by Virginia Parsons, MS, CCHT, CTLC |
If diets really worked, the weight loss industry would be fading into non-existence. Instead, it is a booming multi-billion dollar industry. The general population keeps getting heavier and fatter. According to the CDC, “During the past 20 years there has been a dramatic increase in obesity in the United States. In 2008, only one state (Colorado) had a prevalence of obesity less than 20 percdent. Thirty-two states had a prevalence equal to or greater than 25%; six of these states (Alabama, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, and West Virginia ) had a prevalence of obesity equal to or greater than 30 percent.”
Let’s take a serious look at why the diet industry has failed so miserably. Diets simply do not work, because they do not adequately address the major fat factors. There are 5 major factors that cause people to become metabolically challenged and make it difficult for them to lose weight.
- Yo-Yo Dieting: Losing and gaining significant amounts of weight again and again, throws the body into fat storage while losing lean muscle mass. After dieting, weight is gained back as fat and the body is truly fatter than before, making it even more difficult to lose weight during the next dieting cycle.
- Crash Dieting: Going on a drastically low-calorie diet causes the metabolism to slow down by up to 15 percent, sparing fat and losing muscle.
- Sedentary Lifestyle: Getting too little exercise reduces lean body mass, slowing the metabolism even further.
- Garbage In: Overeating the wrong kinds of foods with too much sugar, fat, processing and synthetic chemicals. These foods are calorically dense, but nutritionally empty, thus increasing weight, appetite and hunger.
- Chronic Stress: Being on constant alert due to physical and emotional pressures can trigger ongoing stress hormone production, which encourages stubborn mid-section fat deposits.
Diets are a temporary way of eating and do not address long-term lifestyle change. More water and muscle is lost than body fat, which further slows the metabolism and negatively impacts body composition. If the objective is to permanently “lose the flab and look fab,” lean muscle mass must be maintained or increased while targeting body fat loss. It is not effective to lose weight, if the weight loss comes from lean muscle loss. The higher the body’s muscle mass, the more fat is burned as fuel. The key is to adopt a lifestyle that targets body fat loss while sparing muscle loss.
According to Shari Lieberman, PhD in Dare to Lose, “muscle dictates metabolism.” She recommends a multifaceted lifestyle approach for permanent fat loss. It is important to change one’s lifestyle and eliminate the five major fat factors, by adopting low-glycemic impact eating, increasing activity levels, effectively managing stress, and changing behavioral responses. This approach enhances metabolism. It reprograms the metabolic switch from fat storer to fat burner, while eliminating cravings and constant hunger. The body is nourished and energized naturally.
Nutritional supplementation can further support the fat loss process for those that are extremely metabolically challenged, insulin or leptin resistant, and over-inflamed due to years of unhealthy living.
Dr. Lieberman published a 12 Week Total Lifestyle Intervention Pilot Study that compared a comprehensive lifestyle and supplement approach to Dansinger ML, Comparison of the Atkins, Ornish, Weight Watchers and Zone diets for weight loss and heart disease risk reduction. The study indicates that “the Transitions Lifestyle System 12-week Program significantly reduced mean body weight, percent body fat, and all anthropometric measurements.” “While no direct statistical comparison can be made, it appears that this 12-week program resulted in approximately twice the amount of weight loss and triple the amount of waist-circumference loss compared to Atkins, Ornish, Weight Watchers, and Zone Diets and was more effective than other diets reviewed.”
Nutritional supplementation which included elemental chromium, gymnema sylvestre, garcinia cambogia, bioperine, magnesium, wheat amalyase inhibitor, banaba leaf extract, vanadium and bitter melon extract, further aided participants to lose fat more rapidly. In addition many people were able to greatly reduce or discontinue their medications.
As Dr. Shari would say, “I dare you to change, to become a different person, to succeed and achieve one of your biggest dreams. I dare you to win, to finally prevail in your battle with weight control.” Isn’t it time to stop dieting and start living the lifestyle so you can permanently lose the flab and look fab.
References:
- CDC: www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/trends.html
- Dare to Lose, Lieberman, 2002
- Lieberman et al, Weight Loss, Body Measurements, and Compliance. Alternative Complimentary Therapies (2005)11:307-313
- Dansinger ML, Gleason JA, Griffith JL et al. Comparison of the Atkins, Ornish, Weight Watchers and Zone diets for weight loss and heart disease risk reduction: a randomized trial, JAMA (2005)293:43-53.
- Pawlak et al, Should Obese Patients be Counseled to Follow a Low-Glycemic Index Diet? Yes, Obesity Reviews (2002)3:235-243.
For more info, contact Virginia Parsons of Life Enhancement Services at (775) 250-6482 specializing in hypnotherapy and weight loss.
