The 10 Factors Of Weight Loss

A healthy body weight is crucial for our long term health & vitality.  The Mind Works With Craig is more than a meal plan, a diet, or a quick fix to achieve a target weight.  I will teach you how to bring about permanent and positive change to your relationship to food and build a healthier lifestyle. 

Why This Matters

Most weight loss approaches focus only on diet and exercise, ignoring the deeper biological and psychological factors that shape our eating behaviours, energy levels, and metabolism.

The truth is, lasting weight loss isn’t about short-term fixes—it’s about understanding how your body and mind work together and using that knowledge to create sustainable change.

This page introduces the 10 key factors that influence weight loss, helping you make informed decisions and take control of your health.

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The Science Behind It

Weight loss is not just about willpower. It’s driven by physiological systems like metabolism, hormones, blood sugar regulation, and the gut microbiome.

Stress, sleep, and even when you eat can impact your ability to lose weight effectively.

Scientific research shows that understanding these factors—rather than following restrictive diets—leads to sustainable, long-term success.

Why What You’ve Been Told About Weight Loss Might Not Be the Whole Story

If you’ve struggled with weight loss, it’s not because you’ve failed—it’s because the advice you’ve been given may have been incomplete. The world of dieting and fitness often focuses on quick fixes, extreme exercise, and restrictive eating, leaving out the deeper biological and psychological factors that truly shape long-term success.

Many weight loss plans only talk about calories in, calories out, ignoring how your metabolism, hormones, gut health, and daily routines affect energy use and fat storage. If you’ve ever wondered why certain diets stop working, why your cravings feel uncontrollable, or why your energy crashes despite “doing everything right,” the missing piece isn’t your willpower—it’s understanding how your body actually works.

The Mind Works Course is designed to fill in the gaps, helping you break free from outdated weight loss myths and giving you a realistic, science-backed approach to achieving sustainable results. By learning how your body naturally regulates weight and energy, you’ll be able to make changes that feel natural and last for life—without extreme diets or punishing workouts.

How to Take Control

Lasting change isn’t about willpower—it’s about understanding how your body and mind work together and using that knowledge to make choices that support you. When you learn the real science behind weight loss—how metabolism, cravings, hormones, and energy systems function—you shift from feeling stuck and frustrated to feeling in control and capable.

By changing how you think about weight loss, you move away from short-term fixes and into a mindset that focuses on sustainable, manageable change. The Process of Change helps you step through this transformation, from awareness of what’s holding you back, to understanding how your body responds to food and movement, to managing daily habits, and finally, overcoming challenges to create long-term success.

The Mind Works Course guides you through this journey, giving you the tools and understanding you need to take control—so weight loss no longer feels like a battle, but a natural part of a healthier, more confident life.

How This Fits Together

Weight loss isn’t just about diet and exercise—it’s about how your body, mind, and habits work together. If factors like blood sugar, stress, sleep, or metabolism are out of balance, it can feel like progress is impossible.

The Mind Works Course integrates the Process of Change, teaching what to eat, how to manage cravings, and how to stay motivated with proper support. By combining science-backed food facts with practical strategies, you’ll learn to work with your body—not against it—for lasting, sustainable results.

1. Mindset, Cravings & Relationship with Food

Our relationship with food is shaped by habits, emotions, and past experiences rather than just hunger. Cravings are often driven by dopamine-driven reward loops, making food choices feel automatic rather than intentional. Emotional eating and restriction cycles make it harder to maintain a balanced, healthy mindset toward food.

Neuroscience shows that cravings and habits can be rewired by identifying triggers and practising mindful eating. Understanding the psychological drivers of eating helps shift food choices from unconscious reactions to intentional behaviours.

The Mind Works Course provides science-backed tools to reprogram cravings, manage emotional eating, and develop a sustainable relationship with food—moving beyond willpower to real, lasting change.

2. How the Body Uses Energy 

The body fuels itself through aerobic (low stress) and anaerobic (high stress) metabolism, using different energy sources based on activity and oxygen availability. Aerobic metabolism primarily burns fat, while anaerobic metabolism relies on glycogen stored in the muscles and liver for quick energy during high-intensity exertion.

When glycogen stores deplete, the body shifts to fat oxidation and ketone production, a process known as ketosis, which provides an alternative energy source. Efficient energy use depends on stress levels, balanced blood sugar, optimal glycogen storage, and hydration, as water plays a critical role in metabolism and fat breakdown.

The Mind Works Course teaches you how to manage glycogen levels, optimise fat burning, and balance energy systems, ensuring your body fuels itself efficiently for sustained fat loss and peak performance.

3. Body Clock & Sleep

Your circadian rhythm regulates hormones that control hunger, energy, and fat metabolism. Poor sleep disrupts cortisol, leptin, and ghrelin, leading to increased cravings and weight gain. Studies link poor sleep to slower metabolism and insulin resistance.

Meal timing also affects metabolism. Late-night eating is linked to higher fat storage and impaired digestion. Aligning meals with natural body rhythms supports digestion and stabilises energy.

The Mind Works Course teaches how to improve sleep, balance hormones naturally, and optimise meal timing for better energy, metabolism, and weight loss.

4. When to Eat & When to Weigh Yourself

Meal timing has a direct impact on metabolism and fat loss. Research shows that eating earlier in the day helps regulate blood sugar, reduces cravings, and enhances digestion. Late-night eating, on the other hand, has been linked to higher fat storage and metabolic dysfunction. Intermittent fasting, when applied correctly, can help regulate appetite and improve fat metabolism.

Weighing yourself too frequently can lead to frustration and demotivation due to natural fluctuations in water retention, muscle glycogen levels, and hormonal changes. A smarter approach is to track weight trends over time, rather than focusing on daily numbers. Strategic weigh-ins—such as once a week, at the same time of day—give a more accurate reflection of progress.

Inside the Mind Works Course, we provide a science-backed approach to meal timing and tracking progress. You’ll learn how to structure meals for maximum fat loss, avoid common weighing pitfalls, and develop a healthy, sustainable relationship with tracking progress.

5. Blood Sugar & Insulin

Blood sugar stability prevents energy crashes, cravings, and fat storage. High-sugar foods spike insulin, which stores excess glucose as fat. Over time, this leads to insulin resistance, making weight loss harder.

Balancing blood sugar with protein, healthy fats, and fibre prevents these spikes and keeps hunger stable. Exercise improves insulin sensitivity, making fat burning more efficient.

The Mind Works Course teaches how to stabilise blood sugar naturally, improve energy, and prevent insulin-related fat storage, using science-backed strategies.

6. Microbiome & Digestive Health

Your gut microbiome plays a vital role in digestion, metabolism, and weight regulation. A diverse, balanced microbiome helps break down food, absorb nutrients, and regulate inflammation, while an imbalanced gut can lead to bloating, cravings, and poor metabolic function.

Gut bacteria also influence hunger hormones and fat storage, with some species promoting weight loss while others contribute to increased fat accumulation. Probiotic and prebiotic-rich foods, such as fermented foods and fiber, help maintain a healthy microbiome and support digestion.

The Mind Works Course explores how gut health impacts metabolism, energy levels, and cravings, providing practical strategies to improve digestion and optimise weight loss through microbiome-friendly nutrition.

7. Stress & Oxygen

Chronic stress raises cortisol, a hormone that promotes fat storage, particularly around the abdomen. When stress remains high, the body prioritises survival, reducing energy expenditure and increasing cravings for high-calorie foods.

Oxygen availability also plays a role in metabolic efficiency, as deep, controlled breathing supports fat oxidation and nervous system regulation. Shallow, stress-induced breathing can impair oxygen flow, reducing energy levels and metabolic function.

The Mind Works Course teaches stress reduction techniques, breathwork exercises, and nervous system regulation, ensuring your metabolism works efficiently while minimising the impact of stress on fat storage and overall health.

8. Inflammation & Hormones

Chronic inflammation disrupts hormonal balance, making fat loss more difficult. Hormones like insulin, cortisol, leptin, and thyroid hormones regulate appetite, fat storage, and metabolism, and when disrupted, they contribute to weight gain and fatigue.

This is particularly important for women of pre and peri-menopausal age

Inflammation is often triggered by poor diet, chronic stress, and environmental toxins, leading to fatigue, bloating, and difficulty losing weight. Reducing inflammatory foods and adopting an anti-inflammatory lifestyle helps restore hormonal balance.

The Mind Works Course provides science-backed strategies to reduce inflammation, optimise hormonal health, and enhance metabolism, allowing for sustainable fat loss and improved well-being.

9. Movement, Activity & Vitality

You don’t need to join a gym or follow a strict workout plan to benefit from movement. Simply staying active throughout the day—whether it’s walking, stretching, or doing household tasks—can make a big difference in how your body uses energy. Small actions like taking the stairs, standing up regularly, or even fidgeting contribute to your overall movement levels.

Moving your body helps boost circulation, support metabolism, and improve energy levels. It also reduces stress and stiffness, making everyday tasks feel easier over time. The key is to find enjoyable, low-pressure ways to stay active that fit into your lifestyle—whether that’s dancing in your kitchen, gardening, or taking a gentle stroll.

The Mind Works Course helps you build simple, sustainable movement habits without the pressure of intense exercise routines. By making movement a natural part of your day, you’ll improve energy, support metabolism, and feel stronger and more capable—without ever needing to step foot in a gym.

10. Detox, Repair & Longevity

Your body naturally detoxifies through the liver, kidneys, and lymphatic system, eliminating waste and maintaining metabolic balance. However, poor lifestyle habits can overload these systems, leading to fatigue, slow metabolism, and inflammation.

Cellular repair processes like autophagy help remove damaged cells and optimise metabolism. Fasting, sleep, and nutrient-dense foods support these processes, allowing the body to function efficiently and burn fat more effectively.

The Mind Works Course teaches how to support detoxification and cellular repair, using fasting strategies, optimal sleep, and targeted nutrition to improve metabolism and promote long-term health.