Live Long Naturally ©2012

“If the clothes fit, who cares what the scale says.” This is something I’ve had to tell several of my clients. They literally drive themselves crazy in trying to stay a certain weight day in and day out. So what if you are a pound or two heavier! It could be any number of reasons…

• what you are eating
• water retention
• are regular bowel movements a problem?
• have you begun working out? Muscle is heavier than fat.

It is possible to eat more and weight less. Anyone can lose weight on fewer calories and you don’t need to pay a celebrity endorsed diet program to tell you so!

In the book, The China Study, Dr. Campbell compares the caloric intake of the least active Chinese to that of average Americans. He found the Chinese caloric intake to be 30% higher, yet their body weight was 20% lower than that of the Americans. He came to the conclusion that the “secret” to their optimal weight was that Chinese office workers travel on bicycle and their diet consists of low fat and low-protein. Diets high in fat and protein transfer calories from conversion to storage. Whereas, a low fat and protein diet allow the calories to be lost as heat. This is known as Thermogenesis – the production of body heat during metabolism.

Bicycle riding aside… vegetarians also experience this benefit. They have a higher metabolism at rest – the calories are released via body heat rather than being deposited as body fat. Calories aside… weight gain from excess animal protein is the least of your worries.

I have heard one doctor call high-protein, high-fat, low carbohydrate diets “make yourself sick” diets, and I think that’s an appropriate moniker. You can also lose weight by undergoing chemotherapy or starting a heroine addiction, but I wouldn’t recommend those, either. T. Colin Campbell, PhD

Don’t be fooled by “Fat Free” or any other attempt at a food label trying to look and sound healthy. Certain logos stamped across products can actually be purchased, whether true or not.  The cost of cheap and/or convenient food is your health.

Fat free products may not have “fat” in them, but quite often they still include sugar – sugar turns to fat in the blood, feeds infection, and parasites love it!

Getting more wrinkles than you would like? Many facial wrinkles can be avoided by eating real food, food providing optimal nutrition. If you are waking up to puffy eyes, face, hands, toes, or anything in between… over time wrinkles appear. One night of eating sweets can puff me up – what’s worse is when the puffiness subsides… wrinkles appear. This yo-yo of inflammation and deflation stretches our skin.

Sure there are other reasons for wrinkles (sun, drugs, alcohol, smoking, etc), but diet is huge. Losing weight does not have to be a mystery. Simply eat healthy most days of the week and hours of the day. What is eating healthy consist of? Mostly food without labels, local food, foods that are in season. Top that with ample amounts of water and “diet” can be a thing of the past. Water can be anywhere from drinking half your weight in ounces to drinking one ounce per pound of body weight.

Anybody can lose weight on fewer calories, why pay someone to tell you that?

It takes discipline and will power to eat only when hungry and stop when satisfied. Seems like everywhere we turn… people, places, and products are being super sized.

Many people go as far as counting calories or weighing food. I prefer to keep it simple by merely eating healthy most hours of the day and days of the week. I also stop before I am full – that’s it! I don’t own a scale and don’t care to own one. My clothes and mirror let me know when I’ve over done it. For those of you who do prefer to have a visual on portion control, I came across the following on www.womentowomen.com

“You have a great portion control tool right at hand — your own hand!

* Your thumb = 1 oz
* Your palm = 3–4 oz
* Your closed fist = 1 cup
* Your thumb tip = 1 tsp
* A handful = 1–2 oz of snack food, like nuts

Whatever you do… don’t let your vanity lead to insanity. If you look and feel good, WHO CARES WHAT THE SCALE SAYS!