Contributing Writer for Wake Up World
I think weight loss has gained tremendous attention in the natural health world these days. It comes as no surprise, when you think about the fact that two-thirds of U.S. adults are overweight or obese. And about a quarter of 2-5 year olds and one-third of school-age children (including adolescents) are overweight or obese in the U.S.
Many Western countries are unfortunately seeing such worrying trends as well, although I believe U.S. is leading the way.
There are thousands of papers, books and articles which have been written about losing weight: by taking that super nutrient or following that crazy diet, by eating like a cave man, or depriving yourself of fats, or by exercising yourself to death while loading on weird shakes and juices! Or better yet, just by solving it quickly with a surgery and damage your health for life!
[pro_ad_display_adzone id=”110028″]
Seriously, there are countless “remedies” for weight gain, one crazier than the other, one more dangerous than the other.
Of course, you’d find sound advice among the big pile of… ”information”, but it becomes really hard to find it and it’s also not always complete either.
What is my take on this? That is actually the answer to the big question:
What is the Cause of Weight Gain?
I have shocking news for you:
NOBODY KNOWS!!! At least not at first.
Now allow me to explain…
When you are overweight and just want to make that extra weight disappear, without necessarily finding out the real cause behind it, it’s like wanting to fix a moldy wall in your house, without investigating the source of dampness which created it in the first place!
Assuming that the only cause of the weight problem is diet is many times wrong. There are many people who eat healthy, unprocessed food and are still overweight.
The reality is that nobody knows in the beginning – neither the overweight person, nor the health provider – what the causal factors for the overweight are. Diet is only one potential cause of any health issue, whether it is obesity, fatigue, diabetes, arthritis, cancer, or any other degenerative condition.
Instead of diet, there may be an energetic stressor or emotional trauma as the causal factor, mental stressor, structural imbalance, hormonal imbalance, infectious foci, electromagnetic stress, chemical toxicity, food sensitivity, heavy metals, pathogens, environmental sensitivity, etc. Diet may indeed be the primary causal factor, OR it may be relegated to a secondary factor, OR it may not be playing a role at all, since any stressor or blocking factor can be the primary causal factor of the problem – because it can block or disrupt the functioning of any one or more of the control systems in our body.
Obesity is a degenerative symptom and indicates malfunction. Until the cause is uncovered and resolved, one can’t expect change in weight. As biochemical balance, metabolic efficiency, and optimal function are achieved, and stressors and blocking factors are eliminated, weight – as well as other symptomatic indicators of lack of optimal health – will resolve.
How long will it take? The body has its own timetable to bring this about, and all the elements of each person’s metabolic individuality comes into play to ultimately determine how quickly issues are resolved. Getting from Point A to Point B is a process (not a treatment or a remedy for a symptom) that involves doing all the right things and getting rid of all of the wrong things while giving the body the time it needs to make the necessary changes in the body’s own good time.
Why Doesn’t My Weight Loss Program Work?
If we were all the same, then why don’t the same diets and remedies work with all conditions, on all people?
We are all as unique on a biochemical level as we are in our fingerprints. Biochemical individuality is responsible for the fact that nutrients behave differently in different metabolisms. William Wolcott, founder of the Healthexcel System of Metabolic Typing ® explains :
Fat doesn’t make you fat. Protein doesn’t make you fat. Carbohydrates don’t make you fat. And even calories per se don’t make you fat. But what does make you fat is the inability to properly metabolize, or convert to energy, carbs, proteins, fats and calories.
Eat the right foods for your metabolism and eat the right ratios of macronutrients (proteins, fats, carbs) and you’ll be giving your body the right kind of fuel for your engines of metabolism. Science is beginning to awaken to the idea that much of what our bodies do with food is in our genes.
The theme of “metabolic type” was present in every ancient medical system: Ayurveda, traditional Chinese medicine, ancient Egyptian medicine and many others treated diseases by customizing their treatment according to different functioning metabolisms.
There are metabolisms which thrive on high amounts of red meat and fat (think of an Eskimo, as an extreme protein type) and there are metabolisms which thrive on lean, white meat instead (think of a Quechua Indian as an extreme carbohydrate type). And there are those in between, which thrive on a diet where foods have to be in a certain combination and proportion. Ratios of animal proteins and fats as well as the type of proteins and fats vary tremendously from person to person, from culture to culture, from metabolism to metabolism.
Today, with the help of a Metabolic Typing ® Advisor you can find out your Metabolic Type ®, start a real process for real healing, which addresses all imbalances at the causative level, and takes into consideration your unique nutritional and genetic requirements.
Calories are Great Deceivers
Some types of metabolisms get fewer calories from fat than protein or carbohydrates. Others get more than 9 calories from fat and very little from protein. Or carbohydrate. Everyone is different. The way in which the calorie values of foods are determined bears absolutely no relation to the way our bodies process them.
Humans break down food with enzymes in a chemical process that releases energy and, more importantly, cellular nourishment. Calories are an amazingly unreliable measure of the energy potential in our food and bear absolutely no relation at all to how nourishing the food is. All foods contain calories to one degree or another, but not all foods contain nourishment. Nourishment is important because that’s the minerals, vitamins and trace elements the body needs to build and replace millions of cells that die every day, and to fuel the metabolism of cells. Calories don’t build cells or make them work more efficiently.
Although there are times when caloric intake/portion control are warranted and necessary, a low calorie diet can most of the times produce weight gain for a variety of reasons, so clearly the issue is not just about calories.
What typically happens when following the correct Metabolic Typing ® program is that function begins to normalize “across the board.” This includes satiety and appetite. As satiety becomes the norm and as appetite normalizes with time, and as food/calories are being more efficiently converted to energy, the need to count calories becomes unnecessary.
Being overweight is just like any other health complaint – a symptom of imbalance/inefficiency. And the only true weight loss program is the one that restores health, by giving the body everything that it needs, and by eradicating underlying stressors/blocking factors. Only by getting to the true cause can you obtain true weight loss. Any “weight loss” outside of that will be temporary and no different than taking an aspirin for a headache or an antihistamine for a histadelic allergy.
Resources:
http://frac.org/initiatives/hunger-and-obesity/obesity-in-the-us/
Recommended articles by Raluca Schachter:
- Vitamin D Supplementation: This is Why It Can Be Wrong
- Hypothyroidism or Hashimoto’s? What You Need to Know and Why It Matters
- Understanding Cannabis Oil
- 6 Steps to Solve Your Blood Sugar Problems Permanently
- Antibiotic Resistant Infections: The Dangers… and How You Can Avoid Them
- What Really Happens When You Take Antibiotics?
- Understanding Inflammation and How to Eliminate It Naturally
- Listen to Your Body. Correct Food Ratios. Reverse Disease.
- Cholesterol Myths Debunked
- Follow The Money In “Sick-Care”: What’s Behind The Drugs And Needles?
- What Happens In Your Body When You Suffer From Thyroid Disease?
About the author:
Raluca Schachter is a dedicated Clinical Nutritionist / Natural Health Practitioner a.k.a “The Health Detective”. Raluca was able to naturally reverse chronic health conditions she was struggling with most of her life, and now uses her knowledge to help as many people as possible do the same. Her health programs and diet plans offer a very unique and comprehensive approach to health, where individual nutritional and biochemical requirements are firstly met using specific nutrients and foods that each metabolism thrives on. Raluca offers her services to international clientele and her practice is fully online based. You can connect with Raluca at www.metabolicenergy.net and https://www.facebook.com/raluca.schachter.metabolicenergy
[pro_ad_display_adzone id=”110027″]
