Holistic weight loss help attempts to assist you in achieving your optimal weight in a manner that is healthy for the body, mind and spirit.
Losing weight is not just about dieting and looking good, it's about making permanent lifestyle changes that result in healthy and long lasting weight loss.
There is nothing wrong with using natural health products like Hoodia for assistance in curbing the appetite, but they will only offer short term success. If the underlying issues are not addressed, then there will always be a battle to maintain results.
There are many factors that come into play in regard to weight loss which may involve the emotional, nutritional, social, physiological, spiritual and environmental.
The goal of weight loss help from the holistic view is to identify the root causes of weight gain which may be different from one individual to another.
Americans are grossly overweight and it's getting worse every day. Obesity is a growing epidemic in our society for both children and adults alike.
Carrying a lot of extra weight on your body puts you at risk for a walloping number of serious health problems. Not to mention how it makes you feel physically and emotionally and the limits it may impose on your life.
There are many ways to lose weight. We are bombarded with weight loss information choices every day. Most of these ways work at least to some degree, but they all take time, effort, commitment, and sacrifice. And that's one of the main reasons being overweight has grown into such an epidemic in our society. Everybody wants the magic weight loss help that provides instant gratification.
So they eat meals that can be popped in the microwave, or pick up a cheeseburger and greasy fries at a fast food drive-thru. They gobble down packages of ready made cupcakes and pies while sitting in front of the tube or they snack on candy and soda pop like there is no tomorrow.
Almost everything the average person puts in their body these days is "ready made", or "instant". And these time saving comforts are putting on the weight faster than we can even count.
These foods are not nutritious. They are empty calories that either pile on the fat or leave you hungry again in a very short amount of time.
Weight Loss Help Misinformation
Another important factor in this growing epidemic is the result of weight loss misinformation. For example, years ago our weight loss help told us that we shouldn't eat food that is high in fat, so people cut down. The problem with this is that people then started replacing the loss of fatty food in their diets with empty calorie food instead, like fat free candy and chips.
You can go to any store and look in the candy and snack isle for instance, and you'll find many snacks overloaded with sugar which advertise in big bold letters on the packaging: "No Fat!" "Fat Free" or "Low Fat!". As if somehow this means that junk food is healthy for you. These kinds of foods do not satiate the appetite, not only that, they are void of any nutritional value and are actually destructive to the digestive, endocrine, and immune systems.
When you drastically reduce or eliminate fat all together from your diet, you'll find that you're hungrier more often. This is because fat actually helps fill us up and keeps us satisfied for longer periods of time. That doesn't mean you should go the opposite direction and eat all high fat foods either though, because there are both good and bad fats. The type of fat you eat is more important than how much fat you eat.
Food Pyramid
Another big source of misinformation is the widely accepted FDA food pyramid that many of us grew up with. Weight loss help that is based on this model will not lead to successful results. Although this pyramid was originally designed with good intentions, it has become outdated. For example, it advises six to eleven servings of bread, cereal, rice, and pasta, which is not healthy at all. Now, back in the 1940's or 1950's and earlier, this may have been acceptable because back then things like "bread" and "pasta" actually had nutritional value, unlike the typical bread of today.
The bread and pasta that most people eat today doesn't contain any fiber and has been bleached and stripped of all it's nutrients and then replaced with synthetic ones.
Back then people did a lot more manual labor than they do today. Manual labor equates to exercise and muscle building. And when you have a lot of physical activity in your life, your body needs and uses those carbohydrates. Any tips your weight loss help offers today should be quite different than it was years ago.
Activity levels are also quite different today than they were 50 or more years ago too. Instead of working our bodies each day, we work our minds instead. There is nothing wrong with working the mind of course, but due to the lifestyle changes we now have, we need to work harder at exercising our bodies and we need to change our eating styles.
Walter Willett, a Harvard professor and top national nutrition researcher says it's important to keep in mind that the food pyramid was developed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and therefore is focused on promoting what is in their best interest, which is agriculture.
Willett further states that U.S. Department of Agriculture pyramid is outdated and doesn't reflect the latest food research and fails to give us enough information to help us make wise choices and contributes to being overweight, poor health and early death.
The pyramid places too much emphasis on some things like bread and pasta and not enough on very important things like nuts and healthy oils.
It lumps all fats, proteins, carbohydrates and dairy into one category, which is misleading. Not all are created equally. There are healthy fats and bad fats. Some proteins are healthier than others and cheese and yogurt have very different nutritional benefits.
Cutting Calories
A lot of weight loss help focuses on cutting calories, which is not a bad thing when done properly and with all other things taken into consideration.
Granted, eating less calories than you usually eat each day will help you to lose weight. However, one of the biggest problems with controlling weight through calorie counting is usually the same problems we see with low fat diets. First you get more hungry more often and/or you fill up on foods that are low in calories, but also low in nutritional value such as sweets and simple carbohydrates. You end up feeling hungry all the time.
If you restrict your calorie intake too much or fill up on empty calories this only sets you up for failure, because you'll only be able to go on like this for a limited amount of time. Eventually you'll be so hungry you can't take it anymore and you'll give into temptation and eat everything in sight.
Cutting Carbs
On the other end of the weight loss information spectrum you may be guided to cut carbohydrates. Again this is not a bad thing when done properly and can be very effective.
However it's important to keep in mind that carbohydrates are an essential part of your body's life and health. They are needed for energy and many other body functions.
The key is not to eliminate carbs completely, but to start eating better ones instead. Sugar, simple starches and white flour should be totally removed, but complex carbs should still be eaten in limited amounts.
Each person's body is different and the amount of carbohydrates they need will vary. Complete removal of carbohydrates is not found in healthy weight loss help.
Comprehensive Holistic Weight Loss Help
As already mentioned none of this is really bad weight loss help, but each of these methods when followed alone usually only lead to short term success. There should be a healthy balance of fat, carbs and calories in the diet. Too little or too many of either one leads to weight struggles as well as a variety of other health issues.
The biggest problem with all these weight loss fads is that they are missing several very important pieces of the puzzle.
Most people know the basics of most weight loss information. We should exercise more, eat less and decrease sugar and fat, but it's much more complex than that.
Holistic weight loss help will go a few steps further and help you discover the hidden issues impacting your weight that you probably have never thought about or even heard about in main stream literature.
Some of the most common hidden contributors to weight gain include:
food allergies or sensitivities
Candida overgrowth
hypoglycemia
hypothyroidism
nutritional deficiencies
pesticides
adrenal fatigue
hormone imbalance
neurotransmitter deficiencies or imbalances
Unidentified food allergies or sensitivities, also known as food intolerance if often at the root of unexplained weight gain or weight that simply won't disappear with other means. An allergy or sensitivity to a common food like wheat, corn, soy, dairy or any food at all can result in allergic edema, cravings, inflammation and altered metabolism that results in weight gain. When the offending food is removed, then weight will disappear. Sensitivities or intolerances can be identified easily with a simple test called ALCAT
Chemicals in our environment like pesticides, perfume, air fresheners, cleaning solvents, cosmetics, natural gas etc. that we are exposed to every day are major contributing factor to weight problems. The toxins in these products alter metabolic functions and disrupt hormones and neurotransmitters that play an important role in maintaining body weight and trigger food cravings. Chemical sensitivities can also be identified with the ALCAT test. To learn more about how these factors come into play in weight gain, you may want to take a look at It's not Your Fault you're Overweight."
Cortisol, insulin, melatonin, estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, leptin, dhea and a variety of other hormones have a very crucial role in the regulation and control of body weight. An imbalance in hormones is very common in the general population due to a diet and environment contaminated with toxins.
Another factor that we've just started to hear about that is now making it's ways into enlightened pieces of weight loss information is getting enough sleep. It seems that sleep or the lack of has a powerful effect on two important hormones related to weight control - leptin and ghrelin. Leptin is responsible for giving you that "full" feeling, while ghrelin is responsible for stimulating the appetite. When you don't get enough sleep you're leptin levels go down and your ghrelin levels rise, which means that you're appetite will be stimulated and you won't feel full.
Maintaining a healthy colon is another extremely important issue that is usually overlooked in the main stream weight loss help approach. A lot of extra weight can be carried around in an unhealthy colon. If you're not having regular bowel movements every day, then your colon is not functioning optimally.
We all have emotional attachments to food to some degree or another, however for many people it can grow into a bigger problem. Some people will eat to relieve stress, to deal with anger, sadness or other uncomfortable feelings or to feel comforted and nurtured. It's important to examine eating patterns to identify any particular areas in which you may turn to food for emotional comfort.
Food is everywhere we go, it's an integral part of holidays, events, meetings, birthdays, celebrations and pretty much any social and family activity we participate in. There can be a great deal of pressure to eat and drink more than we should and to indulge in foods we know aren't healthy. Coping strategies must be in place that enable you to join in without completely abandoning your weight loss plan.
Most everyone knows that regular exercise is an essential component for weight loss. It's stressed in most every piece of weight loss help out there and is no different with the holistic approach. However, we would add that the exercise activity you pick should nurture you not only physically and emotionally, but spiritually as well. Exercise should not feel like a burden or something you despise. It should be enjoyed. Don't choose an exercise method or schedule that is too demanding physically because this will only cause stress and increase the chances that you won't stick with it. Additionally, exercise should not be too extreme, as this will be counterproductive because it has a negative effect on neurotransmitters, adrenal glands and homrones. In my opinion the best well balanced exercise option is walking.
The last and most important piece of weight loss help to keep in mind is that with a holistic model your approach is individualized to your specific body chemistry and unique life aspects.
The real secret to successful weight loss is to strike a balance that actually works for your body. Now the key words here are: Your body. What works for your body may not be the same things that work for other people bodies.
One person may have a hormonal imbalance that leads to their weight problem, while another person may have food allergies, a hormonal imbalance, Candida overgrowth and turns to food for emotional comfort. The weight loss plan that both of these people would follow would be quite a bit different from one another.
Some body types will flourish on a low carb diet while other body types will flounder. One person may stick to a demanding physical work out and feel fantastic, while another person needs a kinder, gentler regimen.
Holistic weight loss information stresses the importance of learning how to listen to your body. Pay very close attention to how your body responds to a new food, exercise, supplement, lack of food, environment, social events or any weight loss method you attempt. Be aware of patterns and changes in your digestion, elimination, breathing, sleep, mood, and skin.
There will be a period of experimentation involved before you learn which weight loss help offers the kind of results you're looking for, but you've probably already learned quite a bit about your body with various diets you've tried in the past.
Return from weight loss help back to holistic health
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The information on this web site or in emails is designed for educational purposes only and should not
be taken as professional medical advice. I am not a medical doctor and this information is not intended to
diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. With all medical conditions consult a qualified medical professional.
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