Welcome back to another episode of health hacks as I continue talking about gut health, and today I'm talking about the correlation between gut health and weight and the role of your microbiome metabolism. Now a lot of people know that their metabolism is impacted by hormone levels and stress, and we've already talked about how stress impacts our gut health, and so today we're going to dive into that a little bit more deeply, so that you understand that if you're someone who is experiencing weight gain cravings or simply difficulty losing weight, that perhaps you need to also be looking at the health of your gut, because when we have imbalances with our gut bacteria, that can literally trigger cravings, if you have yeast overgrowth happening in your gut, that yeast loves sugar, and so it's going to send you signals to eat more sugar. And that's the craving of sugar that you're experiencing, because that's how it thrives, and we need some yeast in our gut. We just don't need that overgrowth. And so that's a clue that we need to be addressing that yeast and candida overgrowth in order to help rebalance your microbiome and put an end to the cravings, and that's just one example of what could be going on for you. So we want to rebalance our gut, and in the process of rebalancing our gut, we are able to reset our metabolism. And as we reset our metabolism and have it operating at a level which works for you, your activity level and your nutrient intake level. That will all help with sustainable weight management. Unfortunately, when we are stressed out and we're breaking down the health of our gut and we're not digesting our food properly. That is also another cause, potential cause of weight gain, because we will eat and because that food doesn't get broken down properly, the nutrients from that food are not getting to our cells in the form of energy and having us feel energized and feel satiated, because the food isn't broken down, and so we eat again sooner than we would have if our gut was functioning optimally and the food was being broken down properly, ideally for most people, spreading your meals out three and a half to four hours apart and Having nutrient dense meals that will allow you to feel satiated for that amount of time is an ideal amount of time for your body to properly digest the entire meal and have some time to do clean up before the next meal starts. However, if we're constantly putting food in our mouth because the body isn't breaking it down. Well, we're not getting the benefit of the nutrients. We're taking in way too many calories, and that causes a problem with our own ability to manage our weight. So if that's you, please reach out. Melissa at your guided health journey.com. One of the first things that we can be doing is looking at, how can we get better quality and higher doses of good nutrients into your body so that you feel energized and satiated without taking on a whole lot of extra calories in order to do it? And how do we do it in a way that your body can actually break down that food easily, even when your gut is compromised and not operating at its best. And those are the protocols that I use with people in helping them heal their gut, and even beyond healing their gut once they're back to optimal health, just knowing that liquid before lunch, really good quality smoothies takes less energy for your body to break down, and it's a really great way for you to get good quality nutrients in to start your day and leave you energy for your mental and your physical exertion as you start your day.