Losing weight has been an obsession for millions of people for decades. That obsession has lent to a multitude of diets, weight loss gimmicks, plans, books, programs, supplements, and even extreme measures like medications and surgeries. Can you say “money makers?” A savvy entrepreneur always sees (or even creates) the need or the crisis and capitalizes on it. The weight loss and diet industry was a $75 billion industry in 2022, – and is still growing. But one question and answer that never seems to be accurately addressed is why? What is the root cause of the problem of weight gain and obesity?Why not address that?
Even though I never really had a serious weight problem, there have admittedly been times, that I too have been caught up in this challenge several times over the years, even as recently as this year. Even in the midst of training for marathons, eating a healthy diet, etc. there were times I found myself with more than a few extra pounds. But in order to answer the proverbial question of “how to…” we first need to address the question of “why?” In fact, not just one why, but multiple.
Why Does it Matter?
Having excess weight on you is simply a sign that your body is out of balance. Yes, it is also unhealthy to be overweight. It takes a tool on our cardiovascular health, our joints – especially hips, knees and feet, and even our mental/emotional health – we feel unattractive with excess weight on us. But what is your primary concern for being overweight? Is it your appearance? Now I know when I first ask someone this question, they tell me what they think they should say “it’s unhealthy.” But in reality, it’s a numbers game. It’s what the mirror is telling them. It’s what Mr. or Mrs. “Jones” looks like. They saw a picture of themselves from 20 years ago, and then look in the mirror and at the scale today and it repulses them. They might even have an important event coming up that they have to lose 20 pounds the quickest way possible – can you say “20-year class reunion?” Being honest with yourself, why does losing weight really matter to you?
Why Did I Gain Weight or Have a Weight Problem?
Setting the why it matters aside for a moment, let’s drill down a little bit and allow me to ask you: why did you gain weight to begin with? Have you always had a weight problem? If so, why do you think that is? Is it just “genetic?” Is it that you have “always been this way?” Is it that you just have a “slow metabolism?” Perhaps it’s because you never lost it after having your first baby, or second or third? Could it possibly have anything to do with your diet or lack of cardio-vascular exercise? News Flash: Being on the go all day long doing housework, yardwork, chasing after kids, getting up and down from your desk all day, trudging up and down the stairs all day at home or at work is NOT cardiovascular exercise – it’s actually stress to the body. How much water do you drink a day – are toxins being flushed out regularly, or is your body holding onto them? How much rest are you getting a day? (See my blog last week on “Rest, It’s More Than You Think!”) How is your emotional health – stable, stressed? Have there been past traumas in your life that you are actually hiding behind excess weight to cope, emotionally blocking you from losing weight? How is your spiritual health? Be honest with yourself when you answer these questions.
Why Do I Need to Lose Weight, or Do I?
Again, is it for appearance sake, or the sake of your health? What is your measuring stick to determine if you have excess weight on you – a scale, your closet, a mirror, the government weight chart, a weight loss company, the latest fad diet? What is your measuring stick?
Is There a Right Way and a Wrong Way to Lose Weight?
Yes, and yes. First, it’s not about the calories (the wrong way). Let me say that again, and let that sink in: “it’s not about the calories.” It’s about the right nutrients. Yes, we need our calories – calories are our energy source. But just like anything else, there are the right kind of calories, the right kind of fats, the right kind of carbs, the right kind of proteins, even the right kind of sugars. These are all considered our macro-nutrients. It’s what we have been taught to look at and measure when we are attempting to lose weight. But are they the right things?
Anyone will lose weight if they simply restrict their caloric intake. I recall many years ago hearing about the “ice cream diet!” Yes, this is still a real diet (I just googled it)! One website promoting this diet says you can lose 2 pounds per week on this diet. Now, I hope I didn’t just enable you to make yet another poor diet choice, but instead I aiming to waken up your common sense!
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But there is something more important to look at rather than calories,and that is the right micro-nutrients – vitamins, minerals — like sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium, and even little trace minerals that although small, carry a large punch – like iodine for example. Before you start panicking about needing to know how much of each of these do you need, or thinking it is too hard or too confusing, let me put your mind at ease. It truly does not have to be over-whelming, in fact it can be quite simple.
Just start off by eliminating ALL:
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Fast Food
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Fried Food
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Packaged and processed foods
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Sugars
(These are known as inflammatory foods)
And then simply eat real food – foods that aren’t in a package or have a label on it with added ingredients to them:
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Fruits
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Vegetables
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Nuts & Seeds
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Good fats (like olive oil, flax seed, coconut oil, avocados etc.)
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Even food that come from animals and fish
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Real, whole grains (not Cheerios!)
(These are known as anti-inflammatory foods)
Now a word of CAUTION: if you are going to consume animal products and grains, you must consume them in their natural, real organic form – not their genetically modified knock-off. Otherwise you will have more than an excess weight problem on your hands.
Finally, How to Lose Weight Holistically
The fact of the matter is: counting calories, points, fats, proteins, waist size, dress size is NOT the way to do it. Yes, at best it works in the short-run, but it’s hardly ever sustainable for the long term. And at worst, it is detrimental and counter-productive to your health. So how do you lose weight?
There are 2 primary factors that need to be considered if desiring or needing to shed some excess weight:
- What is the ROOT CAUSE of the excess weight and/or the inability to lose it? And…
- What is your “why?”
Click “Here”“LEARN ABOUT THE 7 WELLNESS MYTHS KEEPING US FROM ACHIEVING TRUE HEALTH”
Root Cause of Weight Gain
Just like any other health challenge, if you want to experience long-term, positive results, you must begin with the discovery process first, of what is the root cause of the weight gain, or inability to lose weight first. Keeping in mind that excess weight is simply a symptom, not the disease. It’s just telling you that your body is out of balance – somewhere – and you need to uncover where.
This discovery process begins with assessing your health as a whole, looking at your:
Mental health –
things like time management, budget, career, goal-setting, your purpose in life. Do you even know why you get out of bed in the morning? If not, do you really find it a priority to restore your body back to good health?
Emotional health –
Are you perhaps hiding behind not wanting to draw attention to a healthy-looking physical body? Maybe you have experienced trauma in your past – sexual, physical, verbal abuse, for example. And having others notice and even compliment your appearance is uncomfortable for you. Has the focus of weight loss in the past thrown you to the other extreme – eating disorders for example – bulimia, anorexia? Or maybe you have been emotionally traumatized in ways that have caused you to turn to unhealthy foods as your comforter, causing an addiction to food.
Physical health –
Perhaps the root cause of why you cannot lose weight, or have gained weight is associated to a hormonal imbalance – thyroid in particular, but adrenals (the stress gland that regulates cortisol), reproductive hormones like estrogen, testosterone, progesterone. Even brain hormones called neurotransmitters like leptin and ghrelin – our appetite regulator hormones. Perhaps your digestive health is out of balance causing the body to have too much inflammation. The adrenal glands send signals to the kidneys regulating your fluid levels – is there an imbalance there? The physical roots are almost endless.
Spiritual health –
Don’t underestimate the spiritual roots to our inability to lose weight. Is there unforgiveness on your heart? How about anger, bitterness, even laziness. These are just a few of the many negative spiritual roots that can have adverse effects on our health. They are toxic, they are acidic to the body, and they most certainly work in conjunction with our mental, emotional and physical health, causing inflammation in the body.
Truly, wholistic imbalances being the root cause of your inability to lose weight is quite vast. That’s why it is vital, to your health, to assess your health as a whole – mental, emotional, physical and spiritual, first, before embarking on a weight loss plan.
And the common denominator in each of these arenas of your wholistic health is stress and inflammation. These 2 words are interchangeable. If one is there in our life the other is there as well. And stress goes beyond mental/emotional stresses. There are chemical stresses to our body – the air we breathe, the water we drink, the medications we consume and the food-like substances that we eat. In fact, the common denominator of all chronic degenerative diseases and symptoms, including excess weight, is inflammation. It’s not about the calories, it’s about inflammation.
What is Your Why?
Let’s now circle back around to where we started – why does losing weight matter to you? If your why is primarily appearance, fitting into that old wardrobe, looking 20 years younger, even feeling good about yourself, you are only going to see short-term results. You will most likely find yourself yo-yoing the remainder of your years. And simultaneously your wholistic health will continue to decline quicker than it should.
But if your why is because you know you have a purpose in your life (and you do, every single one of us does) and you want to fulfill your purpose before you leave this earth, and you want and even need to be as healthy as possible to fulfill that purpose, then get on the wholistic health weight loss plan, and get to the root cause of your health imbalances – now. Before it’s too late.
In Summary
- It’s not about how much you weigh.
- It’s not about the calories.
- It’s about fulfilling your purpose as a strong, vital, empowered healthy human being.
- Health is freedom.
- Don’t be enslaved to the scale, the points, the calories.
- Be free.
See more of these blogs, in case you missed them, for greater insight to the Truth About Wellness:
“Will Insurance Keep Me Healthy?”
“Do You Have an Unhealthy Gut and Not Know It?”
“Breaking Down the McDonald’s Myth”