Winning the Weight loss Game - the Guidelines.

Izabella Siodmak BSc, AdvDip Nat, DipHM, Dip Nut, Cert.Life Coach

Symptoms are the language of your body - the only way it knows how to communicate with you. A fever, for example, that accompanies the common cold or flu, sends a clear message to you that something is physiologically wrong. So what about symptoms of lethargy, high body fat, poor digestive function and general sluggishness? These are a cry for help - a message that your body is slowing down its basic metabolic function in response to some imbalance within the system. No doubt you've heard it all before, and tried it all too, but let's get to the basics of what you really need to know about winning the weight loss game.

The best chances of success arise when treatment involves a multifactorial approach. Because you are an intricate being, statistically speaking, you are unlikely to obtain a permanent weight loss shift if you try only one broad approach - for example, taking a specific supplement or just increasing your exercise levels. For some this will work, if the specific treatment happens to rectify the underlying cause of the imbalance. For the rest of you, however, this can dampen the spirit and leave you less likely to even bother again.

Wouldn't it be useful to have a way of gauging what your body is specifically telling you and then translating this assessment into a practical tailored treatment protocol? As a nutritionist and naturopath I have seen many success stories from applying such a wholistic individual approach. Therefore, I am not going to tell you all the same things you have heard and read before about what to eat, what not to eat. Rather, I am going to give you one food foundation guideline and also provide you with some assessment tools that will allow you to pinpoint which direction you should take to increase your success rate dramatically.

Food Foundations

As a foundation, I want to stress one concept that is important for every body and soul. A large proportion of your diet needs to comprise of raw foods . This automatically boosts your energy, metabolism and physiological integrity, because food in its natural state is more easily digested and more highly assimilated. Also, the enzymes naturally present in raw, alive foods, facilitate complete chemical breakdown of food. Cooked food that lacks enzymes, and a stressed pancreas that does not produce enough enzymes due to over-consumption of these cooked foods, can generate unnatural food fragments that wreak havoc inside your body. Many allergies, for example, are linked to poor breakdown of food molecules, with the resultant unnatural peptides triggering an antigen-antibody reaction resulting in the classic allergy symptoms.

From a fat loss point of view - incomplete lipid breakdown, due to destruction of the lipase enzyme through cooking, can force the body to store more fat into your adipose tissues, creating the characteristic and rather unattractive rolls of fat. So all fat is not equal. The difference is in terms of how your body processes the fat dependent on the nature of the fat source. For example, studies show that if you introduce a large amount of nuts daily into your diet, all else being the same, there is likely to be no increase in weight or fat, and in some cases there is actually a weight-reduction. Yet if you extracted the oil from the nuts and added this to your diet - you may actually gain weight! The main difference is that when you process the food you lose the benefit of the enzyme activity.

The inclusion of a variety of raw foods will also automatically enhance the array of phytochemicals (plant chemicals) you consume. Research is showing that there are thousands of these plant chemicals found in nature's garden - each possessing unique healthful benefits for your body. Several of the newly discovered phytochemicals have shown to assist in thermogenesis (heat-production/ calorie-burning effects) as well as other specific effects that tip the scales in favour of winning the weight loss war. Simply incorporating lots of raw foods and enjoying raw food recipes will be give you a great foundation to a happy, healthy body.

Signs and symptoms Check your signs and symptoms and note which category you fall into. You may exhibit signs and symptoms relevant to a few different categories. In this case you would need to follow the treatment protocol for each category that applies. The determined nutrients should be derived from foods and supplementation where needed. Various food charts displaying nutrient content are available on the internet (for example, see the charts at: www.alivefoods.com/nutrition.html).

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You are what you think Your thoughts play a big part in how successfully you lose weight. And I don't just mean your thoughts surrounding the issue of weight and food. The way that you see yourself, your self-image and self-perception are closely entwined with your behaviour and actions. Almost everyone can do with improving their relationship with themselves, not just their relationship with food. This is a highly individual process that requires a sensitive and caring approach, and best addressed on a personal level.

Be a winner The best way to win the weight loss game is to decide that you are going to play the game in the first place. Many people do not even take this first step. Experience is one of the best motivators you can get! Just do it - start and you will start to experience all the benefits. And soon you will discover that it is all so much bigger than just about weight loss. You will be honouring yourself, giving to yourself, caring for yourself. And the weight loss will be an extra bonus.