7 Things You Need to Know for Successful Long Term Weight Management

We are living in an age when every time we turn on the radio or TV, or open a newspaper, we are bombarded with a plethora of weight loss programs, all promising to give us the body beautiful.  The fact is, there are more ‘miracle’ weight loss plans available to us than ever before, but as a nation, we are fatter than we have ever been. Not something the weight loss companies want you to know.

7 things for long term weight management

Food is NOT the enemy. Weight loss programs that encourage the reduction, or elimination of foods groups, ie fat or carbohydrates, although providing short term results, play havoc with your metabolism.  95% of people undertaking these regimes will put all of the weight lose back on, plus some, and find it more difficult with the next diet to achieve the same results, let alone anything long term.

Nutritionally, we are STARVING.  You only have to walk into the supermarket – conservatively, 60% of the ‘food’ available is processed, dead and void of any nutritional value or enzymatic activity.  According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, in 2007/2008, 61% of Adult Australians were overweight or obese (http://www.dsr.nsw.gov.au/research/fact_obesity.asp).  Could it be because we are starving ourselves?  As soon as your body feels like it is not getting the correct amount of nutrients, it will send out a ‘feed me’ signal.

Obsessing about how we look or feeling guilty about food seems to be part of our psyche.  You may have examined your blood type, entered the zone, emptied your pantry of carbohydrates and taken every metabolism-powering thermogenic herb known to humankind, but nothing – nada – zilch has permanently moved that bit of ‘extra you’ – that doesn’t fit into last years jeans.

You need something that puts you back in control of your body and that you can incorporate into your lifestyle.

1.  Eat REAL Food

Basically, if it doesn’t come out of the ground or off a tree, or walk around on two or four legs – we shouldn’t be eating it. (The giveaway would be if it comes with cardboard or plastic packaging wrapped around it – don’t eat it)

Plenty of fresh fruit and veg – the key here is variety, and raw as much as possible.  Protein – organic chicken, small amounts of red meat (once or twice per week), fish (two or three times per week), eggs and raw nuts and seeds.  Throw away your margarine and put butter back in the fridge, drink whole milk, preferably unhomgenised.  Low GI carbohydrates, ie sweet potato not potato, wholegrain bread not white bread etc.  A super food combination, ie Spirulena, Green Barley, Chlorella and Wheat Grass.  This way of eating will ensure you get ALL the nutrients your body needs to maintain normal body weight, function optimally and age well. No more starvation.

2.  Portion Distortion

The size of the average dinner plate 20 years ago was 18 to 23cm, today it is 28 to 30cm.  That equates to a staggering 50% more food on your plate.  So, USE SMALLER PLATES. Given that most people eat all of the food on their plate, this simple measure would substantially decrease the amount of calories you are eating.  The meal will still look adequate and I guarantee you will still feel full.

If you want to go one step further, use one quarter for protein, one for low GI carbs and two for vegies or fruit. When dining out, ask for a child’s portion or entrée, or just eat half and take the other half home in a doggie bag.

3.  Liver Support

The short story is liver function is disturbed in many overweight people.  The liver is the major fat burning organ in the body.  It regulates fat metabolism and can also pump excessive fat out of the body, through the bile, into the small intestines. If the diet is high in fiber, this unwanted fat will be carried out of the body via the bowel actions.

Thus the liver is a remarkable machine for keeping weight under control, being both a fat burning organ and a fat pumping organ.

Fortunately, the liver is one of the organs in the body that has the capability to heal and regenerate.  There are some fantastic liver support formulas available, and these combined with some basic dietary advice, should have your liver functioning optimally in no time.

4.  Check Your Toxicity Levels.

A study in the Oxford journals has recently revealed that detectable levels of DDT and other organophosphates are still being found in breast milk.  This is because 75% of breast milk is derived from body fat.
Toxins entering the body (DDT, mercury, lead, aluminum etc) are ‘packaged up’ in a fat cell.  The sole purpose of this is to keep us safe.  Unfortunately, this also means that the body will not release the fat from this cell, because that would put us in danger.  If weight gain is the body’s way of segregating toxins where they can’t harm the rest of your system, then it logically follows that a weight-loss program that does not help the body to purge these stored toxins will only succeed temporarily.
Any weight management program should include a hair and live blood analysis to determine toxicity levels, followed by a safe and supervised detoxification program.

5.  Rule Out Any Metabolic Conditions.

Have you ever heard somebody say “I’ve got a slow metabolism and that’s why I put on weight so easily?”  It is a little known fact that the more weight you carry, the faster your metabolism needs to be.  This is because the body has to work harder, consistently, to maintain the status quo.  So although this statement is not exactly correct, you can certainly be suffering from certain metabolic conditions which make losing weight that much more difficult.

Metabolic syndrome, sometimes also known as syndrome X or insulin resistance, is a collection of disorders that occur together and increase your risk of developing type 2 diabetes, stroke or heart disease and almost always occurs in obese or overweight people.

It is a bit of a vicious cycle and always a contentious argument, which came first – the syndrome or the weight?

Needless to say, addressing the reasons why these conditions came about and other factors including underactive thyroid, liver etc will provide healthy long term sustainable weight loss results.

6. Make Water Your Drink of Choice

Water makes up about 60% of our body weight.  Do you think that it would hold true that 60% of what we put in our mouths should be water?

Drinking enough water will help you to lose weight by regulating appetite, increasing your metabolism, helping digestion and stopping food cravings.  It is my belief that the feeling of thirst is often misinterpreted as hunger, so by drinking a glass of water before you eat anything, you might find the hunger pangs disappear.

Drinking water will also boost energy levels, regulate body temperature, improve skin quality, fight infections, decrease (not increase) water retention, eliminate toxins, prevent kidney stones, alleviate some headaches and joint pains, regulate blood pressure and reduce high cholesterol.

The usual recommendation is to drink at least 6 to 8 glasses of water every day. Ideally, purified water is best. So, make water your drink of choice

7.  Exercise

Last but not least, its exercise.  Now I am not a big believer in big long sweaty sessions in the gym, or pounding the pavement for a set amount of time, at a set intensity.  Don’t get me wrong, if you love going to the gym and you love running or walking then by all means keep doing it.  I think the key to exercise is to do what you enjoy.

If it is a chore for you to run, walk or go to the gym and you are forcing yourself to do it, then it is not something you will maintain.  You will also not get the results that you desire because you are possibly placing more stress on yourself and doing more harm than good.

If you look back at our ancestors (I’m talking cave man days) most of the exercise they did was low intensity, roaming the plains, looking for the next meal.  They had quick, short
spurts of high intensity exercise when they were chasing down the next meal.

So if walking is your exercise of choice, then every time you see a set of stairs or small hill, RUN UP IT!  This idea is to keep your body guessing, ready to burn fat at a moment’s notice because it doesn’t know when it might need to.

Don’t forget the incidentals – you’ve heard them all:

-     Park the car further away from work and walk
-    Walk the kids to school, don’t drive them
-    Take the stairs not the elevator
-    Put some effort behind the weekly vacuum clean
-    Go for a walk at lunchtime
-    Hang the washing out, don’t put it in the dryer
-    Play with the kids
-    Walk the dog
-    Twiddling you toes to the beat of the music

I could go on and on.  The point is, don’t underestimate the power of the small stuff.  It all adds up.

In closing, while reading this article, I hope you will feel some excitement, a sense of ‘I can do this’.

Keep in mind; you are in the place you are in right now, because of a lifetime of habits.  These habits won’t be easy to change all at once, overnight.  They will require a consistent and steady approach.

I would suggest changing one thing a week.  For example you might decide that this week you will increase your water, next week you will go out and buy smaller plates for yourself, the week after that visit a naturopath and have some testing done or an eating and wellness plan tailored just for you.

Tackle each thing one at a time and you will find, before you know it, you have created new habits.  Habits that will last a lifetime and give you back your time for life.

If you have any questions with regard to this article please don’t hesitate to contact me.

Angela Sipson ND
Adv Dip Nat Adv Dip West Herb Med