10 Tips to Lose 10 Pounds Before Summer

Available for Interviews: Dr. Alice Fong

Alice Fong, ND, is an integrative naturopathic doctor specializing in stress, integrative medicine, diet & weight loss, and is a business growth consultant for holistic healthcare providers.

What Dr. Alice Fong can say in an interview
on Losing Weight:

Often problematic is figuring out how to get rid of unwanted belly fat. Some of the proven recommendations below are easier to accomplish than others, but if you are consistent with most of them, you will see positive results in a short amount of time. And as you see the pounds begin to melt away, just keep building on your success with these healthy habits:

1. 1. Reduce stress. High stress leads to increased cortisol levels, which can increase stored fats and blood sugar levels and lower testosterone, which causes weight gain.
   2. Increase non-starchy vegetable intake to 5 or more servings a day. Vegetables are healthy complex carbohydrates that encourage the proper hormonal responses to maintain a healthy set point weight.
   3. Increase fiber intake. Fiber supports the elimination process which is important to maintain a healthy gut, and in turn, supports a healthy weight and reduces bloating.
   4. Reduce processed foods. Processed foods such as pizza or hamburgers do not give the body proper hormonal signals to tell you to stop eating, causing you to overeat and gain belly fat.
   5. Eliminate or significantly reduce sugar. Too much sugar can cause or contribute to inflammation in the body, raise blood sugar levels, and can significantly impact weight. 
   6. Eliminate or reduce alcohol. Too much alcohol can disrupt liver function, which is responsible for filtration in the body. If your body is not properly filtering correctly, that can disrupt hormonal balance and lead to belly fat.
   7. Eliminate gluten. Gluten can cause inflammation in the body and too much can cause intestinal permeability (leaky gut syndrome), which can cause food sensitivities and gut health issues. An unhealthy gut leads to weight gain and belly fat.
   8. Eat your meals at consistent times of the day every day. When you do so, your body can then start to regulate better and have a routine for digestion.
   9. Eat a balanced meal. A balanced meal of healthy carbs, fats, and lean proteins should be present at every meal. Your plate should have 2/3rd of healthy carbs like vegetables, 1/4 a lean protein (such as chicken), and the rest can be healthy fat (such as a tablespoon of olive oil you cook the food in).
   10. Eliminate soda (even diet soda). Regular soda is full of sugar that leads to inflammation. But even diet soda is bad in a different way. Too many artificial sweeteners can lead to non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, which can make losing the belly fat harder for the same reasons as alcohol.