I hear it everyday—
“I’ve tried to lose weight, but I just can’t. I’m hungry all the time. I’m too tired to exercise. Any little bit I lose just comes back. Diets don’t work for me.”
Well, guess what. Diets don’t work for anyone!
Not only that, diets and the stress they cause can be detrimental to your long term health.
You see, we have survived as a species because a small percentage of our ancestors were efficient fat storage units. These “survivors” often withstood long periods of famine because of this ability to store fat for later use. As time went on, the human gene pool increased its affinity for fat storage. This was a good thing until very recently.
Within the last hundred years, most modern societies have lost the need for this genetic trait. We have more food than we need, and rarely (if ever) experience periods of famine. (This is also a good thing, our bodies just don’t know it.)
When we diet, our bodies see the lack of food as a famine and up-regulate our fat storage genes. That means our bodies absorb more calories from our food, and these calories are stored as fat for a rainy day. Our bodies are only doing what they’re genetically programmed to do—trying to survive.
When we stop dieting, these “new and improved” genes continue to induce weight and fat gain. Actually, during the immediate post-dieting period, we actually regain weight faster than it was lost.
Even worse, dieting also causes a loss of muscle mass. Less muscle means less fat burning and more fat storage.
The unfortunate fact is that if you are overweight, you will probably end up with one or more chronic health problems during your lifetime. So, if dieting doesn’t work, how can you lose weight?
An ideal eating plan should do several things:
*decrease hunger (which will reduce the anxiety and stress of dieting)
*stimulate satiety, that feeling of satisfying fullness
*increase fat burning
*improve muscle mass
*prevent excessive release of insulin
MainerWhey’s unique combination of whey protein, low glycemic index carbohydrates, and other beneficial nutrients like glutamic acid takes care of all these requirements.
I recommend adding our “all in one” MainerWhey Hunger and Weight Management supplement to a healthy eating plan and regular exercise.
It takes time to gain excessive weight. Ideally, you should take time to lose it, too. Remember what the tortoise said to the hare—
Slow and steady wins the race.
To your vibrant health,
Dr. Jeff Leighton
Dr. Jeff Leighton, Founder and CEO of Maine Natural Health