If you’re not already drinking milk to help you lose weight, now might be a good time to start. Instead of grabbing a regular glass of two percent milk, however, pour yourself a glass of probiotic milk. A recent study published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that consuming dairy products containing the probiotic Lactobacillus gasseri can help reduce abdominal fat in overweight people.

Drinking a glass of probiotic milk each day can help reduce belly fat.  Photo By sweetbeetandgreenbean/Courtesy Flickr.  

For the study, 87 overweight people were assigned to drink 200 grams of milk with or without probiotics for 12 weeks. At the end of the trial, the group that drank probiotic milk had a 4.6 percent decrease in abdominal fat and a 1.6 percent drop in body weight. Average body mass index and waste and hips circumference also took a dip.

Probiotics are good bacteria that live in our digestive system and help keep us healthy. Although researchers aren’t quite sure yet how probiotics factor into weight loss (one popular theory is that they affect how the body processes calories for energy), previous studies have shown that the levels of good bacteria are higher in people who maintain a healthy weight and lower in those who are overweight.

We're inundated with fad diets. Books, CDs and supplements saturate the market, “guaranteed” to help us achieve the lean, toned figure we crave. Every few years a new diet fad emerges, and we hear over and over again how fantastic it is, only to learn of its pitfalls a few years later.

For every vegan who’s convinced they’ve seen the light, that their skin has never been more radiant and their mood more elevated, there’s a vegan in recovery who can tell you all the ways that a meatless diet sickened them.

Atkins followed by the book can be great, but people who subsist on bacon cheeseburgers end up in the hospital.

All diets have one problem in common: If you follow them, you are relying on a rigid, externally imposed set of rules rather than your own innate wisdom. It’s bound to backfire sooner or later.

You may have heard of intuitive eating—the concept of choosing foods (and beverages) based upon what your body’s asking for. This is not the way the average American functions. Slow down and listen to my body? No way! I have errands to run, kids to pick up, a job to do and things to worry about!

Slowing down also means you may start to feel unpleasant emotions. Listening to your body may mean hearing some things that you might not like…things like “you’re neglecting me” or “I really feel horrible when you feed me ice cream.”
 
But here’s the benefit to slowing down and listening to your body: You will never have to follow a diet again. If you listen, truly listen, to what your body is telling you, it will let you know exactly what it needs. And what you need is likely different than what your neighbor needs, or what your partner needs, or what your friend needs. It will differ from day to day and season to season. That’s OK. Just listen.

Developing this skill is a process. It doesn’t happen overnight. You won’t do it perfectly, and you won’t do it every day. That’s not the goal. The goal is exploration. The goal is to be curious about what nourishes you best.

Here’s an exercise I give some of my clients who want to incorporate this concept into their lives. The focus is on sensory experience and being in your body. If you find yourself going into your head and attempting to figure out what’s “right” rather than simply experiencing and noticing, return to your breath.

• Go to your favorite place to grocery shop—preferably somewhere with soft, natural lighting and organic products. A farmer’s market or health food store is ideal.

• Breathe slowly, in through your nose and out through your mouth. Feel your feet on the floor. Feel yourself in your body.

• Stand in front of the produce. Keep breathing. Admire its gorgeous, vivid colors, its unusual shapes. Pick up a piece of citrus, a potato, some celery, or anything that appeals to you, and inhale its scent. Touch the lettuce leaves and the apples’ skins. Look at the labels to see their countries of origins and reflect on the long distances some of these plants have traveled to nourish you. Picture them growing in the earth, nourished by the sunshine, rain and minerals in the soil.

• Keep breathing. Choose a piece of produce and imagine holding it, tasting it, chewing it and swallowing it. Is it a “yes” for you? Does it appeal to your body? Do you feel physically good when you imagine eating it, or not so good, or neutral? Move on to another piece, repeat the process and breathe. You may find that your body is drawn to certain fruits and vegetables, and uninterested in or repelled by others. Remember that your reactions are just indicative of this moment in time. Today your body may not want carrots, but next week it might crave them.

Drop the notion that there is a ‘right’ way to do this. 

Again, this exercise is about being in your body without judging and analyzing. If you find it difficult to stay out of your head, keep breathing, and try again. You can always try again tomorrow, or next week, or next month. Just stay curious.

Editor's Note: Natural Home does not recommend, approve or endorse the products/services offered by companies guest bloggers review online. You should use your own judgment and evaluate products and services carefully before deciding to purchase. The views expressed by guest bloggers do not necessarily reflect the views of Natural Home

Stephanie Small is founder of Three Sisters Nutrition, a phone-based practice helping women improve their relationship with food, and blogs for holistic weight loss site 9 Weight Loss.

These days it seems as though most women have some sort of problematic relationship with food and their bodies. They may avoid carbs, fat, or calories. Perhaps they’re in the gym three hours a day to burn off their breakfast, or they’re vomiting, or using appetite suppressants. Perhaps they look in the mirror and see a large, bloated stomach and monstrous thighs while in reality an average or even slim build is reflected.

Some restrictive behaviors can be normal for the health-conscious. But when does it cross the line? How do you know if your behaviors are cause for concern?

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV),  the American Psychiatric Association’s guidebook, describes eating disorders as “severe disturbances in eating behavior.” While anorexia nervosa is characterized as “a refusal to maintain a minimally normal body weight,” the hallmarks of bulimia nervosa are “repeated episodes of binge eating followed by inappropriate compensatory behaviors such as self-induced vomiting, misuse of laxatives, diuretics, or other medications; fasting; or excessive exercise.” The DSM-IV goes on to list many other features of each disorder, as they are not one-dimensional.

An “Eating Disorder Not Otherwise Specified”  (EDNOS) is indicated when someone engages in a few, but not all, of these behaviors. For example, if your cousin eats very little, is afraid of gaining weight, and has irregular periods, yet remains within a normal weight range, she likely falls under this category. Similarly, your friend who binges without purging also may have EDNOS.

Interestingly, none of the above diagnoses address the quality of the food, but rather the behaviors around food. Orthorexia was coined in 1997 to indicate an “unhealthy obsession with healthy eating.” If an individual cares more about the virtue of what they are eating than the pleasure they derive from eating it, they may be orthorexic. If their diet isolates them socially, they may be orthorexic. This manner of eating has an obsessive-compulsive quality and anxiety results when the individual doesn’t eat the “right way.”

However, let’s place this in a cultural context by looking at the average American diet. If a health-conscious individual is living in a community riddled with fast-food chains, they may well look like the odd one out at social gatherings. They may not be super-excited about eating their steamed kale and pasture-raised chicken while everyone else is chowing on fried chicken and french fries, and their diet may isolate them from others. This is less likely to be orthorexia (although it still could be) and more likely to be a cultural mismatch.

Bottom line? It’s about your attitude to food. If, overall, you’re okay with your weight, your appearance and the choices you make about what you put in your mouth, you are probably doing fine. We all overeat here and there, or watch what we eat for a few days so we can fit into a dress. But if you find yourself consistently preoccupied with food and the way you look, it’s a good idea to consult a professional about your concerns.

Editor's Note: Natural Home does not recommend, approve or endorse the products/services offered by companies guest bloggers review online. You should use your own judgment and evaluate products and services carefully before deciding to purchase. The views expressed by guest bloggers do not necessarily reflect the views of Natural Home

Stephanie Small is founder of Three Sisters Nutrition, a phone-based practice helping women improve their relationship with food, and blogs for holistic weight loss site 9 Weight Loss.

Are you familiar with Sumo? It’s a form of Japanese wrestling, and participants are on the enormous side. Certainly, they eat as much as they can, and drink lots of beer to encourage protruding bellies. However, some of their weight-gaining tricks have to do with how they time their dining. Here are two of their most important practices:

1. Skip breakfast. Sumo wrestlers know that in order to keep their metabolism low, they should overlook this important meal and proceed directly to lunch.

2. Overeat at night. By consuming a large, late dinner and then going directly to sleep, Sumos challenge their digestion and ensure more of their feast is stored as fat.

Is the typical American so different from a Sumo wrestler?

1. Skip breakfast. Check. Many of us eliminate it entirely, or start our day with sugar and carbs. Either way this sets us up for a blood sugar spike, followed by a drop. This is a recipe for weight gain.

2. Overeat at night. Check. We’re accustomed to eating small breakfasts, average-sized lunches and large dinners. Also, we tend to socialize around dinner. Going out to eat usually encourages increased consumption. After our sizeable evening meals, most of us sit on the couch and watch TV or surf the Internet. Not unlike our Sumo friends, we overeat—and then sit still.

Tip #4: Eat enough, and eat at the right times of day.

Interested in exiting the ring and hanging up your belt? I bet you are. I don’t care if you’re eating the healthiest diet in the world—if your timing’s off, your weight will be too. Here are a couple of non-negotiable steps you must take to improve your metabolism and encourage weight loss:

1. Eat regularly. Eating small amounts every three to four hours ensures blood sugar stability. That’s ideal. But if you’re coming from the Sumo wrestler diet, going from two big meals per day to five small ones is an extreme step.

Let’s start with the basics: Eat three meals per day. Meals should be no more than five hours apart. Eat within an hour of when you wake up. Have lunch four to five hours after that, and dinner four to five hours after that. Then take a stroll around your neighborhood after dinner instead of sitting on the couch.

Some people coming off the Sumo diet have difficulty with this step. Their metabolism has slowed so much that they’re just not hungry at all until noon. Here’s what I tell them: Eat something. Preferably, eat something protein-dense to break the blood sugar spike. If your first several breakfasts consist of nothing more than a handful of nuts or a hardboiled egg, at least you’re heading in the right direction.

2. Eat breakfast like a queen, lunch like a princess, and dinner like a pauper. Another gem from my holistic nutrition professor. It’s completely different from how most Americans eat. But stuffing your stomach and then lying down makes your poor body work too hard while you’re supposed to be sleeping. Digestion then becomes inefficient. Also, if your metabolism’s slowed to the point where you’re not hungry in the morning, following this prescription will ensure you’re ravenous upon rising.

Do you find yourself in front of your cabinet at 9 pm? A few scenarios could explain your hunger pains:

1. You’re not eating enough during the day

2. You’re eating for reasons other than physical hunger.

3. What you’re eating during the day doesn’t contain enough nutrients.

I could write an entire book on each one of these, so for more information, check out my blog, 9 Weight Loss, or my website, Three Sisters Nutrition.

Now you’re set to say sayonara to the Sumo diet. Join us next week for my final weight loss tip. Hint: I’ll tell you the three foods you must avoid in order to drop the pounds.

Editor's Note: Natural Home does not recommend, approve or endorse the products/services offered by companies guest bloggers review online. You should use your own judgment and evaluate products and services carefully before deciding to purchase. The views expressed by guest bloggers do not necessarily reflect the views of Natural Home

Stephanie Small is founder of  Three Sisters Nutrition , a phone-based practice helping women improve their relationship with food, and blogs for holistic weight loss site  9 Weight Loss . 

A client came to me about a year ago suffering from headaches, anxiety and low energy. She wanted to learn which foods were right for her body.

I had her keep a three-day diet journal. When we reviewed it, I discovered she was eating gluten—the protein in wheat (along with barley, rye and a few other grains)—on a daily basis. Gluten is irritating for many people, and I had an intuitive hit that it wasn’t doing her any favors. I suggested she follow an elimination diet for two weeks. She could have all the rice, quinoa, and millet she wanted—just no gluten.

At the next session she reported her migraines were gone, her anxiety had diminished, and she had, without trying, dropped 5 pounds.

Tip #3: Identifying a food allergy can create radical changes

If you’re one of those people who's “just had a pooch all your life,” it may be an issue of bloating due to irritation. Test this out by paying close attention to what your stomach does after each meal. Does it puff out after you eat certain things, and remain relatively flat after others? Weight gain often results from food allergies because when you ingest something toxic, your body has a number of protective reactions. One is to swell up with water in order to form a protective barrier.

If you’re nodding your head with recognition, there are a few steps you can take to start to identify the possible source of your puffiness. The most common allergenic foods are wheat, soy, pasteurized cow dairy, eggs and nuts. I find that some particularly sensitive people have a gut feeling about which foods might be causing their bloat. Identify the culprit, try eliminating it from your diet for at least two weeks and see if you notice any changes—not just to your body, but to your energy level, skin, digestion and mood.

However, food allergies shouldn’t be all about restriction. Allergies are often a result of an impaired digestive system, so it’s crucial to heal that too. One protocol I’ve found helpful was developed at the Alternative Naturopathic Center in Littleton, Colorado. It involves supplementation to strengthen bile and increase its flow. Most of my clients, some of my friends and I take this regimen. Some of us have observed better digestion, improved energy, clearer skin and stabilized mood. You can find more information about this regimen online.

A final word: many of the “edible foodlike substances” (thanks, Michael Pollan!) we eat today are truly indigestible. Your body does not know what to do with multicolored cereals full of preservatives, fast foods, or basically any product with ingredients you can’t pronounce and don’t understand. Ingesting these sorts of products can cause some of us to bloat. Check back to my first tip: a diet of whole, unprocessed, organic foods is most healing to the body—and most effective for weight loss.

Be sure to visit us again next Monday for May Weight Loss Tip #4. Until then, enjoy your week, and stay healthy!

Editor's Note: Natural Home does not recommend, approve or endorse the products/services offered by companies guest bloggers review online. You should use your own judgment and evaluate products and services carefully before deciding to purchase. The views expressed by guest bloggers do not necessarily reflect the views of Natural Home.

Stephanie Small is founder of  Three Sisters Nutrition, a phone-based practice helping women improve their relationship with food, and blogs for holistic weight loss site 9 Weight Loss. Giveaway Alert! Visit 9 Weight Loss for a chance to win Greens+ Natural Energy Bars!

If you read Food for Thought last week, you know I’m writing a weekly weight loss series in May. Last week’s tip? Eat enough, and enough of the right stuff.

Tip #2: Relax. Stress creates the pear shape

“Crap, there’s only $29.05 in my checking account!”

“My boss is going to fire me!”

“I somehow have to fit work, grocery shopping, dinner and yoga into the next three hours!”

“People, learn how to drive!”

We can all relate to at least one of the above sentiments and its accompanying emotion, stress. For most of us, this feeling is an everyday occurrence. But what does it have to do with weight loss?
 
Plenty, as it turns out. Here’s why. Back in the day, our ancestors secreted cortisol—the fight or flight hormone—in response to an emergency, like an attack from a rival Neanderthal posse. In response, their blood sugar rose to provide them with fuel, which they then burned off by either fighting or fleeing. Today, our cortisol surges in response to stress, but we’re not using up our fuel. Our blood sugar crashes, and the body stores the sugar as fat.

If that’s not bad enough, once your blood sugar crashes, you’re going to seek out something to raise it—and you’re probably not going to reach for seaweed and almonds. You’re going to grab the sugariest, most caffeinated thing you can get your hands on (nonfat triple whip caramel double lattecino, anyone?) I worked in psychiatric units for several years, and when I learned about the stress/weight gain connection, it helped to explain why so many of us developed the pear shape.

How do we move ourselves out of that anxious, frenetic state towards a more peaceful one? Here are a few of my top tips.

Breathe.
Deep breathing, in through your nose and out through your mouth, is a sure way to calm your nervous system. Flop one hand onto your belly and inflate it with your refreshing inhalations. As you exhale, envision the toxins of stress leaving your body.

Take “me” time.
Everyone needs this. Find someplace you feel relaxed—a room in your house or a beautiful place in nature—and breathe, stretch, meditate, draw, play your trombone, or do whatever it is that helps you feel grounded.

Cry or scream.
Seriously. Who doesn’t feel better after a good cry? The next time you are stuck in your seemingly interminable commute, take the wise words of Depeche Mode to heart and “shout, shout, let it all out.”

Try a Zen approach.
Stress is about what you’re doing, yes, but sometimes it’s about how you’re doing it. Rushing from yoga to therapy to acupuncture is not relaxing. As you go through your day, incorporate your breathing practice, attend to your emotions when you need to…and don’t forget the bigger picture. Remember the world is going to keep turning whether or not you ace that exam, clean the entire house, or argue with your mate

Join Food for Thought next week when I reveal Tip #3. Hungry for more in the meantime? My blog, 9 Weight Loss, introduces you to holistic, sustainable approaches to weight loss (as well as food politics, quirky and delicious recipes, and really, whatever I feel like discussing that day).

Editor's Note: Natural Home does not recommend, approve or endorse the products/services offered by companies guest bloggers review online. You should use your own judgment and evaluate products and services carefully before deciding to purchase. The views expressed by guest bloggers do not necessarily reflect the views of Natural Home.

With summer approaching, shorts and bathing suits are on everyone’s mind. We’re shedding those bulky layers and sometimes we need to shed those layers of bulk as well. My blog, 9 Weight Loss, introduces you to holistic, sustainable approaches to weight loss (as well as food politics, quirky and delicious recipes, and really, whatever I feel like discussing that day). Here at Natural Home, each Monday in May I’ll share with you one of my top five tips for weight loss, my “Greatest Weight Loss Hits,” if you will. We’re going beyond the things you already know about, like portion control and exercise, and addressing some of the lesser-known reasons why people gain weight—and how they can lose it.

Tip #1: Eat enough, and enough of the right stuff 

You should feel satiated, not bursting, when you finish your meal. If you’re still hungry after 15 or 20 minutes, eat more. In theory, you should stay full for about 4 hours, although everyone’s body is different. If you eat significantly less than your body needs, it is a setup for late night bingeing on Ben & Jerry’s.

This may sound confusing. Don’t you have to be hungry to lose weight? Isn’t a growling stomach indicative of fat melting away? In fact, it can have the opposite effect. When you’re too hungry, your blood sugar drops, and over time, your thyroid puts the brakes on your metabolism. Your body thinks you’re in a famine, so it makes the most of the calories you do consume. This is why skipping meals is a very, very bad idea. I’ve worked with two clients, a 26-year-old and a 50-year-old, who routinely skipped breakfast. The 26-year-old was 10 pounds overweight and the 50-year-old was 40 pounds overweight. Neither of them could understand why. They both lamented, “But I hardly eat?” My response? “Exactly.”

What’s the best way to stay full? When your body is hungry, it’s craving two things: calories and nutrients. This is why eating a fast-food meal will leave you starving (and feeling sick) in a matter of hours. Your body’s wondering where the vitamins and minerals are and asking for more food. So the more nutrient-dense your meals, the more full you’ll be. This means whole, organic, unprocessed foods. No weird fake foods. And don’t forget to chew thoroughly! The better you break down your food, the more nutrients you can extract from it.

Another key to satiety is fat. If you read last week’s post, Why Low-Fat Diets Can Make You Sick, you’re already in-the-know about this key macronutrient. If not, read it. But here’s the 101: Fat is good. We need fat. It’s really important for energy and cellular integrity and vitamin absorption. It also keeps us fuller longer. Do you have a habit of reaching for vending-machine eats just an hour or two after your lunch? Try adding more fat to your meal and see whether your cravings diminish.

Finally, don’t forget about fiber. This stuff bulks up in the intestine and provides a feeling of fullness. Veggies and fruits are a top source. So are whole grains, although not everyone can digest grains well (see my 9 Weight Loss post "Livin La Vida Low Carb" for my thoughts on this).

Want a preview of Tip #2? A certain emotional state, extremely pervasive in American culture, is directly linked to weight gain. Visit Food for Thought next week to find out what it is, and what you can do about it.

Editor's Note: Natural Home does not recommend, approve or endorse the products/services offered by companies guest bloggers review online. You should use your own judgment and evaluate products and services carefully before deciding to purchase.

Remember how trendy low-fat was in the 1970s and 80s? When I was growing up, my house featured fat-free everything. As a teen, I scorned cheese (unless it was on pizza), never ate nuts, and rarely indulged in a full-fat ice cream. Once I started cooking for myself, I used fat-free spray on the pan whenever I sautéed veggies. Needless to say, my dinners didn't taste too good!

And I didn't feel well. I needed glasses by the third grade. By high school my skin was a wreck and my moods were unstable. A diet low in fat and high in refined carbs and sugar meant my energy and health suffered.

Looking back, I wonder if my rampant sugar addiction was due at least in part to the fact that I simply wasn't getting enough fat. Not only does the stuff satiate you, but it's incredibly nourishing as well.

These days, I am a pro-fat crusader. Some of my clients are leery of this important macronutrient. They're still buying into the old myth that "eating fat makes you fat." It doesn't. Sugar makes you fat. High fructose corn syrup makes you fat. Refined carbs make you fat. Stress makes you fat, and lack of sleep and exercise make you fat. But fat, the macronutrient, has been unfairly demonized, and I'm here to redeem it.

First, a word about the types of fats we eat. I'm a believer that any natural fat—saturated or unsaturated—is important for optimum health. Now, I know that this is a controversial statement. For instance, these days it's common to hear the terms "good fats" and "bad fats." "Good" fats tend to refer to plant-based fats, like nuts, avocadoes and olive oil. These are primarily sources of unsaturated fat. Meanwhile, animal fats, which are primarily sources of saturated fat, are deemed "bad". 

I don't agree with this, and I'm not alone.

Here's my thinking: Obesity, heart disease, cancer and other illnesses have been occurring in epidemic proportions over the past 100 years. Why? Well, for one thing, our diets have changed significantly, in a short amount of time. Our ancestors were eating whole, unprocessed, unrefined foods for thousands of years. Unlike the modern American, their immune systems functioned superbly. And interestingly, much of their diet included raw milk, eggs, and animals: all foods high in saturated fat. For more information, check out Nutrition and Physical Degeneration by Weston A. Price. It's worth reading if only for the photos (lots of teeth).

Meanwhile, trans fats gained popularity during the backlash against saturated fats. You may know them by the terms "hydrogenated fat" or "partially hydrogenated fat." They're fats that have been changed chemically, giving the food they're in a longer shelf life. In other words, they're fake fats, and they put more money in the manufacturers' pockets by making these packaged products last longer. But they've been linked to heart disease and diabetes. One way to avoid consuming them is to cut down on your purchase of pre-packaged foods. You can also become an expert label reader: just because a bag trumpets "no partially hydrogenated oils" doesn't mean it's safe. Check the ingredient list!

Whatever natural fat you choose to consume, remember that quality is key. Craving a burger? There's a huge difference between a fast-food, corn-and-soy-fed, feedlot-raised, antibiotic and hormone-ridden limp patty and an organic/pasture-raised/grass-finished/local juicy hunk o' meat. You'll get a lot more nutritional bang for your buck from the latter.

Not convinced yet that your body needs fat? Here are a few more arguments.

Fat gives you energy.

Eating quality fat will improve your body's use of glucose for energy by curbing your appetite and slowing the rise of blood sugar when you eat. This actually then will lead to less fat storage, more efficient cells and more energy.

Fat helps you absorb vitamins.

Without fat, your body cannot absorb the vitamins A, D, E and K. This is why skipping the dressing on your salad is a big mistake. Anoint it with some olive oil and balsamic vinegar. While you're at it, your sweet potato needs a spoonful of rich, full-fat butter too.

Fat keeps you fuller longer. 

Find yourself reaching for chips or cookies two hours after you ate? Try adding some more fat to your meal and see whether your cravings decrease.

Fat is necessary for the structure of the cell membranes.

If you don't eat enough fat, your cell membranes will get wrinkled and puny. They'll lose their integrity, effectiveness and ability to absorb nutrients. Inter-cell communication is key for the body's function. 

Editor's Note: Natural Home does not recommend, approve or endorse the products/services offered by companies guest bloggers review online. You should use your own judgment and evaluate products and services carefully before deciding to purchase.