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The 10 Rules for Permanent Weight Loss

By Terrence Thomas, C.H.E.K.-IV

 Over the last 15 years, I have had the pleasure of working with a wide variety of people with many of them wanting to lose weight.  With all of the weight loss clients that I have worked with, one or more of the 10 Rules for Permanent Weight Loss were implemented to achieve long lasting results. If you can implement just one of the 10 strategies that you will learn in this report, you will greatly improve your chances of maintaining a healthy and ideal body weight. Some of the rules may be familiar to you.  If this is the case, I encourage you to look at the rule from a different perspective and create a new meaning for it personally.  . We will go through the rules in David Letterman style starting from number 10. So let’s begin the countdown.

 10. Establish your principles:

It is important to approach weight loss with the correct mindset. Your mindset will help create your personal principles for achieving your goals. Your principles create the standard that governs your actions.  It determines the line that you can approach but will not cross. It will be your law. You will not go to jail if you break your personal law but it may take you a bit longer to achieve your weight loss goals. This can be just as brutal as going to jail for some as self imprisonment is often times the most difficult to escape.

Principles create confidence and peace of mind. It keeps you centered in your own universe and protects you against outside influences that try to throw you off balance. Once this standard is set, maintain integrity by staying within your standard.

So how do you set your standard? It’s very simple. To create a personal standard, simply make an agreement with yourself and then honor it. For example:  I will eat breakfast 5 of 7 days a week.  Or I will only have alcohol on the weekends. I recommend that you start small. As you become good at keeping smaller agreements you can then start to increase your personal demands.  For example: I will stay within 5 to 7 pounds of my ideal bodyweight.

This skill of making and honoring agreements is simply exercising Integrity. This is a very powerful activity and I encourage you to use this exercise to help you lose weight but also in others areas of your life.

Here are some examples of principles that you can use:

i. I will lose weight one pound at a time. Small and consistent steps are the key to long term success.

ii. I will follow the 80/20 rule. Eighty percent of my lifestyle and nutrition efforts will be directed towards my weight loss and the remaining twenty percent will not.

iii. I will approach my weight loss goals with a long term view. There will be ups and downs but as long as I stay on the path I will achieve my goal of PERMANENT WEIGHT LOSS.

 9.  Prioritize your effort:

Weight loss is very multi-dimensional as there are many reasons people gain weight. The chemical, physical, and mental aspects of weight loss must be considered.

 Chemical: there many prescription medications that directly and indirectly cause weight gain i.e. birth control, anti depressants, anti-inflammatory drugs.  If you are currently on any medications, consult with your doctor about how they may affect your weight loss efforts.

 Physical: you may not be getting enough exercise or may have a physical problem that prevents you from exercising effectively. If this is the case, I recommend that you schedule a structural evaluation with a Corrective High Performance Exercise Kinesiologist a.k.a. CHEK practitioner and ask to schedule a structural evaluation.  To find out more about CHEK practitioners, contact us and request information on corrective exercise programs. If you do not have access to a CHEK practitioner, I recommend consulting with a reputable physical therapist.

 Mental:  we all have a relationship with food. Our family, lifestyle and culture influence this relationship. Whatever relationship that you have with food as of now, make sure that it is in line with what you are trying to accomplish in terms of weight loss.  I am fully aware of the social pressures that are present today.  The need to “fit in” is a powerful driving force behind our nutrition and lifestyle choices. However to accomplish your goal, you must maintain the integrity in your personal commitments (see rule #1).

 Regardless of if the chemical, physical or mental aspects of your health has caused you not to be at your ideal weight, the most important factors must be addresses first.  First things first! Determine which of the three facets of health and weight loss that you feel require the most attention and start there.  We have expert lifestyle and nutrition coaches on staff that will help you organize your plan and put you on a targeted path toward your goals.

 8. Strive for True vs. False Weight loss:

True weight loss is measured in terms of body composition. The exception is with people who are considered morbidly obese, which is being 100 pounds over what is considered ideal bodyweight for your height and frame. Those who are between 10 and 30 pounds heavy should focus on losing fat to achieve PERMANENT WEIGHT LOSS.

            Have your body composition measured and re-checked every 6 to 8 weeks. This is to determine if you are keeping a favorable fat to muscle ratio. Your eyes will probably tell you even before the body fat caliper will. If you are losing weight and your body shape is changing you are more than likely losing body fat.  If you have lost a significant amount of weight i.e. 5 to 10% of your body weight and your shape has changed very little I would definitely look at your weight loss program a bit closer.  If you feel that this has happened to you, contact us. We are here to help.

 7. Create your Metabolism:

There are certain genetic factors that affect the way we process food. But in general we have control over our metabolism. Here are some key factors that effect metabolism.

1. Total Calorie intake

2. Meal Frequency

3. Macronutrient ratio i.e. Protein: Carbohydrate: Fat ratios.

4. Exercise

 It is important to understand that all of the above factors are intimately connected to each other in regards to creating a healthy metabolism. We can control one or all of these variables to help create a metabolism that works for us instead of against us.

So what is the ideal metabolism? Being able to eat anything and not gain weight right? J Well not exactly. For weight loss and health purposes, an ideal metabolism is where we can effectively digest and utilize energy stores without excessive conversion of nutrients to body fat. We should also be able to draw upon our body fat reserves when needed. The typical American diet has robbed us of the ability to use our own body fat for energy. We are relying so heavily on sugar and other forms of sugar substitutes that basically our metabolisms see no need to use our own body fat for energy. It is this phenomenon that is causing a large number of health epidemics today, such as heart disease and Type II diabetes just to name a couple.

Food manufactures have spent billions of dollars to establish the relationship that we have with food today. They have successfully made us believe that what’s in a box is good and what is not is bad. Just to give you a one cent tip worth a million dollars, avoid boxed foods as much as possible.  But I digress a bit. There will be more on this topic later. So the bottom line is that if you are having trouble getting your nutrition plan on track, contact us. We will be more than happy to help you restore some order to your universe.

 6. Metabolic Typing:

Dr. William Wolcott the author of the Metabolic Typing Diet said that “One man’s fuel is another man’s poison”. The science of nutrition is an ever-evolving topic and is still considered to be in its infancy in regards to its complete understanding. For this reason I will not promote any specific “diet” or nutritional strategy. We are all unique in that the way we process and react to foods. I have learned that the best way to achieve success with your eating plan is to become aware of how your body is reacting to the foods that you are eating. This will help you find your nutritional niche. There is an excellent book that I highly recommend. It will clear up many of the confusing nutritional issues that prevent people from achieving their weight loss goals. The book is titled The Metabolic Typing Diet by William Wolcott.  At Expert Fitness Solutions, we have certified Metabolic Typing Advisors that can coach you through the metabolic typing process. For more information just contact us.

 5. Food Allergies:

 The subject of food allergies is a 10 tip report in itself. I know what you may be thinking, “How can food allergies make you fat?”. Before I get into the meat and potatoes of this topic let me make a point of clarification.  The type of allergic reaction that I am speaking of is not the deadly anaphylactic type but a reaction that basically makes the immune system work harder than it needs to. A better term for this is food intolerance. Due to the poor nutrition habits of many people today, food intolerances are often acquired. This means that we are literally eating ourselves into allergies.

            Here is one popular way that we acquire food intolerances. It involves alcohol consumption. Remember that alcohol is absorbed in the stomach and is also an irritant to the lining of the stomach. This causes the stomach to become inflamed and produce histamine (an immune triggered substance). So what do we do after we drink our glass of wine or shot of whisky? We eat after we drink alcohol and here lies the problem. When you eat when your gut is inflamed your body starts to produce antibodies for the food that you are eating. The food that you eat will be recognized as a foreign substance so the body will make an antibody for the food that you eat after you drink.  Ok so you still may be asking how this causes weight gain. Well here’s how it works.

            The gut irritation causes poor digestion. When this happens food gets trapped in your gut and causes further inflammation and irritation. So you are getting a double whammy. First is the gut inflammation and secondly you are not able to effectively eliminate what you are eating. If you don’t think that this is major problem, consider that antacid tables and laxatives are one of the highest selling over the counter medications today. In a nutshell, indigestion causes excessive water retention, constipation, and overall toxicity.  These are not signs and symptoms that are conducive for weight loss. Just know that if your liver is too busy fighting off extra toxins, it will be very hard to perform other jobs like make the proper hormones for weight loss. If I have just opened up Pandora’s Box for you and you need to talk about it, feel free to contact us.

 4. Proper Hydration:

The human body is about 70% water.  If we took all the water out of us we’d fit in a jar, hence the need for that nice gold urn after we’re cremated. But I digress again. In terms of weight loss, water has many roles both direct and indirect. I will list some of them here.

 Oxygenation: water is the most oxygenating compound we can consume. Oxygen is what burns body fat. If you are dehydrated you will lack the fluid and oxygen needed to effectively draw on your own body fat reserves.

 Digestion and Assimilation: For every gram of carbohydrate that we eat, 3 grams of water is needed to absorb it. Protein’s water requirement is very similar. If you are dehydrated, you will not be able to properly utilize your nutrients. Why is this important? See tip #5 on gut irritation and poor digestion.

 Fluid Balance: When the body is in a state of dehydration, the brain releases a hormone called ADH a.k.a. (anti-diuretic hormone). This hormone prevents the body from getting rid of water thus causing WATER RETENTION. So the act of drinking water will help the body maintain a normal fluid balance.

            Here are some guidelines to help you maintain proper hydration:

A. drink ½ of your body weight in ounces of water.

B. drink the highest quality water possible.

C. avoid the smokey water jugs as they leak chemicals into the water.

D. drink a glass or 2 of water about 15 minutes before you eat. This helps with digestion.

 3. Exercise: Form follows function. I am not being sarcastic when I say this but please learn how to exercise properly. I cannot tell you the countless number of people I have seen wandering aimlessly around the gym using horrible exercise technique. More injuries occur from untutored exercise than is published. What I am about say is a strong statement, however I believe it to be true based on my 14 years of observation. If you have not been taught proper exercise technique by a skilled professional you are probably not using proper technique. Everyone needs a skilled eye to critique their form. Even professionals like me. If you think that you don’t, you are doing yourself a terrible disservice. If you would like to learn how to make exercise work for you,  contact us and schedule a structural evaluation.

 2. Planned Layoffs: Over training can be just as counterproductive as being sedentary given the right circumstances. Exercise is essentially stress on the body.  Too much stress causes abnormal chemical responses in the body such as excessive cortisol in the blood. Cortisol is the body’s stress hormone and is produced by the adrenal glands. It is counterproductive to building muscle because it causes protein break down in the body. It can cause some other undesirable effects like sugar cravings and mood swings. This definitely will not help if you are trying to lose weight or achieve an optimal health. Some other signs of over training are:

·        Soreness that lasts longer than five days.

·        Inability to sleep soundly

·        Fatigue during the day.

·        Loss of appetite

            With this in mind, it is important that you do not exercise excessively in order to substitute for poor nutrition. The reality is that you can take high impact aerobics classes until you are blue in the face. But if you are not eating properly and including strength training in your program, it will do you more harm than good. This same rule applies to those who do not allow adequate rest between training sessions. The body does not progress during exercise. It is only when it is allowed to fully recover from an exercise session that the body will become stronger and fit. The bottom line is to stimulate not annihilate. We often get hooked on the more is better philosophy with exercise. Work then rest is the key to success. If you are at the beginner or intermediate level, I recommend doing less volume of exercise (i.e. less sets and reps) per workout rather than thrashing yourself and being sore and stiff for days afterwards. Individuals at the advanced level will be able to tolerate higher training volume but will still have to pay close attention to nutrition to avoid over training. Ori Hofmekler does an excellent job in explaining this concept in his book Warrior Diet. This book along with the Metabolic Typing diet will give you all the information you need to healthy and fit.

 1. More Food in your Food. “Concentrated Nutrition for Appetite Control”:

Food quality is the single most important variable in achieving permanent weight loss. You are what you eat.  If you are going to make your body out of coffee, muffins and salads made of iceberg lettuce, your body will be in a constant state of “hungry”. There is a little mechanism in your brain called the Appestat. The purpose of the appestat is to determine if all of your nutritional requirements are being met. Unfortunately the prevalence of processed foods deprived of nutrition has sent most of our appestats into complete chaos. This is why obesity has become an epidemic in America today. Ironically, those who suffer from obesity are probably the most under nourished.  This is because their appestat tells them to keep eating because the food in their diet lacks nutritional value.  Therefore too many calories are consumed in an effort to get the proper daily nutrients.

The best way to control your appetite is to EAT ORGANIC WHOLE FOOD. Organic food has the highest concentration of nutrients per calorie. Make sure that you are eating a variety of organic produce i.e. fruits and vegetables. If you have trouble getting the recommended 5 to 9 servings of fruits and vegetables, I recommend taking Juice Plus.  Juice Plus is 17 fruits and vegetables concentrated in capsule form.  It is the next best thing to fruits and vegetables. You are getting the equivalent of 4 to 6 pounds of fruits and vegetables per daily serving. For more information on Juice Plus, contact us.

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