Boost Your Metabolism and Improve Your Period Symptoms
If you’d like to lose weight, then boosting your metabolism is a great way to drop those extra pounds. The best way to boost your metabolism is not by cutting back on food and restricting your diet, but by eating more of the kinds of foods that treat the root cause of your slowed and sluggish metabolism. The key to boosting your metabolism is about balancing your hormones! Just like knowing what your period tells you about your hormone balance, understanding where you gain weight is an important key to boosting your metabolism. Your hormone-body type reveals the reason you’re putting on the pounds (or having difficulty losing weight) and the best way for you to boost your metabolism successfully. Your body type can tell you which hormonal imbalance issue you are experiencing that is driving your weight gain. Addressing the root hormonal cause of your weight issue will have the added benefit of clearing up your period symptoms as well!
How To Use Food to Boost Your Metabolism
Eliminating foods from your diet – especially carbs and fats – will prevent your body from producing the hormones it needs to keep your metabolism humming along and burning effectively. You need to feed your metabolism the right kinds of foods to fuel its functioning. It does not help to punish yourself with a starvation regime or crash dieting or even too much heavy exercise – many of the actions we have come to believe will help us lose weight are actually going against our fat-burning system.
Not eating enough and over-exercising plays havoc with your blood sugar levels and stresses out your adrenals. This means the fat doesn’t get converted into useful, functional glucose, and instead goes straight into your cells – padding out your figure.
Which Diet Boosts Metabolism Best?
Many of the on-trend, current diets you hear a lot about (think Paleo, Ketogenic, Macrobiotic, Vegan…) rob your body and brain of the micronutrients that you need to create balanced appetite control-neurotransmitters and balanced metabolism-boosting hormone levels. In comparison, the Flo Living protocol supports appetite control and boosts your metabolism, because it increases essential micronutrients and balances your hormones.
Boosting your metabolism isn’t about revving up the body to work harder, it’s about balancing hormones to help your body work smarter! AND the effects are not just being slimmer, it’s about being your most vital self. When I was obese, I used to think losing weight was the goal, but then as I started to understand how my hormones ruled everything, my goal changed from weight loss, to hormonal optimization.
The 4 Hormone-Body types and How to Boost Your Metabolism
What I mean here by your “body type” is how and where you gain the most pounds and store your fat. This information indicates the root biological cause of your weight gain or inability to lose weight. Knowing where you hold the majority of your weight can help you unlock the secret to losing pounds all over. A combination of the right food and supplements can boost your metabolism and help you to burn fat in the best way that works perfectly for you.
Where you hold your weight and how to boost your metabolism:
- Estrogen Type – Hips & Thighs & Butt – storing your fat in your thighs reveals an estrogen dominance in you body. Your progesterone is low and your estrogen is too high. Period Symptoms: heavy bleeding, irregular periods, moodiness, PMS. What to eat: Focus on adding more cruciferous vegetables into your diet (like kale, collards, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower and brussel sprouts) – try to get a serving in at every meal. What to take: The supplement DIM (Di-Indolyl-Methane) extracted from cruciferous vegetables, helps the body to metabolize and process excess estrogen.
- Cortisol Type – Belly – packing on the pounds in your gut tends to point to stress and the production of too much of the stress hormone cortisol. Period Symptoms: anxiety, insomnia, PMS, skipped periods. What to eat: Bell peppers for the vitamin C – more than in oranges! Vitamin C is very effective at helping the body manage stress. What to take: The adaptogen Ashwagandha will soothe your adrenals to the point that they program your cells to burn fat.
- Insulin Type – Muffin top – love handles are a sign of a poor efficiency of insulin use in your body. Unstable blood sugar will make your body store more fat. Skipping meals and eating junky diet foods can cause high insulin levels that send the pounds straight to your middle. Period Symptoms: PCOS, skipped periods, fatigue. What to eat: Instead of bingeing on sugary snacks and white bread, rice, and pasta after a day of little-to-no real food, pick good fat-burning carbs like sweet potatoes, quinoa, buckwheat and brown rice. These foods will improve your insulin resistance. What to take: The supplement Cinnamon Force from New Chapter is great for stabilizing blood sugar. At study published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics revealed the potential of cinnamon supplementation to help those who are overweight and obese.
- Testosterone Type – Upper arms – storing fat in your upper arms/shoulder area suggests you have a sensitivity to testosterone or too low testosterone levels. You need testosterone to burn fat and build muscle mass. Period Symptoms: PCOS, irregular cycles, hair issues, irritability, low sex drive. What to eat: Good fats like avocados, which are also a great source of bioidentical testosterone. What to take: Add Maca root powder to your routine, which gently and safely boosts testosterone.
Always remember, that once you have the right information about how your body really works, you can start making health choices that finally start to work for you! You can do this – the science of your body is on your side!
to your FLO,
Alisa
Good things come in threes:
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First, do you want to lose weight?
Second, have you tried all the trendy diets?
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Need more Hormone Help?
If you’re needing some health upgrading, it’s time you started you looking into what’s going on with your hormones.
I’ve designed a 4 day hormone detox and evaluation to help you understand exactly what’s out of whack and how you can start getting back to balance so that your hormones no longer have to suffer.
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Hi Alisa,
I hold all my access weight in my thighs and hips but I don’t experience heavy bleeding at all – in fact my periods usually only last two days. Is this still excess estrogen? I do already eat a lot of cruciferous vegetables daily but I just can’t seem to lose the extra weight on my hips and thighs that I’ve gained in the past year, no matter what I do.
Hi, I carry my weight in my thighs too and have regular but light periods. I eat organic veggies, lean protein and good fats , yet I can’t lose any weight either.
Hi
For me the fat gets deposited in hips, butts and arms, sometimes belly as well. Looks like I have a combination type. But I see so much accumulation happening in hip n butt region.
And I have PCOS and hair issues. Please help me out to control my hair falls. I cant just explain in words how my low isl feel everyday bcoz of my hair issues..
Hi Swae, there is so much that you can do, hang in there! It will be helpful for you to pick up a copy of my book, WomanCode; there is a lot of info in there and steps you can start taking right now. Let me know how Flo Living can support you!
Alisa
This was an amazing article! Thank you for sharing!! I’ve read your book twice and love these updated email blasts. I’m a total corrtisol type (it’s all in my belly) and today I bought a huge badg of bell peppers- love my intuition! Keep it coming .xoxo
What an interesting post Alisa! So great – i just love your work. I have been following your woman code book for awhile and just love it – recommend it to all my gal friends.
I have a belly – vitamin c question (that is definitely me!) I’ve been working on my adrenals for awhile (and yes ashwaganda) but can increase my vitamin c. I am looking forward to testing that out. How much Vit c do you recommend?
RDA says 75 mg… other sources say the upper limit is 2000mg.
What would be a good target?
I also identified chinese cabbage, watercress, asparagus and mustard greens as good food sources to use. I would LOVE to hear your thoughts on this one!!!
xo!
Hi Renee,
I would take at least 750mg of Vit C daily!
Alisa
cool – thanks!!!!!! i will give it a try… and add it to my flo……!
Hi Alisa,
My fat is in the middle from high cortisol. I was eating red peppers and tomatoes, taking Ashwagandha and Vitamin C. My blood test showed very high inflammation and my doctor told me stop ingesting nightshades. I’m still taking Vitamin C and eating lots of fruits and vegetables. I also take DiM 3 times a week. What do you recommend since I can no longer eat any peppers, tomatoes, and Ashwagandha?
Is it a good idea to take DIM if you have a thyroid and as well possibly estrogen dominance? Is DIM safe for any thyroid related issues?