A few years ago, I wrote two articles about a lady named Aviva. Aviva started working with me, 5 years ago, while weighing 155 kilograms—that’s 341 pounds. I last wrote about Aviva’s progress two and a half years ago. At that point Aviva had dropped 39 kilograms, or 86 pounds. Without going into detail, her blood tests also looked a lot better than when she started.
Now, Aviva’s weight is down 53 kilo (121 pounds). If you are visioning a skinny lady, we aren’t there yet. In fact, in order to have a healthy weight, Aviva still has to lose 25 kilograms (55 pounds) to achieve a truly healthy weight.
She is working very hard, but Aviva’s rate of weight loss has slowed to a crawl. It’s frustrating for her. Even though she is doing just about everything right, it’s going very slow. We have even switched to a hyper-nutrition protocol, similar to what Dr. Brooke Goldner uses to reverse autoimmune diseases. Perhaps Aviva has an underlying condition that is in the way. Although the hyper-nutrition protocol is helping, it hasn’t increased the rate of weight loss that much.
All this work and determination is amazing to see! But why is it SO important for her to finish this weight loss journey and get to her goal?
Why is weight loss so important in regard to our health and longevity?
The state of health in Western society is not good and it is getting worse. The United States spends more health dollars per person that any other country! Unfortunately, despite the “investment” the outcomes are poor. They are near the bottom of the list on health care of OCED countries.
For decades already, we are seeing an increase type 2 diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, autoimmune diseases and cancers. There are specifically 12 different cancers related to overweight and obesity. In the U.S., the amount of overweight or obese people is getting close to 80% of the population.
There are those who still think you can be “fit and fat” or that there will be some pill out there to fix what will ail you later on. Please understand, being obese will shorten your life! Life expectancy for men can be as much as 20 years less and for women about 5 years. That is what the data says!
How do we go about fixing the problem?
First and foremost, and I know you have heard this from me before, DON’T DIET! With a 95% failure rate, why would you even consider such a thing?! Look out for the long term. Losing weight and gaining it back will only make things more difficult.
You can eat a lot, not be hungry and drop weight.
Change your outlook on eating
The quality of what you eat is MORE important than calorie counting. Your food needs to be high fiber, nutrient dense, water dense and low in fat and cholesterol, particularly saturated fat. Concentrate on vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes, lentils with just a little bit of nuts and seeds.
Highly processed and junk food are out! Animal proteins, like meat, chicken, fish, eggs, and dairy (especially hard cheese) need to be minimal in your overall eating.
Remember the following: the same mechanisms that are making you overweight are the same things that will cause chronic or autoimmune disease down the road. Even when a blood tests look very good, overweight and obese people have more internal inflammation. It’s only a matter of time before the a malady will surface – and sometimes it may be too late.
Aside from food
Obviously, food is the main emphasis. But there are other very important factors. Exercise is important! 30-35 minutes 6 days a week can make a difference. Add two days of strength training to be in a great place.
7-9 hours of sleep each night is essential.
Don’t drink alcohol in any excess.
Manage your stress.
Put all this together, have some patience, and the weight will go down and your health will go up. ALL WITHOUT BEING HUNGRY OR DEPRIVED and while gaining stamina and energy.
Back to Aviva
This is why Aviva, with all the reasons in the world to be discouraged with the rate of her progress, sticks with her program. She understands the importance of living a healthy life and getting a better and better quality of life. There can be consecutive weeks where nothing moves and then only incremental weight loss, but in the end of the day, it is coming off and will continue to do so. Aviva and everyone who takes off the extra kilos are “adding hours to their day, days to their year and years to their lives.”
I wish her all the best! And continued grit to continue.