The H Factor Diet: Harness Your Hormones and Supercharge Your Weight Los s

By Andrew Cate

THE H FACTOR DIET will help overcome the obstacles that are preventing weight loss.
Hormone imbalances can play havoc with your health and your body shape. tHE H FACtOR DIEt explores the link between hormones and body fat to help you focus on gaining control over your hormones to effectively lose weight and reclaim your health. tHE H FACtOR DIEt will help overcome the obstacles that are preventing weight loss with a diet and exercise plan to suit your body shape and lifestyle. Another inspiring health and fitness book from bestselling author Andrew Cate.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Australia
• Release date: Jan 17, 2011
• ISBN: 9780730495789

Andrew Cate

Andrew Cate is a health, fitness and nutrition consultant who runs his own personal training studio. He was a weight-loss coach for the successful Gutbusters health program for many years. He writes for several magazines and websites, and can be heard regularly on ABC Local Radio.

Book preview

Dedication

To Elaine Lackey 1915-2008

My wonderful Nanna, who lived a life rich in family, kindness and love.

She will be long remembered and deeply missed.

Contents

Cover

INTRODUCTION

HORMONE BALANCE AND BODY FAT

STEP l: DON’T STRESS

STEP 2: IMPROVE YOUR SLEEP

STEP 3: EAT WELL

STEP 4: TRAIN SMART

MENU SUGGESTIONS

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

ONE FINAL WORD

Other titles by Andrew Cate

Copyright

INTRODUCTION

‘Why can’t I lose weight?’ This has to be the question I am asked most often as a personal trainer and online weight-loss coach. People often say to me that they exercise and eat all the right things but just can’t seem to lose weight.

Naturally, as an online personal trainer and self-confessed health fanatic, my first reaction is to think that this person surely can’t be doing enough exercise, or they can’t really be eating all that well. I don’t mean to be unkind, but that has certainly been the case for some people I’ve worked with. Research has actually proven that overweight people tend to (unconsciously) overestimate their activity levels, and underestimate how much they eat. They are resistant to weight loss because they resist making permanent changes to their food choices, eating habits, exercise habits and alcohol consumption.

But for a significant number of others there seems to be a genuine, underlying reason that holds them back from getting results. These people And it hard to lose weight even when they follow the same lifestyle plan that works for others, and they jump from one program, diet and fad to the next looking for a solution. Their body seems resistant to weight loss. It’s like there’s an invisible enemy holding them back. You could also think of it as stubborn fat that you can’t seem to get rid of, even after months of regular exercise and dieting. I have trained people like this — people who follow the right diet and push themselves as hard as they can, but who just don’t seem to get results. I have seen their frustration, and felt frustrated myself when traditional and sensible training methods haven’t seemed to work. If you have ever struggled to lose weight, you might be familiar with this frustration yourself.

It’s in an attempt to learn how to beat this resistance to weight loss that I have done further reading and research into the underlying factors that control body fat. What this has led me to understand is that hormones have a massive impact on your level of body fat. I have called this ‘the H-factor’. And for all you men or younger women who might think that hormones don’t impact upon weight, you will soon learn that nothing could be further from the truth. To put it simply, your balance of hormones is the number one factor determining your body shape. But not only that: hormones also have a massive impact on your health, energy levels, longevity and even your mood. And that applies to both women and men of all ages.

I was staggered by how often my research uncovered complex information on how hormones influence sleep and vitality, how they affect your blood sugar levels, and how they are altered by stress. I discovered how your weight and health can benefit from the stimulation of some hormones (melatonin, serotonin, glucagon and human growth hormone), while it’s best to minimise the release of others (insulin and cortisol). The secret of the H-factor diet’s success is to combine all these individual parts and pull them together into one complete, simplified system of wellness and weight loss. You see, not only do hormones make you fat, but they can also make you thin. Restoring balance to your hormones is the secret weapon in the battle of the bulge. Your hormone balance can be manipulated and naturally adjusted to maximise both your quality of life and your longevity. It’s exciting to think that focusing on this one key area (hormone balance) can help you to get positive results in three of the most significant health issues facing people today: weight control, longevity and energy levels.

However, this focus on hormones is not an excuse to forget about healthy eating and physical activity. Quite the opposite, in fact. Hormones can be manipulated by diet and exercise, and you will find the H-factor diet includes a wide range of exercise and healthy eating strategies. There are also menu suggestions to help you make food choices that are tasty and practical. Food and exercise both play a significant role in gaining control of your hormones, your weight, and your life.

Most people can probably relate to the fact that conventional diets just don’t work over the long term. The primary focus of most weight-loss programs (my previous books included) is to manage your kilojoule intake to help you lose body fat. The theory states that by moderating your kilojoule intake, and maximising the amount of kilojoules you burn off, the body is forced to tap into its stored fuel supplies (body fat), helping you get leaner and healthier. As far as the H-factor diet goes, this equation still rings true; however, there are some additional considerations that need to be made. Just focusing on your energy balance ignores the significant role hormones play in controlling your storage of fat, hunger levels, energy levels, and metabolic rate. So what sets the H-factor diet apart from other diets is its focus on your overall health and wellness. The word ‘D.I.E.T.’ in the title of this book is actually an acronym of the four key steps that can help you to balance your hormones. Instead of focusing solely on kilojoules, carbohydrates, fat and protein, it addresses the missing piece of the weight-loss puzzle: your body’s hormone balance. This must be considered if you want to get results and overcome your body’s natural, evolutionary resistance to weight loss. This is not just a diet; it’s a complete lifestyle system. A plan to just eat less and exercise more is too simplistic. Sure, you can make a difference, but if you want a life-changing, energy-boosting transformation that stands the test of time, you need to do more. You need a system that gets your body’s hormones working for you, not against you. It’s all about working smarter, not harder. Inside The H-Factor Diet you will learn why the healthiest possible diet is never going to be enough to help you lose weight if you are sleep deprived. How no amount of training can compensate for chronic stress and emotional binge eating. How a well-structured strength-training program won’t strip much body fat if your thyroid isn’t functioning properly. It’s empowering to know that there’s more to weight loss and dieting than just will power, fighting hunger, counting calories and trying to get motivated. It’s not just about bad habits; biology has a role to play too.

How to use this book

First up, you will learn which hormones have the biggest influence on your body shape and why. You will learn how they can get out of control, and what you can do to restore their balance and thereby overcome any resistance to weight loss. You will learn more about how your body works, and how you can maximise your health and wellness. Once you have established good hormone health, your body will easily follow. Then we’ll move on to the four key steps to the H-factor diet that will help your body to drop its defences, and make weight loss much easier. These four steps are:

The eating plan, exercise plan, stress-management plan and guide to better sleep outlined in these four steps all complement each other and are designed to work together to restore hormone balance and help you lose body fat, boost your energy levels and live longer. For example, if you eat better, you’ll sleep better, and when you sleep better, you’ll feel better and want to eat better. However, while they all have equal importance, you will find sleep, diet and exercise easier to modify when you gain control over stress. That’s why managing your emotional and physical stress is the first step in balancing your hormones.

While this approach to weight loss is scientifically based, I should emphasise that this is not a scientific textbook. The focus is on helping you lose body fat rather than getting too technical about the roles of the different hormones and how they interact. I don’t pretend to be an endocrinologist, but I do know how to help people lose body fat. And over fifteen years of experience in the health and fitness industry has shown me that the best possible way to lose body fat is to adjust your lifestyle to manipulate your hormone balance.

Make no mistake: this system works. By following the H-factor diet, you can benefit from the trials and successes I have experienced with my online personal training clients. So I hope you are ready to discover in these pages a plan that will not only motivate and inform you on how to eat better and exercise more, but that will also improve your total health and wellbeing. Once you gain control over your stress levels and prioritise sleep, healthy eating and regular exercise become a whole lot easier. Your hormone balance will improve and, over time, your body’s resistance to weight loss will be a thing of the past.

Caution…

Please note that the information on hormones in this book is designed to inform you of their basic impact on your health and their role in weight control. Hormones are complex in nature, and it is beyond the purpose of this book to go into detailed scientific explanations of all the functions and intricacies of each hormone. Technically, some of the hormones discussed in this book could be classified as neurotransmitters, which are secreted by neurons in the brain and are very similar to hormones in that they affect other cells. It is also important to note that the quizzes in this book are provided for your information and as a guide only. They must not be seen as medical advice or instruction and no action should be taken based purely on a quiz without consulting your doctor.

HORMONE BALANCE AND BODY FAT

What are hormones?

You might have some preconceived ideas about hormones and what they do, but it’s time to look at the facts. Hormones are powerful chemical substances produced by the body that affect your mood and your body shape. They transfer signals and instructions from one set of cells to another. They can work in incredibly small concentrations, and are secreted by various endocrine glands. Two areas of the brain — the hypothalamus and the pituitary — release hormones, as do glands in other parts of the body, such as the thyroid, adrenal glands, gonads and pancreas. Hormones circulate through the blood until they find a target cell or organ, like a key trying to find the right lock. Then they unlock a special response from the target cells, triggering changes and adjustments that control the way your body functions. For example, when faced with stress such as being late for an important appointment, your body releases adrenaline, which triggers your fat cells to mobilise stored fuel to energise your body to walk or run faster (to help get you there on time).

What do hormones do?

Hormones have a strong influence over virtually every aspect of how you look, feel and think. Whether the effect is direct or indirect, hormones have an impact on ageing, blood pressure, bone strength, digestion, emotions, energy levels, immunity, metabolism, motivation, muscle size, strength and tone, sleep, stress and weight gain or loss. The role these natural substances play in all aspects of your daily health is crucial to your existence. Hormones control four main areas of body function:

the production, utilisation and storage of energy

tissue growth, repair and development (including immune function)

reproduction

maintenance of the internal environment (e.g., blood pressure, temperature).

The core focus of the H-factor diet is to work on the role hormones play in determining your weight and body shape — the production, utilisation and storage of energy. Fortunately, this is also the hormonal function where dietary and lifestyle changes can have the biggest impact. By manipulating the way your body uses hormones to produce, use and store energy (kilojoules), you can encourage your body to lose weight. That’s not to downplay the importance of the other functions of hormones, but this book is focused on helping you to lose body fat. It’s also important to note that because the focus of the H-factor diet is not centred on the reproductive hormones (although we will look more closely at their role), this lifestyle plan is just as relevant and helpful for men as it is for women.

What is hormone balance?

No hormone works in isolation; instead they function together in a complicated, interconnected system. In many cases, hormones