Weight Loss for the Long-Term:
No More Diets and Gimmicks
Approximately half a million Canadians are overweight. 34% of our country is obese, which
means that one is over 20 pounds his or her optimal weight. The
vast majority of overweight people have been on a variety of
diets and regimens. It is quite common to experience initial
success on diets. Unfortunately, the good results are usually
temporary and eventually spiral into the same or a higher weight
than we were at prior to the diet. This cycle can continue
through life, which leaves many people feeling disempowered,
cynical, and depressed about their ability to maintain an
optimal weight. In my practice, I have helped many people lose
weight and keep it off. This is because I educate my patients
that they are NEVER to diet again. Instead, what they need to do
is find a healthy way to eat that truly works for them and then
stick with it as long as they live.
The problem with dieting is
that we think it’s OK to revert to the way we were eating
after the diet is over. Dieting implies a short period of time
in which we use will power to shed weight, only to return to our
old ways sooner or later. At the end of the diet we usually say,
‘phew, I’m glad that’s over!’ This mindset is
undoubtedly a form of self-sabotage. As our bodies become
accustomed to losing weight and eating different foods on the
diet, they easily go into a state of shock once the old foods
are reintroduced. Our metabolism will eventually shut down
altogether if we abuse ourselves by repeatedly gaining and
losing large amounts of weight.
I also tell my patients that
there simply is no magic bullet for losing weight. There is no
pill that will effortlessly make the weight melt off. Having a
healthy body takes work; there is no way around that. The key is
to have a healthy relationship with ourselves so we can make
changes that are not based on will power. We have to learn how
to enjoy taking care of ourselves. We have to find the balance
between immediate gratification and harsh discipline. This means
that we are proactive about our health; we aren’t using food
to beat ourselves up or to take away the pain in our lives.
Instead, our food choices reflect a very strong commitment that
we have made to ourselves to heal our bodies and minds with
nutrition. Every one of us is entitled to this relationship with
food and it is definitely possible. We can actually enjoy the
hard work it takes to live well.
The truth is that we will
never have the body we want until we are educated about making
the right choices with food, healing the underlying emotional
imbalances that make us crave unhealthy foods, and generally
make a commitment to achieving optimal health. Let’s take a
look at each of these in closer detail:
1) Making the right
choices with food: This means becoming informed about
nutrition. There has to be a basic understanding of the effects
of various foods on our health if we are to use food as
medicine. (And that is what we are getting at, using food to
heal ourselves rather than as poison). Our knowledge of food
must go beyond, ‘eat your fruits and vegetables.’ Here are a
few basic guidelines for getting your on track with your food
choices. This advice is simple to follow and will drastically
change your food choices:
-
Eat organic foods-- If you aren’t
already doing so, start shopping at your local health food
store for the majority of your daily meals. Yes, it is a
bit more expensive, but you have to look at this as an
investment in your health. 95% of the foods that you buy
over the counter at regular grocery stores have no
nutritional value whatsoever. Instead, many conventional
foods are pumped with additives, refined sugar, herbicides
and pesticides, genetically modified ingredients,
transfats, and hormones. Do you really want these kinds of
things in your body? Shopping at your health food store
will drastically reduce your intake of these unhelpful
additives. Organic foods have much more nutritional value.
-
Try to eat mostly whole foods-- Eat
foods in their natural state. Fresh vegetables, fruits,
fish, chicken, grains, etc. are all examples of whole
foods.
-
Reduce your intake of refined sugar and
carbohydrates--- These are the foods that will make the
weight pile on. Muffins, pasta, cereal, white rice, candy,
soda, bread, bagels, etc. are the culprits in weight gain
and water retention.
-
Drink 6-9 glasses of filtered water
daily-- Hunger pangs are often a sign of dehydration.
Reach for water before you reach for food.
-
Eat a big breakfast and a small dinner.
Eat whole food snacks every 2-3 hours throughout the day.
2) Healing Our
Emotions and Food Cravings: Food is definitely a drug
for many of us. To make it worse, it is a socially accepted
drug, which means that it seems OK because everyone around us is
indulging, so why shouldn’t we? We are surrounded by images of
food all around us. The marketing gurus for major food
corporations are masters at making us feel deprived if we
don’t indulge our desires for immediate gratification. Many of
us are overweight because we use food to fill an emotional void.
Our deeper needs in life are not being satisfied and we don’t
know how to nourish ourselves appropriately. Healing our
relationship with food is often dependent upon our ability to
satisfy ourselves in our work and relationships, Many people
turn to food when their sexual life is either non-existent or
dissatisfying. When we are engaged with our lives and know how
to handle the various stresses that come with adult
responsibilities, then we will not turn to food compulsively. We
will discuss how to go about healing ourselves in these ways in
a bit.
3) Making a
Commitment to Optimal Health: Most of us are
conditioned into believing that other things in life are more of
a priority than our health. We only make our health a priority
when we experience symptoms that alert us to the fact that
something is wrong. Committing to optimal health means that our
health becomes one of the top priorities in our lives right NOW,
even if we feel fine. This means taking the time to eat
nutritious foods, exercise, and keep stress at bay with
techniques such as meditation or yoga. When we make this
commitment and truly live by it, our weight will naturally be
more balanced. This commitment is can only be genuine if we
deeply respect and value ourselves.
Achieving optimal health and
a balanced weight entails having the same relationship with
exercise as we do with food. Both nutrition and exercise must be
key elements to our daily lifestyle. I recommend exercising 20
minutes a day, 5 days per week for those of you just starting
out. Just as there is a way to eat that is both healthy and
enjoyable, there is also a way to exercise that we can commit to
for the long-term. Your main strategy should be to experiment
with all forms of exercise until you find something you really
like. This doesn’t mean that it will be easy, but it certainly
can be enjoyable. If we don’t have a basic enjoyment for
exercise, then the only way to get through it is by using will
power, which will run out sooner or later. Many people find that
exercising in community is much better for them than exercising
alone. I prefer tennis and yoga. I have been doing both for
years and I know that they will be in my life forever, simply
because I love both of them. Everybody loves something, you just
have to find what it is and do it regularly.
Herbs and Supplements
Like I said, there are no
magic bullets for weight loss. There are, however, very helpful
adjuncts to weight loss that can certainly speed the process
along. Below are a few products I use in my practice (these can
only be purchased through licensed professionals):
-
Bojenmi Tea: Chinese slimming tea that
has a variety of herbs that strengthen digestion and
quicken the metabolism.
-
Shen Chu 16 and Alisma 16: These are
herbal formulas by 7 Forests that are often used in
combination to strengthen digestion, reduce water
retention, and optimize metabolism.
-
Lotus Leaf Tablets: Also by 7 Forests,
this is a strong herbal formula for weight loss.
-
EndoTrim: Made by Designs for Health,
combines a variety of antioxidants and extracts to help
convert fat into muscle and stabilize the blood sugar.
-
Crave Arrest: Also by Designs for
Health, this product is excellent for sugar and
carbohydrate cravings.
-
5 htp: A natural precursor to serotonin,
5 htp is used for anxiety, depression, insomnia, and
carbohydrate cravings.
-
There are also many acupuncture points
and protocols that reduce cravings, stimulate metabolism,
reduce water retention, and optimize digestion.
I typically recommend to my patients that clients make
it a goal to lose 1-3 pounds per week as they transition to a
whole foods diet, increased exercise, and the combination of
acupuncture, herbs, and supplements. This may not seem like a
lot compared to crash dieting, but it certainly is a more
balanced approach. It may take 1-2 years to lose all the weight
you’d like, but the odds are that you will keep it off if you
do it in a gradual and balanced way. My goal is to give you the
tools to lose weight so you can use them forever. This is not a
diet; it is living and being healthy forever.
Call North York Acupuncture & Physiotherapy today at 416-455-0351
to set up your first appointment today!
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