No Nonsense Approach to Weight Loss

By Eva R. Marienchild

Weight loss is not an issue to be taken lightly (no pun intended). It's a part of the mind-body connection. An unhealthy weight usually points to an imbalance in your thought patterns, your self-esteem, and in your approach to day-to-day living.

Of course, excess weight usually results in physical ailments. Diet has a profound effect on the amount of HDL and LDL in the bloodstream. The heart, liver, lungs and kidney will be affected. The bloodstream, which bathes all of these organs, will not be flowing as it should be; it will be viscous.  The lymphatic system will likely be affected, and high blood pressure is a definite possibility. Finally, poor circulation will negatively influence your memory.

You may not show any faltering health in these organs or in your faculties for many years. That's because deteriorating health is just that - deteriorating. It is cumulative.

For every minute that you don't choose to change your lifestyle, your body is fighting valiantly on your behalf, but it's rapidly losing ground. It needs your help!

Now, what do you do to maintain a healthy weight? You guessed it. You have to maintain an overall healthy lifestyle.

It's simpler, easier, and more effective over the long-term to take an overall view of your health, than it is to go for a slap-dash solution, like a 10 DVD set of exercises that is hawked on an infomercial. Exercise is crucial, but it is just part of the puzzle. The rest of the answer to the weight loss conundrum is contained in the following pieces:

1. Scientifically speaking, you need to put fewer calories into your mouth than you expend in activity. Your excess poundage doesn't get there by some inexplicable reason. You eat more than you need, right now. And, remember: no one is forcing you to eat. So it's up to you to put down that fork.

Forget the fallacy about it being harder to lose weight as you get older. Forget, too, the excuses, like the one about how bearing your third child left your body permanently altered. The digestive system still works the same.

Look at it this way: if you were to fall ill and take to your bed, where you could not eat as you do now, you'd lose weight. This would be the case even if you did not exercise. So you know there is nothing wrong with your metabolism.

Now, then, the optimum process, if you're looking to lose weight, is to eat less than you do now and to exercise. Exercise every single day. Don't slack off, not even once. This is the only way you are going to maintain a good weight in the long run. Crash diets will only give you enough to eat so that you are always thinking of food. When your appestat (the area in the brain that is believed to regulate appetite and food intake) thinks you're literally in starvation mode, it will all but shut down, determined you must live on scarcity. Your appestat will return to normal when you resume normal eating, but this won’t help you lose any reasonable amount of weight.

2. Processed, chemical-laden and trans fatty foods need to go. As do phlegm-producing foods like dairy and greasy foods. Not only are these foods keeping the fat stored around your belly but they are clogging your arteries and lowering your joie d' vivre. If you want to perform a little experiment on yourself to see if this is true, try this:

About an hour fter arising (you don't need anything to eat right away; you haven't earned it yet, although you do need plenty of liquid) have a succulent piece of fruit. Twenty minutes later, measure your heartbeat, your reflexes (juggle a couple of tennis or soft balls) and your blood pressure.

Half an hour later, have your usual "junk" item: a bagel, donut, or cake. Measure your heart beat, your reflexes, and your blood pressure again. And, by the way, how's your thinking? A bit foggy, eh?

3. Substitute green tea for coffee. Have brown rice or basmati rice or any of the other varieties of natural rice, instead of white rice. Check the label. If anything is processed or bleached, it's adding insult to injury.

Buy spaghetti or pasta that's made with tomatoes or spinach spaghetti. Use egg whites instead of whole eggs. You can buy egg whites in easy-pour liquid form.

4. Learn to love fruits and vegetables. Stock up so your refrigerator looks like the produce section of a supermarket. Buy organic whenever you can afford it. Wash your fruits and veggies with apple cider vinegar when you get home, or use an all-natural veggie wash. As a last resort, soak your store-bought produce in water with some plain ol' suds and rinse, rinse, rinse!

5. Exercise aerobically and anaerobically. Build up a sweat, whether it's jumping on a trampoline, power walking, slow-jogging, in line skating, or square dancing. Again, do it every single day! It must become a ritual, like brushing your teeth, until you see the inches dropping, and you feel the energy enlivening you. You'll pick up on how important it is and do it without prompting.

As far as weight lifting (the anaerobic part) is concerned, use one, three, five and 10 pound weights. Lift every day. Do simple biceps, triceps, chest, and shoulder exercises with your dumbbells.

A Google search will turn up illustrated exercises. Or visit your local gym or YWCA and watch the muscle-bound show you how it's done. Don't try to copy their heavy lifting; just their style.

Remember to keep your knees bent, to breathe in when lifting, and to exhale when you're straining. You'll be delighted at the curves of muscles you see forming in a matter of weeks!

6. Take a whole spectrum of vitamins. Antioxidants will be most important. When you exercise, the inside of your body "oxidizes"; it’s sort of like what happens when you slice an apple. To offset that, you'll need A, C, E, Selenium and Zinc - the vitamins that correct this process. Read up on the latest studies regarding antioxidants, and see which others might apply to you. L-Carnitine is another great weight-loss supplement.

7. Get a blood workup. Have your doctor check off as many boxes on the requisition slip which you'll take to the lab as s/he will authorize. You want to know that you're not deficient in any nutrient. Ideally, you should also be able to test that your homocystein, C-reactive protein, and fibrinogen (inflammatory markers) are in check to rule out any cardiovascular disease.

This is not to say that if you have a low-grade inflammation you can't lose weight. Quite the contrary! A sign of trouble should spur you on to speedier health, but under your doctor's watchful gaze. (Don't be afraid to tell your physician about your "health kick." These days many allopathically trained doctors are wisely becoming acquainted with the homeopathic side of medicine.)

8. Drink a gallon of water a day. But please don't drink water while you're eating. Doing so will dilute your digestive process. Plenty of quality water will flush out the toxins and plump up you cells. It'll also stave off hunger. Next time you think you're hungry, drink a tall, cool glass of quality water!

9. A lot of people lose those last ten pounds by giving up all forms of wheat. Yes, even whole wheat. Wheat contains gluten, and this oft-eaten staple has made many Americans allergic to it. It is worth giving up for about a week-and-a-half to see if doing so works for you. Go for spelt bread, instead, which can be purchased at the supermarket in the frozen foods section.

10. Get serious. Tell yourself you will accept nothing less than a svelte, strong you. Envision seeing yourself sinewy and slim. Then do the right thing - take the steps you know will make this possible. Don't let anything - not a restaurant buffet, not a birthday party, not an emotional upset - rob you of your chance to be the best you can be, and to look it!

Eva R. Marienchild is an accomplished communicator: an author, editor, poet, artist, speaker, and life and career coach. Eva's specialties are health, home, nutrition, environment and spirituality.

© Doityourself.com 2006