Why do so many people have food issues, and difficulty loosing weight?Over the next few weeks I will be looking at the complex issues associated with weight loss as well as other weight related issues. Food addictions and anorexia, bulimia and food allergies are just some of the issues we will be addressing.
These issues are a growing part of our society. We now have people on national TV sharing there weight loss issues as a game ... Who can loss the most. We need to look first at the total issue and not just the food issues.
Over the many years of working with patients with eating disorders and weight issues I found that there is no easy solutions. You must work with the brain as well as the diet and body. It is not a lack of exercise or eating the wrong foods, it is a more complex issue. The answer is once you fix the cause you are well on your way to a healthier person and a healthier you with a solution to a life long issue.
Most American Dieters have a loss of at least 3 primary essential nutrients. This has been know since as far back as 1965.
Common lost or deficient nutrients are : Vitamin A ,C and B6,secondary supplement losses are riboflavin, folic acid ,calcium, iron,magnesium,zinc,copper,manganese,chromium.
Primary reasons for diet failures are we consider it a diet and not a lifestyle change. We address alcoholic and drug addicts as having a chemical imbalance but not those who have eating disorders. If we start to connect the brain issues and the chemical imbalances as part of the solution we will have more success.
First Lets Address eating Disorders as a 12 Step Program
Incorporating the ideas that the 12 step programs have been successfully using for drug and alcohol recover into food addictions programs we will have more success see life style changes.
8 Steps to Recover:
1.Correct the brain chemistry imbalances-which can cause anxiety, depression, and emotional eating.
2.End Low Caloric Diets- These diets result in poor eating habits, mood swings, energy poor, weigh gain by depleting the brain and body of proper nutrition.
3.Balance Unstable Blood Sugars it causes moodiness, sweet cravings and starch cravings. Over time this causes adrenal exhaustion.
4.Low Thyroid Function- Common causes of weight and energy problems.
5.Food Addictions need to be over come - Allergy addictions can trigger powerful cravings as well as headaches, congestion and constipation.
6.Hormone Havoc needs to identified and resolved, causes can be cramping, weight gain, PMS and menopausal symptoms.
7.Stop yeast over growth- trigger by antibiotic use, cortisone's,can cause bloating, and powerful craving for sweets and starches.
8.Correct fatty acid deficiencies which will cause cravings for rich fatty foods.
Create Goals:
1.Stop all food cravings
2.Identify and remove all eating disorders
3.Eliminate mood swings
4.Remove negative obsessions about your body
This is a big order to create all these changes. Most of us can not do such a under taking by ourselves. The plan I will unfold is meant to be guidelines and not a treatment plans. I will be willing to work with you in office if these are your issues. The recommendation I will present are not a form of treatment, nor diagnosis nor are they recommended for self treatment, just education.
This blog entry will be in a series over several weeks.
The first thing is to identity your issues. Are you a binge eater, a anorexic or a bulimic or a over eater or some one who think you may be on the way to one of these issues.
Start by looking down the family tree, look at what issues other family members have. Mother, father, siblings, grandparents, aunts and uncles. This will be a great place to start. Much of our health issues are derived from our family/genetics and learned behaviors and mental health status.
Ask a lot of family history question if you can and know how they treated there condition. Was it Prozac or muscle relaxants drug use or alcohol, what ever,write it down. These issues can come out sideways for many of us.
Keep a honest journal of all your health issues the journal every single thing that goes into your mouth for the next 4 weeks , do not change these habits just write them down. Reason, it will help you determine what your issue are ex.sugar cravings, alcohol,carbohydrate craving, poor protein consumption ...
We can really have a better plan once you know where the problem lye's.
After for weeks you need to get a calorie book and count up the number of calories you get in a day and what are the sources of those calories. This will surprise you where you derive your primary calories from in a day and from what food sources.
Keep following for more ideas on healthy weight loss.
Next post will be on mental health and simple things to help your mental status!
