Beyond the Calories and Into the Context
By Jamie Bussin, Featuring Dr. Dasha Leneva
Weight loss is always a hot topic — one that’s saturated with personal success stories, diet fads, miracle supplements, and conflicting advice. One person swears by cutting out processed foods, another lifts weights, and someone else credits the ketogenic diet for their transformation. Yet we also hear just as many stories of people trying the same things without success. What’s missing in both narratives is context: factors like age, hormonal health, medications, stress levels, gut health, sleep quality, and even emotional wellbeing are often overlooked, yet they play crucial roles in weight management.
In Episode #337 of The Tonic Talk Show/Podcast, I spoke with naturopath Dr. Dasha Leneva ND to uncover the deeper factors that influence weight loss. Our conversation highlighted the importance of a holistic, individualized approach, rather than a one-size-fits-all mentality. This is a digest of that discussion.
Hormonal Balance: The Hidden Driver of Weight Changes
Hormones can be powerful allies or stealthy saboteurs when it comes to managing weight. Dasha emphasizes the impact of key hormones like insulin, leptin, ghrelin, cortisol, thyroid hormones, estrogen, and testosterone. Each of these affects how our body processes food, stores fat, and signals hunger or fullness.
- Insulin, produced by the pancreas, is a key regulator of blood sugar. Chronic high insulin levels, often caused by a poor diet or insulin resistance, lead to excess fat storage.
- Leptin, known as the satiety hormone, tells us when we’re full. However, many individuals with obesity develop leptin resistance, which prevents these signals from registering properly, resulting in overeating.
- Ghrelin, the hunger hormone, works in the opposite direction. High ghrelin levels increase appetite, making weight management even more challenging.
- Cortisol, our stress hormone, has received a lot of attention lately — and rightly so. Chronic stress elevates cortisol levels, encouraging fat storage, especially around the abdomen.
- Thyroid hormones regulate metabolism. An underactive thyroid (hypothyroidism) can slow metabolism and lead to weight gain, while hyperthyroidism can cause unintended weight loss, albeit with health risks.
As Dasha puts it, hormonal health is the “engine under the hood” of your metabolism. Without addressing hormonal imbalances, diet and exercise may only go so far.
The Weight of Stress and Emotional Eating
I am an emotional eater. Stress often compels me to seek comfort in food. According to Dasha, this is not just behavioural — it’s biological. Chronic stress elevates cortisol, which not only increases appetite but also promotes fat storage and slows metabolism. Over time, this creates a vicious cycle: stress leads to eating, which leads to weight gain, which leads to more stress.
One lesser-known consequence of high cortisol is muscle breakdown. The body, in fight-or-flight mode, uses amino acids from muscle tissue to create glucose for quick energy. But the loss of muscle mass decreases your basal metabolic rate, making it easier to gain weight even when you’re not eating more.
So how do we manage stress effectively? Dasha recommends adaptogens, a group of herbs that help the body respond more flexibly to stress. Some of her go-to adaptogens include ashwagandha, holy basil, and rhodiola. In addition, nutrients like omega-3s, B vitamins, and 5-HTP can support mood and reduce food cravings, especially in emotionally-triggered eating.
However, she cautions that no supplement can address emotional eating without addressing the emotional root cause. In her practice, she often works alongside mental health professionals to create a comprehensive care plan.
Gut Health: The Unsung Hero of Metabolism
Our gut microbiome — the ecosystem of bacteria living in our digestive tract — plays a pivotal role in metabolism and weight regulation. Research has shown that people with obesity or type 2 diabetes often have less microbial diversity, and this imbalance can impair how our bodies metabolize food.
A healthy gut produces short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) like butyrate, which help regulate blood sugar, appetite, and inflammation. Specific strains of bacteria, like Clostridium butyricum and Akkermansia muciniphila, support this process and can even stimulate the production of GLP-1, a hormone that promotes satiety and improves insulin sensitivity.
But modern lifestyles — high in processed foods, low in fibre, and heavy on antibiotics — often destroy this delicate balance. The good news? It’s reversible.
Dasha advises a high-fibre diet (25g for women, 30g for men), rich in prebiotic foods like onions, garlic, asparagus, bananas, oats, and flaxseed. This helps feed beneficial bacteria and restore metabolic function.
Sleep: The Simplest, Most Overlooked Factor
“Sleep affects everything,” says Dasha. Poor sleep doesn’t just make you feel tired; it increases cravings for quick energy sources (read: sugar and carbs), reduces willpower, and raises cortisol levels.
Dasha recommends:
- A consistent sleep schedule
- 7–8 hours of sleep nightly
- Avoiding food two hours before bedtime
- Creating a wind-down routine to signal the body it’s time to rest
Simply put, when you’re asleep, you’re not eating. But more importantly, you’re allowing your body to rest, repair, and regulate — essential for any kind of weight management.
Conclusion: There’s No Magic Bullet — But There Is a Better Way
Weight loss isn’t just about cutting calories or hitting the gym. It’s about understanding your body’s unique internal environment, including hormones, stress, gut health, sleep, emotional well-being, and lifestyle habits. As our conversation showed, a one-size-fits-all solution doesn’t work. Sustainable weight management requires context, compassion, and a customized, holistic approach.
So before jumping on the next diet trend or Instagram weight-loss hack, ask yourself: What else might be going on beneath the surface? Because that’s often where the real answers lie.
