation.

3. Sleep: The Unsung Hero of Weight Management

Sleep is often overlooked, but it’s a powerful ally in your weight management journey. Inadequate sleep doesn’t just leave you feeling tired—it directly affects your metabolism and appetite.

The Impact of Poor Sleep on Weight:

• Hormonal Disruption: Poor sleep disrupts hunger-regulating hormones, such as ghrelin and leptin, leading to increased cravings for high-calorie foods.
• Blood Sugar Regulation: Sleep deprivation can lead to elevated blood glucose levels, making it more likely that glucose will be stored as fat.
• Increased Appetite: Studies have found that sleep deprivation decreases GLP1.

Tips for Better Sleep Hygiene:

• Keep your phone out of the bedroom and avoid screens 30 minutes before bed.
• Create a calming bedtime routine, like drinking herbal tea or reading a book.
• Aim for 7-9 hours of quality sleep each night. The more rest you get, the better your body will function the next day—leading to more energy, less stress, and fewer cravings.

4. Gut Health: The Hidden Link to Weight Management

Your gut plays a major role in digestion, metabolism, and even weight regulation. The microbial gut environment can influence how well your body absorbs nutrients, burns fat, and even regulates your appetite. The species of microbes present in your gut can be affected by a range of lifestyle factors, including stress and diet, this can then cause neurobehavioral changes which are related to weight management.

Gut Health and Weight Management:

• A diet high in fibre, prebiotics, and probiotics can help maintain a healthy gut microbiome, which supports optimal digestion and weight regulation.
• Resistant starch—found in foods like legumes, green bananas, and oats— emerging evidence has reported resistant starch as promoting healthy weight loss by supporting healthy gut bacteria.

Gut Health Tip: Include plenty of fibre-rich vegetables, fruits, and fermented foods (like yoghurt, kimchi, or sauerkraut) in your diet to nourish your gut and support weight management.

5. Mindfulness and Relaxation: Managing Stress for Better Health

Stress plays a major role in weight gain, especially when it comes to emotional eating or unhealthy cravings. Physiologically, your body responds to stress in the same way it would to a physical threat—by activating the “fight or flight” response. In this state, digestion is suppressed as blood flow is redirected to the muscles.

This means that when you’re under stress—whether it’s due to work, relationships, or overly tired—your body is less able to digest food properly. Chronic stress can even lead to weight gain, particularly around the abdomen, as your body holds onto fat in response to stress hormones like cortisol.

The brain and gut are intimately connected through the gut-brain axis (GBA) via the vagus nerve. When an individual is stressed, signals are carried down the GBA to the gut and cause disruption. The disruption in the gut can similarly carry signals to the brain and lead to feelings of depression and anxiety, emotions that are associated with poor food choices and eating habits.

Managing Stress for Weight Management:

• Incorporate mindfulness practices like yoga, meditation, or journaling to manage your stress levels.
• Make time for relaxation each day. Whether it’s taking a walk, enjoying a hobby, or just sitting quietly, relaxation is key to both mental health and weight management.
• Practice nasal breathing. Breathing is something that we all do all the time, but very few of us are doing it ‘right’ and this can have negative implications for our health. Solely breathing through your nose can activate the parasympathetic nervous system, which can help calm your body, gut and reduce stress.

Tip: Before you eat, try this simple yet powerful breathing technique: take 10 deep breaths in and out through your left nostril. This activates the parasympathetic nervous system, known as the “rest and digest” response, helping you relax and prepare your body for optimal digestion. 

And remember to take your time when eating—chew each bite thoroughly and pause to take a breath between mouthfuls. This mindful approach not only supports digestion but also helps you tune into your body's cues, making it easier to recognise when you're satisfied and avoid overeating.

Final Thoughts: A Holistic Approach for Lasting Weight Management

Holistic weight management is not about quick fixes or the latest diet trend—it’s about making sustainable, long-term changes that nourish your body inside and out. By focusing on balanced nutrition, regular movement, restorative sleep, stress management, and a healthy gut, you can achieve a healthy weight and improve your overall health.

Remember, the key to success is consistency and balance. Embrace these principles and give your body the time and care it needs to achieve lasting results.

*GLP-1 is directly related to insulin secretion which is important for removing glucose from our circulation after meals and therefore reduces the incidence of being converted to fat. Additionally, GLP-1 is important in our satiety responses– it delays gastric emptying, which in turn regulates appetite.

Ruby Chauhan, Registered Nutritionist at Detox Kitchen

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