Happy New Year!

You may have already made your New Years Resolutions, but will you stick with them?

Many of my new patients ask me about releasing excess belly fat. It can come from several different imbalances, but what I most commonly find is an issue with insulin.

Here is what is likely happening to you too:

When you eat a meal high in carbohydrates, your blood sugar raises because your body turns all carbohydrates into sugar.

In order to utilize that sugar for energy, you must get it into each cell of your body. This is the job of insulin. Your body signals your pancreas to release insulin so the sugar doesn’t stay in your blood (which is toxic and dangerous), and instead moves into your cells.

After those carbs are all used up, your insulin levels should drop and a hormone called glucagon is released to help you burn off extra body fat.  If your insulin levels don’t drop, due to insulin resistance, high levels of carbs/sugars in your diet, genetic issues, or high levels of stress hormones, then you won’t release glucagon and you’ll never burn fat.

Here are a few Lifestyle and Nutritional Hacks to turn you into a Fat Burning Superhero!

Lifestyle & Nutritional Hacks

  1. Intermittent Fasting: Helps drop insulin levels and turn on your metabolic burners (see my Blogs for more details: Keto and Intermittent Fasting).
  2. Holistic Keto for Gut Health program: See my book here for tons of tips: Holistic Keto for Gut Health: A Program For Resetting Your Metabolism
  3. When you crave carbs and sugar, reach for protein and healthy fat instead.
  4. Shop the perimeter of your grocery store: The vegetables, whole foods, and healthy organic proteins are located on the perimeter of most grocery stores. The processed, packaged junk is along the aisles in the middle – avoid those.
  5. Exercise: Not only does this help burn fat, but High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) has been proven to decrease insulin resistance by helping your cells receive it more efficiently.
  6. Turmeric: Curcumin, the active medicine in turmeric, has been shown to support B-cell function, which helps control your insulin levels (takes about 9 months of consistency). It needs to be taken with black pepper and coconut oil to gain the full benefits. You can make your own golden milk, take a concentrated pill, or put it in your stir-fry daily. It’s important to be consistent. It also lowers blood pressure, so if you have low blood pressure there are a few tricks to understand. (More in another blog)
  7. Keep Stress Low: Cortisol, a known stress hormone, can cause your blood sugar and insulin levels to be wonky long term. Keeping stress down helps your insulin levels and metabolism stay balanced and healthy. See my blogs for more tips on this: KGM’s Health Blogs
  8. Sleep: Lack of sleep causes cortisol imbalance, which directly impacts insulin levels. Get to bed by 10pm at the latest to ensure cortisol levels are healthy and insulin is balanced.

For Healthy recipes and snack ideas, see my Recipe Blogs here: KGM’s Healthy Recipes

I hope you find these Hacks helpful as you become a Fat Burning Superhero!

Blessings of Vibrant Health in this Coming Year,
Kristin Grayce McGary
Health and Lifestyle Alchemist
LAc, MAc, CFMP©, CST-T, CLP