Duped into the Weight Loss Conspiracy

It was reported on the news recently that we Americans spent forty billion dollars last year weight loss products, but the average American GAINED one to two pounds last year. In other words, we each actually paid an average of $133 on products that were supposed to help us lose weight, but actually helped us gain weight.
      I'm not going to insult your intelligence and tell you that obesity is an epidemic in our country. I'm not going to tell you how bad it is. I'm not going to tell you how fat and lazy you are and tell you that you are a terrible person because the scales tell you that you are one of the 33% of Americans who are obese. I'm not even going to tell you that you're not alone although I too am currently considered obese.
     What I am going to tell you, is that we've been set up. Our economic culture has been set up to separate us from our money. One of the most effective ways that can be accomplished is through the food industry. The food industry knows that people like foods that have sugar, salt and fat. Everywhere we look, the food industry bombards us with advertisements that cater to these tastes. On every street corner there is a fast food place that offers to satisfy those desires. The food is even designed so that we will crave it. Nutrients are removed so that we do not stay satisfied. We drink a sugary soda, our blood sugar peaks temporarily, then comes crashing down and we end up looking for another sugar high and then another and then another, and we are sugar junkies looking for our next fix.
       Then there are those advertisements that promote name brand, so called top of the line brand name clothing that are designed to frame undernourished, anorexic bodies of models whose flaws are air-brushed away. The advertisements are there to make you think that's the way you are supposed to look, but it's not and never has been real. No one can live to those standards and stay healthy.
      There's those weight loss companies that offer us get thin quick solutions.They offer reduced fat or reduced calories or reduced carbohydrates or reduced net carbohydrates. They offer those pills and elixirs containing some form of  caffeine they claim create energy bursts but actually create an anxiety buzz masquerading as energy. They offer us artificial sweeteners that trick the brain into thinking that it ate something sweet, but the body knows the difference and rebels and craves the very thing it was denied.
      The idea of losing the weight fast draws us in and tempts us with its promise of effortless results. We see it on television programs. Stars lose weight seemingly like overnight. An extremely fat person loses a hundred pounds right before our eyes in a matter of weeks.We see the before and after photos of unhappy fat people becoming happy thin people. We see the results of surgical procedures that staple stomachs and suck out fat. What we are not shown is the fact that these are almost never lasting results. It may take months, it may take years, but these results never seem to last.
      So what do we do about it? We have to begin thinking differently about our bodies. To do that, we have to recognize that the weight loss industry is part of a system designed to separate us from our money. It was designed at our expense. We have been duped  into thinking otherwise. We have to change our paradigm from thinking about losing weight to thinking about ways of creating a healthy lifestyle that we can maintain indefinitely, without gimmicks, without any of those so called get thin quick schemes that are out there. We can begin today by raising our awareness of the conspiracy to keep us in the vicious cycle of indulgence and denial that lines the pockets of others at our expense.
     

Moving Right Along

This morning I received this accolade for continuing with Lose It! for four weeks straight. The program is so easy to use and I have been showing it to everyone I know. I really feel like I have not only helping myself lose the weight, but I am helping others do the same. Everything I said about this program is true. I am losing weight using this program. It is definitely keeping me on track.

      I am concerned with some aspects of my weight loss journey. I mentioned before that I am struggling to keep my daily protein grams above 75. Experts recommend an intake of at least 75 grams of protein but believe that having an intake of more than 115 grams is better. Personally i think that if I don't have adequate protein intake, I will burn muscle instead of fat. I definitely don't want to do that, so believe that keeping above 75 grams of protein is very important.

       Proteins help the body repair itself after an injury. The body will break down proteins (along with carbohydrates and fats) to provide the body with energy to prevent us from becoming fatigued.  Proteins also help the body resist disease by helping the immune system function adequately. Protein makes up a significant share of the muscles in our bodies, and adequate protein is important for  healthy muscle maintenance.  Protein is also a key ingredient to healthy skin, hair, nails and cartilage. The body does not store spare protein, so healthy protein must be eaten on a daily basis.
     
        Our body breaks protein down into amino acids, which are necessary for building muscle and blood. Our bodies have 22 amino acids divided into the categories--essential amino acids and non-essential amino acids  Our bodies can make some of their own essential acids, but some most come from protein containing foods.

         Proteins come from complete proteins. Complete proteins contain all the essential amino acids. Good sources of complete proteins come from animals. For instance, fish, beef, chicken and milk all contain complete proteins. Proteins, however, can also be incomplete proteins which do not contain all the amino acids. Healthy food choices for incomplete proteins include, nuts, such as walnuts, beans and brown rice. By combining incomplete proteins with complimentary amino acids, (such as beans and rice) complete proteins can be created.

My first Badge on "Lose it!

Today I learned what else is available on this app "Lose It!" This is my first badge congratulating me on having made it to my third day. I like the fact that the app encourages me to continue on. Apps like this on my smart phone are really helpful. I've been telling everyone I meet about how much I enjoy this app.
 
      Looking over my protein intake yesterday, it indicates that I am not eating enough protein. I was talking to a friend of mine last night about this lack of protein intake and she says she has the same problem in that she doesn't like to eat a lot of protein either. I really need to find out the amount of protein I need to take in every day. I think it is good for everyone to know what their protein intake every day is, so I have found a formula to determine how much protein a person needs to take in every day based on their own personal needs. Here's the formula:


How to Calculate Your Protein Needs:
1. Weight in pounds divided by 2.2 = weight in kg
2. Weight in kg x 0.8-1.8 gm/kg = protein gm.
Use a lower number if you are in good health and are sedentary (i.e., 0.8). Use a higher number (between 1 and 1.8) if you are under stress, are pregnant, are recovering from an illness, or if you are involved in consistent and intense weight or endurance training.

To use me as an example, I currently weigh 197 pounds.
197 lbs/2.2 = 89.5 kg
 89.5x0.08 = 71.6 gm protein/day
89.5x1.8=  161.8
According my calculations from Lose It!, I took in 82.1 grams of protein. Because I am not overly fit, and am fairly sedentary, I realize that I am eating enough protein, but I really need to make sure than in my attempts to lose weight, I don't cut my protein intake because it will cause me to burn muscle instead of fat because my protein intake will not sustain my current muscle mass.

      In Made to Crave today, I am to find ways of replacing my cravings. What can I do instead of opening the refrigerator when I feel the cravings for food coming on? First I must recognize that my cravings were put there from God to Crave him, therefore, I need to focus my cravings on my relationship with God. How do I make that happen? When I think of worshiping and loving God I think about music and dancing before him. I love the fact that most of my adult life has been spent in charismatic churches where active worship of God has been encouraged. Therefore, I will make actively participating in the music I am listening to and using to enhance my worship. Second I can meditate on scripture. I need to write out a number of scriptures and discover which ones will help me in developing my relationship with God. Third, I can pray to God and write down that prayer in a journal. I can write out how I feel. I can work through my desires and my cravings and place them in God's hands and do as it says in I Peter 5:7 "casting all my cares upon him because he cares for me."
     I look forward to knowing about your experience using Lose it! or Made to Crave. Tell me how you are doing on your weight loss journey!
     If you are not currently using Lose it, follow this link and join now. If you are interested in using Made to Crave to help with changing your want to, follow this link

    

One more pound down and 47 to go!

     This morning I woke up to sore muscles, mainly in my left shoulder, left calf and in the middle of my back. I felt better however and saw that a pound had fallen off overnight. I know that I can't credit the new program I started "lose it!" for the progress that I am already making, but it's good to see the results.

       After I checked my emails this morning, I ate a breakfast of Scooters, skim milk and strawberries and did half an hour of aerobic exercise. I have recorded the information into "lose it!" I then checked out another feature of the "lose it!" program that I hadn't really looked at before. It showed me the nutrient content of the food I ate, what I'm most concerned about right now is the balance between fats, carbohydrates and proteins.
     
      According to the nutritionist who taught me in my nutrition college class, we should have 1/3 of our calories in each of these categories. I found that I ate 66% of my calories yesterday in carbohydrates, 9% in proteins, and 25% of my calories in fats. I'm going to work on increasing my protein intake. The reason I need to increase my protein intake is because protein is what makes muscle. If I'm not getting enough protein, I won't have enough protein in my diet to maintain my muscles. I have to wonder if part of the reason we burn muscle instead of fat when we diet is because we are decreasing our protein intake without realizing it.

      Last night I started attending a group for food addicts at my local church called "Made to Crave". The program will last for 6 weeks. We were talking about how God actually created us with a place in us where we are supposed to crave him, but because of sin in our lives, we choose to try to fill that place in our lives with something else. That something else could be nicotine, alcohol, drugs, money or in my case food. During the session I met a number of women who were dealing with the same issues with lack of control over food in their lives.
      I am excited about both of these programs that I have begun this week. I can definitely see how both can be incorporated in with my WRAPS program.