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RECOMMENDED WEIGHT MANAGEMENT GUIDELINES
contents: We really should start referring to weight loss more as ‘weight control’ or ‘weight management’, because we are concerned with controlling both the loss and maintenance of lost weight. Being focused on the goal of only losing weight sets us up for failure because we overlook many of the essential factors to keeping the pounds off. There are many factors which contribute to weight gain and obesity. These include genetics, lifestyle, culture, effects of the mind (e.g. anxiety, stress, depression, etc. resulting in compulsive eating) and of the body (hormonal imbalances, poor digestion, slow metabolism, etc.), the foods we eat, and how we eat them. The Eastern Medicine approach to weight management means that we are looking from every angle to find a multi-faceted solution. A successful weight loss program must address many of the factors above, but the most effective are: Start by Taking a Sensible Approach. Get Real! No weight loss technique is effective if poor dietary habits and an inactive lifestyle are continued. You don't have to join a diet program to lose weight and keep it off. However, you do need to make a plan. This plan must be realistic. If you’re following a plan, but have difficulty losing weight due to fatigue, stress with compulsive eating, metabolic/hormonal imbalances affecting your appetite or digestion, certain ailments, or disabling pain keeping you from physical activity, then our program can help. The weight control recommendations given below will enable you lose weight gradually if they are followed consistently over time. Therefore, our weight loss program should be properly viewed as a multi-faceted approach to accelerate your weight loss. Because fundamental lifestyle changes often seem so difficult to implement, and because many dieters seem to be powerless to reliably follow their healthy food plans, it is the perspective of Eastern Healing Arts that a successful weight management program must increase an individual’s sense of self-knowledge. By improving your relationship with yourself in five crucial areas of your life, you can achieve permanent weight control. Here are the first steps to starting an individualized lifestyle plan to permanently control your weight. 1. Talk to a Professional. A doctor, a dietician, or another qualified health professional can help you determine your ideal healthy body weight -- and the safest way for you to get there. By involving a health professional in your plan to control weight, you’ve made a significant first step in overcoming your lifestyle concerns. 2. Regular Exercise is Essential. Eating properly will not by itself keep well a person who does not exercise; for food and exercise, being opposite in effect, work together to produce health. —Hippocrates Exercise elevates your metabolism long after your activity is completed, and helps to burn fat and to build lean muscle mass. Exercise to burn excess calories and to increase energy. A lean body burns more calories while resting than a fat body does! Various types of exercise develop greater physiological efficiency; it speeds up the breakdown of fat in one's body and makes sure that muscle is not lost. And since the goal of a weight program is not only weight loss but the maintenance of that loss, choose an exercise program that you like so you’ll be more likely to continue after you’ve lost your weight. Being held accountable to realistic exercise goals will help you when you want to cheat or not stick to a reasonable schedule. Remember that any progress is better than none at all. You'll reach your goals in the end. Proper amounts of regular exercise (like walking), adequate rest, fresh air, and good thoughts will expedite weight loss and create good health. Look for ways to make exercise a daily habit rather than a chore. It may be helpful to start with short amounts of time and work your way up to half-an-hour. Even simple activities can make a difference. Take the stairs, not the elevator. Walk instead of driving. Just 30 minutes a day of physical activity will help you lose weight, improve your cardiovascular health and sleep better. Try a public class or private aerobic counseling. A combination of exercises will help one achieve a slimmer, firmer, healthier body in a shorter period of time. The trick is to find activities that one enjoys and that can fit one's lifestyle. For example, walking is popular because it requires no special equipment and can be done anywhere at anytime. You may want to start by walking a few minutes each day, or take the stairs at work. Don't overdo it! After a few weeks when stamina is increased, try walking five times a week. After that, more aerobic exercise can be added such as the treadmill, stair climber or aerobics classes, cycling or whatever from of rigorous exercise the person enjoys and can maintain for the long term. It is a good idea to use free weights beginning with three pound weights and practicing just two to three sets of arm curls three times a week. Moderate weight training builds lean body mass and helps to reduce body fat as well as strengthen and build bone mass and reduce the risk of osteoporosis. 3. Change Your Eating Habits = The Cornerstone of Permanent Weight Control There are a lot of diet programs out there. To avoid fad diets, the FDA suggests that you ask these questions before you sign up: IS A DIET PROGRAM LEGITIMATE? You can easily identify fad diets by using the following criteria: This is a reality check for many people. It will be more difficult to eat only convenience foods and successfully lose weight. You’ll have to start eating home-cooked meals because most convenience store food is low in nutrition, not necessarily fresh, and high in preservatives, additives, artery-clogging fat, calories, sugar, salt or all of the above! Eat more nutrient-dense foods. This means consuming a diet rich in fresh raw fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, fiber, nuts and seeds. Vegetables are quick, easy and full of nutrients. In fact, the majority of the diet should consist of plant-based food. A diet that is high in fiber and low in fat, with moderate amounts of low-density carbohydrates and low-fat protein is usually the best choice to adopt. When fixing pasta add veggies and lean protein (tuna, chicken or soy crumbles), which allows you to cut back on carb-rich pasta and still feel full. Culinary herbs combined with healthy foods like fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, grains, lentils, beans, melons and so on, is the best choice for a healthier, longer, happier life. Buy a new cookbook and try some new recipes and ingredients. Again remember that a food plan you like to eat is what you will be able to maintain over time. We are not talking about tiny portions, just amounts that are sensible for your activity level. Remember that the key to permanent weight loss and its control is staying well-nourished. During the day, be sure not to go more than five hours without eating, otherwise, your body's starvation defenses kick in by lowering metabolism and storing fat. If you are hungry, or if your body is starved for nutrients, the result will be that you will just "see-saw" on and off diets repeatedly. Plus, waiting too long between meals can zap energy and lead to overeating later. Breakfast is especially important for balanced nutrition. However, you might need to adjust the time you take the first meal of the day if you don’t feel hungry earlier in the morning. Many people have had success by adopting a habit of "taking brunch" around 10-11am. Don’t eat when you’re not hungry just to "jump-start" the metabolism as some diets suggest. This is foolish and will only lead to you being less in control of your natural cycles of hunger. As a rule of thumb, weight in pounds multiplied by 15 equals the daily calories needed to maintain that weight. In order to lose 1 pound of fat, you must burn 3,500 calories through activity. To lose 1 pound a week, reduce daily calorie intake by 500; to lose 1-1/2 pounds a week reduce daily calories by 750; and to lose 2 pounds a week drop daily calories by 1,000. By all means, pay some attention to the calories you consume, but focus mainly on nutritious food choices rather than counting calories. It is interesting to note that the average person in China consumes 30% more calories, and a pound more of food every day than the average American, yet most Chinese people do not have a weight problem. It's because of the types of foods they eat. Replace high-fat foods with low-calorie ones, such as vegetables. Consider keeping a diary of your meals and snacks until you get a handle on how many calories you’re consuming. Also, just because you may be eating low fat/low calorie foods does not mean you can eat all you want. Calories still add up regardless of the foods you eat. Also, be aware that alcohol has calories. A certain amount of fat is healthy and necessary for the proper functioning of the body. To lose weight in a healthy way, most studies suggest reducing the total fat in your diet to 25% (of total calories), while at the same time making sure that not more than 10% of this fat is from saturated fat. The rest should be from "good fat" from vegetable sources high in omega-3 and GLA (gamma linolenic acid) oils, which increase metabolism and the rate of fat burn-off. Meals or snacks containing good sources of omega-3 fatty acids include unrefined, cold-pressed olive oil, freshly-ground flaxseeds (and its oil), walnuts, salmon, and spirulina. Eat fewer high-fat foods like dairy products (cheese, butter, and whole milk); red meat; cakes; and pastries. Foods with moderate amounts of low-density carbohydrates and low-fat protein is usually the best choice to adopt. The USDA recommends a daily intake of 5-9 servings of vegetables every day. Nearly all vegetables are useful for weight loss, except those with a ‘very sweet’ natural taste: soybeans, sweet potato, yams, winter squash, and Irish potatoes. Fruits which are very sweet naturally (figs, dates, dried fruit) or starchy/oily (avocado, banana, coconut) or high in water content (watermelon, grapes,) can slow down weight loss. Moderate amounts of common fruits (apples, pears, etc.) can usually be taken with no adverse effects to a weight loss program. Citrus fruits (oranges, tangerines, etc.) may cause water retention for those with weak digestions, and should be eaten sparingly if at all. Raw honey has a pungent effect when metabolized, and is useful for weight loss in small amounts. All-natural stevia (30 times sweeter than sugar) is our favorite since it regulates blood sugar levels, reduces cavity-causing bacteria in the mouth, and contains negligible calories. Other natural sweeteners (molasses, barley malt, etc.) tend to encourage weight gain, with up-and-coming sweeteners sorbitol and xylitol usually okay in moderate amounts. Avoid soft drinks (and similar beverages), artificial and chemically-manufactured sweeteners, synthetic fat substitutes, preservatives, and other processed additives that are contained in some of the favorite packaged foods you buy. The body was not designed to digest these fake foods. Most soft drinks have either a lot of empty calories, or if artificially sweetened may still contain phosphoric acid, which disrupts the digestion (and may be the major source of Type-2 diabetes for most Americans). Learn to appreciate teas (both herbal and caffeinated) as a refreshing beverage. Good nutrition should be absorbed predominately via your food. Remember that supplements are supposed to "supplement" your normal food intake, not override the poor dietary choices we sometimes make. Use diet supplements with caution – the deaths due to the improper use of various herbs should make us realize that seeing a professional trained herbalist (acupuncturist) is safer and more effective. The amount of daily water intake can also be important for weight management. However, many of us believe that we must drink eight full glasses of water a day for essential health. The simple truth is that everybody is different, and you should not drink if you’re not thirsty since it may actually lead to water accumulation, which of course leads to bloating and more weight. On the other hand, you don’t want to starve yourself of water either. You can develop a sense of how much water you should be drinking by listening to your own thirst response. If you end up feeling thirsty then you know that you should've drunk more water. Also notice how other drinks affect thirst, like soft drinks, coffee, and other beverages. Drinking water before or during meals is not recommended because it dilutes the digestive secretions and weakens digestion (furthermore, according to Clare Hassler, MD, director of the Functional Foods for Health Program at the University of Illinois, it has not been shown in studies to suppress appetite or reduce calorie intake). But when people eat foods that have high water content, they feel fuller longer and consume fewer calories. And this effect is independent of the food's fiber content. Most fruits and vegetables are between 80% and 90% water. There are also some high-protein foods that also contain lots of water. Eggs and fish, for example, are nearly 70% water. And soup appears to give that fuller feeling far longer than some denser, more caloric foods. Make sure that your changes are gradual and permanent. Don't start anything today that you can't continue for a lifetime. Ideally, you’ll want to lose weight gradually, no faster than 5 to 10 pounds per month, or no more than 20% of your body weight over the course of a year. Weight loss that is faster is more likely to trigger you bodies’ starvation response, which then lowers your metabolism to preserve you resources. 4. Get Proper Nutrition. What this means is taking natural, premium-quality, bio-available "3-a-day" multi-vitamin supplements during mealtimes, to increase nutrient absorption. With the cheap, often synthetic "1-a-day" vitamins, you are not likely to get much nutrition from them, and you may not even be getting the daily recommended values if you take them with caffeine, sugar, trans-fatty fats, or other reactive foods. According clinical nutrition findings, the body’s hunger and appetite control "set-points" are influenced by nutrition. Also, your body functions at optimal levels only when it has the nutrition it needs. Over the years, I have seen a remarkable difference between the success of weigh loss participants on high-quality multi-vitamin supplements, and the results of those using no supplementation at all. 5. Keep a Good Attitude and Reduce Stress. Stress reduction tools are an important aid to weight loss. The most effective techniques include: To cultivate a positive attitude requires positive action: Feelings of diminished self-worth or unresolved cravings are often at the root of chronic weight issues. A good way to come to terms with these issues is to launch a campaign of personal (re-)discovery. Start keeping a journal which explores your feelings, thoughts and beliefs about yourself (in body, mind and spirit). Counselors can also be invaluable for facilitating deep issues surrounding confidence and self-esteem. Body weight naturally fluctuates from day to day. Weighing more frequently may only lead to frustration. So visit the scale once a week and you'll start to see results without the worry and anxiety (remember that these two emotions are among the leading causes of overeating). If you have a craving for a particular food, and you know it’s not a healthy choice, just ask yourself how you'll feel 20 minutes after eating it. Guilt? Great? If you think you'll feel guilty, consider steering clear of that food for the moment (not forever!), OR eat a small portion of the food and get it over with. Ditch the guilt and get on with your life! If you mess up, don't beat yourself up. Just get back on track as soon as you can. Look again at the big picture, and think about the effort you are applying to lose or control your weight. You’re already doing a lot to achieve your goal, and you should constantly acknowledge that fact! Rather than get discouraged by trying to lose or control weight, get empowered by knowing that you are already a winner because you’re taking your life in your own hands to create what you want! Always remember that you are able to remove yourself from the location, person or food that triggers the resistance to the diet or contributes to the breakdown of willpower. For example, one might want to stay away from the kitchen and refrigerator between meals. When stressed out or anxious, some people turn to food as a way to comfort themselves. However, what may be soothing at the time can end up making you feel worse in the end. If you tend to eat when stressed as a way to cope with the situation, consider the following nutritional tips: 1. Combat anxiety with physical or relaxation exercises - not food. 2. Don't drink caffeine or alcohol (and don't smoke) when stressed. These can heighten or prolong your anxiety and its side effects. 3. Keep your blood sugar levels stable by eating several small, nutritious meals rather than three large ones. 4. Incorporate foods rich in magnesium, which help relax muscles, into your diet. Once again, whole grains, legumes, vegetables, nuts and seeds are good sources. 5. Above all, be aware of your eating habits. If you find yourself eating to combat stress, limit yourself to small portions, enough so you can savor the taste or texture. Then, go for a walk or meditate: both are healthier ways to reduce stress. 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