12 Methods To Optimize Gut Bacteria For Weight Loss

Gut bacteria is very important for your health, not just gut health but your overall health. Your immune system depends on your microbiome and so does every process that takes place in your body. That includes digesting food and maintaining a healthy weight. If you’re struggling to lose weight despite dieting, you may have gut health problems you’re not aware of so we’re going to teach you how to optimize gut bacteria for weight loss.

Your microbiome can prevent you from losing weight when it’s out of balance. The methods we’re going to discuss today will help re-establish that balance and prevent a wide range of health issues like brain fog, diabetes, and even cancer.

How Does Gut Bacteria Affect Weight Loss?

If you’re wondering what causes dysbiosis or, simply put, microbial imbalance, the answer is very obvious – the modern lifestyle that made us rely on unhealthy, processed foods that are full of sugar, hormones, and, sometimes, antibiotics. Plus, chronic stress, lack of proper rest, not enough sleep, and other modern problems that all of us have to face due to our fast-pacing lives.

When it comes to weight loss, most people try diets that focus on calorie reduction. While eating fewer calories can definitely help people to lose weight, the results are not long-lasting if that’s the only thing they do. Correcting the overgrowth of unhealthy bacteria that are responsible for unhealthy cravings is far more effective in the long run.

When you change your gut bacteria, you change the entire way your body produces and metabolizes energy, which means you not only lose weight faster but you also maintain your weight with ease. Without changing your gut bacteria during the process of losing weight, you will go back to your old eating habits that caused the weight gain in the first place because the bad bacteria will trigger the same food cravings.

How To Improve Gut Microbiome To Lose Weight

Now that you understand how important gut bacteria is for weight loss but also your health, it is time to be proactive and to implement these methods of optimizing gut bacteria.

Exercise Regularly

You already know that regular exercise helps you lose weight. But what you may not know is that exercising can also increase the good bacteria in your gut.

Rest & Sleep Well

Not getting enough sleep has been linked with obesity so it’s important to properly rest and get a good night’s sleep if you want to lose weight. Sleep deprivation is associated with weight gain because, when you do not get enough sleep, you involuntarily end up changing your gut bacteria. And not for the better. So make sure you change your sleeping pattern to promote the increase of good bacteria.

Find Time To Relax

Stress is another common factor in weight gain. When we’re stressed, we tend to depend on processed and unhealthy foods to get us through the day. That in itself is a big problem because, as you know, processed foods are high in calories but very lacking in the nutrition department. But that’s not the only bad thing that happens when you’re stressed. In fact, even without the unhealthy foods, the gut bacteria changes and leaves you susceptible to infection and other problems when you are stressed, anxious or tired. Learning how to get into a relaxed state will save your gut microbiome and allow you to lose weight. It will also be good for your mind, of course.

Mindful Eating

Not eating mindfully is a factor that can contribute to gut microbiome imbalance. When we’re making rushed decisions without thinking about the nutrients we need, we end up eating foods that are not good for us. Choosing your meals carefully means making better food decisions that will save your gut.

Meal Prep

If mindful eating seems impossible because of your busy life, meal prepping is the solution. With meal prepping you can mindfully create a menu and cook some of your meals in advance. This way you don’t have to make healthy food choices three times per day, you can count on the food that is waiting for you in the fridge.

Eliminate Sugar And Artificial Sweeteners

Speaking of healthy food choices, if you want to bring your gut bacteria back into balance, you have to eliminate sugar and artificial sweeteners from your diet because they alter gut bacteria. For someone with a sweet tooth, this can be very challenging but you can have a dessert from time to time once you manage to stabilize your gut bacteria.

Change Your Eating Habits

Your gut microbiome responds to what you feed it so if you make healthy choices regularly, your microbiome will work properly. Your diet needs to be varied – the more varied your diet is, the more diversified the microbiome is. That’s why diets that completely eliminate certain food groups are usually not successful in the long run. On the plus side, this is why some people can enjoy an occasional dessert or cheat meal without being affected by it.

Support Your Digestion

Many people take antacids to combat gas, heartburn or bloating. However, not all people who take antacids have high stomach acidity. In reality, most don’t and, by reducing the stomach acid, they cause gut bacteria imbalance. Instead of taking antacids, you can take digestive enzyme supplements. These can help you get rid of heartburn, gas, and bloating without reducing your stomach acid levels. Alternatively, drink lemon water or an apple cider tonic made with a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar and a glass of water before every meal.

Remove Processed Foods From Your Diet

Processed foods and refined carbs should be completely eliminated from your diet, at least during the weight loss process. After you achieve your desired weight, you can enjoy them occasionally. Why? Because these types of foods keep your gut bacteria hungry all the time, which can cause a lot of problems, such as leaky gut and inflammation.

Get Your Carbs From Veggies And Fruits

Replace the refined carbs and processed foods you eliminate from your diet with fruits and veggies. Leafy greens are also great for gut health.

Include Fermented Foods Into Your Diet

Fermented fruits and veggies are great for gut health. These types of foods are rich in prebiotics and promote the development of healthy gut bacteria. Sauerkraut, pickles, kimchi, yogurt, and other fermented foods are amazing for gut health.

Drink Tea

Tea is a great source of polyphenols, which can reduce harmful gut bacteria and increase good gut bacteria. Moreover, the polyphenols found in tea also have anti-viral properties that can reduce harmful pathogens, help digest food faster, and suppress food cravings.