4 Truths Why You’re Not Losing Weight in 2017

# 2:  Why Exercise Won’t Make You Thin

58 million Americans pay for gym memberships or health clubs, yet, we’re facing an obesity epidemic. Granted, buying a gym membership is no guarantee that you will actually exercise, and even if you do, there are many variables that may still stand in the way of your permanent weight loss success.

I don’t know about you, but I think I’m allergic to exercise… When I exercise, I perspire profusely and I struggle to breathe! Jokes aside, I’m here to tell you today that you don’t have to exercise to lose weight. By all means, exercise for the many health benefits it offers, but don’t rely on exercise alone to help you lose weight.

You Can’t Outrun Your Fork!

Did You Know? In order to lose one pound through exercise alone, you need to burn 3,500 calories, which equates to running 32 miles or walking on the treadmill for 8 hours (at 4 miles per hour).

Consuming those 3,500 calories is much easier though, since a Triple Whopper at Burger King has 1,730 calories – that’s without the fries and soda.

Want something a little “healthier”?  How about Bistro Shrimp Pasta from Cheesecake Factory? You’d be shocked to find that the crispy battered shrimp with fresh mushrooms, tomato, arugula and spaghettini with basil-garlic-lemon cream sauce will add a whopping 3,120 calories to your daily intake. Still want to count calories so that you can train them off?

In an article for Time, chair for diabetes and metabolism at Louisiana State university, Eric Ravussin said:  “In general, for weight loss, exercise is pretty useless.”  While exercise most definitely burns calories, which is vital in losing weight, exercise may stimulate hunger, causing you to eat more and negating the weight-loss benefits. And when you don’t lose weight for all those hours sweating it out in the gym, it becomes kind of difficult to motivate yourself to get up early every morning before work.  So not only do you not lose weight, but you also don’t get the health benefits exercise provides, which creates a vicious cycle akin to yo-yo dieting.  I believe that if you focus on your health first, you will see the weight start falling off.

I want to encourage you to work as much activity into your day as you can, especially if you don’t like formal exercise. Stay away from the couch or bed and up your physical activity as much as possible, because exercise is good for your general health and wellbeing. Light, non-formal exercise:

• helps curb the appetite
• keeps you busy, so you’re less likely to eat because you’re bored
• improves your mood and supports mental health
• helps decrease blood pressure

By keeping active throughout the day with activities that make exercise fun (going for a walk, playing with the kids or dogs, going hiking or biking, taking the stairs instead of the escalator, and walking instead of driving), you will start to feel your muscles firming up and you will notice the above benefits. That is likely to motivate you to make the transition to formal exercise, eventually.

Most importantly though, is to remember that your body needs fuel to support any exercise regime. Fuel your body with nutrient-rich foods that will prevent your cells from storing fat.

# 4:  How Toxins Make You Fat, Sick, and Tired

Are you tired of feeling tired, uncomfortable in your own skin, and getting sick all the time? If your immune system is low (this causes you to get sick more often than you should) toxins are most likely the problem.  If you’re battling to lose weight and you experience unrelenting fatigue… toxins are to blame!

Every day, we’re exposed to two categories of toxins –

Environmental toxins:  These are found in medications, pollutants, food additives, household cleaners, and pesticides. Internal toxins in body and mind cause yeast and bacterial infections, fungal overgrowth, and food allergies. These toxins are released by dental, medical and cosmetic implants, parasitic infections, and mercury dental fillings.

Emotional toxins:  You’ve heard the expression “stress makes you sick” and it’s true that worry, fear and stress release toxins into your body. When you are stressed, your body releases cortisol, which increases glucose in your bloodstream. Long-term stress causes over-exposure to cortisol, which is then stored in the body, resulting in a range of issues such as depression, digestive problems, sleep problems and weight gain – especially in the abdominal region.

In 2002, the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine blamed toxins for the obesity epidemic. Since the 1900s, eighty thousand new chemicals have been introduced and researchers blame this increase in exposure to toxins for the comparable increase in degenerative diseases, such as diabetes, cancer, arthritis, cholesterol, heart disease and Parkinson’s.

To some degree, we are all toxic – and this is not limited to overweight people. Even skinny people may suffer from toxic overload. A buildup of toxins can cause the organs to become overwhelmed, which in turn, will cause the body to malfunction.

In order to lose weight healthily and permanently, you need to detox. Since toxins are stored in the fat cells, it will hold onto those toxins for dear life and prevent your body from performing optimally. If you feel sick, fat and tired all the time, you may very well be carrying a toxic overload.

Ask yourself:

• Do you crave sugar, bread, potatoes or white rice?
• Do you eat fast food, TV dinners, or lunch meat three or more times a week?
• Do you drink coffee or tea more than twice a day?
• Do you drink one of more diet soda per day?
• Do you use artificial sweetener once a day?
• Do you get less than eight hours sleep every night?
• Do you drink 64 ounces or less of fresh, clean, purified water per day?
• Is your body very sensitive to chemicals, fumes and smoke in the environment?
• Are you currently taking medications, antidepressants or antibiotics, or have you done so in the past?
• Are you currently taking birth control pills or hormone replacement therapy?
• Do you frequently suffer from yeast infections?
• Do you have any silver dental fillings?
• Do you use commercial cosmetics, deodorants or household cleaners?
• Do you eat non-organic fruits, vegetables and meat?
• Are you, or have you smoked in the past, or are you exposed to secondhand smoke?
• Do you have cellulite, or are you overweight?
• Are you exposed to environmental toxins at work?
• Do you live in a metropolitan area, or near factories, stations or a big airport?
• Do you often feel sluggish, fatigued or tired during the day?
• Do you struggle to focus or concentrate?
• Do you suffer from bloating, gas or indigestion after eating?
• Do you get two or more colds or flu per year?
• Do you suffer from recurring postnasal drip, sinus or congestion?
• Have you noticed that your tongue has a white coating, or that you have bad breath?
• Have you noticed that your urine smells strong?
• Do you have dark circles or puffiness under your eyes?
• Do you often feel sad or depressed?
• Do you often feel stressed or anxious?
• Do you suffer from skin disorders such as rashes, hives or acne?
• Do you have fewer than one bowel movement per day, or do you often feel constipated?
• Do you suffer from insomnia?
• Do you suffer from dry, sensitive, itchy or burning eyes?

If you answered yes to 5-19 of the above questions, detoxification will benefit you. If you answered yes to 20 or more questions, your body will benefit significantly from detoxification.  As a toxic overload causes a host of symptoms, including gastric issues, fatigue, brain fog, weight gain, infections, headaches, allergies and chronic pain.

Medicare and Medicaid Service may offer ab tests to determine the level of toxicity in your body. If you decide to go for that, look for a CLIA-certified test. You can also find similar tests on LabTestingDirect.com and LabSafe.com, which offer more than 40 different toxin tests, at rates that vary from $100 to $400.

While it is true that the body detoxifies itself, understand that when your body is overburdened with toxins it can no longer function effectively. This includes the natural process of detoxification. However, there are many ways to help your body detoxify in order to help you become healthier and lose weight. If you struggle to stick to a healthy diet because of strong cravings, you will find that detoxification helps to eliminate those cravings.

While it is normal for your metabolism to slow down when you reach 30-35, not all the weight in your body is fat – much of it is probably waste. Years of poor eating habits cause fluid retention, along with built up intestinal waste matter in your colon. Getting rid of those toxins will help speed up your metabolism to its optimum level for your station in life.

Detox Controversy

Most of the medical fraternity will tell you that you don’t need to detox, but that’s why it is important to understand the different approaches of the medical industry and the wellness industry:

• The medical industry treats symptoms with medicine (which most often contains toxins). Since they are there to treat disease, a relatively small percentage of medical school focuses on nutrition. The result is that people keep returning to the doctor month after month for more medicine to treat yet another illness. Most medicines don’t cure, which means that they can only alleviate symptoms.
• The wellness industry, in contrast, spends very little time learning about medicine, but rather about ways in which to prevent illness with nutrition instead. They educate people on how whole foods can assist in healing the body, focusing on treating the cause of the problem, instead of the effect.

The SAD (Standard American Diet) State of Our Food & How it Damages the Body

Food quality is the critical link between toxic overload and weight gain. We need food to provide us with energy, and the more nutritious your food, the better. In order to get the most from your diet, your food must be:

• organic
• nutrient-rich
• free from toxins

Good food offers good absorption and bioavailability of nutrients for a healthier body.

The Standard American Diet is a toxic sh*tstorm of artificial colors and flavors, sugar, fat, sodium, preservatives, additives, hormones, antibiotics and everything that should not be in your body. Our food is cooked in processed vegetable oils, hydrogenated oils, and saturated fats. I am constantly amazed at how resilient our bodies are.

How Toxins Make You Fat

One thing that is often overlooked by most diets, is the fact that toxins are to blame for weight gain. When your body is overburdened with toxins, the energy that should be burning calories is used to detoxify instead. Therefore, if your body is healthy and free from toxins, it will be better able to burn fat.

The good news is that toxins are usually stored in fat cells, which is better than being in your bloodstream (think of the body detoxing as a survival mechanism). However, it tends to hold onto those fat cells, causing them to grow bigger and making permanent weight loss impossible. Toxins affect not only your weight loss efforts, but can also damage your thyroid. Here are some of the many ways in which toxins directly affect weight loss:

• Toxins interfere with your appetite.
• Toxins cause hormonal imbalances, causing signals that tell your brain when you have eaten enough, to slow down.
• Toxins hinder the body’s fat burning ability by as much as 20%.
• Toxins slow down the thyroid, which affects the metabolism negatively.

Detoxification is key to good health and weight loss.