Focus On Vibrant Health – Beyond Calories: A Holistic Approach to Weight Loss

NORTH FORK, CA – You may feel discouraged when it comes to losing weight and maintaining it, but you actually have a great deal of control over the factors that lead to success.  The lifestyle choices that have been discussed in these articles since September 2025 contain key information to empower you on your health journey.  You don’t need to resort to unnatural, harmful methods to have the healthy weight you desire.

The usual information is that to lose weight you simply need to eat less, exercise more, and have more will power.  This is a gross oversimplification, and actually not helpful.  You may need to eat more food, but food of high quality, for your body to get the calories and nutrients it needs to function properly.  Things that are helpful include eating nutrient dense foods, managing stress, decreasing toxin exposures, getting more natural light, good sleep, and moving your body.  Start small and begin making changes that you can maintain over the long run.

Last week you learned more about the current “darling” of the drug industry, GLP-1 drugs.  They certainly have helped some people, but you can lose weight without them and avoid the side effects.  There are many things that support your natural GLP-1 (glucagon-like peptide-1), without the expensive prescription.  Weight loss isn’t just about suppressing your natural hunger, it’s about a healthier body.  This includes better internal communication, stronger mitochondria, and a metabolism that actually works.

Increase GLP-1 naturally:

• Time-restricted eating
  • Start by not eating between 7pm and 7am, or a similar 12 hour window
• Focus On Vibrant Health has several articles on nutrition, starting October 2025
• Protein-rich meals
• Healthy fats
  • Animal fats are high in vitamins and minerals
• Fermented foods
  • Sauerkraut and yogurt (whole milk)
• Bitter foods
  • Arugula, dandelion greens, artichokes, bitter melon (usually taken as an herb)
• Regular exercise
  • Walk briskly three to five times per week
  • Strength training two times per week
  • See article “Move Your Body“
• Sun exposure
  • Throughout the day
  • See article “Soak Up the Sun“
• Good sleep
  • 7-9 hours per night
  • Consistent sleep and wake times, ideally being asleep by 10pm
  • See article “Why Do We Need Sleep“
• Managing stress
  • See six previous articles, starting with “The Power of Emotional Well-Being“
• Healthy gut microbiome
  • We will explore this further in a future article.

There are several herbs and supplements that may be helpful, but these are best guided by someone with knowledge and experience, and individualized for each person’s unique situation.  It is always best to start with the basics that support overall health and metabolism.  Usually this is all that is needed.

Two additional peptide hormones that help to regulate our hunger and weight are ghrelin and leptin, and they work together.  Ghrelin increases appetite, and leptin decreases it.  Both play a role in weight maintenance in the complicated and intelligent physiology of your body.

When you restrict calories, ghrelin will increase, making you feel hungry. It is counterproductive to starve yourself, as this lowers your metabolism.  Your body responds by cutting back on all functions that are not critical for keeping you alive.  You will have less energy, your digestion will not be as good, you will be less able to detoxify poisons, and much more.  Ghrelin can also increase in stressful situations, as many people know by wanting to eat during these times.

Leptin levels rise in response to rising fat stores in the body, decreasing your appetite.  There is a theory that overweight and obese people are not as sensitive to the leptin signal, and do not feel “full” or satiated when they should.  The body seems to be most concerned about reduction in body fat, as this could be a threat to survival and reproduction.  Our ancestors were certainly at a much greater risk of not having enough food and starving, compared to overeating and obesity.

The same basic principles listed above for GLP-1 apply when supporting healthy levels of ghrelin and leptin.  Eat a healthy diet, including plenty of nutrient dense foods with protein and fat.  Do not eat at all for at least 12 hours (time-restricted eating). Avoid processed foods which increase ghrelin.  Do not over-eat or under-eat.  Exercise, especially varying the intensity.  Get good sleep and enough of it, and manage your stress levels.

Eat Mindfully.  This can also be very helpful in regaining and maintaining a healthy weight.  How, when, where, and with whom you eat can influence how much you eat and how satisfied you feel afterward.  Tips that can help:

• Do not eat while distracted or multitasking
• Slow down, chew thoroughly
• Eat three times per day
  • Eating only 1-2 times per day can increase cortisol, a stress hormone, to help keep your blood sugar stable.  This is harmful on many levels.
• Eat more home cooked meals, and sit down and enjoy your food peacefully
• Start your meal with a broth-based soup or salad to help ease hunger before the main course
• Remove tempting junk foods from your environment, at home and at the office

Track Your Progress.  People who lose weight and keep it off are careful and manage the choices they make.  You don’t need to count calories, but some type of food journal can help keep you accountable to the quality of foods that you choose.  Take time to plan and prep meals.  Mark when you exercise, note when you have trouble sleeping, acknowledge difficult stressors and how you manage them.

Other ways to support your health and weight goals include working with a knowledgeable person who is healthy themself, hire a personal trainer or attend a group fitness class, find a buddy to walk with, and schedule time into your week for grocery shopping, cooking and exercise.

Feeling good – physically and emotionally – is the goal.  Weight loss is only one benefit of making your overall health a priority.  Usually the first thing you will notice is a general sense of improved well-being.  This feeling will help you stay motivated and continue to make good choices for yourself.

Read previous articles here:  Focus On Vibrant Health.

Dr. Veronica Tilden can be your ally in having vibrant health.  She uses traditional hands-on osteopathy and helps you take responsibility for your health, guiding you to make better choices in your life.  Her office is in North Fork.  You can find out more and schedule an appointment at DrVeronicaTilden.com.