The secrets to successful weight loss…well, they are not actually secrets, but many people are not aware of these strategies. Many, though, have heard of and fall for the ultra-fast weight-loss claims, such as magic supplements that claim to burn fat, stimulate metabolism, and suppress appetite, or the latest miracle diet craze. So, what has worked for many people? Here are five good tips:
- Get Focused. If current trends continue, half of North Americans will be obese—not just overweight—by 2030, and yet there are around 48,450 diet books on amazon.com. Anyone can lose weight. Severely restricting calories works, but you may not like the way you look or feel, and weight loss alone does not bestow health.
Being overweight can be a symptom of an unhealthy lifestyle, malnutrition, toxicity, excess stress, eating unhealthy food, as well as disconnecting from nature. Lessening the symptom is like taking a drug to mask the problem without healing the reason for the symptoms. Many health problems can be related to excess weight: hypertension, diabetes, osteoarthritis, asthma, and fatty liver disease, to name a few. Dieting may get the weight off, but you can still be in poor health, have nutritional deficiencies and imbalances, and poor cellular functions. Instead, try focusing on building health. Rather than subtracting calories that “make you fat,” you need to add foods and activities that improve health and well-being. Loss of excess weight and fat will be a positive side effect to changing unhealthy eating habits and increasing physical activity. This is a lifestyle change, not a temporary goal. Your goal should not be to lose weight but to improve your lifestyle. Cultivate a life-long way of eating and living.
- Don’t Count On Just Counting Calories. How many calories should you eat each day? Since a calorie is a measurement of burning, that is difficult to answer. It depends on your age, gender, activity level, hormonal balance, weight-loss goals, and much more. We are told that burning 3,500 calories equals a loss of one pound. However, it is not that simple. If cutting 500 calories a day truly meant losing a pound a week, a dieter weighting 300 pounds would disappear in six years. At some point, weight loss stops, even while continuing the lower calorie intake. In fact, obese people often lose only a small amount of weight on a low-calorie diet. The point is, only lowering calories is not the answer.
It also matters where calories come from. Our bodies distinguish one type of calorie from another. If you eat nutrient-poor processed food, your body can do little else but quickly “burn” it or store it as fat. On the other hand, if you eat nutrient-dense whole food, your body will use this nutrition to keep the body healthy and to help maintain muscle. Muscle tissue is continually burning energy.
Therefore, by reducing calories with nutrient-poor processed food, you may lose weight, but your body suffers; you lose muscle tissue and it is easier to regain the weight. People who focus on nutrient-dense whole food tend to consume fewer calories, and the body knows it is getting the nourishment it needs, so you do not need to eat more. If you are overweight, your body is hungry, if you are obese, your body is starving—not for calories, but for nourishment. Gaining weight can result from eating the wrong kinds of calories and not exercising enough.
- Don’t Go On a Diet. Dieting implies a temporary restriction of eating. Once weight is lost, the dieter returns to his/her “normal” way of eating and usually regains the weight. Eating well should be a lifetime goal; long-term changes in diet and exercise have shown to have the best effect on weight reduction and maintenance. Drop the “dieting” and go for “eating better.” Focus on consuming and enjoying real nutritious foods that promote health. Replacing depleted, over-processed, altered foods with nutrient-dense foods provides our bodies with what they need to function properly so that we feel satisfied, satiated, and well.
- Eat for Quality. Your body needs nourishment from real, naturally nutrient-rich foods, not over-processed foods, low or devoid of nutrients. Overweight usually means under-nutrition, a body craving vital nutrients. Eating more raw foods (vegetables, fruits, raw milk products, nuts, and seeds) can result in dramatic improvements in weight and health.
- Don’t Eat Low Quality. If you eat a lot of processed food, fast food, takeout, or supermarket-prepped meals, then you do not know exactly what you are consuming. The food industry adds many types of fillers to make the food go further. Typical processed food diets result in an “alarming prevalence of obesity.” Removing nutrients and fiber, adding refined sugars or toxic fats, and other prevalent aspects of food processing, “have created an environment in which our foods are essentially addictive,” says Dr. Robert Lustig, University of California.
If you are interested in switching to a whole-food diet and gaining back your health, then contact Dr. Lo at his Frederick office at 240-651-1650. If you are interested in seeing what the practice is about then join Dr. Lo for a free nutrition seminar, offered on alternating Tuesdays and Thursdays. Call the office to make an appointment. (Article source: Nutrition News and Views, Judith A. DeCava, CNC,LNC.)
