Top 5 Brain-Boosting Strategies That Also Support Weight Loss
Brain health and weight loss are more connected than you think. By improving the ways your brain works, you can improve the metabolic process of your body. Let's look into the top five brain-boosting strategies that also support weight loss.
1. Start a Neuro-Nutritious Diet
Your nutrition is the fuel for both your brain and body. While crash diets and fat eating styles focus on short-term goals, a brain-healthy diet supports long-term, overall health. This naturally increases weight loss, and makes it sustainable, as long as you’re not overeating.
The best brain foods to try:
- Lion's mane mushrooms can be used to cook delicious healthy meals for weight loss. More importantly, lion’s mane is a brain cell optimizer designed to promote healthy mitochondria.*
- MCT oil is commonly used during intermittent fasting, which can aid in weight loss.
- Turmeric may support cognitive function, and it may support metabolism too.*
- Blueberries are known to support healthy brain function. Fruit can also support a healthy metabolism for weight loss.
By centering your diet around nutrient-dense foods and ingredients, you’re getting a huge boost in natural brain function – while simultaneously supporting healthy weight loss.*
2. Exercise Smarter, Not Harder
While exercise is fantastic for the body, more isn’t always better. Shorter, high-intensity workouts can boost BDNF (brain-derived neurotrophic factor). This helps your brain build new pathways and stay sharp.
The right exercise for weight loss: Forms of exercise like high-intensity interval training optimize memory and focus, but they of course contribute to burning fat as well. You’ll get the most out of your exercise time focusing on higher-intensity training that challenges your brain and body.
3. Deep Sleep for Cognitive Recovery
Adequate deep sleep is non-negotiable when it comes to brain health. While sleeping, your brain literally cleans out the “waste” and toxins in your system. Most weight loss experts also agree it’s crucial for achieving any sort of fitness goal.
Tips for Restorative Sleep
Cool down your bedroom: Lower temperatures signal to your brain it's time to rest.
Practice a tech detox: Blue light interferes with melatonin production, which impacts the quality of your sleep and your ability to focus the next day. Ditch the screens before bed!
Take magnesium: Magnesium has been shown to support sleep quality and relaxation.*
Not only is this rejuvenation process great for your brain… It’s just as effective for weight loss. If you don’t get enough sleep, cortisol levels increase. Over time, this can make it harder to lose fat and maintain a healthy weight. The better you sleep, the more effectively your body can metabolize fat.
4. Mindfulness: Train Your Brain and Control Your Cravings
Mindfulness practice essentially reinforces your ability to deal with emotions and stress. This is incredible for long-term brain health, removing the contribution to oxidative stress later in life. You’ll notice a much clearer, healthier mind when you practice meditation, yoga, or another mindfulness exercise daily.
Mindfulness for weight loss: mindfulness helps in differentiating between real hunger and emotional eating. Apps like Headspace even have mindful eating meditation courses, which don’t only help your brain, but accelerate fat loss (if that’s your goal).
5. New Experiences, New Brain Connections
Every time you challenge your brain, it builds new pathways. This occurs on a biological level – neurons, synapses, and more. Whenever you learn something new, whether you are playing a new musical instrument or taking a new route to work, you may be triggering neuroplasticity. This keeps your brain “fresh.”
How it supports weight loss: Trying new physical activities doesn't just stimulate the brain. It keeps workouts fun, instead of dreading going to the gym. You can lose weight doing any type of workout, so it’s more important to switch things up to stay engaged – rather than getting bored and quitting.
