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ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS FOR EFFECTIVE WEIGHT-LOSS

OK, lets review; the primary goals (other than looking our best) of a successful weight-loss plan is to shrink the size of our fat cells, increase our muscle mass and to stay fully hydrated.

In order to achieve this goal it is vital that we begin to do a few very important things. I call them the essential elements for successful weight loss.

1. We must raise our awareness with respect to how our body works, what it needs, what it likes and what it doesn't like. The more we learn, the better equipped we will be to know good choices from bad ones. It is not enough to know what is good and bad for us; we need to know why! This will provide us with the extra motivation necessary to bring about behavior modification. If we want to be healthy, we have to live healthy!

2. We must have a strong conviction and belief in our ability to succeed. To do this, we may need to unlearn the habit of engaging in negative thought patterns and instead begin to focus on what we want. Replace can't, worry and fear with hope, confidence, determination and enthusiasm. Mentally attract what you want to have in your life and thoughts will begin to transform into actions--actions that will take you to your desired destination. According to the Dali Llama, we all have the same potential. What one person can do, so can another--believe it!

3. To increase our nutrition awareness so that we will truly know what represents good and bad choices. How?

The search for nutritional truth is no easy task. Misinformation is everywhere and new light is being shed--causing changes in thinking. For example, eggs and butter used to be considered bad, now they are squarely on the good list.

I do believe that the quality of your diet is directly proportional to the quality of your health. Hippocrates perhaps said it best in the year 400 B.C., "Let food be your medicine, and let medicine be your food."

4. Take advantage of every opportunity to move and do physical work. The more you move, the more energy you will have to do your daily workout. Letting technology do all our work for us is a choice. Here are some old-fashioned suggestions, which may assist your weight-loss efforts:

Watch T.V. on the floor and do some push-ups, sit-ups, leg lifts etc. during the commercials

Unless the weather is horrible, seek out the farthest parking spot you can find; it will probably add less than one minute to your destination.

Take the stairs whenever you can. Every step you take burns extra calories, builds muscle and helps you sleep better.

5. Consistency is vital to meaningful success. Socrates said, "We are what we repeatedly do, excellence then, is not an act, but a habit." We can become addicted to good things like enjoyable exercise, water and healthy foods. All we have to do is change the way we think! Thoughts become emotions, emotions become actions and actions become habits--if done on a consistent basis. There are four ways we can reduce fat:

Liquid calories - reduce 100 calories a day

Food calories - 50 calories a day (eliminate 1 bad choice)

Exercise - 10 additional minutes of moving a day burns 50 calories

Convert 1 pound of fat into muscle = 50 calories a day through increased metabolic burn rate

Over the course of one year, if you consistently followed the above, the total fat loss would be equal to approx. 23.2 pounds. The power of consistency illustrates that small, doable changes made in all areas can add up to impressive results. Be patient, take it one day at a time and stay the course.

6. Make water and green tea your dominant drinks. Proper hydration will increase metabolism, facilitate digestion and nutrient absorption, increase energy and decrease joint stiffness and pain. It will also insure the health and stability of your cartilage, which is 80% water.

7. We must get more sunlight. Fresh air and sunlight translate into greater production of endorphin and vitamin D. Vitamin D is essential for the absorption of calcium and other vital minerals. Low calcium levels mean acidic PH which means a fat-storing metabolism. Sunlight also stimulates our thyroid, which governs our metabolism.

8. Strive to become drug-free. This means freedom from caffeine, nicotine, Rx drugs, illegal drugs, alcohol and sugar. Anti-inflammatory and anti-depressants cause a decrease in melatonin which decreases your ability to achieve optimum sleep, which raises cortisol levels, and reduces energy and HGH levels.

9. Maintain a positive attitude or mindset toward everyone. To accomplish this, we should practice gratefulness, compassion, forgiveness and unconditional love.

10. We need to maintain a youthful resting metabolic rate so we can neutralize our nutritional mistakes and burn calories at rest on an efficient basis. This is accomplished by keeping our stress hormones at a healthy level and dedicating ourselves to cardio and strength-training exercise 30-60 minutes daily. Exercise will also neutralize the negative effects of cortisol by keeping our stress hormones at a healthy level.

11. Maintain a high level of HGH (human growth hormone). HGH is only released in the deep portion of sleep; one of its functions is to instruct our fat cells to release fat, to fuel our resting metabolic needs. This is exactly what we want to happen 24/7, so make sure you get your Z's!

12. Maintain a health-friendly diet rich in vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, healthy fats, minerals and 50-60 grams of quality protein, with minimal aspartame, high-fructose corn syrup, sodium, MSG, simple carbs, processed foods and sugar-filled drinks. Jack Lalanne, a health and fitness guru since the 1960's says "If man made it, don't eat it!"

We must do a better job eating for nutrient quality rather than eating a fast-food, processed-food diet. Buy organically grown fruits and vegetables whenever possible. Eat more whole foods (foods which stay in their natural state). Try to buy meat, fish and poultry products that have been fed a natural diet. Grass-fed beef, wild Alaskan salmon and free-range eggs are a few examples.

The end result of incorporating these essential elements into our daily living is to become independently healthy. How can we know for sure if we are there?

5 WAYS TO TEST YOUR HEALTH

1. PH--should be 6.8-7.2. Fruits and vegetables are alkaline, and almost everything else is acidic. An acid pH is the perfect environment for disease to thrive. Get pH paper or test strips at your health food store of choice.

2. BLOOD PRESSURE is perhaps the best test to see if we are managing stress successfully, hydrating properly and getting sufficient exercise. If we can control the fear and worry, not only will our blood pressure benefit, so will our reality. Some sodium (iodized sea salt is best) is necessary to be adequately hydrated. The body's saltwater content is always .09. More water with no salt will just be passed thru with no net increase. Some salt is good, too much salt combined with diuretics or low water intake can cause blood pressure to elevate.

3. BODY-FAT PERCENTAGE--a true indicator for obesity, (better than body-mass index, because BMI does not take muscle weight into consideration). Over 25% for males and you are clinically obese, 30% for women, regardless of your weight! It is possible to weigh 110 and be obese. If you are obese, you are, by definition, insulin resistant. This means you are a pre-type II diabetic.

4. BLOOD SUGAR--if your fasting blood sugar is between 100-128, you are pre-diabetic. Over 128 and you have Type II diabetes. Complications of diabetes include amputations, kidney failure, blindness and heart disease. Type II diabetes can be reversed with appropriate dietary choices and regular exercise. No accomplishment could be more meaningful to your health.

5. CHOLESTEROL AND C-REACTIVE PROTEIN--take this test once a year (its just a blood test) and find out how you're doing to prevent heart disease. A C-reactive protein test measures inflammation levels in the arteries, a strong indicator of your heart health and predisposition for other diseases such as cancer.