8 Pillars of Weight Loss Explained

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Surprise, diet is #6 and exercise is #7:

How many do you do?

If your body is a temple, these are its eight pillars:

  1. Emotional freedom and resilience: understanding how the mind works and using techniques such as CBT, neurolinguistic programming, and meditation to reduce psychological stress and improve self-awareness.
  2. Vagal tone improvement: techniques to get the body out of fight-or-flight mode, improving blood flow, digestion, and reducing chronic pain.
  3. Lymphatic system support: to enhance your body’s internal cleanup system, boost energy, and alleviate pain.
  4. Gut health optimization: supporting digestion and gut health, so that your gut can work efficiently.
  5. Hormonal balance: addressing hormone imbalances to improve overall health, as well as supporting a healthy metabolism and weight loss.
  6. Dietary choices: choosing a sustainable diet that balances blood sugar, boosts metabolism, and suits your personal needs.
  7. Exercise and mobility: developing a sustainable workout plan that promotes fat loss, joint health, and muscle building.
  8. Habit formation: developing routines and habits to maintain progress and prevent relapse into old patterns.

For more on each of these, enjoy:

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Want to learn more?

You might also like to read:

How To Lose Weight (Healthily!) ← our own main feature on the topic, detailing the best kinds of diet and exercise adjustments, as well as how to go about tending to some of the other factors mentioned above

Take care!

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  • Eye Exercises That Measurably Improve Your Vision

    10almonds is reader-supported. We may, at no cost to you, receive a portion of sales if you purchase a product through a link in this article.

    Our eyesight, like most of the rest of our body’s functions, will decline if not adequately maintained. Modern lifestyles see most of us indoors for most of the day (which means a reduced maximum focal length) and often looking at screens (even further reduced focal length), which means that part of our eyes responsible for focus will tend to atrophy and wither. And if we want to see something better, we adjust the settings instead of adjusting our eyes. However, it is perfectly possible to recover our clear youthful vision:

    See the results for yourself (and see them clearly!)

    The exercises that gave him the results he showed between the two tests, are:

    1. Blink for 30 seconds
    2. Focus on something in front and (keeping your focus on that stationary point) move your head left & right, upwards & downwards, and diagonally
    3. Take a break and blink for 30 seconds
    4. Keep your head still while you move your eyes left & right, upwards & downwards, and diagonally
    5. Focus on something in front while you move move your head left & right, upwards & downwards, and diagonally

    This should temporarily improve your vision immediately, because of what has been going on in the capillaries in and around your eyes, but sustained results require sustained (i.e. daily) practice. This is because the vasculature is only part of the mechanism; it’s also a matter of improving the muscles responsible for focusing the eyes—and like any muscles, it’s not a case of “do it once and enjoy the results forever”. So, even just 2–3 minutes each day is recommended.

    For more on all of this plus a visual demonstration, enjoy:

    Click Here If The Embedded Video Doesn’t Load Automatically!

    Want to learn more?

    You might also like to read:

    Are Your Glasses Making Your Eyesight Worse?

    or, if you are very serious about having excellent vision for life:

    Vision for Life, Revised Edition – by Dr. Meir Schneider ← this one’s a book, and a very good one at that

    Take care!

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  • How Internal Organs Can Be Affected By Spicy Foods (Doctor Explains)

    10almonds is reader-supported. We may, at no cost to you, receive a portion of sales if you purchase a product through a link in this article.

    Capsaicin has an array of health-giving properties in moderation, but consumed in immoderation and/or without building up tolerance first, can cause problems—serious health issues such as heart attacks, brain spasms, torn esophagus, and even death can occur.

    Heating up

    Capsaicin, the compound that gives peppers their “heat”, is a chemical irritant and neurotoxin that activates pain receptors (TRPV1) tricking the brain into sensing heat, leading to a burning sensation, sweating, and flushing. The pain signal can also trigger the fight-or-flight response, causing a surge of adrenaline. Endorphins are eventually released, creating a pain-relief effect similar to a runner’s high, and ultimately it reduces systemic inflammation, boosts the metabolism, and increases healthy longevity.

    However, in cases of extreme consumption and/or lack of preparation, woe can befall, for example:

    • A man ruptured his esophagus after vomiting from eating a ghost pepper.
    • A participant experienced severe brain blood vessel constriction (reversible cerebral vasoconstriction syndrome) after eating a Carolina reaper.
    • A 25-year-old suffered permanent heart damage from cayenne pepper pills due to restricted blood flow.
    • A teenager died after the “one chip challenge,” although the cause of death was undetermined.

    So, what does moderation and preparation look like?

    Moderation can be different to different people, since genetics do play a part—some people have more TRPV1 receptors than other people. However, for all people (unless in case of having an allergy or similar), acclimatization is important, and a much bigger factor than genetics. 

    Writer’s anecdote: on the other hand, when my son was a toddler I once left the room and came back to find him cheerfully drinking hot sauce straight from the bottle, so it can be suspected that genetics are definitely relevant too, as while I did season his food and he did already enjoy curries and such, he didn’t exactly have a background of entering chili-eating competitions.

    Still, regardless of genes (unless you actually have a medical condition that disallows this), a person who regularly eats spicy food will develop an increasing tolerance for spicy food, and will get to enjoy the benefits without the risks, provided they don’t suddenly jump way past their point of tolerance.

    On which note, in this video you can also see what happens when Dr. Deshauer goes from biting a jalapeño (relatively low on the Scoville heat scale) to biting a Scotch bonnet pepper (about 10x higher on the Scoville heat scale):

    Click Here If The Embedded Video Doesn’t Load Automatically!

    Want to learn more?

    You might also like to read:

    Capsaicin For Weight Loss And Against Inflammation

    Take care!

    Share This Post

  • Kettlebell Sport & Fitness Basics – by Audrey Burgio

    10almonds is reader-supported. We may, at no cost to you, receive a portion of sales if you purchase a product through a link in this article.

    Professional athlete & coach Audrey Burgio covers how to get a full-body workout that will make you stronger and more flexible (there are stretches here too, and many exercises are about strength and suppleness), as well as building stability and balance. In short, more robust and with better mobility.

    Which is one of the best things about kettlebell training—unlike dumbbells and barbells, a kettlebell requires the kind of strength that one has to use when doing many routine tasks, from carrying the groceries to moving a big pan in the kitchen.

    Because it is otherwise absolutely possible to look like Arnold Schwarzenegger in the gym, and then still pull a muscle moving something at home because the angle was awkward or somesuch!

    However, making one’s body so robust does require training safely, and the clear instructions in this book will help the reader avoid injuries that might otherwise be incurred by just picking up some kettlebells and guessing.

    Bottom line: if you’d like to get strong and supple from the comfort of your own home, this book can definitely lead the way!

    Click here to check out Kettlebell Sport & Fitness Basics, and see the difference in your body!

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  • Thinking about cosmetic surgery? New standards will force providers to tell you the risks and consider if you’re actually suitable

    10almonds is reader-supported. We may, at no cost to you, receive a portion of sales if you purchase a product through a link in this article.

    People considering cosmetic surgery – such as a breast augmentation, liposuction or face lift – should have extra protection following the release this week of new safety and quality standards for providers, from small day-clinics through to larger medical organisations.

    The new standards cover issues including how these surgeries are advertised, psychological assessments before surgery, the need for people to be informed of risks associated with the procedure, and the type of care people can expect during and afterwards. The idea is for uniform standards across Australia.

    The move is part of sweeping reforms of the cosmetic surgery industry and the regulation of medical practitioners, including who is allowed to call themselves a surgeon.

    It is heartening to see these reforms, but some may say they should have come much sooner for what’s considered a highly unregulated area of medicine.

    Why do people want cosmetic surgery?

    Australians spent an estimated A$473 million on cosmetic surgery procedures in 2023.

    The major reason people want cosmetic surgery relates to concerns about their body image. Comments from their partners, friends or family about their appearance is another reason.

    The way cosmetic surgery is portrayed on social media is also a factor. It’s often portrayed as an “easy” and “accessible” fix for concerns about someone’s appearance. So such aesthetic procedures have become far more normalised.

    The use of “before” and “after” images online is also a powerful influence. Some people may think their appearance is worse than the “before” photo and so they think cosmetic intervention is even more necessary.

    People don’t always get the results they expect

    Most people are satisfied with their surgical outcomes and feel better about the body part that was previously concerning them.

    However, people have often paid a sizeable sum of money for these surgeries and sometimes experienced considerable pain as they recover. So a positive evaluation may be needed to justify these experiences.

    People who are likely to be unhappy with their results are those with unrealistic expectations for the outcomes, including the recovery period. This can occur if people are not provided with sufficient information throughout the surgical process, but particularly before making their final decision to proceed.

    What’s changing?

    According to the new standards, services need to ensure their own advertising is not misleading, does not create unreasonable expectations of benefits, does not use patient testimonials, and doesn’t offer any gifts or inducements.

    For some clinics, this will mean very little change as they were not using these approaches anyway, but for others this may mean quite a shift in their advertising strategy.

    It will likely be a major challenge for clinics to monitor all of their patient communication to ensure they adhere to the standards.

    It is also not quite clear how the advertising standards will be monitored, given the expanse of the internet.

    What about the mental health assessment?

    The new standards say clinics must have processes to ensure the assessment of a patient’s general health, including psychological health, and that information from a patient’s referring doctor be used “where available”.

    According to the guidelines from the Medical Board of Australia, which the standards are said to complement, all patients must have a referral, “preferably from their usual general practitioner or if that is not possible, from another general practitioner or other specialist medical practitioner”.

    While this is a step in the right direction, we may be relying on medical professionals who may not specialise in assessing body image concerns and related mental health conditions. They may also have had very little prior contact with the patient to make their clinical impressions.

    So these doctors need further training to ensure they can perform assessments efficiently and effectively. People considering surgery may also not be forthcoming with these practitioners, and may view them as “gatekeepers” to surgery they really want to have.

    Ideally, mental health assessments should be performed by health professionals who are extensively trained in the area. They also know what other areas should be explored with the patient, such as the potential impact of trauma on body image concerns.

    Of course, there are not enough mental health professionals, particularly psychologists, to conduct these assessments so there is no easy solution.

    Ultimately, this area of health would likely benefit from a standard multidisciplinary approach where all health professionals involved (such as the cosmetic surgeon, general practitioner, dermatologist, psychologist) work together with the patient to come up with a plan to best address their bodily concerns.

    In this way, patients would likely not view any of the health professionals as “gatekeepers” but rather members of their treating team.

    If you’re considering cosmetic surgery

    The Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care, which developed the new standards, recommended taking these four steps if you’re considering cosmetic surgery:

    1. have an independent physical and mental health assessment before you commit to cosmetic surgery

    2. make an informed decision knowing the risks

    3. choose your practitioner, knowing their training and qualifications

    4. discuss your care after your operation and where you can go for support.

    My ultimate hope is people safely receive the care to help them best overcome their bodily concerns whether it be medical, psychological or a combination.The Conversation

    Gemma Sharp, Associate Professor, NHMRC Emerging Leadership Fellow & Senior Clinical Psychologist, Monash University

    This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

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  • Does intermittent fasting have benefits for our brain?

    10almonds is reader-supported. We may, at no cost to you, receive a portion of sales if you purchase a product through a link in this article.

    Intermittent fasting has become a popular dietary approach to help people lose or manage their weight. It has also been promoted as a way to reset metabolism, control chronic disease, slow ageing and improve overall health.

    Meanwhile, some research suggests intermittent fasting may offer a different way for the brain to access energy and provide protection against neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s disease.

    This is not a new idea – the ancient Greeks believed fasting enhanced thinking. But what does the modern-day evidence say?

    First, what is intermittent fasting?

    Our diets – including calories consumed, macronutrient composition (the ratios of fats, protein and carbohydrates we eat) and when meals are consumed – are factors in our lifestyle we can change. People do this for cultural reasons, desired weight loss or potential health gains.

    Intermittent fasting consists of short periods of calorie (energy) restriction where food intake is limited for 12 to 48 hours (usually 12 to 16 hours per day), followed by periods of normal food intake. The intermittent component means a re-occurrence of the pattern rather than a “one off” fast.

    Food deprivation beyond 24 hours typically constitutes starvation. This is distinct from fasting due to its specific and potentially harmful biochemical alterations and nutrient deficiencies if continued for long periods.

    4 ways fasting works and how it might affect the brain

    The brain accounts for about 20% of the body’s energy consumption.

    Here are four ways intermittent fasting can act on the body which could help explain its potential effects on the brain.

    1. Ketosis

    The goal of many intermittent fasting routines is to flip a “metabolic switch” to go from burning predominately carbohydrates to burning fat. This is called ketosis and typically occurs after 12–16 hours of fasting, when liver and glycogen stores are depleted. Ketones – chemicals produced by this metabolic process – become the preferred energy source for the brain.

    Due to this being a slower metabolic process to produce energy and potential for lowering blood sugar levels, ketosis can cause symptoms of hunger, fatigue, nausea, low mood, irritability, constipation, headaches, and brain “fog”.

    At the same time, as glucose metabolism in the brain declines with ageing, studies have shown ketones could provide an alternative energy source to preserve brain function and prevent age-related neurodegeneration disorders and cognitive decline.

    Consistent with this, increasing ketones through supplementation or diet has been shown to improve cognition in adults with mild cognitive decline and those at risk of Alzheimer’s disease respectively.

    2. Circadian syncing

    Eating at times that don’t match our body’s natural daily rhythms can disrupt how our organs work. Studies in shift workers have suggested this might also make us more prone to chronic disease.

    Time-restricted eating is when you eat your meals within a six to ten-hour window during the day when you’re most active. Time-restricted eating causes changes in expression of genes in tissue and helps the body during rest and activity.

    A 2021 study of 883 adults in Italy indicated those who restricted their food intake to ten hours a day were less likely to have cognitive impairment compared to those eating without time restrictions.

    older man playing chess
    Matching your eating to the active parts of your day may have brain benefits.
    Shutterstock

    3. Mitochondria

    Intermittent fasting may provide brain protection through improving mitochondrial function, metabolism and reducing oxidants.

    Mitochondria’s main role is to produce energy and they are crucial to brain health. Many age-related diseases are closely related to an energy supply and demand imbalance, likely attributed to mitochondrial dysfunction during ageing.

    Rodent studies suggest alternate day fasting or reducing calories by up to 40% might protect or improve brain mitochondrial function. But not all studies support this theory.

    4. The gut-brain axis

    The gut and the brain communicate with each other via the body’s nervous systems. The brain can influence how the gut feels (think about how you get “butterflies” in your tummy when nervous) and the gut can affect mood, cognition and mental health.

    In mice, intermittent fasting has shown promise for improving brain health by increasing survival and formation of neurons (nerve cells) in the hippocampus brain region, which is involved in memory, learning and emotion.

    medical clinician shows woman a sheet of brain scans
    What we eat can affect our brain, and vice versa.
    Shutterstock

    There’s no clear evidence on the effects of intermittent fasting on cognition in healthy adults. However one 2022 study interviewed 411 older adults and found lower meal frequency (less than three meals a day) was associated with reduced evidence of Alzheimer’s disease on brain imaging.

    Some research has suggested calorie restriction may have a protective effect against Alzheimer’s disease by reducing oxidative stress and inflammation and promoting vascular health.

    When we look at the effects of overall energy restriction (rather than intermittent fasting specifically) the evidence is mixed. Among people with mild cognitive impairment, one study showed cognitive improvement when participants followed a calorie restricted diet for 12 months.

    Another study found a 25% calorie restriction was associated with slightly improved working memory in healthy adults. But a recent study, which looked at the impact of calorie restriction on spatial working memory, found no significant effect.

    Bottom line

    Studies in mice support a role for intermittent fasting in improving brain health and ageing, but few studies in humans exist, and the evidence we have is mixed.

    Rapid weight loss associated with calorie restriction and intermittent fasting can lead to nutrient deficiencies, muscle loss, and decreased immune function, particularly in older adults whose nutritional needs may be higher.

    Further, prolonged fasting or severe calorie restriction may pose risks such as fatigue, dizziness, and electrolyte imbalances, which could exacerbate existing health conditions.

    If you’re considering intermittent fasting, it’s best to seek advice from a health professional such as a dietitian who can provide guidance on structuring fasting periods, meal timing, and nutrient intake. This ensures intermittent fasting is approached in a safe, sustainable way, tailored to individual needs and goals.The Conversation

    Hayley O’Neill, Assistant Professor, Faculty of Health Sciences and Medicine, Bond University

    This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

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  • Burn – by Dr. Herman Pontzer

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    We all have reasons to want to focus on our metabolism. Speed it up to burn more fat; slow it down to live longer. Tweak it for more energy in the day. But what actually is it, and how does it work?

    Dr. Herman Pontzer presents a very useful overview of not just what our metabolism is and how it works, but also why.

    The style of the book is casual, but doesn’t skimp on the science. Whether we are getting campfire stories of Hadza hunter-gatherers, or an explanation of the use of hydrogen isotopes in metabolic research, Dr. Pontzer keeps things easy-reading.

    One of the main premises of the book is that our caloric expenditure is not easy to change—if we exercise more, our bodies will cut back somewhere else. After all, the body uses energy for a lot more than just moving. With this in mind, Dr. Pontzer makes the science-based case for focusing more on diet than exercise if weight management is our goal.

    In short, if you’d like your metabolism to be a lot less mysterious, this book can help render a lot of science a lot more comprehensible!

    Click here to check out “Burn” on Amazon today, and learn to manage your own metabolism the way you want it!

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