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Aug 25

Losing weight to improve health can be surprisingly simple – Murfreesboro Post

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If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Thats the first thing I thought about as I began to write this article. But I assure you that this concept is as good as it sounds.

I have enjoyed the compliments from people that have noticed that I have lost weight during the past year or so. I have to admit though, that I really didnt do anything difficult or out of the ordinary to accomplish the weight loss, though. I didnt struggle mightily with workouts or exercise. I didnt sacrifice enjoyment or deny myself pleasure. I did make a couple of important choices that didnt seem so challenging.

I have studied the various weight loss plans over the years. At one time we offered a very good weight loss plan in our office that helped people lose weight in a very healthy way. There are numerous ways to assist people in losing weight.

I wasnt really interested specifically in weight loss when I developed this plan. I have been looking into how the body utilizes energy for general routine activities such as staying alive, digesting food, breathing, maintaining adequate warmth, pumping blood and so forth. Our bodies use a considerable amount of energy just living from one day to the next, before we add activities such as physical exertion.

I then looked into how much energy we consume each day in a typical American diet. What I found is that for decades people in our society have been slowly exceeding the amount of energy that we need by extraordinarily gross amounts. What seems like a normal amount of food to us now is considerably more than our bodies can possibly use during normal living.

Think of everything you eat as energy. Thats how your body sees it. A calorie is simply a measure of energy. No matter what you eat, thats how the body sees food. Whether it is a monstrous steak, a divine confectionary creation, a new vegetable dish, or a box of tasteless diet food you bought at the store hoping it would make you skinny; to the body it is all simply a load of energy.

Obviously, there are important nutrients such and vitamins and minerals included in the food, but for our purposes here we are simply looking at the sum of calories (energy) in each meal. Although our brains assess food from smell, taste, visual appeal and other perspectives, the body simply wants the energy. As far as our body is concerned, you could throw the whole plate of food into the blender and drink it down.

In fact, that is exactly what our digestive system does with each meal. No matter how artfully or carefully prepared, within a half hour of eating your food is simply a terribly unappetizing mass of protein, fat and carbohydrates. Thats when the body goes to work extracting the energy from each meal or snack.

Regardless of what your food habits and preferences are, if you are currently overweight, the fact is plain that you have consumed more food energy (calories) than you need for some time, possibly decades.

Knowing that, is it realistic to expect that anything can turn your body back into a lean, mean, energy balanced machine within a few weeks? Of course not. That is why most diets only produce temporary results.

However, our bodies are so amazing that it is possible to modify our body weight substantially in a matter of months. After a habit of overconsuming for years it is astounding how successful the human body can be in rebalancing in a matter of a few months.

Here is another key to the success of this simple plan. It is easy to continue following the plan for years. Once you think about it, it is easy to realize that if you want to slim down permanently, changes must be made that you can maintain indefinitely.

This plan is easy to follow because it includes real food that is enjoyable and satisfying. Although this discussion is about how your body uses the energy in food, at the end of the day we will still make decisions based on how appealing the food is. For this reason, it is important that you eat foods that you actually enjoy during the plan.

The challenge of writing an in-depth article regarding health is that I have limited space for this column each week. As you have probably guessed, the details of how the plan works will have to be spelled out next week.

Until then, take some time to think about the why. Why do you want to lose weight? Health reasons? You dont feel well anymore? You dont like the way your clothes fit? You are unable to do things you once could do with ease? Your doctor suggested it? Your family suggested it? You have known for a long time that you should and now its time?

Most eating decisions are made emotionally. Your emotional reasons for achieving lasting weight loss will be the absolute key to your success. Your why has to be significant to you, meaningful enough to see your way through to the changes you must embrace to succeed.

Next week, the rest of the story.

Dr. Mark Kestner is a licensed chiropractic physician in Murfreesboro. His office is at 1435 NW Broad St. Contact him at mkestner@DrKestner.com.

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Losing weight to improve health can be surprisingly simple - Murfreesboro Post

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