Why “Honest” Fat Loss Is So Important

When it comes to diets, everyone's selling something, some more effectively than others. With about 65 percent of Americans being overweight and half of those obese, it is no wonder obesity and the various schemes to fight it are such a hot topic. In fact, dieting is a $40 billion-a-year industry. Many people have heard of the South Beach diet, the Atkins diet, Weight Watchers, and Jenny Craig; yet most have not heard of the thousands of weight loss gimmicks you can find online by just typing in “weight loss” into a Google search.

The one point on which experts seem to agree is that the low-fat craze of the 1990s kicked off the wave of obesity we are still experiencing today. People saw "low fat" on the label and assumed they could eat as much as they want and not get fat. Food companies made billions of dollars “feeding” this fallacy (remember “SnackWells”?).

What makes this mistake so tragic is that being overweight is no longer a “look and feel” issue, but a major inducer and promoter of disease and dysfunction. Fat is not just an inert tissue. It is metabolically active, producing its own hormones, demanding your heart to work harder, putting extra pressure on your joints, bones and ligaments, and taxing every internal organ to work harder. Being “over-fat” is one of the leading causes of heart disease, diabetes and certain cancers.

Obviously, the blame has to start with the American diet. Food suppliers and fast food chains have gotten really good at giving people fatty, refined foods and sweets -- at a lower and lower price. Processed food producers pay millions of dollars a year to learn the most effective ways to get you to buy their junk food. I don’t see any commercials for carrots and broccoli!

This wanton disregard in taking responsibility for what one eats, and the resulting health problems, is going to hit people where it hurts most – their pocket books. The predictions are that most insurance plans over the next few years will become high deductible only (if they aren’t already). This means every time you go to see your friendly physician you are going to have to pay out of pocket for the visit. Even worse, with the probability that huge cuts will affect Medicare coverage, and entitlement programs, you will have to pay for many of the benefits you take for granted today, once in retirement. So the saying “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” is more true today than ever, and people should take that advice seriously, or pay heavy consequences.

If you want better long-term health and a healthier appearance, you need to make wholesale changes -- not small changes -- in the foods you eat and how you take care of yourself. This is easier said than done, as most of us have been woefully misguided about “healthy” food by those who have a vested interest in what you choose to buy and eat. Furthermore, you need to significantly reduce the excess fat you are carrying – not just “weight reduction”, but “honest fat loss”, and in the process ensure you are protecting your muscle mass. Muscle tissue is your calorie burning engine, and in some ways your “fountain of youth”.

This is the crux of why America, after 30 years of yo-yo diets, is finding itself with 65% of the population overweight or obese. People have lost weight over the years using one fad diet after another, but in the process have also lost muscle mass. Once off the diet, the weight is usually put back on again, but now in the form of fat. Not only do they physically get bigger, as they go back to their original weight (as fat weighs less than muscle), but now they have to eat less to stay at their original weight (because of the reduction in their calorie burning engine – their muscle mass)! More harm than good has been done by this process of replacing muscle mass with fat mass!

For people to have sustainable weight loss success over time, 5 key parts need to be included:

Weight loss needs to be “fat loss” with muscle mass protected.

The diet by which weight is lost, should be one that involves eating real, normal, healthy foods, and, in the process, educates you about the “good, bad, and ugly” about food. Once off the diet, you will then have the knowledge of what and how to eat so that you don’t go back to bad eating habits. You get the education and responsibility to have control over your weight for the rest of your life.

Proper professional support, monitoring and coaching. Studies have shown the most successful weight loss programs are those with weekly meetings or appointments. It was found that, the more weekly appointments attended, the more weight was lost.

Food allergens/sensitivities need to be identified so that they can be either eliminated or limited in how much is consumed. Food allergens can result in water retention, weight gain and many other chronic symptoms.

The body’s nutrient needs must be evaluated, and properly supported when necessary. There are 14 areas in which deficiencies may not allow for optimal cellular function, and/or hamper weight loss maintenance over time.

In a program which addresses these key points, all the major issues of why people are not able to maintain weight loss get addressed and the likelihood of people succeeding are significantly increased.

The accomplishment of losing excess fat, learning how to keep it off over time, and having food support health instead of destroying it, is the greatest gift of health you can give yourself.