Weight Loss Secrets
Why Can’t I lose Weight?
As you explore this topic online or in the media it’s easy to get confused on the various opinions that are out there. Even expert sources have their opinions on the best thing to do to help combat this issue. Follow their advice and you may see some changes in weight but once you stop the weight seems to come back on with a vengeance. How long can one be on a “diet” anyway?
Past Weight Loss Strategies:
- o Energy balance: Calories in vs. calories out.
- o Exercise: Increases your metabolic rate and fat burning capacity.
- o Balance: Vary your diet with foods that are low in fat, rich in fruits, vegetables and fiber.
Sometimes even the most dedicated people who adhere to diet and exercise can’t lose weight. It’s like stubborn glue that seems to stick around your midsection. Let’s look at one study:
A study conducted on 48,835 women looked at body weight as the participants followed a long-term, low-fat diet. Over seven years the average weight loss was a mere 4.8 pounds.
Low-fat dietary pattern and weight change over 7 years: Women’s Health Initiative Dietary Modification Trial, JAMA. 2006 Jan 4; 295(1):39-49
This brings me to my next observation.
Weight counseling is declining among family care doctors.
According to research published in the February issue of Medical Care: From 1995–1996 to 2007–2008, the rate of weight counseling provided by primary care physicians (PCPs) decreased significantly, even for those patients with obesity and weight-related comorbidities such as diabetes and hypertension. According to the CDC, in 2009–2010, 35.7% of U.S. adults were obese and 17% (12.5 million) of children and adolescents aged 2—19 years were obese. The problem isn’t going away. Making matters worse, overweight and obesity contribute to many degenerative health conditions including heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and certain types of cancers. Many people want to lose weight for cosmetic reasons, but the importance of maintaining a healthy weight extends far beyond the size of your jeans.
Successful Weight Loss
The secret to successful weight loss is not hidden somewhere in a diet or waiting for you to get back to the gym. It’s not about calories in versus calories out or even about how hard you exercise. It’s not listed in any of the thousands of diet books that are for sale on the internet either. Successful weight loss comes from within. It starts with a decision you make to become healthy. This is the trigger that sets your body into motion. The real decision is are you going to make this a lifestyle or is this just a phase? If it’s a short term thing you probably won’t succeed, not in the way that will extend your life and allow you to be a healthy person. My best advice is you need to stop listening to everyone and do what’s best for you. Find out why your body’s is not burning that extra fat.
Weight Loss Secrets
Weight loss is an individual journey and discovery. That’s why “diets” don’t work: because they’re broad and general. Everybody has a unique biochemistry and what works for one person might not necessarily work for you. We all know people who don’t have to work out or do much to have a properly proportioned body. Some of us aren’t that lucky. By the way, that doesn’t mean that those people who are naturally thin are necessarily healthy.
Weight Loss Secret #1: Support System
Don’t do it alone. Find yourself a healthcare professional who is familiar with nutrition and lifestyle counseling to help you. Studies show that people who work with a nutritionist or health coach and just show up have a greater chance of succeeding than those who don’t.
The biggest mistake is that most people think they can do it on their own. Some people can, but the majority cannot. There is a lot of information out there about healthy eating and fitness, but it takes a broad base of knowledge to synthesize it into a plan that works for you. Having a professional on your side and believing in yourself is the first secret for success.
Weight Loss Secret #2: Biochemical Balance
Terrain Testing is secret #2! By analyzing your “terrain”, this is looking at the body’s chemistry through a blood test, urine, saliva and stool sample, we can get a pretty good idea about what’s going on inside your body on the chemical level.
When people fail to lose weight it can stem from a biochemical problems. When you were a kid you could probably eat anything without gaining a pound. Your body was efficient in metabolizing the food you ate and used it efficiently for fuel. So why doesn’t this happen now? There may be a chemical imbalance that’s actually taking this fuel and storing it as fat. High insulin levels are just one example. If you don’t look to find out what’s wrong, you’ll continue to be stuck at the weight you’re at and you’ll probably gain more over time.
Nutrients can act as a spark-plug in your body. What would happen if your car was missing a spark-plug? For some people filling in the missing piece, or the deficient nutrient, is the shockingly simple but effective key to finally losing the weight. My mantra is, “Test, don’t guess.”
Weight Loss Secret #3: Toxin Release
Toxins may be causing you to gain weight and, more importantly, inhibiting you from losing extra body fat. There are certain toxic chemicals you’re exposed to every day through no fault of your own. They’re in your food, in your water, in the air you breathe and they accumulate in your body.
As you age, these chemicals can cause an estrogenic effect in your body, causing hormone imbalances in both men and women. This imbalance stimulates your body to store belly fat instead of using it for energy.
Once we identify the problem, it’s easy to get you to release these toxins from your body and melt away the fat!
Weight Loss Secret #4: Clean the Matrix
Think of the extracellular matrix as a “placenta” that surrounds your cells. It’s the matrix that not only nourishes our cells but also transports waste away from the cells. The matrix can become overwhelmed by toxins and debris. It’s like you being in a room full of smokers without proper ventilation. When the matrix becomes compromised, the cell no longer gets proper nutrition and cannot eliminate its waste. Add to that poor nutrition and even more accumulation of external toxins. When this begins to happen, the cell suffers and so do you. Chronic inflammation will often accompany a toxic matrix as well as oxidative damage. The toxic matrix is like your body being on fire and corroding at the same time. It will not only impair the cell but will also contribute mitochondrial damage that zaps your energy and nuclear DNA damage which ultimately can destroy the cell. A toxic matrix will impair the body’s ability to excrete estrogens, heavy metals and endogenous toxins. Essentially eventually cellular function becomes impaired. So if this is taking place, how in the world could you lose weight?
The good news is that it can easily be identified with a simple urine test. The bad news is that if you don’t fix the problem and you keep exercising it’s like adding fuel to the fire and the fat will never be burned properly. The only thing you’ll lose will be water weight.