Mar 2, 2013

Age Related Weight Gain

The two most common factors to excess weight are consuming to much food (over eating) and a sedentary lifestyle (not active enough).
Now of course, the first thing we are told by the professionals in the multi billion dollar world of weight loss is all we need to do is 'decrease' our food intake and 'increase' our mobility and for those who are on the constant treadmill of trying to lose those few extra pounds OR trying to lose a monumental amount of excess weight this is not what we WANT to hear!
The majority of well seasoned dieters know exactly what they need to do. They have read every book. Followed every diet plan (old and new). Enrolled in numerous gym memberships. Bought endless pieces of equipment, all with the intent of succeeding 'this time'.
So why is it that even though we 'despise' how we feel, hate our reflection in the mirror, feel repulsed when we eat 'another' family sized bag of Milky Ways we cannot STOP!
The main issue here is that food is 'addictive' and we have to feed this addiction on a regular basis everyday so as to survive and I think this is a major issue that is just pushed aside and completely overlooked.

So why is it that the weight loss industry continues to grow even when the economic climate is on a down hill slope?

Because they fail to focus on the main issue which is addiction!  They continue to remind us as to what 'we' need to be doing which is 'eat less' and 'move more'and by failing to cure the real problem (food addiction) they continually have us returning for more and more help.
How many of you out there 'eat less' for 5 days a week then binge at the weekends?
How many of you out there 'move more' just so as you can 'eat more'?
Sound familiar!
I spent years, along with my sister running and owning a 'Diet & Fitness' club. We had over 1200 members who would come to our classes on a weekly basis. This was a combination of a one hour weight loss discussion group with a one on one weigh in followed by an hour of aerobic exercise. We had the privilege of meeting and sharing the lives of some of the most courageous women who were all struggling to not only 'lose' weight but also trying to keep the weight 'off'.
We realized over time that they 'all' had two things in common. 
1: They all truly 'desired' to lose weight. 
2: This was 'not' there first attempt.
So why was it after the first few weeks and sometimes months of commitment, eagerness and determination did so many of them stop losing or slowly start gaining? The easy option would of been for my sister and I to blame this on a lack of commitment on there behalf and just wait for the next 'new' members to enroll but being committed to these ladies of which we had become bonded with, we were not willing to accept this! Delving deeper and asking some pertinent questions we realized that there was a third factor in a high percentage of them and that was they had an 'addiction' to food!   

Can age have anything to do with excess pounds?

There is a lot of controversy in regards to this question. Some say that metabolism does slow down with age whereas others claim that an increase in weight is more due to the fact that with age we naturally slow down which decreases our ability to burn calories efficiently whilst still eating the same volume.
Cortisol definitely plays a big part in middle age weight gain. High cortisol is mainly due to stress and as we all know stress can be very difficult to control.
I believe that hormone imbalance plays the biggest part in middle-age weight gain and is often a symptom of your body simply being out of balance, not necessarily a lack of willpower or exercise. Symptoms of insulin resistance and adrenal fatigue due to lifestyle may have been developing over a period of time, but it is only after estrogen levels dip (for menopausal women) or fluctuate (for perimenopausal women) that they become noticeable. The seemingly “new” symptoms are a result of the link between insulin, metabolism, and body fat. Over time a low fat, high carbohydrate diet can lead to insulin resistance which causes the body to convert calories into fat, even on a diet. I personally choose to follow a low carb diet and have found that I can control my weight extremely well without to much effort. 
However, rather than using this as an 'excuse' we need to empower ourselves with this knowledge and use it to our benefit.

So is there a foolproof solution to loosing weight and keeping it off?

Unless we can sit in a room minus the temptations of alluring TV food commercials, have a complete shut down of fast food facilities, stop the production of cakes, cookies, ice cream and candy and have the return of food rationing then the answer is NO!

So what can we do?

We can stop believing that there will ever be a 'miracle' cure.
We can stop 'blaming' ourselves for being over weight....This falls into the categories of: I'm lazy....I'm greedy....I'm a failure.
Start to 'believe' in yourself and the power of 'will' and never succumb to the belief that you will 'never' lose the extra pounds (never say never)!
Repeat to yourself over and over again throughout the day that you 'are' at your ideal weight...believe it enough and it 'will' become your reality!
Commit to doing 'the best you can do'.

Over the next week I will be covering things that I have personally found to 'work' which will enable you to overcome or at least help with food addiction such as things you can do and supplements you can take.
Of course we are all very different and what works for one may not for another. However, having had the privilege of working with those who suffer with weight issues and/or food addictions I realize that there is one thing that everyone has in common and that is the need to have someone who will listen and understand......and hopefully I can fill that void.
Please feel free to leave your comments or questions below.  


     

3 comments:

  1. Hi
    I would like to contact you but I am unable to find a "contact me" option on your blog... Sorry if I'm blind, lol. Maybe you can reply me with a linK?

    Thanks

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  2. very interesting. i exercise at least 4 times a week to stay healthy, eat healthy and sleep quite irregularly...my sleep throws off my exercise routine. it is good to keep an exercise routine and just keep at it regardless. when the day has gone, dont look back..keep pushing forward and do ur best everyday. that is all u can do. at times when u cant exercise, get creative and figure a way to balance ur act. i have sleep debt but i will sleep a lot when i can make up for it...then i will go back to my exercise routine and visit the farmers markets for my food..which is my favourite thing..i also have my liquid ionic minerals to help me out ;)

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