DIETS
NOT ALL OF US ARE OBESE YET WE STILL WANT TO CONTROL OUR WEIGHT
People like jockeys, lightweight fighters, models and dancers have to stay slim and light for their professions. Rapid reduction diets are often too drastic and nobody likes feeling weak and hungry. According to statistics, 98% of these diets do not work. How can we maintain an ideal weight and still be bursting with strength and energy? If you have a better understanding of how the human body gains and loses weight, it will be easier to shake off any unwanted kilograms.
More diets and slimming preparations are now being sold than ever before, yet each generation is becoming more obese. Some airlines have to install wider seats for their expanding passengers. We can no longer trust the words: “Eat as much as you like and still lose weight” because we are losing faith in new slimming products that don’t work.
Yet some of them are effective. We regard a generous outline with: “beer boeps”, jelly bellies, saddle-bags, cellulite, buxom butts and thunder thighs as unsightly. Yet a few centuries ago, all that padding was regarded as a sign of prosperity. A fat Zulu maiden is still worth a lot of cattle for “Lobola.” We cruelly regard fat people as ugly and unhealthy although many of them outlive their skinny counterparts. It is a myth that fatter people are not normal. The glossy fashion magazines will always make us feel too fat because the models they portray are painfully thin, gaunt and under nourished. Women feel frumpish because they do not look like them, regardless of their inherited body type and size.
Fat is in the eye of the beholder. It can be ugly or beautiful, but you will never be able to remove all of it from your body. Your very survival depends on fat. On average, we have about 20% body fat. Ironically, when emaciated anorexics starve themselves for months on end, their body fat percentages will rise to as much as 50%. A form of malnutrition known as Kwashiokor produces a characteristically big swollen belly in people who are starved of protein. Such individuals are not regarded as glamorous or “sexy” but this is what happens when you go on a starvation campaign: the fat fights back! Your metabolism slows down, you feel weak and you begin to suffer from malnutrition.
Inactivity and hormonal imbalances can cause a sudden and vast gain in weight. Too much estrogen can block thyroid activity and slow down metabolism. The hormone cortisol encourages fat accumulation on the waistline, producing an “apple shape.” Insulin converts sugars and starches into fat so to be stored for the future. Blame it on our ancestors. At a time when food was hard to come by, nothing could be wasted. Fat was used to insulate the body against cold and to cushion the vital organs from injuries. Fuel, as in fat, was kept in reserve on the hips, thighs, breasts and tummy. It doubled up as a place to dump toxins and waste products. Today we regard this fat as ugly and obsolete but fat storage is still a dominating force in our lives. It is a major cause of our increasing obesity.
A gain in body weight often corresponds directly to mounting fears of not feeling financially secure, fulfilled or sufficiently loved. We all have to provide for the future so we have life insurance, pension funds and investments. What are these actions other than saving up for a rainy day or the primitive urge to gather and store for fuel and protection? The body listens to you every time you dramatize this need for security and it responds with a flush of “survival hormones”. Cortisol and adrenaline raise blood sugar and if we don’t use this extra fuel every time we are under pressure, the hormone insulin is released. Insulin rounds up the sugar molecules, converts them to triglycerides (fat molecules) and packs them back onto your hips, thighs and tummy along with the food you eat for comfort.
Yes, stress is fattening! Worrying about the future as well as saving up for it is a fattening ritual. The fear of your spouse of children leaving you makes you try to hang onto them. The body responds by hanging on, by keeping fat in store for you. When your life feels empty, you crave something to eat, to fill your stomach. The body may not be in need of fuel, but it has to store the extra food you eat in response to feeling lonely, threatened, bored, useless, frustrated or unloved. This abstract hunger is manifested as an empty stomach reflex that constantly demands food. The dominating impulse is to gather, save and store fat instead of letting it go. We try to override this instruction with drugs, supplements, diets and slimming rituals with a limited measure of success. Results with any slimming product will improve if you prepare yourself both emotionally and physically for losing weight before you actually start reducing the amount of food you eat. Now you understand why you continually store fat. It’s your hidden craving for security.
In part two of the next issue of this magazine you will learn how to prepare your own slimming regimen to suit your personal requirements and lifestyle. In the meantime, start to clean out your kitchen cupboards and throw out all the junk foods you know are not good for you. Start buying fresh fruit and vegetables and drink more water. Replace cakes and sweets with dried fruit and nuts and nibble rice cakes with healthy spreads and toppings. When it comes to slimming, Zen in a nutshell means: “Fool the brain and you can fool the body”. Start by letting go of negative considerations, grudges and past hang-ups and the body will respond by releasing some of it’s stored fat. Let go! Set yourself free! Part two will show you how.
SLIMMING FEATURE BY SUE VISSER
NOW YOU CAN HAVE YOUR IDEAL WEIGHT, SHAPE AND SIZE!
PART TWO – THE GOLDEN RULES FOR KEEPING OFF FAT
If you need to trim down from time to time:
1 LET GO!
Empty out a few cupboards and drawers every day. Only put back what you really need. Get rid of all the sweets, cakes and biscuits and replace them with fruit, nuts and healthy snacks. Keep telling yourself that you are letting go. Write on the mirror: I am letting go! Your body will get the message, so will the fat cells. It is very important to let go of past grievances, grudges and unpleasant memories. Forgive and forget, let go! Chuck out the bad feelings and your future worries. Clear out your surroundings, your mind and then your body. Toxins latch onto fat cells, so when you detoxify the body, the fat also gets flushed out. Use a herbal supplement to stimulate the cleansing of your liver, kidneys and digestive system before you diet. Start eating more raw vegetables, fruit and salads and increase your fresh water intake to 1 litre a day
2 EAT ONLY WHAT SUITS YOU
Some foods may look healthy but they are notoriously fattening to certain blood groups. The O and A blood group react badly to wheat and maize, for example You can buy a copy of Peter D’Adamo’s book: The Eat Right Diet. Many people on his diets lose weight immediately and feel a lot healthier when they only eat foods that really agree with them.
3 ELIMINATE HUNGER
The body has a hunger trigger. It switches off after about twenty minutes from when you start eating. If you have eaten but still feel hungry, learn to turn off your hunger first. Half an hour before eating, have a small snack and take a teaspoon of Flax or olive oil with it. The oil lines the stomach and prevents rapid digestion that stimulates hunger. Avoid starters, clear soups or salads that stimulate the appetite before meals. Rather chew a few sunflower seeds when you are hungry: they have a high oil content. A tablespoon of oil per day included in foods helps to burn fat.
4 BEWARE OF APPETITE STIMULANTS
Vitamin C, Vitamin B complex and Kelp or Aloe supplements can cause a rapid drop in blood sugar and leave you feeling weak and hungry. Take them with meals or in supplement complexes. Take adequate vitamins and minerals every day, especially when you begin reducing your food intake. Sip herbal teas but don’t sweeten with honey or sugar as they cause a rebound drop in blood sugar. Molasses or fructose are better sweeteners.
5 EAT LITTLE AND OFTEN
Eat three little main meals and three smaller snack meals every day to keep the blood sugar balanced. Small meals are quicker to digest and will not convert to fat. Always have a satisfying breakfast and take extra ground up Flax seeds or Flax oil with a nutritious cereal such as wheat free Pro Nutro. Avoid maize and wheat cereals. Try barley and soya dishes. Barley and Soya are rated at 20 – 28 on the glycemic index, as opposed to rice, maize and wheat at 90 – 100. Thus very little insulin is required to process barley and soya. They satisfy you for 5x longer than other cereals and are very rich in nutrients and low in kilojoules. Try to include them in your groceries. Try Pick’n’ Pay or ask your Health shop.
6 USE SLIMMING PRODUCTS WISELY
Chrome supplements help to improve the uptake of glucose into cells. 200 micrograms of chrome per day is usually recommended, or take the old fashioned GTF supplement. Chrome helps convert fat into muscle, so your weight may not drop so rapidly.
Hydroxycitric acid helps to prevent glucose from converting to fat and releases more energy. It is effective at 700-800 mg per day. Amino acids are always used in good slimming products and the most popular is L-Carnitine that should be combined with methionine and lysine for best results. Defatted soya protein contains all our essential amino acids and is low in kilojoules. It can be added to cereals, soups and other foods. Fat blocking supplements made from ground up shellfish called chitosan have adverse effects because they also prevent the uptake of essential fatty acids known as omega 3 & omega 6 that are crucial to your health. Beware of appetite reducing pills. They can have dangerous side effects. Digestive enzymes help you to obtain more nutrients from the same food. We often get fat from food we keep craving and eating because we cannot absorb the nutrients. Take supplements before 2 or 3 of your meals for good results.
7 MAKE A LOT OF CHANGES
Changing your office, home and your clothing helps you to remember that you are busy rebuilding your body with the correct nutrients. Reinforce this new commitment by throwing out old capacious clothes and replacing them with sensible and flattering new items. Get new pictures & plants. You can even change your perfume, laundry powder, dishwasher and air fresheners. Every time you smell the new fragrances, they will tell your brain that you have let go. Experiments show that certain aromas speed up weight loss because these fragrances help to satisfy the need for food, believe it or not!. Rub sensuous and satisfying blends of perfumes or herbal oils onto your wrists. Inhale every time you feel a twinge of hunger or feel low. Try peppermint, apple, orange, spices, florals, etc.(but not chocolate or food aromas!)
8 EXERCISE IS THE ULTIMATE FAT BURNER
Sportsmen and women who train regularly already know the effects that exercise has on your body shape and tone. If you are still making excuses, rather get up and go! Start with regular brisk walking for at least half an hour a day to increase your metabolic rate. If you are not self-motivated, join a group of dedicated walkers for company or put yourself in the hands of a personal trainer. If you suffer from heart or other health problems, seek professional assistance before you start with any diet or exercise regimen. Write down your proposals first.
9 DRINK WATER
Fill a litre bottle with water. Add 1/2 teaspoon of cream of tartar, a gram of vitamin C and some fructose with a tiny pinch of salt. Swig this all day.
10 PLAN A DAY TO BEGIN YOUR REGIMEN
You need to prepare for this special occasion, when you actually commit yourself to a changeover into the new thinner person. Starting with a full moon, you can compare yourself to the waning moon for two weeks. The moon has a direct effect on gravity and that includes the 70% body weight of water you are carrying. We feel at our fullest and most bloated at full moon or at the beginning of a menstrual cycle. Compare the results at every full moon. Get everything ready, have a few practice days with the new food and exercise, write down your weight and measurements and keep records at least once a week. Then count down and let go! What have you got to lose?Food is intended to nourish the body and supply over 90 nutrients to its billions of cells on a continuous basis. Yet we try to get love, comfort, compassion and security out of our food and we fail because they are not there.
Eat the correct foods to nourish your body and keep it healthy. If you seek love and comfort, give it to others in order to receive it yourself. Then you will be happier and will not have to eat compulsively all day without ever being satisfied.