Cottage in the Sky
Bulges, rolls, cellulite…
FAT. We all despise it. Fat is what everyone is concerned about, what everyone thinks is unsightly, what everyone wants to lose. So how do we get rid of fat?
Due to many folks’ obsessive search for an answer to this question, a billion dollar “diet” industry rages alongside a billion myths and scams.
Dieting never works over the long term. Eventually, it’ll create increased weight gain. This leads to feelings of failure, a seeping away of self-esteem, and possibly depression.
Before Purchasing “Dr. Quack’s How to Lose Weight in 13 Seconds,” Read This.
Millions are spent on persuasive and pervasive advertising in order to market new diets. Authors and their publishers peddle the easy answer to weight loss. If their diet or product gains traction with the public, then the author’s hope of becoming rich comes true.
The advice is almost always to cut back considerably on one (or more) of the six essential nutrients.
What makes it confusing is that you will lose weight in the beginning.
But as time marches on, your body realizes that it’s not getting enough nutrients. Your body protects itself by going into “emergency mode” and slowing your metabolism to conserve the the dwindling nutrient supply.
Continuing down the diet path will eventually cause nutrient deficiency and health problems. Whilst you suffer from the after affects of the diet, the author and publisher are long gone, and in no way accountable for the consequences of their advice.
Are you being fooled?
What Does The Body Need Food For?
The repair or renovation of any structure requires building materials. What does your body use for building materials?
Food.
Your entire body is made of the food you eat.
But not just any food. Your body needs specific nutrients. If these specific nutrients are unavailable, your new cells may be poor quality or even sparse, like with osteoporosis (lack of bone cells).
Many folks think that the body just needs a bulk of food for calories to burn. This is not true. Your body needs the nutrients from the food.
Ever Hear of Essential Nutrients?
Some nutrients can be created through organic chemical reactions within your body. However, the following six nutrients are deemed essential because your body cannot produce them. Alas, they must be consumed.
- Water
- Vitamins
- Minerals
- Carbohydrates
- Lipids
- Protein
If losing fat is your goal, cutting out food groups is counterproductive.
I hope you find the following “inter-body memorandums” instructive and entertaining.
Which Part of The Body Is Noshing On Nutrients?
Your body is simply a great mass of cells. Bone cells, muscle cells, skin cells, brain cells, etc. You get the idea.
Some cells need repairs on a daily basis. Other cells need to be replaced entirely. For example:
- Bone cells: every three months
- Skin cells: every 2-4 weeks
- Lung cells: every 2-3 weeks
- Stomach lining cells: every 4 days (Those parts that come in contact with food: every 5 minutes)
- Small intestine cells: 2-3 weeks
- Colon cells: 4 days
- Red blood cells: every 4 months
- White blood cells: takes over a year
Each and every part of your body requires nutrients to create or repair cells.
What Does A Slowed Metabolism Mean?
Everything that happens within your body can be boiled down to organic chemical reactions. If your cells are starving for nutrients (like when you diet) your body will simply slow your metabolism. This means that the chemical reactions are s-l-o-w-e-d d-o-w-n so within any given time period, your body needs less nutrients.
But nothing is worse than the damage done when muscle fibres (cells) are broken down. This happens either:
- Due to lack of nutrition to the muscle or
- So the protein can be used elsewhere in the body
Why is this so catastrophic?
Muscle cells (usually called muscle fibres) are not replaceable. So once a muscle fibre has been broken down, you can never get it back. Less muscle mass equates to less calories burned on an hour to hour basis.
Decreased muscle mass and slowed metabolism will cause weight gain. You will find yourself heavier than you were before.
Lack of essential nutrients = lower metabolism = less calories burned = weight gain
Would You Rather Live in a Hovel or a Quality Home?
- Each one of your body’s cells has an important job to do. It also has to be able to ward off disease as it works.
- As time marches on, cells are repaired or rebuilt. The quality of your body’s cells can only be as good as the quality of the building materials (nutrients).
- The quality of your cells is important because, over time, it reflects in the quality of your whole body (health).
How Do “Health Food” Products Cause Weight Gain?
Corporations take a bit of real food and mix it with so called “edible” chemicals, call it health food and make billions of dollars. Unfortunately, this low-calorie food is also low-nutrient food.
Choosing low-calorie, nutrient-deficient food eventually causes weight gain because:
- Although you’ve provided your body with food and calories, you haven’t provided the required nutrients to carry out your body’s repairs and renovation. So, shortly after you’ve eaten, you’re hungry again.
- Furthermore, because the edible chemical portion has no nutrients (but all the calories) they are useless to the body and can only be stored as fat.
Food that’s high in nutrients usually has a higher calorie count. But that’s okay! Your body will use each calorie of this nutrient dense food for building materials. This will leave nothing behind to be turned into fat.
Furthermore, because you’ve provided your body with the necessary building materials, you won’t be hungry for hours to come. Your cravings will be a thing of the past. Simply, your body has what it needs and won’t be bothering you.
When people want to lose weight, they think they want the food with the least calories. A more successful approach: I want the food with the most nutrients per calorie.
Stop Thinking Diet. Start Thinking Nutrition.
Your body can only metabolize 1.5 pounds of fat in a week. So, if you lose more weight than this within seven days, you’re also losing water, and much, much worse, precious calorie-burning muscle!
Remember, you don’t necessarily want to lose weight. Really, you just want to lose the fat.
So, here’s the answer to fat loss: eat real (unprocessed) food, get all the nutrients you need in a day, and burn off any excess calories through exercise. Yes, your weight loss will be slower, but:
- Your health will remain intact because your body will have all the building materials it requires.
- Your skin will have the time to regenerate “smaller” so that it will still tightly hug your smaller body.
- You’ll retain your muscle mass.
- Your weight loss will be permanent.
*
This content is for informational purposes only and does not substitute for formal and individualized diagnosis, prognosis, treatment, prescription, and/or dietary advice from a licensed medical professional. Do not stop or alter your current course of treatment. If pregnant or nursing, consult with a qualified provider on an individual basis. Seek immediate help if you are experiencing a medical emergency.
THRIFTY ♥ ENVIRONMENTAL ♥ HEALTHY