Sustainable Nutrition

Sustainability is a value that I live by. Mostly, I'm wondering how I can make my lifestyle more sustainable for the environment. I had a talk with a colleague today where she brought up sustainability in another context: sustainable health. This is something that I work on with my clients but have never thought about it in these terms.

How can you make your healthy habits sustainable?

Mostly this comes into question when we are discussing weight loss. Many people have a number goal in mind and want to get there as quickly as possible. And once they get there - then what? If the changes were made to diet, exercise routine, and stress management that led to a slow and steady weight loss those changes are often sustainable. But when weight is lost by a crash diet, surgery, or medication, sustainability is an issue. The data shows that there is significant weight regain after surgery - more than a quarter of those who underwent some form of bariatric surgery regain weight after 7 years (the numbers vary depending on the type of surgery). For weight loss medications that have been around for long enough to be studied, such as phentermine, weight regain is as high as 80% once medication is stopped.

Weight regain happens because healthy habits weren't adopted. It is not sustainable to lose weight quickly and expect it to stay off, your habits must also change.

Here are 5 healthy habits to build for sustainable weight loss:

1) Mindful Eating: it is important to know what foods serve your body best and to understand your hunger and satiety signals. When we eat mindfully, we don't have foods that are off limits, we instead choose the foods that nourish us the most and make us feel our best. And when we understand the signals our body is giving us, we are far less likely to overeat.

2) Get the right macronutrients: A high carbohydrate diet will lead to overeating and weight gain. It leads to blood sugar crashes which make us overeat, and we eat more calories than we otherwise would in order to feel full. Fat, protein, and fiber are the nutrients that send the signal to your body that you're full, so getting enough of these is crucial to avoid taking in too many calories.

3) Get enough micronutrients: The body craves vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients from whole, nutrient dense food. If you are eating processed foods devoid of these, or full of fats and chemicals the body doesn't recognize, then you will feel more hungry because your cells don't have the fuel they need. Eating a diet rich in fresh fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, and some whole grains and legumes will keep your cells fed and your appetite lower.

4) Move your body every day: Find a form of exercise that you enjoy and you'll be more likely to stick to it. It is also important to move your body outside of exercise - take walks after meals, clean your house, garden. Any activity that has you up and moving rather than sitting at a desk, in a car, or on the couch will contribute to lower overall weight. Some form of weight bearing exercise, be it body weight or lifting weights is important for maintaining muscle through weight loss.

5) Get enough sleep: Lack of sleep leads to higher levels of cortisol, carbohydrate cravings, lower ability to deal with stress, lower cognitive function, and many other side effects that are just not helpful in weight loss or overall health. Give yourself enough time for 7-8 hours of sleep at night, turn off all screens 1 hour before bedtime, and do something relaxing to get your body ready for sleep.

There are so many factors that go into dietary habits and weight: stress, hormones, past trauma, and mental health are a few confounding factors that mean you might need extra support for your sustainable weight loss.

Citations:

Noria SF, Shelby RD, Atkins KD, Nguyen NT, Gadde KM. Weight Regain After Bariatric Surgery: Scope of the Problem, Causes, Prevention, and Treatment. Curr Diab Rep. 2023 Mar;23(3):31-42. doi: 10.1007/s11892-023-01498-z. Epub 2023 Feb 8. PMID: 36752995; PMCID: PMC9906605.

El Ansari W, Elhag W. Weight Regain and Insufficient Weight Loss After Bariatric Surgery: Definitions, Prevalence, Mechanisms, Predictors, Prevention and Management Strategies, and Knowledge Gaps-a Scoping Review. Obes Surg. 2021 Apr;31(4):1755-1766. doi: 10.1007/s11695-020-05160-5. Epub 2021 Feb 8. PMID: 33555451; PMCID: PMC8012333.