So if you’ve put on a little extra weight during the pandemic, you’re certainly not alone. Millions of us have packed on more padding in recent months, and it’s easy to see why.
If you’re like most folks, you’re likely spending much more time at home, with constant access to food. You may not be able to go to the gym, and sticking to a normal/consistent exercise routine may not be possible right now.
Add constant stress to the mix, and you have the perfect storm for weight gain… and a much steeper road to climb to shed those extra pounds.
Breaking out of this cycle won’t happen overnight, but there are some simple things you can do to slow weight gain today and jumpstart weight loss…
Your first area of focus?
Get your gut microbiome back in healthy balance.
Quick Answer: The trillions of bacteria in your gut microbiome have a real influence on your weight, your cravings, and your metabolism. When harmful bacteria outnumber beneficial ones (a state called dysbiosis), they can nudge you toward sugary, fatty foods and make weight harder to manage. Getting the microbiome back in balance flips that, helping support healthy metabolism, steadier blood sugar, and reduced cravings. Beneficial probiotic bacteria produce short-chain fatty acids and other compounds tied to weight management. Supporting your gut with spore probiotics is a simple first step toward feeling your best.
Can Your Gut Bacteria Affect Your Weight?
Your Gut Bacteria Can Dictate Your Weight
Yes. The trillions of bacteria in your gut influence your weight, metabolism, and cravings, and the balance between beneficial and harmful bacteria can tip the scale either way.
Trillions of bacteria live in your gut microbiome. And they have an enormous amount of influence on your health, immune system, mood, and weight.
Your gut microbiome contains both beneficial probiotic bacteria and harmful pathogenic bacteria. In a well-balanced gut microbiome, highly diverse beneficial bacteria outnumber pathogens. When your gut is in balance, it has positive effects on your body… and that includes more effortlessly maintaining a healthy weight.
But it’s all too easy to knock your gut microbiome out of balance – a state known as “dysbiosis” where pathogenic bacteria outnumber probiotics. All it takes is a single course of antibiotics, or exposure to common pesticides (like glyphosate) in food and water, or just one sugary, fatty snack attack.
The shape of your gut microbiome – balanced or unbalanced – can decide the shape of your whole body. Research shows that:
- The gut microbiome plays an over-sized part in obesity
- Implanting obesity-causing gut bacteria into normal weight mice makes them rapidly gain weight
- Reversing dysbiosis and getting the gut microbiome back in healthy balance promotes weight loss
That’s why it can be so hard to resist cravings… It’s also why you may STILL gain weight even after you’ve instituted better diet and exercise regimens.
How Do Harmful Gut Bacteria Lead to Weight Gain?
4 Ways Harmful Gut Bacteria Force You To Gain Weight
When harmful bacteria outnumber beneficial ones, they can shift metabolism to store more calories, drive cravings for sugary and fatty foods, produce inflammatory compounds, and even influence your food preferences.
Your gut bacteria have more control over your weight than you realize. The trillions of microbes in your intestines can make you gain weight, AND they can make it virtually impossible to lose weight.
That’s especially true when harmful bacteria (pathogens) outnumber beneficial bacteria (probiotics). The harmful pathogens can quite literally decide what you eat… change your metabolism… even keep you feeling hungry when you’re actually full.
That may sound like science fiction, but it’s 100% true. And there’s a mountain of research to back it up. Studies show that pathogenic gut bacteria make you gain weight by:
- Shifting your metabolism so your body holds on to more calories when you eat
- Manipulating signals in your brain to make you crave the sugary, fatty foods pathogens prefer
- Producing inflammatory compounds that promote obesity
- Influencing your food choices by changing your taste buds to prefer certain foods and dislike others
This all happens because pathogens’ survival depends on you eating snack foods and shunning the fiber-filled, nutrient-rich foods that beneficial bacteria prefer.
Fortunately, getting your beneficial bacteria back in charge changes the game completely.
How Does a Balanced Gut Microbiome Support Weight Loss?
5 Ways a Balanced, Healthy Gut Microbiome Helps You Lose Weight
A balanced microbiome supports weight management in several ways: producing short-chain fatty acids tied to fat metabolism, helping process blood sugar, supporting metabolism, crowding out pathogens, and curbing the hunger hormone ghrelin.
It’s nearly impossible to lose weight when dysbiosis has a thumb on the scale. But getting your gut microbiome back in healthy balance gives your body the boost it needs to shed those unwanted pounds… and keep them off!
The probiotic bacteria in a healthy microbiome help you stop gaining and start losing weight in 5 important ways. Probiotic bacteria:
- Produce short chain fatty acids (such as butyrate) that signal your body to turn on fat-burning genes and turn off fat-storing genes
- Help your body process blood sugar more effectively
- Activate your metabolism
- Inhibit pathogenic bacteria that can encourage fat storage
- Reduce levels of ghrelin, the hunger hormone, to curb your appetite and food cravings
Imagine how much easier it would be to achieve a healthy weight if your gut microbiome WASN’T actively working against you. That’s exactly what happens when you support the healthy balance and protection of your gut microbiome.
Frequently Asked Questions About Gut Health and Weight
Can your gut bacteria affect your weight?
Yes. Research links the balance of bacteria in the gut microbiome to weight, metabolism, and appetite. When harmful bacteria outnumber beneficial ones, they can influence cravings and how the body holds on to calories.
What is dysbiosis?
Dysbiosis is a state where harmful pathogenic bacteria outnumber beneficial probiotic bacteria in the gut. It can be triggered by things like antibiotics, pesticide exposure, and a sugary, fatty diet.
How does a balanced gut microbiome support weight management?
A balanced microbiome supports healthy metabolism, helps the body process blood sugar, curbs cravings, and produces short-chain fatty acids tied to fat metabolism. In short, it stops working against your weight goals.
What are short-chain fatty acids?
Short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) such as butyrate are compounds produced by beneficial gut bacteria. They play a role in metabolism and weight management and support overall gut health.
How can spore probiotics help?
Spore probiotics survive digestion to reach the gut alive, where they help replenish beneficial bacteria and keep the microbiome in healthy balance. That balance is what supports a healthier weight over time.
Keep Your Gut Microbiome in Balance with Just Thrive
Just Thrive contains four clinically studied strains of spore probiotics proven to help keep the gut microbiome in healthy balance.
And check this out: Our specific, proprietary mix of spore probiotics has been shown to encourage a 40% increase in SCFA (Short-Chain Fatty Acid) production – and SCFAs play a key role in weight management.
The Just Thrive Probiotc formula includes:
Bacillus coagulans, which can help improve the kind of GI symptoms that crop up when you overeat
Bacillus subtilis HU58, which helps produce feel-good brain chemicals (like serotonin) that quiet sugar cravings and support a positive mood.
Bacillus clausii fights pathogenic bacteria to reduce their effects, and strengthens your immune function to help you fell your best and most resilient.
Bacillus indicus HU36, which produces powerfully protective antioxidants like astaxanthin that work to limit weight gain even with a high-fat diet By keeping your gut microbiome in healthy balance, Just Thrive spore-based probiotic can help you beat the “quarantine 15” to feel your best and live your healthiest life!
