Signos Philosophy & Content Integrity

The Signos team is committed to sharing helpful, actionable, insightful health advice that’s backed by scientific research, supported by expert reviews, and vetted by experienced health editors. Our content and editorial review team include credentialed experts, from medical doctors to registered dietitians to registered nurses. Our mission is to publish information that educates, explores research and data through the lens of action-oriented health tips, deep dives into health topics, and provides usable and practical ways you can integrate healthy behavior change into your routine.

Excess glucose and insulin don’t help with weight loss, weight maintenance, or overall balanced health. Chronic excess insulin may lead to weight gain, metabolic disorders, and disease. Eat whole, minimally processed foods to keep glucose and insulin low, and avoid ingredients that are not easily recognizable.

• Eat whole, unprocessed, unrefined foods.
• The goal is to eat foods as close to the way you would find them in nature.
• Strive to eat fresh, nutrient-dense foods.
  

Carbs: Carbohydrates are any of a large group of sugars, starches, cellulose, and gums. Your body uses carbohydrates by converting them to glucose, a simple sugar, for fuel.

• Signos is not low carb; Signos is low processed and low “spiky” carb. We advocate for real foods first and low-glycemic carbs/foods most. Some moderate and high-glycemic carbs can be included in moderation.
• Focus on whole, complex carbs (examples: vegetables, fruits, oats, quinoa).
• Fruits and veggies are carbs. Eat loads of them, especially fresh greens/veggies!
• Avoid simple carbs (honey, sugar, corn syrup, candy) and processed carbs (bread, crackers, pasta, certain grains). Avoid added sugars and soda.
  

Fats: Fats are nutrients that give you energy and help promote balanced glucose. Fats help in the absorption of Vitamin A, D, E, and K.

• Focus on healthy fats, such as avocado/avocado oil, olive oil, nuts and seeds, and unsweetened coconut/coconut oil
• Avoid/eliminate trans fats, omega-6 fatty acids, and vegetable oils such as safflower, sunflower, soybean, and corn oils
• Saturated fat: Reduce saturated fats from cheese, milk, and red meat. (Bison and certain lean red meats are good alternatives.)
  

Protein: Proteins are large molecules consisting of one or more chains of amino acids. Amino acids comprise the second-largest (water being first) component of human muscle, cells and tissue, and are essential to proper function.

• Combine lean protein with healthy fats and complex carbohydrates.
• Complete proteins come from animal or fish sources, such as meat, fish, eggs, and poultry.
• Incomplete proteins lack one or more essential proteins in adequate amounts and must be combined with other protein sources to become complete (examples: grains, nuts, seeds, beans).
• Aim for 20–25 grams of protein per eating occasion, spread throughout the day.
  

Artificial sweeteners: Avoid unless as a direct substitute for full-sugar alternatives like regular soda.

Natural sweeteners: (mainly derived from plant and animal sources)

• Monk fruit
• Allulose
• Stevia
• Xylitol
  

Whole food-based and other sweeteners: Use sparingly. Even though whole-food-based, these are still simple carbs (void of fiber) that can spike glucose; examples include:

• Maple syrup
• Fruit juices
• Coconut sugar
• Yacon syrup
• Raw sugar

Signos encourages exercise in the form of structured workouts that include a balanced approach to fitness (some cardio, more weight training and/or bodyweight resistance training, some mobility and flexibility, and stress-reducing movements such as yoga, dance, or pilates).

We strongly encourage more frequent bouts of movement spread throughout the day, particularly after eating meals. Signos members are encouraged to experiment with various exercise intensities, forms, and timing to observe how physical activity impacts their glucose levels, weight, and how they feel.

Recommendation to bring down glucose spike more quickly: 10–15 minutes of moderate-intensity to high-intensity exercise (as tolerated and per fitness level). Activities can include brisk walking, jumping rope, plyometric-type short bursts of intense movements, heavy weight lifting, jogging, high-intensity interval training, swimming, rowing, kettlebell swings, moving quickly through a bodyweight circuit, climbing stairs, etc.

Exercise is encouraged as a way to burn fat, build muscle, support health, and improve longevity. It is not a “punishment” for cheat meals, high-glucose meals, or binges. Eating “less healthy” foods should not be viewed as a reward for working out. Exercise enhances a glucose-stabilizing lifestyle and can be used as a tool that optimizes health.

To achieve optimal health, it’s essential to dial in all aspects of health and well-being, including:

Stress Management

• Emotional eating, stress binging, anxiety, depression, and high consumption of fats and sugars are associated with chronic stress. In addition to weight issues and glucose spikes, chronic stress weakens the immune system, leaving the body susceptible to disease, obesity, sickness, and injury.
• Meditation, breathing exercises, nature, and exercise are all effective stress-reduction techniques.

Relaxation

This may include travel, social time, journaling, unplugging from social media, meditation, breathing exercises, tai chi, etc., to help reset the body, mind, and toxic emotional states in order to promote balanced glucose levels.

Sleep

• Imperative for a balanced brain, body, mental and emotional function. Lack of sleep negatively impacts metabolic and hormonal function in the body, which may lead to weight gain, cravings, and disease. Lack of sleep raises the risk of chronic health issues, such as heart disease, diabetes, obesity, and high blood pressure.
• Members should aim for 7–8 hours of uninterrupted, deep sleep per night, ideally the same schedule night after night.

Hydration

• Prioritize drinking water first. In general, aim for half a person's body weight in ounces of water each day. Weight, geography, and daily activity level determine individual needs. Unsweetened sparkling water without additives can provide variety.
• Proper hydration is essential for weight loss, glucose balance, nutrient delivery to cells, optimal-functioning organs, brain health, hunger recognition, and sleep quality.
• Limit or avoid sugar-sweetened and artificially-sweetened beverages.

Limit CCAS: Caffeine, Cigarettes, Alcohol, and Sugar

According to the American Institute of Stress, cigarettes, as well as caffeine-laden soft drinks, coffee, tea, and even chocolate, can cause cortisol levels to rise, stress to increase, blood sugar to drop, and hunger to prevail.

Four essential principles that guide Signos weight loss:

1. Excess body fat puts us at risk for chronic and acute disease. Studies show that being significantly overweight increases your risk of nearly every disease (except osteoporosis—because ironically it responds to weight-bearing activities).
   
2. Strive to stay in your recommended weight loss range (WLR) as much as possible. Each member’s weight loss journey can differ.
   
3. Eighty percent of your body composition will be determined by your diet. Yes, exercise is also important to health and to speed up fat-burning and muscle-building, but most of your results will come from how you eat.
   
4. Lean Body Mass (LBM), aka fat-free mass, is the key to life. Lean mass (muscle and all the rest of you that is not fat) is directly correlated with longevity and excellent health. Signos members should strive to lose fat and build or maintain muscle.

A journey to better health and sustainable weight loss with Signos teaches members to value:

Experimentation: Signos can provide general principles for healthy living, but it’s essential for each person to find what works for them individually.

Overcoming obstacles: We seek and address mental, physical, emotional, and environmental obstacles that impair our ability to live our healthy intentions each day. The behavior changes that lead to weight loss and maintaining that weight loss require a process of:

• realization (oh darn, that caused a spike)
• acceptance (I’ve gotta change something next time to avoid a spike)
• redirecting old “bad” habits (instead of that, I’ll do this next time)
• practicing new learned “healthy” habits (that caused me to spike and this usually doesn’t cause me to spike, so I’ll do the thing that doesn’t usually spike me)
• repeating the process as often as necessary.

Adapting to change: Members’ responses to foods can vary on different days, depending on the circumstances. We train members to become nimble and consider their glucose data in context: Did you get poor sleep the night before? Is a work deadline causing extra stress? Did you spike so high that a 10-minute brisk walk wasn’t enough to lower the spike relatively quickly? Our in-app prompts show members how to adapt.

Prioritizing research and data: We highlight researched support for Signos principles wherever possible with primary sources (example: peer-reviewed journals), as well as references to other credible and authoritative leaders in the weight loss, health, and wellness spaces. Anecdotally, Signos staff share what worked for them from their own self-experimentation and weight loss experiences.

We are committed to amplifying a variety of identities, viewpoints, and research in the health and wellness and health-tech spaces to ensure that our culture and content reflect the diversity of thought, circumstances, and perspectives found in the world today.

While our philosophies include general recommendations on stable glucose management as well as nutrition, exercise, and wellness practices that can be applied by most to achieve optimal health and a sustained healthy weight, we do not believe in a one-size-fits-all approach to wellness and longevity. We encourage people of all genders, identities, ethnicities, weights, fitness levels, and ages to engage with our content, and consider trying the Signos platform.

We are dedicated to growing and fostering an inclusive community, and we seek out people and members who bring unique personal experiences, scientific curiosity, and a desire to embrace diversity and inclusion.