How Do Your Genes Affect Weight Loss?

There are several factors involved in fat metabolism and weight management that have nothing to do with food, willpower or fitness trackers.

The picture of why we gain weight is expanding (along with our collective waistlines) and we’re discovering that poor dietary choices and a sedentary lifestyle are not the only culprits responsible for our inability to shed pounds.  

If it were in fact as simple as “eat less, move more”, what would be the explanation for why your friend who eats chocolate biscuits for breakfast and hasn’t broken a voluntary sweat since high school PE, stays so effortlessly slim and trim?

The answers can be found in our genetics. There is no one-size-fits-all when it comes to the best weight loss approach because genetically we’re slightly different from one another.

Experts like 3X4 Practitioners who work in data-driven weight loss management are well aware that weight loss is about far more than simply trying to eat fewer (or burn more) calories.

What can your genes tell you about weight loss that you don’t already know?

Our genes affect how we respond to everything in our world.  Small genetic variations that make each of us unique affects everything from our eye color and our fingerprints to how we expend energy and store fat.

Appetite, hunger, satiety, eating behavior, meal timing and exercise response are all influenced by our genes, as are other aspects of our selves like our mood, our sleep habits, our predisposition for inflammation and how we handle toxins in the body – processes that all play a major role in body weight outcomes.   

A 3X4 Genetics Report can give you useful insights not only about what your genetic “default mode” or baseline is but also how you can tweak and adjust certain aspects of your life to influence the expression of your genes and finally get the results you want.  

This approach is more effective and more personalized, because the lifestyle changes you make will be based on the actual science of you (as opposed to some other arbitrary, general trend in wellness).

Here are some more of the many questions that genetic testing can help you get to the bottom of…

• Should I eat a plant-based diet or am I more of a carnivore? Should I be worried about the saturated fats in animal products for my heart health?
• Is low vitamin D getting in the way of my weight loss goals and why is it low in the first place?
• Why does it take me longer to feel full compared to other people? What can I do about it?
• When should I have my biggest meal of the day based on my natural circadian rhythm?
• Why do I feel so fatigued and how can I boost my energy levels?
• When should I exercise and what type of exercise will my body respond best to?
• How can I boost my micronutrient status, fix deficiencies and prevent them in the future?
• How can I improve my sleep to benefit my metabolism?

Get all these answers and more by straight-up asking your own genes!