Weight gain occurs when energy consumption (measured in calories) exceeds energy output (exercise). It seems such a simple matter to adjust the two, but the fact that millions of people are trying to lose weight and not succeeding and in a country where its predicted that by the year 2010, one in three* adults will be clinically obese due to heavy lifestyles, processed diet and poor nutrition Things are not always this simple.
Most individuals blame failed weight loss on their lack of willpower and their inability to stay on a diet or to continue eating sensibly after a diet. This type of automatic thought is counterproductive. Once you have classed yourself as a person with no willpower a spineless, worthless someone who cannot last a few days without a chocolate bar then self-blame and eventually self-disgust must inevitably follow. The laws of psychology dictate that people who feel disgusted with themselves need to be comforted. What better comfort than indulging in some favourite and highly addictive calories? And so the vicious circle begins.
Far more productive than self-blame are self-questioning and self-knowledge. People who feel this way should really be encouraged to explore the feelings which make them turn to food and how they could begin to relieve these feelings in other ways. Look at some alternative, but less addictive foods, which still make you feel that you have had a much needed treat. Learn more about the laws of individual metabolism and how to use these to aid weight control. This will give you a ladder of knowledge and self-awareness to support yourself and help you up one step at a time far easier than having to make a tremendous leap of effort based on willpower alone.
The Ladder of Knowledge
Difficulty with controlling body weight is usually due to any combination of the following four problems:
- Boredom, depression or lack of fulfilment, which leads to comfort eating
- Food addictions
- Metabolic problems i.e. you just have to look at food to put on weight
- Not enough exercise
Many people suffer from all four of these and so have a quadruple-whammy to cope with. No wonder they feel depressed about their weight.
So, let us isolate these problems and see what we can do about them. If you can succeed in turning around just one, you can regain some control; your confidence will improve and you can start to tackle the more difficult issues.
Comfort Eating
It is thought that if you can get rid of the guilt about comfort eating, you can often get rid of the compulsion in the first place, so a great deal of emphasis should be placed on changing our perception on what constitutes as a successful body image. Firstly, it is important to remember that we all have lumps and bumps in different places. If your weight is normal, eating less will not help these. More likely to help are special toning exercises, Alexander technique (learning to stand, walk, sit, get up and lift things with the right muscles all these things affect body shape) and massage (vigorous massage can be a great aid to reducing cellulite). Causes of comfort eating can vary from bereavement to boredom and from overwork (with eating as a substitute for leisure activities) to an unsatisfactory relationship or career fulfilment. In all these cases, food is used to try to fill an emotional or spiritual void, but this type of void can never be filled by food so the appetite for comfort foods can become insatiable.
Advice
Try to look at the aspects of your life that youre unhappy with. Do you need to change job, home, relationship or what do you do in your spare time? If the eating problem started after a traumatic event do you need counselling to help come to terms with it? Is there something you always wanted to do, but never got around to? Now is the time to start. Unfulfilled ambitions and unproductive relationships gnaw away at our subconscious before we really notice how unhappy we are with our lives. The pain felt is our souls way of telling us that we are not going along the right path in life. Try to look at the times in your life when a problem has turned out to be an opportunity. Getting rid of the clutter and negativity in our lives can help save precious time and energy for more worthwhile pursuits, ambitions and exciting opportunities. What about starting a business? Seeing the world by working in other countries? Training for a new career? Of course its a long term plan and not necessarily feasible for everyone, but a journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step and your first step is the decision that you want to make that journey.
Food Addictions
If you believe that your weight problem comes from over-eating one particular food above all others, then you are probably addicted to it. Food addictions can be as difficult to overcome as addictions to alcohol, tobacco and drugs. Chemical changes perhaps the release of endorphins occur in your body on eating the addictive food. These are experienced as pleasurable and comforting sensations, and the addiction comes from associating the food with these feelings. More of the food is craved when the sensations wear off and you can even begin to feel mildly depressed. This depression is a withdrawal reaction and keeps you eating the problem food just as nicotine withdrawal symptoms, no matter how mild, keep people smoking.
Since most addictive foods are high in sugar, this depression may be due to the strong dip in blood sugar which occurs in some people a few hours after eating sugary foods. Eating or drinking something sweet provides an instant boost, but it starts off the vicious circle all over again. Chromium deficiency is a major cause of such blood sugar problems and is severely depleted when a lot of sugary foods and drinks are consumed.
- Dont miss your meals. Missed meals lead to snacking often on addictive sugary and convenience foods. These only lead to worse food cravings.
- Have a treat every day. It should not be something that you are normally addicted to, but if for example you eat chocolate bars every day; try some low calorie hot chocolate drinks flavoured with vanilla instead. The comfort factor wont be anything near 100% at first, but after about two weeks it will reach the 80-90% level.
- If in the recent past you have consumed a lot of sugary foods and drinks you should take a daily multivitamin with minerals to help correct any deficiencies and give your hormones the best chance of maintaining your blood sugar on an even keel.
- Sometimes it helps to stay on track if you allow yourself to indulge in your most favourite food once a week. However, if you find it easier to avoid that food completely, then save this until after youve lost weight. It is a useful tool for keeping a target weight after achieving it as some people dont mind feeling a bit deprived for six days a week if they know they can indulge themselves on the seventh. Also, the body is less likely to register the extra calories as weight gain if they are eaten all on one day rather than spread throughout the week.
Metabolic Problems
Some people simply cannot get below a certain weight no matter how little they eat. It is a very common problem.
The thyroid gland controls your metabolic rate. This gland can produce less thyroid hormone as we age and this brings weight gain. If you think that you may have thyroid hyperfunction you should consult your Naturopath or GP for advice.
Because the amount of heat an individual generates is a good indicator of metabolic rate, a low, early morning resting body temperature is a sign of a slow metabolism. Apart from thyroid deficiency, poor thermogenesis (the process by which the body generates heat or energy by increasing the metabolic rate above normal) can also be caused by:
- Deficiencies of the vitamins and minerals needed to turn calories into energy.
- A poor muscle-to-fat ratio due to lack of exercise.
- A lack of brown fat a metabolically active type of body fat capable of producing a lot of heat.
- Waterlogging (fluid retention) this is highly disruptive of metabolism.
Exercise and Metabolism
When we are resting, the same amount of energy is used by our muscles as our brain, even though the muscles comprise about 50% of our body weight and the brain weighs only three and a half pounds. When we exercise vigorously, the amount of energy used by the muscles can increase up to eight or ten times. By daily training, world class athletes nearly double their daily energy output. The more accustomed your body gets to hard exercise, the faster your mitochondria (which convert organic materials into energy) will use up and burn glucose. However, the mitochondria dont just step up production during the period of exercise itself and then stop when you do. Your metabolic rate remains high for up to 15 hours afterwards so your calories will be burned up faster even while you are asleep! For you to be able to lose weight, exercise must be regular and hard enough to make you sweat or breathe faster for at least 20 minutes, about three times a week. Why not try weight or circuit training, hill-walking, jogging, swimming or aerobics? Even walking faster or cycling wherever you can, using stairs instead of lifts, walking up escalators, doing housework twice as fast or going dancing instead of sitting in the pub can be of great benefit and will feel almost effortless. Try parking your car a few minutes walk away from wherever youre going itll all make a difference!
Most people start to lose muscle in their twenties, which is why by middle age it can feel so much harder to lose weight. Most fitness experts will also agree that food eaten in the morning is less likely to be turned into fat than food eaten late in the day. Never skip breakfast, which stimulates the metabolism after an overnight fast. To avoid feeling hungry again soon after breakfast, include some protein and oil, for instance in the form of grilled herring, an avocado shake or porridge with chopped nuts. The lightest meal of your day should be your evening meal.
Hidden Water Retention
If you find that your weight sometimes fluctuates by several pounds in the space of 24 hours, you probably have water retention. Only water can cause such rapid changes in body weight. Puffy ankles, increased shoe size in adults and swollen joints or fingers are also a sign. Water retention severely disrupts the metabolism and is a major cause of failing to lose weight with low calorie diets and exercise. Protein deficiency, food allergy/intolerance, vitamin and mineral deficiency, essential fatty acid deficiency, excess salt, heart or kidney disease, anaemia, an overloaded liver and drug side effects can all lead to chronic water retention, with water fluid sometimes amounting to more than a stone in body weight. Prescription drugs that can cause water retention include beta blockers, calcium channel blockers, clonidine, methyldopa, phenothiazines, insulin, metoclopramide, oral contraceptives and HRT/ERT drugs, steroids, some anti-inflammatory drugs and danazol.
Cellulite
Sorry girls. This is a type of body fat only seen in women, which has a lumpy appearance and is notoriously hard to shift. It consists of complexes of body fat, toxins and water tightly bound together to keep the toxins away from the bloodstream. It does have a purpose though and is designed to help prevent these toxins from travelling to the ovaries and egg cells or harming an unborn baby. You can get rid of resistant cellulite by combining a detoxifying diet with vigorous daily massage to break up the complexes.
With weight loss, your first step is learning to understand your body and how changes to your diet and lifestyle will work for you. Knowledge really is the key and by being aware of the effects that certain elements, foods and activities have on your body, youve already moved in the right direction to becoming happier with your appearance and improving your way of life.
*source: Sunday Independent 20.08.06.
