Obesity is dangerous not only because it can hurt your body image, but because it makes you more vulnerable to a great number of health problems. Cardiovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes and a lot more diseases become more common for people who are obese. Having way too many extra kilos is a risk factor that should not go unchecked. 

The conventional approach sometimes involves fat-melting diets and exhausting exercise regimes. And while diet and physical exercise are important factors, it is also a good idea to adopt a more functional approach, which involves other ways of tackling the problem. Adopting a few of the following principles functional medicine tips for losing weight could have a major positive effect on your weight problem: 

• Eliminate sugar sensitivity – the amount of sugar your consume each year is no small amount, even if you don’t count any of the starchy foods, which break down to sugar in your body. You have to adopt and overly-critical stance on food labels, as even things like almond milk contain sugars. Bear in mind there are food sensitivities, which also trigger inflammation and cause your immune system to go in overdrive – gluten and dairy are common examples. A diet that is focused on whole and real foods can be just the thing you need to deal with insulin resistance. 

• Support your gut – if your gut microbiome encounters imbalances, you run the risk of metabolic syndrome. If you don’t eat enough high-fibre foods and never have any cultured and fermented foods, you will reduce the number of probiotics. Instead, aim for a supplement that contains such microorganisms, as they can make a difference. 

• Work on better sleep – if you don’t have good sleep each night, you will probably gain weight. According to research, people who don’t get sufficient sleep are more likely to struggle with hypertension and metabolic disorders. It is good to aim for about 7-8 hours of unobstructed sleep each night. To get there, you may want to turn off your electronics and develop a bedtime routine that you follow each night. Try to go to bed and wake up at the same time every day. 

• Managing stress – chronic stress contributes to a host of problems, and obesity is one of them. The reasons are simple: people tend to assuage stress with junk foods with low nutritional value and high in sugar. Besides, stress causes the hormone of cortisol to ramp up and store belly fat. Eliminating stress is not possible, but you can at least employ several strategies for dealing with it. Deep breathing techniques, yoga, meditation and other such activities work great for reducing stress levels. 

• Consider the type of diet that works for yourself – don’t just trust the very next fad diet you see online. When it comes to adopting a healthy approach to dieting, you need to establish routines and preferences that you like. Adhering to a long-term diet plan, which makes you unhappy is not an option. Find out what works for you and what you enjoy, to build up motivation and interest in healthy eating. 

• Next, exercise – there is no way to achieve much without physical exercise. But you need to be mindful that it works best when you support your effort with a diet. People who exercise and have a decent diet lose weight at a larger degree than those that mostly focus on one of these aspects alone. Find out what sort of physical activity works for you and you will surely see results soon. 

© 360 Health Clinic