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Health Gain - Weight Loss Highlights
One year ago this month, I began this series on “Health Gain – Weight Loss.” The beginning of a new year is an excellent time to renew commitments to lose weight and improve health by making necessary changes in diet and lifestyle habits. In case you missed seeing or reading any of the articles in this series or if you may need to review ones that particularly pertain to you, I have endeavored to highlight the basic content of each of them below.
HEALTH GAIN – WEIGHT LOSS Part 1 – “Getting to the Root Causes”
This first article underscores the problem of obesity and excess weight and its association with metabolic syndrome and a myriad of diseases. It explains how the factors that lead to weight gain are often one and the same as factors that lead to poor health.
You will learn in this article that “going on a diet” is never the answer for lasting weight loss nor does it correct the underlying imbalances that originally caused the weight gain. It reveals that repeated “yo-yo” dieting actually programs the body to store more fat and cuts metabolic function by half. The article also provides understanding for why deprivation diets lead to rebound weight gain and negatively affect a person’s health in addition to being psychologically and emotionally detrimental.
HEALTH GAIN – WEIGHT LOSS Part 2 – “Eat More Often”
The premise of Part 2 of “Health-Gain Weight Loss” is that calorie-restricted diets impair metabolism and contribute to weight gain over the long term. This article explains how the body responds to calorie deprivation by storing calories as fat rather than burning them for energy. It also tells how repeated dieting alters a person’s body composition and metabolism.
The reason women have a more difficult time losing weight in relationship to the way in which their fat cells and muscle tissue differ from men is explained along with tips on how to reverse this trend by increasing lean muscle mass. This article also tells how to “reset” your metabolism and deter your body’s tendency to build up fat reserves by changing when and how often you eat. It points out that eating every few hours not only regulates metabolism and weight but also provides a number of health benefits.
HEALTH GAIN – WEIGHT LOSS Part 3 – “Eat Real Food”
In Part 3 of Health Gain Weight Loss, you will learn how the types of calories we consume actually “speak” to our genes, impacting how metabolism functions. You will also learn how altered and refined processed foods send confusing messages to our bodies that disrupt hormone balance, alter body chemistry and interfere with normal metabolic function.
This article expounds on the “anti-nutrients” found in our modern food supply that sabotage weight loss efforts and cause health to deteriorate. It also explains how whole, natural foods in their original form communicate the right messages to our bodies and enable our metabolism to work efficiently as designed.
The way in which other “less than stellar” food options adversely affect hormone systems related to metabolism is emphasized, in addition to why difficulties with weight loss may be attributed to undetected food allergies or sensitivities.
HEALTH GAIN – WEIGHT LOSS Part 4 – “The Types of Carbs Matter”
Rather than depicting all carbohydrates as something to be avoided if a person wants to lose weight, this article brings to light the powerful phytonutrients in carbohydrates and how they help speed up metabolism in addition to providing energy, a sense of well being and protection against disease. 
At the same time, the article expounds on the way in which devitalized, processed carbohydrates raise blood sugar levels, cause insulin levels to spike and result in programming the body for weight gain and disease.
The article also shows how the right types of carbohydrates control weight and preserve health by controlling blood sugar levels and keeping insulin levels steady. It explains the difference between the Glycemic Index and Glycemic Load and tells why the latter is a better indicator of the true impact foods consumed in an actual meal has on blood sugar levels. The reason foods with a low Glycemic Load and high phytonutrient content are best for controlling appetite and weight is also explained.
How fiber assists weight loss by slowing down the absorption rate of sugar into the bloodstream and its many other health-improving benefits are covered in this article as well. Overall, the article helps the reader better understand how avoiding refined carbohydrates and eating unprocessed, nutrient-dense carbohydrates in as natural form as possible is the way to ensure healthy weight loss and a healthy body.
HEALTH GAIN – WEIGHT LOSS Part 5 – “Powered by Protein”
The primary role protein plays in health and regulating weight is the subject of Part 5 of “Health Gain-Weight Loss.” The article describes how protein supports lean muscle mass and its ability to produce a more active and efficient metabolism. It also explains how protein stimulates the production of a hormone that releases stored body fat and turns it into energy.
The need to obtain protein from high-quality, natural sources is described and details are given on what kinds of proteins are best and which ones can create problems for health. Each major type of protein is covered along with the right proportions to have in your diet along with possible negative effects of excessive protein consumption.
HEALTH GAIN – WEIGHT LOSS Part 6 – “True Facts on Fat”
The “Facts on Fat” exposes the myth that “fats make you fat” and shows why low-fat diets or diet products not only fail to produce lasting weight loss but also are detrimental to health. It also shows how eating the right types of fat are absolutely essential for weight loss in addition to providing many benefits to health.
The article covers the differences between different kinds of fats and what fats you should and should not permit in your diet. It particularly emphasizes the dangers of trans fats and the great importance of obtaining sufficient omega-3 fats from quality dietary sources to balance the overconsumption of omega-6 vegetable oils that are contained in the large majority of people’s diets.
Since this article is the concluding one on the major macronutrients, the last part describes how to 
“put it all together” in the right ratio to fuel your body most effectively. It explains how eating the right balance of these nutrients at each meal and snack is the smartest way to produce optimal weight loss and health.
HEALTH GAIN – WEIGHT LOSS Part 7 – “Watch What You Drink!”
Since certain beverages can sabotage weight loss and health even when a person eats fairly healthy, Part 7 of “Health Gain-Weight Loss” reviews popular drink choices and relates their effect on weight and health. Soda, diet sodas, fruit juice, alcohol, coffee and energy drinks are all covered. In addition, the article explores the various health and weight loss benefits of drinking water and gives suggestions for other healthy beverage possibilities.
HEALTH GAIN – WEIGHT LOSS Part 8 – “Smarter Ways to Exercise”
This article focuses specifically on two forms of exercise that particularly impact the speed and efficiency of metabolism by increasing muscle mass and oxygen intake. Besides boosting the body’s ability to burn calories for energy rather than store them for fat, the article describes how strength and interval training results in greater levels of energy by increasing the efficiency and number of the cells “power plants.” The article explains how these benefits work and gives guidelines for adopting these forms of exercise into your lifestyle.
HEALTH GAIN – WEIGHT LOSS Part 9 – “How Toxins Affect Weight and Health”
The correlation between stored toxins and excess weight is explored in Part 9 of the “Health Gain-Weight Loss” series. How the release of stored toxins after weight loss slows down metabolism and decreases fat burning is explained along with the many ways these same toxins damage health. 
What type of toxins accumulate in fat cells and the areas of the body these toxins are most likely to settle and cause health problems is also covered. Moreover, the article explains how certain types of toxins disrupt normal weight control mechanisms by mimicking or interfering with hormones involved in weight loss.
The article also emphasizes the importance of detoxification for healthy and safe weight loss. At the same time, it points out that people with long standing weight problems find they can lose and maintain their weight much more easily when their bodies are free of damaging toxins because of the way fat cells decrease in size when the reason for storing fat in the first place is eliminated. Lastly, it highlights the need to modify dietary choices and lifestyle habits that contribute to toxicity in order to achieve permanent weight loss.
HEALTH GAIN – WEIGHT LOSS Part 10 – “Could More Sleep Mean Less Weight?”
This article points out the enormous role adequate sleep plays in the balance and release of important hormones that regulate metabolism. It explains how sleep is needed to both release fat burning hormones and prevent the rise of hormones that cause the body to store fat. How the lack of sleep produces hormone changes that affect appetite, increases the tendency to insulin resistance and reduces certain hormones involved in fat burning is also covered in this article. The contribution excess amounts of the “fight or flight” hormone cortisol, in particular, makes to weight gain as well as the way in which it is linked to health damaging “belly fat” is described in detail.
The way lack of sleep affects the body when it comes to the body’s state of health is also covered in this article. The concluding part of the article focuses on a list that contains a number of tips to augment the quality and quantity of your sleep as well as an explanation about the reason sleeping pills are never the answer for truly improved sleep.
HEALTH GAIN – WEIGHT LOSS Part 11 – “The Thyroid Factor”
The last article of the “Health Gain-Weight Loss” series is centered on a frequent, though often undiagnosed, reason people cannot lose weight. In addition, the article points out that undiagnosed low thyroid function is commonly at the root of many symptoms of less than optimal health.
How widespread the condition is and the reasons conventional blood tests often miss pinpointing it as the true culprit is covered as well. How to understand the interpretation of conventional tests and what the ideal parameters for optimal thyroid function should be are also explained. Root causes of low thyroid function related to diet and toxicity factors are described with a special emphasis on the major role the lack of iodine plays in this disorder.
A list of common symptoms of low thyroid function is given to help the reader identify if low thyroid function is a possible underlying factor in their weight or health issues. In addition, an explanation is provided for how to do a simple home test that is a proven indicator of low thyroid function. Lastly, the article enumerates a number of ways to support the thyroid gland nutritionally with both foods and supplements and indicates which foods inhibit thyroid function.
Concluding Thoughts
This series is by no means exhaustive in covering all of the reasons for weight and health issues nor does it provide all of the ways there are to achieve and maintain a healthy weight and body. However, I do trust that it has helped you to obtain a greater understanding of at least some of the major underlying root causes both of weight gain and the inability to lose weight. I also hope that even people without weight issues have learned principles and practices of health that will spare them many of the health problems commonly experienced today as a result of poor diet and lifestyle habits.
If you still need to lose weight and struggle with health issues, I would really encourage you to review these articles to gain a better understanding of how your body works and how you can take steps to make necessary changes that will enable you to naturally lose the weight and gain the health you desire.
Copyright © 2008-2015 Lucinda Bedogne, CNHP, CNC
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