There's more to weight-loss than losing weight
Being overweight is more than just excess fat; it's a sign that you are out of balance physically, mentally and emotionally. This article explores some of the other factors involved in obesity & over-weight.
This opinion could be considered somewhat controversial; however there is more and more research into obesity & over-weight, and it appears that the solution is not always as simple as eating less and/or exercising more.
This great article outlines the true complexity of obesity and over-weight:
I have found that it's not uncommon for there to be a myriad of judgments when we see someone who is over-weight or obese. It's also not uncommon to hold these beliefs about ourselves when we are carrying those extra kilos.
Many people, including health professionals, hold a simplistic view that it's just a matter of exercising more and eating less. Those people hold to the "calories-in-calories-out" model, which of course most of us find to be incorrect.
The following are some ideas to think and act upon.
Diet
What are you putting into your body?
We are all familiar with the adage you are what you eat. And yet many of us choose to consume foods that are not really foods.
A very good book to read is Michael Pollan's In Defence Of Food, where he outlines his very simple Eater's Manifesto:
"Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants."
I particularly like his rule to avoid food products containing ingredients that are "unfamiliar, unpronounceable, more than five in number, and include High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS)."
It is also considerably cheaper to buy real food ingredients and make yummy meals yourself. And it doesn't take as much time as you imagine. You only need to see some of the cookbooks written by the likes of Jamie Oliver and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall to see that healthy, nutritious meals can be inexpensive, easy to prepare and make, and very very yummy!
Don't want to argue, I don't want to debate
Don't want to hear about what kinds of foods you hate
- Weird Al Yankovic
Lifestyle
Similarly, how are you living your life right now?
Are you living healthily during the week, only to undo it all on the weekends, bingeing on either alcohol or 'bad' food? For what purpose?
Are you unhappy with your job or your relationships? Is your social network unsupportive of you?
What we experience on a day-to-day basis will impact on us on a number of levels - if these are good for us, then those impacts will be positive and constructive.
It's my life
And it's now or never
I ain't gonna live forever
I just want to live while I'm alive
- Bon Jovi
Exercise
Moving your body is more than just burning off the fat.
Vital substances circulate better when our bodies move. And more than that, how our bodies move embodies ideas about ourselves. These are the principles behind embodiment practices such as Qi Gong, Tai Ji, and Yoga.
If you are consuming too much food (calories, ie: energy), that energy needs to be used otherwise it is stored for use later. It is stored in adipose tissue (fat) and deposited around the body, usually the waist.
If you don't - or can't - exercise much, then you also don't have the requirements to eat as much. The less your body moves, the less energy it needs, hence the less food. There is no point in having excess carbohydrates in your diet unless you plan on exercising and being physically active.
Let's get physical
- Olivia Newton-John
Photo by Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash
Take responsibility
Stop blaming your genes, your parents, or some medical condition. Only you are responsible for you how healthy you are (or aren't).
If you are eating too much food, it is your choice; if you are eating inappropriately, it is your choice; if you are living a sedentary or destructive lifestyle, it is your choice.
You also have the choice to eat well, live happy and healthy and be the best person you know you are. Making a choice is easy, and making a change may challenge you, and if you have made that choice, you will reap the benefits of that all the more so for doing that!
Imbalance
Being over-weight or obese is a sign that your physiology is out of balance.
The human body is remarkable in its ability to maintain certain levels of health and enter into states of self-repair when necessary. When these self-regulating systems don't work, the system is unable to comply with the usual needs.
There can be any number of reasons for imbalance (and this applies to all illnesses and diseases to a certain degree). Toxicity is often a factor, as it will clog up the liver's metabolic pathways and slow down the body's ability to get rid of waste product.
Our metabolism can also be impaired by such issues as thyroid gland dysfunction, or intestinal dysfunction. If the problem is one of excess, then if the body cannot use all of what is consumed, and cannot get rid of what it doesn't need, where is it going to go?
Similarly, given the mind-body connection, what purpose do you hold for not changing your behaviour or your thoughts?
What evidence do you have that you can't change, or do something differently in your situation?
If your body is in balance, then to a certain degree your mind will be too.
The TCM perspective
Influenced by the work of the physician Li Dong Yuan (1180-1251 CE), a lot of Traditional Chinese Medicine perspectives involve examining the health of the digestive system.
TCM theory holds that the source of the energy we need for normal physiological functioning comes from what we breathe (oxygen) and eat (nutrition).
In regards to nutrition, the chemical reactions that break up food and distribute nutritive elements occur in what is known as the 脾胃 píwèi - the "Spleen & Stomach" (the digestive system). Food is broken down in the stomach, and absorption and distribution occurs mainly in the duodenum, but some also in the small and large intestines. The pancreas is responsible for secreting important enzymes, the gallbladder releases bile to help in the absorption of certain substances, and the liver involves metabolic processes.
Even when we take oral medicines (be they pharmaceutical or herbal), it requires this system to absorb, distribute, and metabolise active ingredients, and excrete waste.
The digestive system may be damaged by illness and disease, and it may also be damaged by eating wrong foods, spoiled foods, or eating in inappropriate ways or at inappropriate times.
An earlier physician Sun Simiao (581-682 CE) famously stated that getting one's diet (and lifestyle) in order should be the first course of treatment before attempting medicines, as he believed many problems could be dealt with effectively in this manner.
Treat the individual, not the disease
There is a reason why some 'diets' work for some and not others. People have different constitutions, different dietary requirements, and different patterns of disharmony.
In both TCM and Ayurvedic dietary therapy, the 'diet' that will best work for helping your change to good health is determined by your own individual physiological and psycho-emotional nature.
There is no 'one-size-fits-all' diet that is suitable for everyone. Each of the (so-called) 'fad diets' have their merits for those who need to follow those kinds of diets, and this is based on the individual's specific state of health.
For example, if you know that avoiding meat or grains will help you become healthy, you may choose to follow those guidelines and see the results. In my experience, what can sometimes happen is that after following a strict regimen for some time, and changing the physiological state, one can then return to moderate consumption of what has been proscribed without it having the same effects. And we must make the choice and the effort to make those changes.
The natural way
A Health practitioner can't completely help you with the problem until you have cleaned the area that needs fixing. That means getting rid of any toxicity and excess as well as fixing the root of the problem.
Essentially, 'fat' is stuff the body doesn't need but is not getting rid of. And yes, probably because you overloaded it with stuff it couldn't deal with, or maybe your system was sluggish to begin with, or accumulated over time.
The approach is to rid the body of 'excess' first. This means 'detoxification' - adipose tissue (fat) holds more than just excess energy in the form of sugars, it will hold toxicity from the poisons you have been consuming.
What is going to happen when that stuff starts getting released, and your body's waste disposal systems aren't functioning efficiently yet? Remember, the reason why all this excess waste is still in your body is probably because your waste disposal system wasn't working efficiently to begin with.
This process requires monitoring and support from your practitioner. It is often useful to do this with friends or colleagues, as there is always 'crap' that will shed alongside the layers of waste.
It requires good nutritional support, and it requires that the digestive system is also supported so it doesn't lead to any complications or further issues.
Something needs to change. Perhaps you may not know why or what - just change it. Now.
Let's stop talking about "losing weight". We always find again what we lose. Let's talk instead about being healthy and managing your health.
It's an ongoing process, not a one-hit-wonder!
'Cause baby, I don't wanna be your one hit wonder
That you just keep playin' again, playin' again,
- Timeflies
Photo by Katie Smith on Unsplash
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I agree @riverflows, we also try to abide by that rule as well and I have had similar feelings about having to watch my weight and all of that. Most of the pantry is stocked with raw, basic ingredients. Its just the easiest way for me to control all of what goes into our bodies.
My mental health impacts my weight, if I am depressed I tend to add a few pounds because everything falls apart. I have never had obesity as a problem but just those occasional blips in my own health have taught me how slippery a slope it could become. I can imagine how hard it is to break out of that cycle when there are so many influences directing people towards convenience.
A big blog once shared my post on eating healthy on a budget. The demographic on their page was mainly American. Quite a few people attacked my post because "who has time to cook from scratch" they felt threatened by these age old sensible ideas.
Schools, communities, the world really needs to shape up when it comes to educating and making real food less of a scary thing. I think if people started eating real food, they would be healthier, slimmer and all around better off.
I agree. We actually had a lot less health problems before convenience foods. I always taught my boy simple fast food because I knew one day he would be out of home and cooking for himself and I didn't want him to live off packet food. Nasi goreng, vegie pasta and morrocan eggs were his speciality haha.. most of the crew he has lived with or cooked for look at his cooking in amazement and say: How do you KNOW all this stuff? Like it's rocket science. He sent a mate to get kale from the grocers and he came back with celery lol. He was making brown rice vegan risotto with sauted kale, spring onions, preserved lemon and vegan fetta on top. Purely by feel. It's all down to education and what society thinks is important and how much we are swayed by media telling us what to eat and what we should eat and weigh and so on.
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Ever since Ican remember, my rule of thumb is dont buy stuff with more than 5 ingredients (unless its muesli), make your own as much as possible, eat lots of colours and dont over indulge. I dont always listen to the last one but I do okay. Sadly growing up as a woman is fraught with media telling you what to eat, what to weigh. I mostly tried to ignore it but also felt i always had to 'watch my weight'..thankful for invisibility now Im older but also thankful for good food habits given by my Mum that helps me maintain HEALTH. Which I in turn passed onto my son. Harder for people.who dont know better.
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