| Losing Weight - Let's Get Real! |
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| Antoinette Barnardo | |||
| Monday, 20 February 2006 | |||
 It's mid-February and I'm already seeing the disappointment all round by failed New Year's Resolutions. I then ask myself why we are so surprised that we aren't achieving yet again. Just because the clock ticks over to reveal a new set of numbers annually at a time which is accompanied by celebrations, good food, elevated moods and great company, it doesn't mean that we should subscribe to an attitude of expecting things to be miraculously different when we wake up in the morning. I've learnt over the last few months in particular that nothing changes unless you take some action to change it and to do what you say you are going to do by when you say so. It's our actions which result in the biggest changes in our lives and it's our actions which serve as our very own reality check. A stark reality: you can only successfully lose 500g-1kg per month if you want the weight to disappear permanently. A crash or more radical diet will give you different results but those kilograms will creep back and your metabolism will be further retarded by the sudden changes. It often takes us years to gain massive amounts of weight, yet we expect to miraculously shed it all in a couple of weeks. Losing weight isn't a short-term task that you need to keep addressing; it's a fine balancing act which can help you attain optimal health in the long term if you are prepared to reprogramme your body to burn fat and metabolise food efficiently even when you are at rest slumping in front of your favourite TV programme or book. The body is not capable of delivering unrealistically and you need to understand the fundamentals in order to make headway. We are governed by our metabolism and if we serve it well, it will work efficiently and return the favour. If you send your metabolism on a roller-coaster ride, it will result in hunger, sluggishness, binges, weight gain and long-term ill health and side-effects. Instead, consider what it means to be consistently consistent in your thoughts and habits! Consistently eating smaller and healthy meals throughout the day sends a message to your body (from your brain) that it doesn't need to hold onto anything by storing it (as fat) for the lean times ahead. It will use ALL your food as fuel and produce sufficient energy for you to function normally without wanting to fall asleep at your desk or head for the nearest vending machine in the late afternoon because you are craving something sweet. The balancing act I referred earlier is that between your emotions (triggered by your brain) and that of your blood sugar (from the carbohydrates you consume). You need to balance your emotions which lead you to make good or bad decisions about what you're about to put into your mouth; and these are governed by the serotonin levels in your brain, often known as the happy chemical. When serotonin levels are high, your appetite is naturally low. Think back at the times when you were too busy or all consumed by your current happiness that you forgot to eat! The other is the level of your insulin or blood sugar released every time you eat something. These levels need to be kept stable at all times to avoid the yo-yo effect causing you to feel energetic one moment and very lethargic the next, which is exactly when you will reach to food or a stimulant for comfort; remember you are only human! We confuse our bodies by consuming too many carbohydrates (usually white in colour, e.g. white bread, pasta, cookies, white rice, sugary sweets etc) which release massive amounts of insulin into the bloodstream and overwhelms the body. This has nowhere else to go, the body naturally stores it as fat around the waist, hips and buttocks - it's too much to process at once! Excess weight in these areas is a good indication of sugar or insulin intolerance otherwise known as SyndromeX. This is also when you are most susceptible to contracting Type II diabetes which is now a world-wide phenomenon caused by overeating of refined foods. Next issue, I will give you concrete examples of what to eat, when and what to snack and what to avoid at all costs in order to reach your own goal weight. I will also recommend specific supplements to aid you and assist you in implementing a realistic exercise programme to kick start your metabolism into working with and not against you.
Disclaimer: Harmonious Living is written for and read by a community of individuals with strong and independent opinions. While the publishers of Harmonious Living are dedicated to providing a forum in which views can be openly expressed, those views do not necessarily reflect those of the publishers.
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