Many people promise themselves to lose weight when the New Year comes, especially after they managed to gain some during the Holiday Season.
The beginning of a New Year seems to be a perfect time to make some important changes in one's life and weight loss is an issue that is becoming acute for more and more people.
As we age, our metabolism slows dawn considerably and it becomes more difficult to lose weight now than it was when we were younger. In order to lose weight we must understand these physiological changes and adjust our nutrition accordingly. We may have to supplement with digestive enzymes to help our system digest the foods we eat. We may have to add herbs and spices that will enhance our digestion and increase metabolism. And we definitely need to exercise more and eat less than we used to if we want to keep the weight off and stay fit.
There are many reasons why people are overweight:
- unhealthy diet that consists of white flour, too much fat, sugar, artificial coloring and preservatives
- overeating
- emotional overeating
- extreme stress
- lack of physical activity
- genetic predisposition to obesity
- pre-diabetic state or the diabetic disease itself
- underactive thyroid gland
- intestinal parasites and candida
- food intolerance
Going on a strict diet may be necessary in some cases. Diet pills and drinks are perfect to jump start an effective loss of excess weight, but I do not advocate any long term food deprivation or meal replacements. Initially, you may be able to loose some weight with diet pills and drinks, but more often than not, you will gain it back as soon as you revert to your regular diet.
In order to achieve any durable improvement you need to change your lifestyle and the way you perceive yourself. Any drastic change is ineffective because sooner or later you will sabotage it. The changes you implement must be gradual and should not add stress to your life.
Remember that you eat to nourish yourself and choose your food accordingly. Your food must deliver energy, proteins, vitamins, minerals, essential fatty acids, enzymes, and other vital nutrients that will help your body function properly and stay healthy. Add fruit and vegetable to your diet and eat them raw as often as you can. Eat smaller portions and choose fish and poultry over red meat, olive oil over butter, stevia over sugar, and so on.
Additionally you will need to supplement with high quality vitamin and mineral supplement, L-Glutamine and Omega-3 essential fatty acids.
Healthy, balanced nutrition and sufficient physical activity are essential if you want to reduce your weight and improve the overall health. But if you feel that, despite all these lifestyle changes, you are not loosing any weight, you may suffer from an underactive thyroid or from intestinal parasites, including candida. You may also have undetected intolerance to some foods. Very often hidden allergies are responsible for the unexplained weight gain. Weight loss is almost impossible unless the allergens are removed from the daily diet.
It is important to find out the reason for weight gain and a difficulty in losing it. Unless you do, you will struggle from one diet to another without much success but rather a serious damage to your health.
You may have to consult your health care provider before you set out on an exercise or a diet plan.
Two very important aspects of a successful weight loss program are your determination and motivation to lose weight. If you failed before, you may want to find a health coach and a support group. You could join an exercise group or a healthy-cooking class to get all the support you need. Sharing your success and experience with like-minded people will help you stay on track well beyond January 8th.
Whatever you decide, make the 2012 the healthiest year in your life!
In radiant health - Dominique Allmon
Dominique Allmon©2012
*Information in this article is for educational purposes only. It is not meant to diagnose, treat or cure a disease.