Dieting

It’s estimated that the female population spends ¾ of their adult lives jumping on and off the diet roller coaster only to gain the weight right back within 6 months. So why do we continue with this futile exercise? …. The reason most people struggle with weight loss is they have little if any knowledge of food and how the body metabolize it. With the epidemic of obesity on the rise the medical community has drawn a direct correlation with obesity to heart disease, diabetes and cancer. So why as a nation do we still have the highest level of obesity in the world? Are we over eating, or just eating incorrectly? My goal is to re-introduce you to a healthier view and approach that in turn, will give you the tools to embark on a health and wellness path of longevity.

To simplify, think of your body as a financial portfolio, the nutritional density of your food dictates the return on your investment.  What your body withdraws is based on what you deposit in the form of food choices, and how much energy the body yields from these food sources. Financial experts state that the key to successful money management is to DIVERSIFY, DIVERSIFY, DIVERSIFY. Sounds simple, right? Here’s an example:

Stock (A) 3-cups Raw Spinach                    Stock (B) 3-cups Iceberg Lettuce

Calories-20                                          23

Protein-2.5gr                                       1.5gr

Fibrous Carbs-3gr                               5.0gr

Fat-0                                                    0

Vitamin C-25mg                                 4.5mg

Vitamin A-8,500IU                            830IU

Calcium-90mg                                     30mg

Potassium-500mg                                230mg

Both stocks cost about the same per share, however, if you invest in stock (A), your return is somewhere between 300-1000% depending upon the individual nutrients. I realize this is a gross simplification of a highly complex subject, but for the sake of modification it’s extremely revealing. Both components make-up a salad, however component (A) will yield you more bang for your buck i.e. calories/nutrients than component (B).

Why is this information so important? It’s not just about weight loss, although for most, that is their primary reason for dieting. A proper balanced diet is about choices, whereas weight is about the number on the scale. Where weight is concerned what we should be more focused on is body fat percentage. For women, it’s a calculation based on waist/hip ratio. Body fat percentage is a more accurate snap shot of your desired weight than the scale. More importantly, a subject getting a lot of buzz these days is hormones, and how the role they play in balancing our body’s responses to food, digestion, sleep, weight loss, mood, cellular rejuvenation and overall health and wellness. The concept of using food as medicine is nothing new, in fact, it’s a concept espoused by Hippocrates, the father of modern medicine some 2500 years ago…”let food be thy medicine, and medicine be thy food”.

During my quest to find the ideal diet formula, I ran across a five page paper written by Dr. Feely, a Chicago based osteopathic physician outlining the cause and effect of balancing hormones through diet; giving the layman, such as myself, a physiological overview. In addition, I highly recommend a book written by a naturopathic doctor, Natasha Turner from Toronto Canada titled the Hormone Diet; it's a wealth of informative content and reference material; the only diet book I purchased thus far that was worth the investment, it definitely works.