Healthy Weight Loss Tips. About all those Commercial Weight Loss Programs - Are Promised Results Unrealistic?
by Ask a Healer
Featured weight loss information:
Underactive Thyroid Support
Question on effective weight loss: I was on a commercial weight loss program for 6 days. I was disappointed because I expected to lose at least 6-8 pounds and I lost nothing. I struggle with depression, stress, and anxiety because of the weight and the guilt from overeating practically kills me. What do you suggest for healthy weight loss?
Healing Facilitation Response: I believe a healthy body will naturally move itself toward normal weight, slowly and safely. A body that is out of balance in any significant way can have trouble doing that so the first thing I suggest to anyone who has trouble losing weight is to look at overall health and improve any weak system function.
Malfunctioning systems typically found in a chronic overweight body include liver, colon, spleen, lymph, digestive and glandular systems. Most overweight issues can be addressed by finding the underlying imbalance in the body, which may be physical in nature or the result of emotional issues. I encourage those wishing to lose weight to focus more on building health and less on losing pounds, especially at first. neuro-linguistic programming may be helpful for releasing conditioned responses to food. When we learn to use food for comfort or distraction, during times of stress usually, the programmed instinct to reach for food may be an almost hidden reason for added weight gain. In general, emotional health is almost always a component I see in habitual overeating and compulsive eating.
Detox as a first step toward healthy weight loss: In my typical approach to wellness counseling that involves weight loss, I suggest that a person check into detoxing as a first step, instead of dieting.
I suggest detoxing first because of the support it lends to the process of losing weight. The body must be clean and the eliminatory and digestive processes must be working normally or any type of diet will be harder on the body.
For more on the importance of regular detox, also read What makes a good detox?. Give your body a
great head start on losing the weight by cleansing the colon, blood, lymph, liver, kidneys and skin.
Emotional factors in being overweight: The guilt and depression you are experiencing pose definite emotional challenges that will need to be addressed. You say that you struggle with depression, stress and anxiety because of the weight and guilt from overeating but I suspect that these are emotions you feel at other times in your life as well. Addressing your mental and emotional state is vital for success in achieving your weight loss goals. Shifting your perception from a goal of losing weight to a goal of being more healthy can help. If your goal is to become healthy, in all areas of your health including emotional, then your thinking will shift to balance your emotional needs with your weight loss plan.
Subliminal cds and hypnosis tapes may be very helpful tools for you, to assist you in changing patterns such as emotional eating and compulsive eating. Over the years, I've used both subliminal tapes and cds and those that employ hypnotic suggestion. Both types of self-development tools have helped me release negative behaviors and incorporate healthy behaviors. They can be particularly beneficial when used along with a good weight loss program, to help you more easily make the lifestyle and dietary changes that so often must accompany weight loss goals, in order to lose the weight and keep it off permanently. Learn more about using hypnosis and subliminals for weight loss.
I would also recommend joining an online or community weight loss support group. Support groups provide emotional support from others who are on a similar journey and you can gather helpful weight loss tips from a wide range of dieters. A good weight loss support group may prove your most valuable ally for staying on your weight loss program and finding new ways to enjoy the process of losing weight.
Finding the right weight loss program: Next, after addressing cleansing and the mind, you will be ready to find a good weight loss program that will work for you. Good programs help to ensure that weight loss occurs at a healthy pace. Losing weight too fast throws your body into thinking that it is starving which eventually causes you to have to eat more. Your body will also store more fat because it feels it is not getting enough to eat.
The best thing to do is find a healthy program that fits your lifestyle. Setting realistic weight loss goals: I might also add that expecting to lose 6-8 pounds in less than a week is not realistic. If you were to lose that much, it would be mostly water loss, not pounds. In order to lose safely and keep the weight off permanently, aim for no more than 2-3 pounds of weight-loss per week. Whichever weight loss program or plan you decide on, I have a few lifestyle and diet changes which I consider to be non-negotiable for weight loss success. dietary changes for successful weight loss
Weight Loss Tip for those who do the C word (cook): If a recipe calls for milk, substitute buttermilk instead! Buttermilk contains only 2.2 grams of fat per cup. This is far less than the 8 grams contained in whole milk or the 5 grams in 2% milk. Consider using buttermilk as a low-fat substitute for cream in your favorite soup, casserole, or dairy-based recipe. For energy, protein shakes are good but all shakes are NOT created equal and many give me digestive or eliminatory issues due to the processing required for most "isolates". I can tolerate Mix 1 Protein Shakes
Health Care Disclaimer: The information contained in this weight loss article is not intended to take the place of medical advice concerning metabolism, hormonal, or other disorders affecting weight loss ability such as thyroid malfunction. Please consult with a qualified dietician or weight loss expert if dealing with obesity or abnormal weight gain, to rule out underlying medical conditions that may be keeping you from losing weight and also to assess your current state of health before undergoing a caloric restriction program.
