If you ask crash-diet gurus, that Instagram #fitspo model, or a pushy salesperson at a fancy gym, they’ll probably tell you that weight loss is pretty simple (you know, as long as you buy whatever they’re selling).

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But we’ll give it to you straight: weight loss can actually get pretty complicated. The “more calories out, fewer calories in” thing works a lot of the time, but what about...when it doesn’t? What about when you hit that plateau you can’t get off of? Or when you feel like you don’t have enough energy to get in a workout for the day? Or when you are hangry and unmotivated and you just want a brownie already?

Running into stumbling blocks along the road to weight loss is extremely common, and extremely frustrating. That’s why we’ve been so excited to learn more about other things that can help you meet your weight loss goals—like your gut.

Yes, your gut—shorthand for your gastrointestinal tract—can actually play a vital role in helping you lose weight, and not just by, you know, digesting your food.

To get to the bottom of this, let’s take a closer look at how the gut works, the problems an unhealthy gut can cause, and the changes you can make to your diet and lifestyle to help keep your gut in good shape (so you can be, too!).

Facts About Your Gut

We don’t have time to go into all the inner workings of the human gut (and frankly, you probably wouldn’t want us to), so we’ll give you a crash course in gut health with some quick facts.

Fact 1: Your gut is how your body gets nourished. All the food you eat passes through your gut. This is where it gets broken down and either stored, used, or passed through as waste.

Fact 2: The nutrients your gut absorbs power your body. These nutrients support many different bodily functions, including hormone production, skin health, mood, the immune system, and so on.¹ It’s pretty clear that your gut plays a role in more than just digestion.

Fact 3: Your gut is home to trillions of bacteria. These bacteria, collectively referred to as your gut microbiome, are what help the gut do its job. Generally speaking, there are “beneficial” and “unwanted” bacteria present in the gut. As long as there’s a favorable balance between beneficial and unwanted, your gut is healthy. But if the unwanted start overpowering the beneficial, imbalance can occur, and you could start seeing symptoms like occasional bloating, upset stomach, or excess gas.²

Fact 4: You can have an impact on your gut microbiome. Foods you eat, medications you take, the amount of sleep you get, and other factors can all impact the balance in your gut microbiome. Adding probiotics (beneficial bacteria) and prebiotics (food for beneficial bacteria) to your gut can help your gut stay healthier. Beneficial foods/drinks for your gut include: yogurt (with live and active cultures), kombucha, pickled vegetables, kefir, sauerkraut, kimchi, and more. You can also take supplements to aid in gut health (more on that later!).

How An Imbalanced Gut Affects Your Weight

We’ve already established that—an imbalanced gut can have major negative effects on your overall health. But what does it have to do with your weight, and, more importantly, your ability to lose weight?

1. Weight fluctuation. If your weight is fluctuating, especially if you haven’t made any substantial changes in your diet or exercise routine, your gut could have something to do with it.
2. Plateau. Ah, the dreaded plateau. If you have been losing weight, but suddenly can’t seem to drop another pound, it could be a sign that your gut isn’t doing what it should.
3. Bloating. Bloating is a classic sign of an imbalanced gut. Feeling bloated isn’t pleasant, and if it’s bad enough, it may be affecting your appearance as well.³
4. Constant hunger. One of the things the gut does is regulate hormones, including the ones that send “hungry” and “full” signals to the brain. If your gut is unhealthy, your brain could be getting more of that “hungry” signal and less of the “full” one, potentially leading to overeating.⁴ (Read more on feeling perpetually hungry, something we dedicated a whole blog to!)

5. Fatigue. When you’re trying to lose weight, fatigue can be a major setback. It’s hard enough to find the discipline to make healthier choices, even when you’re well rested. Add in a few sleepless nights and a generally tired state, and it becomes even harder. An imbalanced gut can cause sleep problems and fatigue related to hormone production. Most of your body’s serotonin is produced in the gut. Plus, an imbalanced gut will make it harder for your body to absorb key nutrients, contributing to your low energy.⁶
6. Another hormone related issue, stress can wreak havoc on your weight loss efforts. Cortisol, “the stress hormone,” can make your blood sugar drop, causing your body to think it needs sugary or fatty foods⁷ (“comfort food” isn’t just a theory, people). So if you’re stressed, you could (a) eat too much of (b) unhealthy foods, causing you to gain weight.

How Your Gut Health Affects Weight Loss

Clearly, an imbalanced gut can hinder weight loss. Of course, the flip side of that is also true: a healthy gut could potentially boost your weight loss efforts.

When your gut is balanced, your body is able to use, store, and get rid of food properly. It can use the nutrients your food is giving you. It can send appropriate “hunger” signals to your brain, to help you avoid overeating. And, by helping you stay on track in terms of sleep, energy, and stress, your gut can help you have the energy you need to make good decisions.

Does that mean you should focus solely on gut health, and let the weight loss take care of itself? Are we giving you a free pass to lay off healthy eating, regular exercising, and weight loss supplements/products?

Sorry, no.

The truth is, you’ll get the best results when you make weight loss and gut health a priority. Lucky for you, we’re experts on both.

Plexus^® Products for Gut Health & Weight Management^

Plexus has long been considered a leader when it comes to gut health and health-focused weight management^ products. Of course, when we learned about the role that gut health plays in weight management^, we realized that we could have an even bigger impact by focusing on both.*

Today, Plexus is committed to being an industry leader when it comes to gut health. We see it as a whole new frontier of Health and Happiness, and honestly, we couldn’t be more excited about it.

Plexus gut health and weight management^ products include:

• Plexus Slim® Microbiome Activating*
• Plexus Slim Hunger Control*
• Plexus TriPlex™
• Plexus Lean™
• Plexus MetaBurn™
• Plexus Balance™

Plus, get to know some of our Gut Health and Weight Management^ combos:

• Healthy Weight Basics Combo-Trim
• Renew You Beginner – Basics – and Essentials Combo

Plexus Slim Microbiome Activating is all about benefiting that gut microbiome. It helps feed your beneficial gut bacteria with essential prebiotics, so they can keep doing what they do best. In an in-vitro simulation, Slim increased beneficial bacteria Lactobacillus up to 365 times and Bifidobacterium up to 290 times and increased metabolism-enhancing Akkermansia up to 250 times. It’s the ultimate pairing of weight loss^ and gut health. Oh, and the raspberry, lemon, watermelon flavor doesn’t hurt, either.^*◊

Plexus Slim Hunger Control is specifically formulated to help you feel full longer, which could help keep you from overeating. It’s a healthy, delicious way to train your body to make smart decisions that could lead to a slimmer you. With blood orange, lemon, lime flavor, you won’t feel like you’re missing out on anything!*

Plexus TriPlex was made for you. With TriPlex, you get Plexus Slim (Microbiome Activating or Hunger Control), plus:

• Bio Cleanse™, which helps cleanse the digestive tract to remove unwanted microbes, reducing occasional gas, bloating, and GI discomfort*
• ProBio 5^®, which helps to keep intestinal yeast in balance to support a healthy intestinal tract and helps seed the gut with beneficial probiotic strains*

Plexus Lean If you want a delicious, convenient meal replacement that also delivers gut health benefits, then you want Plexus Lean. Available in  Vegan Natural Vanilla, Vegan Chocolate, Whey Creamy Vanilla, and Whey Milk Chocolate varieties, Lean leaves you feeling satisfied and ready to take on the day. With nutrition (bioavailable vitamins and minerals), weight loss^ benefits, and digestive health (dietary and prebiotic fiber), you get a delicious meal or snack that helps you lean up while keeping that gut healthy.

Even more, when you buy Lean, you're not only giving your body the nutrition it needs, you're giving back to others as well. Through our Nourish One^® Initiative, every purchased serving of Lean triggers a monetary donation to Feeding America^®.** A serving for you helps a child or family in need.

Plexus MetaBurn Remember that “plateau” problem? It’s a thing of the past, with MetaBurn. MetaBurn is the multi-action response to stubborn fat—you know, the kind that hangs around your hips, belly, and thighs. The botanical leaf, root, and seed extracts in MetaBurn help rev up your metabolism, enhancing your body’s natural ability to burn fat and calories. Plus, MetaBurn gives you a little mood boost and a gentle energy lift, so burning off that fat^{^} doesn’t feel like, well, torture. Get help to take on the hard days, and see serious results, with MetaBurn.*

MetaBurn is the perfect companion to other Plexus products and can be taken safely alongside them. By utilizing the synergistic power of Plexus weight management^ and gut health products, you’ll discover better results—results that you can see on the outside and feel on the inside.*

Healthy Weight Basics Combo- Trim

Can’t decide what to try? We get it—there are a lot of great options. But the good news is: you don’t have to choose. Talk to a Plexus Ambassador about how you can get the Healthy Weight Basics Combo- Trim. This superstar combo lets you try out some of our bestselling products, at a steal of a price. This particular pack includes:

• Slim
• Lean
• MetaBurn

(Want to learn more about Plexus’ complete lineup of Health and Happiness products? It’s all covered in this post.)

Let’s face it: weight loss isn’t always straightforward. But understanding your gut—and working to keep it healthy—just might help you uncover another piece of the puzzle. So keep your gut healthy, keep up those weight loss efforts, and get ready for some serious Health and Happiness.

References/Sources:

1. https://www.healthline.com/health/digestive-health/things-your-gut-wants-you-to-know#1
2. https://blumhealthmd.com/2017/06/17/what-is-dysbiosis/
3. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30879252
4. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4919527/
5. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4919527/
6. https://www.hyperbiotics.com/blogs/recent-articles/5-signs-your-gut-is-out-of-whack-and-what-you-can-do-about-it
7. https://www.webmd.com/diet/features/stress-weight-gain#1

Disclaimers:

**Every bag of Plexus Lean sold contributes a donation equivalent to 14 meals to Feeding America, providing at least 1.5 million meals annually. $1 helps provide at least 10 meals secured by Feeding America on behalf of local member food banks.

◊The results of an in vitro human gut simulator study suggest that Slim’s formula may have several beneficial effects. Further research, including research conducted in humans, is needed to confirm these preliminary findings.

^When combined with a reduced calorie weight loss diet plan. Individuals results will vary.