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<\/p>\nIt\u2019s frustrating. \u00a0You’ve refined your eating habits and you have begun walking every day.\u00a0 You have cut out some of the higher calorie foods that you used to eat regularly. \u00a0You really need to lose about 20 pounds and as your health is at stake, you have every incentive in the world to succeed.<\/p>\n
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You drop a few pounds. \u00a0And then no more. \u00a0You’re stuck.\u00a0 It just won\u2019t come off.\u00a0\u00a0 All this work, time and effort and no results.\u00a0 It can be maddening and you begin to wonder if you should just return to your old habits; this clearly isn’t working anyway.<\/p>\n
What’s really going wrong? And why?\u00a0 And let\u2019s see what the great benefits are to living healthy even when the weight won\u2019t go down.<\/p>\n
From the diet\u00a0point of view, the single biggest reason people don\u2019t lose weight on their food plan is Portion Distortion–not fully understanding the size of what one portion of any single food is. \u00a0Also, a good dietician or nutritionist will be able to see if your ratio of protein to carbs is appropriate for you, because everyone is a little different in that area.\u00a0 Even people that make the switch to eating healthfully have to realize that you can gain plenty of weight eating healthy food if eat too much. Yes, you can become overweight on a diet of brown rice, fish, fruits and vegetables if you eat enough.\u00a0 And yes, it may not be healthy, but you can lose weight while eating pizza and hamburgers.<\/p>\n
From the exercise and activity side of the equation, the culprit is usually the intensity of the exercise routine.\u00a0 I have seen many, many people who tell me they are walking daily, but when I place them on a treadmill to see how the pace of their walking is, it becomes obvious that the walking they are doing isn\u2019t intense enough to burn a reasonable amount of calories.\u00a0 Also, many people are extremely focused on the aerobic portion of their exercise program but all but ignore the muscle-building aspect and therefore never get their metabolic rate higher.\u00a0 Hence, they may be burning more calories while they are exercising, but they aren\u2019t getting the constant and consistent higher rate of calorie usage when at rest.<\/p>\n
Are you active other than exercising?\u00a0 Are you walking from place to place instead of using your car or a bus?\u00a0 Are you taking stairs instead of elevators?\u00a0 Do you have an opportunity to garden or play some leisurely sports?\u00a0 Can you park your car a little further from your destination than you might normally?\u00a0 All of this adds up over the course of a year and leads to many additional pounds lost in the long term.<\/p>\n
Then there are the other issues of that contribute to weight loss (or lack thereof) aside from calories consumed and calories used.\u00a0 Are you sleeping well at night?\u00a0 If you aren\u2019t getting enough sleep and quality sleep, it negatively affects your metabolism.\u00a0 Do you drink enough water each day?\u00a0 In addition to the other negative effects of dehydration, a slower metabolism is also a result. And finally, if you are stressed beyond normal limits, this will also cause your metabolism to lag.<\/p>\n
There is one last thing to check out.\u00a0 Have a blood test to see how your thyroid function is doing.\u00a0 A slow thyroid (known as hypothyroid) will make weight loss a very frustrating experience.\u00a0 \u00a0This is usually easily dealt with by an endocrinologist.\u00a0 Once thyroid function is brought to normal levels, you will probably see better results for all of your efforts.\u00a0 This situation is not very prevalent, but some type of thyroid issue does affect 12% of the population.<\/p>\n
It is crucial to remember that every person\u2019s body has its own personality.\u00a0 Some people will lose weight at a more rapid rate, others slower.\u00a0 It doesn\u2019t make a difference as long as the trend is correct and the weight is coming off.\u00a0 It doesn\u2019t matter if it takes three months or three years to get to your goal weight, as long as you are moving in the right direction.<\/p>\n
What happens when you have done everything suggested and your weight still<\/em> won’t go\u00a0down?\u00a0 First of all, it is important to remember that everything you are doing will help you when you look at it from a health perspective.\u00a0 Even without weight loss, proper exercise and proper eating can help you prevent and control diabetes, help you with your blood pressure, cholesterol levels and your overall well-being.\u00a0 Exercise is the closest thing we have to the magic pill of health. Remember that lack of exercise and activity, regardless of your weight, is the number one risk factor for many illnesses.\u00a0 Eating well, especially including plenty of vegetables and fruits in your diet, can prevent heart disease and most cancers.<\/p>\n Too much emphasis has been placed on weight loss alone.\u00a0 And to this extent, people have done some very unhealthy things just to lose weight while sacrificing their health. \u00a0They go on radical diets that reduce calories too much so they don\u2019t get proper nutrition.\u00a0 They eliminate entire categories of food and don\u2019t get adequate vitamins and minerals.\u00a0 They go on diets that cause loss of muscle and water more than fat weight. Some are left severely constipated and increase their risk of kidney stones and osteoporosis.\u00a0 Many can be protein deficient or vitamin deficient.\u00a0 Some develop eating disorders in order to lose weight.\u00a0 When we concentrate on our health, weight loss will follow.\u00a0<\/strong> Keep the emphasis on healthy habits\u2014eating properly with portion control and exercising, and everything else that is supposed to happen will follow.<\/p>\n Most importantly, we must become more accepting of who we are.\u00a0 Some of us just will not get down to an ideal weight. Even if we will, we need to feel good about who we are every step of the way. \u00a0We don’t only become “good” once a specific number appeals on a scale.<\/p>\n In Part II, we will discuss some concrete ideas of acceptance what we have and who we are.<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Where health and Torah meet: Join us<\/a> for the 5th International Jewish Medical Ethics Conference<\/a>\u00a0and see what the fuss is about:\u00a0\u201cIt was the most exciting learning experience that I have ever attended.\u201d “There wasn\u2019t a person whom I spoke to who didn\u2019t rave about every aspect of the programming.\u201d Reserve your spot today<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n Alan Freishtat<\/strong> is an A.C.E. CERTIFIED PERSONAL TRAINER and a BEHAVIORAL CHANGE and WELLNESS COACH with over 19 years of professional experience. Alan is the creator and director of the \u201c10 Weeks to Health\u201d program for weight loss. He is available for private coaching sessions, consultations, assessments and personalized workout programs both in his office and by telephone and skype. Alan also lectures and gives seminars and workshops. He can be reached at\u00a002-651-8502<\/a> or 050-555-7175<\/a>, or by email at\u00a0alan@alanfitness.com<\/a> Check out the his web site \u2013www.alanfitness.com<\/a> US Line: 516-568-5027<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Hang on–are<\/em> you doing everything right?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":469,"featured_media":57834,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_cloudinary_featured_overwrite":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-31734","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health"],"yoast_head":"\n
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