Let's Go Beyond Food

These days, where Health and fitness just revolve around diet and nutrition. Most of us think that we can achieve our goals just by drinking that broccoli juice every morning and cutting out the carbs from our diet. 

But your health and weight is much more than that broccoli juice, whole grains and brown rice. We are not saying that your diet does not matter. But there are also other things which you should focus on. And we called them "Pillars of Health".

Today we are going to introduce you to four pillars of health- the pillars which are the base of your well-being. Well, nutrition is definitely one of those pillars, but there are other three as well;  sleep, exercise and stress.

Because when it comes to your health and weight loss, diet alone won't work. You have to move your body, take proper rest and learn some coping techniques to manage your stress.

But before jumping onto those health pillars. Let's first discuss what are some factors which influence your health and weight loss.

Factors Which Influence Your Weight

Your hormones

Well, if you remember our previous lessons, we have gone through a whole Endocrinology class, discussing the hormones affecting your weight. Three hormones Ghrelin, leptin, and PYY, influence a lot of things related to your weight such as your appetite, satiety levels, fat storage and digestion.

Your Genes

Besides your hormones, your genes also play an important role in influencing your weight. According to a study, genes have a 25% to 80% role in variations of people's weight. But the thing about genes is that it is the only factor which we can do nothing about.

Your Demographics

Another factor which affects your body and influences your weight is your demographics which includes your age, race, gender and location. Well, just like your genes this is another factor which we cannot change.

Your Environment

You may not notice but your environment also affects your weight a lot. Where we all care about calories in and calories out, our environmental factors have a great effect on these calories. From portion size to a sedentary lifestyle, all play an important role in what you eat and how much you eat. 

Now that you know which are the factors which can affect your weight and health, it's time to change those factors which we can for the better. 

Meet the four pillars of health

These pillars are not just merely the habits or lifestyle changes but these are the concepts which can make a great impact on your health. Let's get into these.

Pillar #1: Nutrition

Diet and nutrition are not new in this field. As you may already know how your food choices can affect your health and your weight loss journey as well. 

We all wish the piece of brownie we are eating or having dinner with friends on cheat day won't make a difference. But in the end "we are what we eat" because the food we are eating is going to fuel every little cell in our body, and decide how that is going to work.

Pillar #2: Exercise

Whether you are going to a gym, doing some yoga practice at home, or walking in the nearby park, how active you will be affects your health in various ways. After All, you are how you move.

Pillar #3: Sleep

Sleep is as needed by your body as food and movement. You are eating well, and moving your body but not having proper sleep, those healthy habits won't give you as many benefits as they should. So, take proper sleep and give your body some time to recharge. Because You are how you sleep.

Pillar #4: Stress

Stress- a factor that can ruin your diet, make you too lazy to move and cause sleep problems. You may be aware of this mental and emotional tension. But there are various ways you can cope with it and prevent it from affecting your daily routine. So try to adapt to those changes to improve your mental health. As you are how you manage your stress. 

One of the important things about these four pillars is that they influence your weight, alone and together.

For example, if you do not get proper sleep at night, your next day's food choices will be affected by that. And not only this, whether you go to the gym or for your office meeting you won't seem to be as energetic as before.

So, if you want your health and weight to be maintained, then keep all of these four pillars strong; eat healthy, move your body, get proper sleep and meditate.