Did you know that there is a direct relationship between your hormones and burning fat in specific parts of the body? Your hormones control all aspects of weight loss including your metabolism, where you store your fat, your appetite, and even your cravings. This means that any type of hormonal imbalance can sabotage your weight loss efforts.
Sure, skipping the fries and hitting the treadmill is a confident way to lose weight, but if your hormones are out of balance you can have a hard time losing weight. However, if you understand how they work and how to restore them you will be able to lose weight faster.
What is Recovery Hormone?
Hormones are biochemical substances that every multicellular organism produces to orchestrate the way your mind and body behave.
They are an essential part in the way that males and females obtain energy, collect fat, fight stress and maintain muscle mass.
Balancing your hormones is a great way to ensure a happy and energetic life, but many people turn to expensive and potentially dangerous supplements to see results.
Reset your hormones to burn fat
Dr. Natasha Turner pioneered a natural health movement when she released her book “The Hormone Supercharged Diet.” Turner, an expert naturopath, has long studied how to improve your natural life and lose weight with diet and proper lifestyle changes.
This article will review some of the basics behind the complex hormonal replenishment process, and give some sample recipes for melting body fat.
Start with a detox to restore hormones
There is a lot to consider when addressing your hormonal imbalances – sleep, exercise, meal frequency, etc. The first thing to focus on, however, is whether you are eating the right foods to cleanse your body of toxins.
Particular foods cause the digestive tract to become irritated, which in turn, destabilizes the balance of your hormones. When this happens, it encourages random food cravings, even when your body doesn’t need to eat.
If you are eating when it should not be and your hormones are already out of balance, you can accumulate fat and prevent it from leaving. A proper diet with natural juices, raw vegetables and fruits, can help detoxify your body with foods that have beneficial anti-inflammatory properties.
Foods to avoid to restore your hormones and burn body fat
Dr. Turner recommends that if you are allergic to any type of food, even at a relatively harmless level, you remove it from your diet. You should also stay away from foods that are high on the glycemic index, as they will encourage the food cravings described above.
These include foods that are high in carbohydrates and sugar such as white bread, soda, baked goods, pasta, and more processed foods.
Foods to eat to restore hormones and burn body fat
A rule of thumb, according to Dr. Turner, is to eat low-glycemic foods to keep your hormones balanced. Foods that are high in fiber, such as bananas, artichokes, raisins, oats, beans, and nuts will help keep your digestive tract out of irritation.
A rule of thumb when it comes to detoxification is to drink enough water each day. Drinking about eight glasses a day will help you increase your metabolism and give your body a means to flush out unwanted toxins in the liver and body.
Targeting specific areas of body fat
Sometimes people have fat deposits that are more troublesome than others. Stubborn areas can seem to always remain chubby due to biological misfortunes. There are certain types of supplements and foods that can be used to target individual fat areas.
The belly
We all have abdominal muscles, and it is the fat in the stomach that prevents them from showing. Studies have suggested that excess cortisol could be a major factor behind the accumulation of fat in the stomach.
Holy basil is an Indian herb that helps maintain healthy cortisol levels and is commonly taken in capsule form. Foods to reduce cortisol include spinach, citrus fruits, nuts, beans, and barley. There is also the eggplant, which is an effective food against abdominal fat.
Do not forget that there are also special exercises to burn abdominal fat, and that together with your diet, you can achieve better results to lower that accumulated fat.
The back
The back fat and upper trunk is less common than fat stomach, but just as hard to take. It is also a likely indication that you have high insulin levels.
Foods that contain conjugated linoleic acid, such as yogurt, meat (try to be hormone-free, free range) can help. You should also lean towards whole grain and green vegetable options.
The rear
Some people like big butts, but everyone has a limit. If you have excess body fat on your bottom, it could be due to high levels of estrogen.
Cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage are rich in phytochemicals that block estrogen. Chia, flax and sesame seeds have polyphenols that break down estrogen in the bloodstream. Pomegranates and red grapes are good fruit options for lower estrogen levels as well.
Eat more of the Mediterranean diet style if you want to restore your hormones and burn body fat
This new type of diet turns on the classic Mediterranean diet, is one of the best recipes for a long and healthy life, and focuses on the science behind the glycemic index and carbohydrates.
The diet requires you to focus on the balance of macronutrients (carbohydrates, fats, and proteins) in your meals.
According to Dr., a basic approach to the diet is the goal of consuming twice as much fat and protein as you do carbohydrates. Doing this will help your stomach feel full and satisfied for longer periods of time, keeping dangerous binges away.
It will also help you keep your cortisol, insulin, and estrogen at healthy levels.
Quick tips
- Protein powder is an essential tool for this diet. You can add in water or non-dairy milk, mix into oatmeal, or cook in recipes to make sure you’re not overloading yourself on carbohydrates at every meal.
- Transitioning from sandwiches to salads can be tough, but you can easily take a sandwich presentation and slice it over lettuce or spinach. Avoiding bread for at least one meal will make it much easier for you to balance macronutrients.
- Fruit is fine in moderation, but be sure to choose whole fruit over juices. Most juices have much less fiber and added sugars.
- Keep your eyes open for the calories in your drinks, many sodas and juices have a lot more carbohydrates than people think. Look for calorie-free options like flavored water or look for high-protein alternatives.
- Other recommended staples for this diet include roasted nuts, dry red wine, buckwheat, pomegranates, and almost any type of vegetable.
Recipes to restore hormones and burn fat
Try the following recipes from Dr. Turner to reset your hormones:
Goat Blueberry Yogurt Smoothie – Serves 1
Ingredients
- 1 serving of whey protein isolate.
- 1/2 cup of natural goat yogurt.
- 1/2 frozen banana.
- 1/2 cup frozen blueberries.
- 1 tablespoon chia seeds.
- 1/2 cup of water.
Instructions
Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend on high speed until smooth.
Crispy Chicken Lettuce Wraps – Serves 1
Ingredients
- 1 small green apple, diced (unpeeled).
- 1/4 cup diced red bell pepper.
- 1/4 cup diced cucumber.
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped red onion.
- 1 boneless, skinless chicken breast (organic free range) (about 4 to 5 ounces), cooked and diced; If you are a vegetarian, you can supplement the chicken with beans, tempeh, or cooked quinoa.
- 1/4 cup low-fat Greek yogurt.
- 2 teaspoons of extra virgin olive oil.
- Salt and pepper to taste.
- 1 small head of lettuce (4-5 leaves).
Instructions
In a bowl, combine all the ingredients except for the lettuce. Chill for 1 hour. Place the chicken mixture (or the ingredient that supplements it if you are a vegetarian) inside each lettuce leaf, wrap in tacos and serve.