healthyjourney

Fat Gain – Fat Loss

by Janis M. Betz, RN, BSN

 

Fat gain is an epidemic!  Sadly, more and more children are victims of fat gain.  Those who don’t gain fat no matter what they do are envied by those who have too much fat and can’t lose it no matter what they do.  This situation is very frustrating to many people.  I have clients who have been on almost every weight loss diet and/or products on the market, and they may lose 5-10 pounds, and then nothing.  How frustrating!  Next to digestion and bowel problems, weight problems drive people to try anything to lose weight. Millions of dollars are spent on diet books and diet products every year.  With all this effort to lose weight, there should not be an obesity problem in this country.

 

Those of you who have read the various diet books have read the scores of pages blaming your current diet and lack of exercise for your fat gain.  So now you know that your fat gain is your fault.  Reason dictates that if what you are currently doing is making you gain fat, then stop it.  This is simple, right?  If it is just that simple, then WHY are we the fattest nation in the world?  The problem in giving up what is making you gain fat is that the food causing the fat gain tastes so good.  It is so hard to give up the food you love. Guess what?  The food industry knows how much you love their fat gaining food, and they are more than happy to keep you fat.  So now what do you do?  You have choices to make.  Do you eat the fat gaining food you love and stay fat and in ill health?  Or, do you give up the fat gaining food and struggle to stay thin and healthier.

 

The problem I have with a lot of weight loss diets is that they advocate a radical departure from your current diet.  They go to the extreme, by having you drink diet shakes, take diet pills, and/or eat excess protein and fat beyond your body’s requirements.  So after you lose the weight on these radical diets, then you go right back to eating the fat gaining foods you love because they are everywhere.  You go to the store, and you have to stand next to the fat gaining food in the checkout line while you wait to buy your quarter side of beef.

 

How can someone on a diet cope?  Is there a conspiracy to keep you fat?  Think about it.  If the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) really cared about the obesity, heart disease, and cancer problems in this country, then the fast fat food industry would be sued and made to pay a very high tax, and fat gaining food would be taxed very high, just like cigarettes, to help pay for the treatment needed to treat obesity related problems, heart disease, and cancer.  Let’s face it, you love junk food, processed food, and fast fat food.  It is a tremendous challenge to avoid eating them because they surround us.

 

I have a copy of an article called, “Is Joe Camel really so different from Ronald McDonald?”  This article contrasts the ill health effects of smoking with the ill health effects of eating fast fat food.  I want to quote just one sentence from this article.  It states, “Unhealthy eating habits along with inactivity kill as many people as tobacco does.”  This is why I say that health is a choice.  What you choose to put into your mouth today and the living habits you choose today will positively or negatively affect your health tomorrow.  In other words, you cannot expect to be healthy for very long when you eat junk food and lie around day in and day out.

 

I want to take the time to review some fat gaining foods.  Some of the following information will contradict what you conventionally know.  There are three primary fat gaining food groups to avoid.         1)  Commercial (non-organic) meats, eggs, and dairy products contain the estrogen hormone, drugs and pesticide residue that stimulate fat gain hormonally.  These products will also stimulate estrogen driven cancers in the breasts, ovaries, uterus, and prostate.  If you are going to eat these foods, then buy organic.  I want to expand on dairy.  The only reason cow’s milk exists is to cause a 70 pound calf to grow to 400 pounds in 1 year.  Cow’s milk was never designed for human consumption.  You are not a calf, and you do not need to nurse from a cow.  2)  Excess fat consumption packs in the calories in a small amount of food, and it does not fill you up, so you go back for more.  Fat contains 9 calories per gram, and carbohydrates and protein contains 4 calories per gram.  You can eat a lot of raw vegetables to stay full and still lose weight.  3) Refined white flour, white rice, cooked potatoes, and sugar break down quickly to glucose, which causes your insulin to store excess glucose in your fat cells.  It also burns quickly, and you get hungry faster, therefore, you will eat more then you should.

 

Don’t be fooled by food labels saying low carbs, low fat, sugar free, fat free, and diet.  These products contain a lot of fillers, chemicals, and bad additives to make their products taste good.  For example, aspartame is a dangerous chemical that is used to sweeten “diet” drinks and products.  This chemical has been proven to destroy brain cells.  The FDA knows this, and they keep it on the market anyway.  Food products marketed to dieters will not necessarily help you to lose weight.  The toxins contained in these products fill the fat cells, and the fat will go nowhere if it is needed for storage.  Processed and cooked foods are nutritionally poor and will not meet your body’s nutritional requirements.  Eating these foods may make you feel hungry sooner, which will stimulate you to eat more calories, leading to fat gain.

 

There are three primary food groups that will help you to lose fat.  1)  Eat all natural foods in their natural packages (i.e. apple).  Raw fruits and vegetables will help you to lose weight.  Locally grown, organic, fresh produce is the best, but if this produce is not available, then any organic raw produce is OK.  Make sure that the produce is not irradiated (radiation sterilization).  Often if the produce is from another country, the US will pump it full of radiation to kill any bacteria.  If you need to cook the produce, then lightly steam it.  2)  Consume deep sea, cold water fish (i.e. cod, mackerel, salmon, mahi mahi) and organic eggs.  These sources of protein are easy to digest and their amino acids are more readily available for the body to use.  The amino acids from meat protein (i.e. beef, chicken, pig) are tightly bound up, and are difficult for your digestion to breakdown.  3)  Choose complex carbohydrates (i.e. basmati brown rice and whole grains) because they take a long time to convert to glucose, and they tend not to be stored in fat.  Complex carbohydrates increase your metabolic burn, which stimulates fat loss.  Not all carbohydrates are bad.

 

I have found that the Blood Type Diet works.  The best book to read on this subject is Live Right for Your Blood Type by PeterD’Adamo.  There are certain foods that will stimulate fat loss or fat gain according to your blood type.  This is why ‘one size fits all’ diets do not work!  For example, Blood Type O people lose fat best when they follow a protein – low carbohydrate diet.  On the other hand, Blood Type A people lose fat best by following a vegetarian – complex carbohydrate diet.  Personally, when I gave up all wheat and corn products, I lost fat.

 

WATER!  Don’t forget to drink your water.  You need to drink half your body weight in ounces of water per day (136 lb. = 68 oz. or 8½ c./day). This will help to flush the toxic material out of the fat cells and body, and then the fat cells will no longer be needed. Lemon water is excellent to help with fat loss.  If you don’t like the taste of lemon straight up, then add maple syrup to cut the pucker effect.  Maple syrup is a long chain sugar and burns slower then sugar.  The recipe I use is 2 quarts of pure water, 3/4 c. fresh squeezed lemon juice (2 1/2-3 lemons), and 1/3 – 1/2 c. pure maple syrup.  The glucose in this lemon drink will supply your body with a steady fuel to keep your metabolism burning steadily.  Every cell needs glucose to burn as fuel to give you energy.

 

Another key component to fat loss is to keep your bowels moving a large soft formed BM 2-3 times a day.  If this is not happening then you need to make it happen.  Fiber is very important.  I like the fiber supplements that contain fiber, herbs, good bacteria, and a mild laxative, all in one formula.  Drinking water with a fiber supplement is critical.  I recommend a series of colon hydrotherapy sessions to get built-up stool matter out of your colon.  If this can not be done, then I recommend a series of cleansing enemas.  When you are not eliminating properly, then toxic material from your bowel will be absorbed into your body, which will be deposited into your fat cells.  You do not want this to happen.  Fiber will also bind to sugars and slow up absorption into your blood.  Taking a fiber supplement before you eat will cut your hunger so you eat less.

 

There is a basic rule for fat loss to occur.  For fat loss to occur, your caloric intake must not exceed your caloric burn.  In other words, if you are eating 2000 calories a day but you are only burning 1500 calories throughout the day then the remaining 500 calories will be converted to fat.  If you know that you can not get out and exercise, then consume less food that day.  When you feel hungry, drink water or lemon drink, take a fiber supplement, and/or eat some raw vegetables.

 

I have clients who have followed all of my directions for fat loss to a tee and they still can’t lose weight or they get so far and then they can’t seem to lose any more fat.  There are 3 main factors that contribute to the inability to lose fat.  1)  Genetic programming may interfere with fat loss.  Let me illustrate this by discussing women who have undergone breast reductions.  Breast size is a genetic program.  I know many women who have surgically altered their breast size to be smaller only to have their breasts grow back to the original size many years later.  Genetic programming is the most frustrating factor for fat loss.  I am working on altering this program through Color Light Therapy.  2)  Endocrine/gland malfunction also hinders fat loss and will often stimulate fat gain.  This is a very complex subject, and it is difficult to understand.  I have been successful in bringing the Endocrine System back into balance and functioning proficiently.  3)  The lack of willpower, discipline, and determination greatly hinders fat loss success.  There is no secret method or pill to give you willpower, discipline, and determination.  Pray for it.

 

For more information on a formal good food fat loss diet/lifestyle, call Healthy Journey, Inc at (814) 355-5500.