| Weight Loss Versus Losing Weight Are you Fast or Slow? |
Big topics: most people have little success at first. Many of us can do a weight loss program but less than half the people actually lose weight and keep it off. Obesity in the United States is outrageous. “Googling” weight loss brings up 169 million hits. In ancient times weight was a sign of wealth and prosperity. A wealthy person could have servants do all the labor. Today we have learned that weight can be protective or harmful. A healthy weight can give us the energy we need to do what we love. An unhealthy weight, too much or too little, can be a health issue that affects everything we do or want to do. Many people have become experts at losing the weight they put on at the holidays or another catalyst. However many are even more expert at replacing it faster and with more. Why is it that we are so quick to put on what it takes such an effort to shed? You think we would say: “No way man! You aren’t taping that candy bar to my leg or that cinnamon roll to my waist.” Alas we don’t. We say: “Oh I’ll just have a little bite.” or “I’m running this evening and it is your birthday, a little slice won’t hurt.” Then the sugar makes us tired in the afternoon and we get behind in our work and the workout just doesn’t happen or it is abbreviated. Because of old family patterns and habits from generations gone by we treat food as if it is a scarcity and over eat. Honestly think when was the last time you were not around food for a full 24 hour period? How about 6 hours, when you weren’t sleeping, that there was no food present. When I was a teenager my cousin and I went for a road trip. We had a great time, sleeping out some nights watching stars, seeing water falls and playing. One morning we were on the highway driving around 11:30 am. I thought I am SO hungry. I thought we didn’t have that big a morning. Oh I hadn’t had breakfast. Then I felt fuzzy headed. I thought, Gosh I must be hungry. I know I slept great last night. What did I eat for dinner? Hmm, nothing, Oops! Well at least I had lunch. Oh yeah we were playing and I skipped it thinking dinner was around the corner, then we couldn’t have a fire and the stars were so pretty. I forgot. I turned to my cousin and said, “Do you know when we last ate?” She said, “No.” But now that I mentioned it, she was starving. Neither of us is or was a skinny-minnie. We just were distracted. So much of what we do in our society is set up around regular eating. We had broken that routine and had forgot to eat. This routine is great for keeping energy up and avoiding fuzzy heads but it doesn’t guarantee healthy choices. So how do you know what a healthy choice is? How do you know when to eat and how much to eat? What about those last 5- 10 pounds? And what do you do about the socially acceptable unhealthy choices that are around us everyday? Well those are multi-million dollar questions. I will cover part of them this month. First I want to emphasize that losing weight can be a yo-yo for some people. They lose weight, they gain it back. This means they are using methods that are not sustainable as a lifestyle. The system of weight loss is either too physically or emotional- ly demanding for the long run. We all have times when we don’t stick to the diet plan; when it inhibits our lives every day that is an unhealthy plan. Your diet should help you feel satisfied both physically and emotionally. It may take time to make shifts to foods that “are” and “feel” comfortable eating. Often we believe the things that are good for us just don’t taste great. Other times they seem like too much trouble. When we are talking weight there is always an emotional component in there somewhere. Accepting that fact is a great first step in letting it go. We all carry some fear or concern with us. It can be stress, it can be missing love, it can be cost, it can be fatigue or exhaustion. It doesn’t matter what it is. What matters is letting it go. What things “seem like” and we “believe” are parts of belief systems. So what are the first steps to physically losing the weight so you can claim the weight loss as a victory? The first step is to realize you need to know more about your body. Things like knowing your body type and metabolic factors can help. We will cover those more in future articles. First ask yourself; what do I eat that is not healthy? This means the cookies and other goodies (like most food bars.) We often eat these for quick energy. We want to substitute healthier more whole food snacks before we worry about the calories. It is often a need in our body that causes us to eat too much. So ask; what is it in this food that attracts me? For me, it is the fats. I have learned that my body has a hard time breaking down fats and so I crave them, especially when I get run down, since I use up my reserves there first. That means I need one of two things. Either I need a supplement to help break down and assimilate my fats better or I need to make sure I get good use-able fats in my diet. Use- able fats may appear to be in cookies; but they are not. A bit of flax and olive oil on my salad or organic butter on my toast are better options. Some people realize they are in need of protein. A good amino acid supplement can help with this issue. Another option is to eat almonds, walnuts or hard boiled eggs as a snack. They break down fast for good quick protein usage. Very few people need carbohydrates for their energy but that is what most people tend to go for. That is because we know carbohydrates provide quick energy. Usually with a carbohydrate need it is the associated vitamins and nutrients that we get in the vegetable form of carbohydrates that we are missing. This is what we often see in people with adrenal fatigue issues. So when you have an energy need, it is best to switch the foods you are eating before worrying about the calories. As long as your body has an energy need, you will continue to want to eat. Cutting down on calories because of habitual or emotional eating is secondary. This is often where the extra weight comes from. Eating healthfully to provide energy can ward off injuries and other more serious issues. Stay tuned next month we will cover this topic more. If you have questions or comments email me at: kbranigan@seattlebalancedbody.com Fast or Slow what? ~Your metabolic type and metabolism. What is all this talk about metabolic typing and why is it important to me? It could very well be the answer to your dating disasters and successes. It could be why you can’t lose that extra weight and why some food never seems to set right. There are about nine basic metabolic profiles. Determining your type tells you what combinations of proteins, fats and carbohydrates you should eat. It is why the Atkins, the vegetarian, the raw foods or the zone diet doesn’t work for everybody. Metabolic typing is used to determine two things, your oxidation rate and what part of your autonomic nervous system is dominant. These two things are keys to a healthy body. Your autonomic nervous system can be sympathetic or parasympathetic dominant. Being sympathetic means the nervous system is usually on hyper and the system and signals which handle digestion are shut down. Since the body is responding to the stress as the primary concern, digestion is put on hold causing your food to not digest well. Our body is more concerned with short term survival than if we have enough nutrients to handle a date next week. According to Wolcott, in his book, The Metabolic Typing Diet some common personality traits of a sympathetic dominant person are: cool emotionally, hyperactive, highly motivated, and good concentration. These are often Type “A” personalities. The parasympathetic personality tends to be more cautious, procrastinating, warm emotionally and typically slow to anger. Parasympathetic people usually take more time to eat and have a more responsive digestive system. These are generalizations to use as a starting point. If you want to get specific, check out one of the books mentioned in this article or see a professional. Oxidation rate the other factor used for determining metabolic type is how fast your food is processed through your digestive tract. Fast oxidizers move their food through quickly and need more proteins to slow the process down. While slow oxidizers need to eat more complex carbohydrates to keep things moving. According to Kliment, of The Acid-Alkaline Balance Diet, you can test your oxidation rate using a simple method. On an empty stomach take a 50-100 mg. niacin tablet. I recommend not doing this when you are driving, working with customers or if being distracted in any way would put you in harms way. If you are a slow oxidizer you will notice nothing. If you are a fast oxidizer you may get red cheeks, feel anxious or edgy, and/ or itch. Some extremely fast oxidizers have gotten hives. It all goes away within 20-40 minutes. There are gradients of flushing that are related to the rate of your oxidation. So once you figure out if you are a fast or slow oxidizer. You can determine your diet balance. Why is that important? If you are not eating according to your bodies needs you can be creating toxins that cause you to be lethargic, feel bloated, speed your aging, affect your sexual performance, or cause long term deterioration. Any time we add things to our body that it does not need or can not process effectively, we are building a toxic environment. The nine variations are a combination of fast, slow or balanced oxidizer with a parasympathetic, sympathetic or balanced nervous system. However most of us are not in balance and can easily identify if we are a fast or slow oxidizer. Although the autonomic nervous system plays a significant factor it often matches with our oxidation rate. If yours doesn’t you may need to see a professional, take a more detailed test or experiment more. The simplified version of metabolic typing is fast oxidizers and sympathetic dominants need more protein and fats in their diet to effectively utilize the nutrients they eat. The suggested ratios are protein: 40 - 50%, fat: 30-40% and carbohydrate: 20 - 30%. The major difference between a sympathetic and a fast oxidizer is the amount of raw vegetables they can handle. Sympathetic bodies need their vegetables lightly steamed or sautéed for them to get the maximum nutritional value. For slow oxidizers and parasympathetic dominant the ratio on need is higher in carbohydrates 50 - 60% with proteins at 25 - 35% and fat: 15 - 25%. It is possible to be a different combination or to be balanced. For a simple starting point, you can choose one. So how do I know if this is working for me? The best way is to keep a food journal. Then after each meal record how you feel. If you feel satiated until the next meal, physically comfortable and calm yet full of energy, the balance of foods was productive for you. However, if you fear lethargic, needing a nap, bloated, crabby or still craving food when you are physically full, the balance was not a good one. That is why we give a range on the percentages. Everyone’s body is slightly different. Choosing the right proteins and carbohydrates for you body may take a little experimentation. Feeling poorly is one way your body tells you that an imbalance has been created and toxins are forming. All of us want to live a healthy and vital life as long as possible. So if your life is not energized the way you would like and you are not enjoying some of those finer moments ask yourself if a protein or carbohydrate shift in your diet is necessary. If you are interested in learning more detail about metabolic typing check out Wolcott’s self test in his book or consult with a professional. If these health topics interest you, I am now teaching monthly workshops in two locations, Seattle and Olympia. E-mail me at kbranigan@seattlebalancedbody.com for more information |
| Seattle Balanced Body |
| Weight Loss Versus Losing Weight by Katherine Branigan, NTP |
| Are You Fast or Slow?: by Katherine Branigan NTP, MSA Specialist |
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