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The dieting craze goes on, yet one out of every two Americans is overweight. This doesn't count kids who are rapidly becoming an overweight generation. Obesity sets the stage for health problems all through life. Still, the diet fads keep coming, most leading to yo-yo dieting which is hazardous to good health and usually causes even more weight gain.

So why doesn't will power work? The human body is made to be a self-balancing, and largely, self-healing mechanism. When your body becomes unbalanced, because of illness or pollutants, or even dieting, it will try to rebalance and right itself when the illness or diet are over. One way the body tries to balance is by producing cravings.

The keys to an effective weight control diet are low fat, high fiber, regular exercise, plenty of sleep and lots of water. But there are other factors that affect weight control––hypothyroidism, sluggish liver, and brain chemistry––which lead to many different weight loss problems. I've identified six of the most common weight loss blockers, and I've developed comprehensive programs to address them. Here is an overview of the most common weight loss blockers with some helpful tips.
First, define your biggest weight control problem.There may be more than one, but don’t try to address everything all at once. As you begin to see improvement in the main problem area, secondary problems often start to correct themselves in the process. If lingering problem spots still exist, approach them with additional supplementation after the first program is well underway and producing noticeable results.

Do you have a Lazy Metabolism or Thyroid Imbalance?
Here are the signs:
-General weakness/fatigue- in the morning
-Digestive disturbances
like heartburn and indigestion
-Unusual depression and anxiety
-Breast fibroids
-Hair loss
-Swelling of the ankles, hands and eyelids

Helpful tips: Boost your metabolism and support your thyroid with herbs and spices.
-Add sea vegetables to your diet––kelp, dulse and nori––are rich in natural iodine. Two tablespoons of dried chopped sea vegetables are an effective daily dose. Or, take sea greens in capsules or extracts.
-Add thermogenic (calorie burning) spices like cinnamon, cayenne, mustard and ginger to speed up your fat burning process. Try dipping raw veggies in mustard throughout the day. One tsp. of mustard can increase metabolism 25% for up to 3 hours!
-Take a hot seaweed soak once a week to help stimulate thyroid activity.

Do you Overeat Fat and Calories?
Here are the signs:
-Binge eating on junk foods, especially fatty and sugary foods, about every ten days
-Eating all your calories at one meal, and then trying to eat nothing for the rest of the day when you are dieting (Most people can’t do it.)
-Having second and third helpings at a meal but still feeling hungry

Helpful tips: Overeating is a big reason why it’s so hard for people to lose weight, especially men. Men are often encouraged to take second, even third helpings as a sign of manliness or approval for the cook. Men also tend to overeat when they’re under stress, tired or on-the-run--the way many American men eat today.

-Control your portions so you don’t overeat.
-Reduce fats to 20% of your food intake. (Don’t
replace fats with fat substitutes like Olestra.)
-An herbal appetite suppressant with St. John’s
wort decreases appetite and increases will
power against fatty food cravings.
-Have a green superfood drink in the afternoon
to give you that extra energy boost.

Do you Have Sugar Cravings and Blood Sugar Imbalances?
Here are the signs:
-Moodiness
-Becoming easily frustrated with crying spells (women) or emotional outbursts (men)
-Great fatigue (especially after sugar binges)
-Having a wired feeling that is only relieved by eating sweets

Helpful tips: If you are on a very low fat diet, you may be trying to make up for the missing taste in your diet by adding sugar. Cravings for sweets may indicate that your body really needs more protein. Green protein from spirulina can relieve sweet cravings.

-A low glycemic diet with plenty of whole
grains and vegetables is a key.
-Add essential fatty acids (EFA’s) from sources
like seafood, sea greens, and flax seed oil.
-Target excess sugar in the blood with herbs for
weight loss. Try a ginseng-licorice
combination (licorice curbs appetite).
-Try stevia, a natural sugar substitute effective
for weight control because it contains no
calories, yet significantly increases glucose
tolerance and inhibits glucose absorption.

Do you have a Sluggish Liver and Cellulite Formation?
Here are the signs:
-Extreme, unrelenting fatigue; unusual
depression and sadness
-Unexplained weight gain
-Poor digestion (worsens after fatty meals);
chronic constipation and heartburn
-Food and chemical sensitivities
-Bulging, dimply skin on hip, buttocks thighs
and knees (women); torso and stomach (men)

Helpful tips: Your liver metabolizes fats. Today, most people have a liver overloaded with toxic build-up––this problem can be responsible for weight gain. Cellulite is a body shape problem related to liver malfunction––fatty wastes lodge more easily beneath the skin’s surface when the liver or lymphatic system is sluggish.

-Take a two week course of herbal bitters like
gentian, cardamom and Oregon grape to
regenerate the liver by increasing bile production.
-Detox your liver--see the liver detox program
in my book, "Detoxification"
-Add Vitamin B complex to assist with liver
detoxification and fat metabolism.
-Lipotropics like lecithin, choline, inositol,
methionine break down and liquefy fats
during digestion.

Do you have Poor Circulation and Low Energy?
Here are the signs:
-Hands, feet, face and ears become cold easily
-Poor memory
-Ringing in the ears

Helpful tips: A lifestyle with little exercise slows down circulation, metabolism and elimination––factors which impede successful weight loss. Get plenty of exercise even if it is just walking every day!
-For circulation stimulation, try the herb,
butchers broom.
-Add CoQ10, 200mg daily for antioxidant
enzyme activity.
-Mineral electrolytes turn on body energy circuits.
-Dry brush skin before you shower to speed up
circulation. Great for cellulite, too.
-Have a massage once or twice a month.

Do you Have Poor Elimination?
Here are the signs:
-Frequent bad breath and coated tongue
-Body odor
-Constipation and infrequent bowel movements

Helpful hints: If your colon is sluggish, with chronic constipation, your body hangs on to toxins and wastes normally be removed through elimination channels. This build-up of waste materials in your blood and bowel slows down all systems and you can’t lose weight.

-Take 2 TBS of concentrated aloe vera juice in
the morning for effective relief.
-Add more fiber foods, like prunes, to your
daily diet.
-Massage your lower back (near the kidneys) to
relieve colon congestion.
-Go on a colon cleanse program––see the colon
detox program in my book, "Detoxification"

FAT CELLS AND CALCIUM
Could low calcium be your weight loss blocker? Analysis from five different studies reveals that women with the lowest calcium levels weigh the most! Here’s why: High levels of calcium increase fat burning, while low levels increase fat storage. Include more high calcium foods in your diet like broccoli, dark leafy greens, and sea greens like nori. Here are a few tips: I recommend calcium from plant sources like nettles, watercress, chamomile, valerian, pau d’arco back and lambs quarters greens rather than dairy. They’re highly absorbable and don’t have the risks of hormone or antibiotic injections that may accompany dairy products. A high quality liquid herbal calcium preparation is highly bio-available and works extremely well in my experience for weight loss results.

STRESS AND WEIGHT GAIN
You may have heard about the effects of stress on health. Did you know stress can also keep you from losing weight? Stress boosts the body’s release of adrenaline and cortisol from the adrenal glands, which creates a short term energy rush and increases appetite and cravings for sugary, high carbohydrate foods that the body stores as fat. Stress-related fat is stored in the deep abdominal region--some experts theorize that our bodies actually try to protect our organs from stress by storing more fat around them. Here are a few tips: Herbal nervines cut stress reactions. St. John’s wort helps overcome stress-related weight gain because it helps balance appetite-controlling serotonin in the brain. Rhodiola helps reduce stress reactions that lead to food binges. In addition, deep breathing reduces stress by helping you take in more oxygen which boosts metabolism and prompts your body to burn more fat. Exercise is a proven stress releaser, increasing endorphins to lower stress hormones.

SLEEP YOUR WAY THIN!
Get plenty of sleep! A University of Chicago study shows a lack of sleep results in significant changes in the two hormones related to hunger; leptin and cortisol. These changes also contribute to impaired glucose tolerance. Bottom line: Lack of sleep makes you eat more.

Remember, body imbalances create biological urges. Don’t beat yourself up because you find it hard to stay on a diet. Use good sense in your quest for your perfect weight. Follow a healthy, mostly fresh foods diet, drink lots of water, get plenty of sleep and exercise, and follow the programs I've outlined above. Don’t worry about the pounds and the calories. Worry about the inches and fat. It is a real achievement when you look in the mirror and watch your clothing size go down! You’ll not only look great, you'll feel great, too! It is a program, not a pill, that produces real, lasting results!
Copyright 2002 Traditional Wisdom, Inc.

The complete cleanse programs are found at in my book, Dr. Linda Page’s Guide To Weight Loss and Cellulite Control and also on line: http://www.healthyhealing.com along with more weight loss information, herbal products, seaweed soak and many packaged organic sea vegetables.

Resources:
Spiegel K, Leproult R, Van Cauter E. Impact of sleep debt on metabolic and endocrine function. Lancet Oct. 1999
Swedish study: Stress makes people fat, CNN.com, Jan 7, 2002
Levine, Stephen, Ph.D. Buffered Vitamin C: A dramatic effect on weight control, Nutricology In Focus Summer 2000 (calcium studies)

HEALING HOLIDAY DRINK RECIPES
From Cooking For Healthy Healing:Book Two Healing Recipes • by Linda Page, N.D., Ph.D.

HOT WASSAIL
Non-alcoholic punch for everyone
This recipe works for Kid's Health, Digestive Health and Colds & Flu • Serves 12

Simmer on low heat: 6 cups Apple Cider, 2 cups Pineapple Juice, 1/2 cup Orange Juice, 5 TBS Maple Syrup, 3 TBS Lemon Juice, 1 teasp. grated Lemon Zest, 3 Cinnamon Sticks, and 1/4 teasp. Nutmeg. Pour into mugs. Stick Whole Cloves into the skin of 16 Orange Wedges and float on top of each mug.

HHOT GINGER PEAR WINE
This recipe works for Heart Health, Digestive Health, Colds & Flu • Serves 8
eat on very low heat for 5 minutes: 6 cups Unsweetened Pear Nectar, 2 cups White Wine, 4 TBS Honey, 2 TBS minced Crystallized Ginger and 2 TBS Lemon Juice. Pour into mugs. Top with Lemon Wheels & Cinnamon Sticks.

©2002 Traditional Wisdom, Inc.