Worth The Weight

Contrary to what you might have decided to be true, you do not have to lose weight to get healthy, you actually have to get healthy before you can effectively lose weight!

For many of us (my own efforts included), we can play the calorie game until we’re blue in the face, but no matter how many hours we put in at the gym and no matter how much we “restrict” our calorie intake, we continue even to put on more weight. In fact the statistics show that we as Americans are willing to spend over $30 billion a year see article here just to see the numbers drop! You might feel a little better to read in this article that there is no need to spend these insane amounts on diet foods and weight loss products. There is indeed an actual biochemistry to this madness, and once you’ve understood this, you can save your money for much better things and you may toss your food scale and even your bathroom scale completely out the equation.

You are absolutely NOT ‘defective’ just because the calories in vs. calories out thing doesn’t work for you; your body is actually struggling with some real things-things you might not even be completely aware of-such as internal inflammation, toxicity, and malnutrition, as well as stress and the effects of its related hormones.

So what do you have to do to see the numbers drop and effectively lose the weight? Leading integrative health experts agree see article here, one of the key, most effective ways to tackle each one of these root causes is by committing to a month long “cleanse” involving an elimination diet of some sort. These kinds of diets ‘eliminate’ possible underlying causes of inflammation, toxicity, and malnutrition -of course! These possible perpetrators found commonly in the standard dietary practices of the day are corn, wheat, soy, dairy, sugar and artificial sweeteners, consumption of caffeine and alcohol, and tobacco use. These cleansing Elimination Diets are generally about 28-40 days long and can sometimes include specialized protein and liver/kidney cleansing shakes or drink mixes. Jump on board with Dr. Ehle’s Fresh Start program, or set up a nutrition appointment and we can help you succeed at one of the three specific elimination diets we offer here at Well Life Family Medicine!

The next step, and the key to making healthier eating an actual lifestyle, is to maintain the 80/20 approach to healthy nutrition choices -the 80 being health promoting food choices, and the 20 being reserved for indulgences. Food is not just the way we fulfill hunger, food is fuel, food is energy, food is information, food is fellowship and connection, and food can most certainly be medicine. Nutrient dense foods are definitely our bodies’ very best medicine, and nutrient poor, highly processed and chemically preserved foods are by far our bodies’ slowest poison. However, in the world we live in today, we should be honest with ourselves about what is likely not good for us, and we should also limit our indulgences. It’s okay to have the cheesecake on date night with your wife/husband, it’s just not okay to let that turn your whole diet upside down and cause your 80/20 to merge back into a consistent 20/80.

It’s really not hard, it’s just a matter of willingness and determination.  The weight you lose in the beginning of your elimination diet as well as the tips, tricks, and recipes you will grow to love will keep you well motivated to practice a healthier diet and lifestyle with an 80/20 approach for months and years to come.

-this article was submitted by Kyla Brickman