Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Can't Lose Weight? It May Not Be Your Fault!

Are you frustrated with your weight problem and don't know what to do about it? Do you find that you lose weight at first, only to gain it all back later, and maybe more when you stop dieting, or when you find yourself bingeing? Are you fed up with weight loss programs that don't work?

There is a good reason for that. You don't lack willpower. You are not doing anything wrong. It is just that dieting doesn’t work!

Facts About Dieting

* Dieting rarely works. 95% of all dieters who lose weight regain their lost weight and more within 1 to 5 years.

* Dieting can lead to eating disorders. The obsession to be thin can lead to anorexia, bulimia, bingeing and compulsive exercising.

* Dieting impacts your mental health and restricts your brainpower, leaving you mentally unfocused.

* Dieting robs you of energy and slows your metabolism down.

* Numerous studies link chronic dieting with feelings of depression, low self-esteem and increased stress.

* Dieting increases compulsive eating.

* You are fatter after a diet than before!

Why Dieting Doesn't Work

Quick fix diets usually never give long lasting results. The reason is most of the weight loss is due to loss of water. When you restrict calories, your body interprets it as impending starvation. When the body is under stress of starvation, it hoards the fat and burns the muscles first. The weight lost comes from water and the break down of muscles - the places we don't want to lose it from.

So, the last thing you want to do is drastically cut calories. When you do, the body will start breaking down muscle protein to produce energy for vital body functions. The body will use muscle protein as fuel, before it starts burning fat, so you end up losing more muscle mass than fat during dieting. The body then uses large amounts of water to flush the broken down muscle tissue out. Thus you lose weight fast. No matter how much you drink, you can't prevent this loss of water. The only way to get control of your water balance is to stop starving yourself.

When dieting, the body starts saving energy by turning some functions off and running others at a slower pace. Fat is designed to provide the body with energy and protect it from starvation. If you go below 1000 calories a day, your body will slow your metabolism down to compensate. That is why weight loss slows down dramatically after a few days on a crash diet. And a slow metabolism is exactly the opposite of what you want to lose weight.

Another reason that diets don't work is bingeing. Bingeing doesn't happen because of a lack of willpower. It is a direct result of dieting. As your body senses a restriction in calories, it goes on the alert for an impending threat to survival. As a result, it tells you to eat, which results in your bingeing on calorie and fat filled foods. The more successful you are at starving yourself, the more the body will increase it's efforts to eat more foods. Eventually the body wins because survival is our strongest instinct. Bingeing is also a result of depriving yourself of something, which psychologically makes you obsessed with what you can't have.

After the Diet

After the quick weight loss diet you go back to your normal eating pattern, and what happens? The body that has shut off functions in order to conserve energy is now, suddenly, fed. The cells in your body have an immediate response to the sudden abundance of food, and that is to keep on saving energy, storing up for the next famine. As your body saves energy, it also begins storing all the extra energy - as fat. So, you end up having lost fat burning lean muscle tissue and added more fat! That wasn't your goal when you started your diet.

In addition to building fat again, the body has no ketone-bodies to get rid of. Consequently, less water is secreted and your water balance is restored. As you replenish your emptied water stores you rapidly gain back the weight you lost. So, by building fat, and replenishing water, you will gain weight quickly the first few days after a diet.

And each time you diet, you are teaching your body how to deal with starvation by hoarding fat, so each round of dieting increases your overall body fat!

Freedom from Dieting

So, how can you lose weight if dieting and restricting calories don't work? There is no quick fix answer. Any healthy weight loss needs to come gradually. The goal is to give up dieting forever and get back in balance. Stop trying to lose weight. No more counting calories. Instead make a commitment to get healthier.

When you get off the diet roller coaster, you will feel better, become healthier and lose the weight for good. When the body is well fed with healthy foods, it will shed the extra fat. It doesn't have to store it anymore. And when you give the body the nutrients it needs to be healthy, you stop having all the cravings for less healthy foods.

Enjoy the freedom from counting calories. You will find yourself moving slowly and safely to your perfect body weight, and you will feel better than you ever have before, lean and full of vitality, energy and health. This means developing some new healthy eating habits, as well as other health habits such as exercise.

Try to avoid extremes, such as eating a high protein, low carbohydrate diet. There are many complications associated with unbalanced low carbohydrate diet regimens. At the other end of the spectrum, some diets are saying avoid protein and fats, but eat as much carbohydrates as you want. Too much of the wrong kind of carbohydrates, especially refined sugar and white refined flour will turn to fat in the body also. Most commercial breads, breakfast cereals, and prepared foods are loaded with empty, fast-release carbohydrates, causing levels of blood-sugar to rise, leading to obesity and hypoglycemia.

All of the experts agree that unprocessed complex carbohydrates such as fruit and vegetables, whole grains, potatoes, and legumes are far superior to other forms of refined carbohydrates and should play a significant role in people's eating habits. According to the American Heart Association, a healthy diet rich in fresh fruits and vegetables along with regular physical activity can help most people manage and maintain weight loss for both cardiovascular health and appearance.

Losing weight and becoming healthier requires a lifestyle change, not a six week diet “quick fix”. The first step is to eat a balanced diet, filled with plenty of healthy foods, such as whole grains, fresh organic raw, fruits and vegetables, healthy fats and organic meats.

Examining Your Office Building and Fitness Center Services They Provide


Many office building and fitness center services are focused on attracting high quality employees to a certain company. With the ability to workout and vent any stresses of the day, employees are less prone to burnout and frustration. These office building and fitness center services also allow a place for coworkers to congregate after and before work to relate in a better way when they're in the office. Here are some of the services that your employer may want to consider adding to your building.

One of the easiest ways to make health and fitness convenient for an employee is to offer office building and fitness center services. By including a simple room or rooms with gym equipment, weights, weight machines and even a small running track, an employer will give their employees the added benefit of being able to maintain their fitness levels. When these fitness levels are maintained, the employee is going to have fewer sick days, fewer mental health days, and less expenditure in terms of their health insurance. This all adds up to a business that has higher morale and happier employees that are willing to do their work well.

To make office building and fitness center services convenient, these areas should include a daycare area for any children of the employees. Some employers offer these childcare services throughout the day, but even having some childcare professionals just during the gym hours would help the employee use the facilities when it's convenient for them. Children will be able to have their own fitness classes or perhaps just a fun playtime with other employees' children. Instead of paying for high cost childcare in their own homes, the employees will be much more likely to use their employer fitness center, which increases their health benefits.

Other fun additions to the office building and fitness center services can include personal trainers, a swimming or lap pool, basketball courts, volleyball courts, and exercise classes. By giving employees a lot of options in their fitness, you increase their attendance. Not everyone likes to use weights or machines – and not everyone can use them when you have a larger group of employees. When you add more options to the fitness center, you create enough fitness to go around for everyone.

When you find an employers with office building and fitness center services, you can tell that this is someone that truly cares about you as a person – not just an employee. Employees that stay healthy in their jobs will stay with the company for longer, produce more, and be assets to the profitability of their employer. It's not just about the health of the company, but that's certainly something that adds up for the employer.