Healthy Mind, Healthy Body: Diet and the Demons Within

It doesn’t matter how you’ve gotten to be where you are.  It only matters that you want to make a change.  Right now you’re at your most vulnerable.  You want to make a change but don’t know how to go about it.  You’re in unchartered waters.  And the sharks out there are ready to bite.  The so-called sharks are all the companies with diet solutions that don’t work.  At the end of the day, the only thing lighter is your wallet.  But the promises never end.  Try this or try that, and you will lose weight, regain your health, and restore your confidence in how you look to the rest of the world.

The right idea but the wrong approach.  Hi, my name is Jerry Bacall, and like you, I’ve struggled with my weight in the past.  As an adolescent, I was significantly overweight.  In 5th grade, I changed schools and had to get a physical.  I remember the doctor telling my mother that he had never seen a 10-year-old weigh this much at 5’1” tall. At 12, I decided to make a change.  Without really realizing it, I used a simple formula.  I would lose weight if I took in fewer calories daily than I burned. Genuinely that’s how simple it is.

The only thing to get in the way is your mind.  But your mind shouldn’t be the problem. It should be the driving force.  So why is it so hard to do if you’ve consciously decided to lose weight?  Recently it has been widely suggested that obesity is a brain disease.  I agree that the problem lies in the mind, but not as a disease.  

One of the significant psychological factors is actually in the word “diet” itself.  Unfortunately, most associate the word diet with “deprivation” and the things you “can’t have” to achieve your weight loss goal.  That thought process can defeat you from the start.

At least, let’s face it. Eating anything that pleases your taste buds and raises your blood sugar is pleasurable. Letting things get out of control is easy. Bringing them back under control is challenging.

How do you turn this entrapment around?  To start the process, you must stop the denial attitude by changing the “can’t have” mindset to a “don’t want” attitude.  In doing so, you can now remove the psychological burden and concentrate on the weight loss goal. It’s also fair to mention that the incentive for weight loss plays a large part in the potential success.  In other words, if your goal is short term, chances are your success will also be short term.  Suppose you want to lose weight for an upcoming social event like a school reunion. In that case, there’s a high probability that the success will also be short-term. However, if your goal is long-term based on a health concern, severe or otherwise, then the chances are your success will be long-term as well.  As with most everything in life, the stronger the incentive, the more likelihood for success.

Once you have removed the “can’t have” challenge, let’s consider another challenge that can derail success.  The human being seems to have become a victim of their taste buds.  Especially in food-abundant societies, people have the luxury of eating more for taste rather than for purpose.  Once you begin eating for flavor rather than nutrition, your priorities move away from health and towards gratification.  Gratification tastes so much better than denial. This lack of discipline opens the door to overeating and weight gain.

There is no real easy answer to successful weight loss. A classic misnomer in weight loss is that it’s as easy as paying someone to prepare your food in the right proportions, leading to permanent weight loss. So how do we turn off the trouble-causing taste buds?  Short answer; you can’t.  But you can begin to control them by slowly turning away from spicey high caloric foods.  Remember, losing weight is only part of the goal.  Reprogramming your eating habits to achieve long-term permanent weight loss is the ultimate goal.

Additionally, once an overweight person experiences weight loss,  it requires a continuous, conscious effort to maintain that weight loss.  Once the decision to lose weight has been made, uncomfortable aspects immediately exist.  Losing weight is a straightforward concept.  The calories needed for essential body functions determine your basal metabolism caloric requirements.  When you add that to the number of calories required for your daily activities, you now have your total daily caloric requirement.  If you ingest more than that requirement, the extra calories are stored as fat, and you gain weight.  On the other hand, if you consume fewer calories than your daily caloric requirement, your body has to convert stored fat to energy, and you lose weight. 

Enter the variables to complicate things.  Let’s walk through the start of a weight loss program. You know that your current caloric intake is too high.  You cut your consumption to 1500 calories/day (just an example).  Unless you’re going on a Keto diet, your food sources will mainly consist of protein and complex carbohydrates.  Here’s a realistic look at how those first few days go, what you can expect, and how to help ensure your success.  When your body is used to receiving “x” calories, and you reduce it by one-half, let’s say, your body senses the change.  It responds with hunger sensations to induce the body to bring in more calories.  That sensation is a challenging one, and it’s no joke.  Hungar, for most, is an uncomfortable feeling.  You’ve just met the first challenge.  

Ok, you’ve overcome the first challenge. Your body is persistent. If you don’t give it more calories, it will lower the caloric need by slowing you down to match the reduced calories, making you feel tired. Challenge number two. Hungry and exhausted are two temporary uncomfortable feelings that are best dealt with if you know they’re coming.

Congratulations, you’re through the most challenging part.  Now that you’re not giving your body more calories, you force your body to go to the bank for stored energy.  Welcome to ketosis. You’ve raised your body’s ketone factor through your diligence, and it can now convert stored fat into usable energy. You’re over the hump.

Now is when your dedication to your cause will be a constant test.  You’re happy with your progress, but your taste buds aren’t pleased.  You have to fight off the urge to give in to them.

STAY TUNED FOR MORE HELP WITH YOUR SUCCESS ON THE WAY TO THE NEW YOU!!