New Study Shows Weight Loss Takes Time

In a NY Times article by Jane E. Brody, a study completed by a Dr. Kevin D. Hall and his colleagues at the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases  debunks the calorie fighting diets.

More success is gained by changing habits and steady exercise. In my own experience I have found that the best weight loss comes over a period of years. The advantage is that by changing your eating style, you don’t have to diet and changes become permanent.

I have also realized that the average sedentary person cannot burn 3,500 calories to lose a pound until they are in strong training. If running a mile burns about 700 calories, the non athletic person is not going to burn enough calories to affect their weight until they are in condition.

However, taking bad food out of a diet is a more simple process with much better results. By instilling a diet with natural foods that  the body recognizes, a whole host of processes begin that eliminate fat.

In Dr. Wall’s study, “The model shows that lasting weight loss takes a long time to achieve and suggests that more effective weight loss programs might be undertaken in two phases: a temporary, more aggressive change in behavior at first, followed by a second phase of a more relaxed but permanent behavioral change that can prevent the weight regain that afflicts so many dieters despite their best intentions.”

I found that my weight loss of twenty pounds over a few years was easy to maintain without dieting because I learned to like the new foods I was eating and learned to find substitutes for the bad foods to which I seemed addicted. At the end, I progressed to a raw diet for four months in which I lost another 20 pounds.

When I became tired of the raw diet, I slowly added cooked foods but maintained good habits and lost another five pounds to reach my high school weight of 175 pounds.

“In an interview, Dr. Hall said the longstanding assumption that cutting 3,500 calories will produce a one-pound weight loss indefinitely is inaccurate and can produce discouraging results…”

If you are calorie counting, you are on the wrong track for permanent weight loss. The body encapsulates in fat, food it does not recognize. You can ask yourself whether an animal would eat what you are eating.  A second principal is that sugar accelerates calorie storage. If you drink soda or alcohol, you are hurting your chances of losing weight.

If you take food out of cans or packages, chances are you are consuming sugar and refined products the body does not recognize. If you eat everything that is raw or fresh and that has not already been cooked, you will help the body release the fat it has stored because poor nutrition tells it you are starving.

If you have unwanted fat, it is because the body thinks you are starving it with bad nutrition. It holds onto those unwanted calories.

You can lose weight eating the right foods if you don’t exercise, but being active will increase metabolism and fat burning. The hurdle to avoid is eating more because you are exercising.

I have a vigorous interval exercise program in surfing, but I also eat mostly natural products and I eat several small meals a day. Eating in smaller portions helps the body digest without robbing it of energy. Digestion requires blood and oxygen and so does thinking and working. Eat small and have more energy for daily tasks.

Slowly eliminate bad foods and add natural products like fruit, vegetables, grains, and protein. Avoid canned, packaged, fried, and in general restaurant prepared foods.