I have talked about before how Vitamin D (preferably from sunlight) is an essential supplement, and I cannot emphasize this enough! Just recently I took a trip to Australia for about two weeks. When I returned, everyone noticed I had lost weight. While on vacation I cheated some on my diet, and I worked out less. So what did I do different?
The only thing that I did differently on vacation was that I got out in the sun pretty much every day, and I got to lay on the beach! When I am home I rarely get out in the sun, maybe only once a week. I also did not “stress” snack in-between meals, because I was busy relaxing in the sun!
So how can sunlight help you lose weight? When the skin is exposed to sunlight, Vitamin D is produced by the photochemical reaction that occurs when the sun hits your skin cells. Vitamin D then binds to a carrier protein that travels through the blood and is delivered to pretty much every organ in your body. This helps to regulate our hormones, DNA/RNA production, the immune system, the muscular system, and many other functions in the body. Without sunlight, our hormonal system is heavily compromised.
What does this have to do with losing weight?
When our hormones are out of whack, the body tends to store fat when there is too much of a certain hormone released. Stress also messes with our hormonal balance too, and makes us pack on the pounds. So literally laying out, and/or meditating in the sunlight 15 minutes a day can be a part of your weight loss program, and it can also help to boost your mood and energy! How cool is that? Hormone regulation also helps with sleep!
It is recommended to get at least 15 minutes of sunlight daily on most of your body parts exposed to the sunlight. If you are using SPF- buy an organic chemical-free brand from the health food store. Remember your skin is like a big mouth; whatever chemicals go onto your skin also goes into your body and into your organs. It kind of defeats the purpose of trying to balance your hormones when you are throwing more chemicals at it!
