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Column Email This Article To A Friend African Americans and the Vicious Weight Loss Cycle By Makeisha Lee, Black Health Consultant www.CleanseFormula.com Columbus, OH (BlackNews.com) - With the new year around the corner, many of us are contemplating ways to better ourselves, and enhance the quality of our lives. So as tradition would have it, many adopt new year resolutions. For many African Americans, our goals almost always include self-improvement in some form or facet. However, weight loss usually ranks at the top of many lists. We are obsessed as a nation with weight loss through dietary fads. Dieting is the number one approach for dealing with obesity and excessive weight gain in the U.S. We spend billions each year within the diet industry, but yet the number of obese persons has increased by 50 percent in the last decade. So all of that money, time, and effort ends up being spent for nothing by years end. Statistics show that although most diets can help you to lose at least 10% of your total body weight, 67% of American dieters regain their weight within a year after stopping. 95% of dieters regain their weight within 5 years, and 33% end up gaining more weight than what they had before they started dieting. Why? The answer is simple: Diets do not address the underlying imbalances in the body and lifestyle factors that are the primary causes of obesity and excessive weight gain. Safely, effectively and permanently losing weight involves a lifetime commitment that includes factors that encompasses a holistic health approach - The big picture that is. Diets and weight loss specialists tend to neglect this area. In fact, there is a common misconception that obesity is only caused by overeating and lack of exercise. While this can be true in some cases, there are other factors such as dieting, food allergies, hereditary and social factors, insulin imbalances, metabolic disorders like dysfunctional thyroids, and toxins in the body. In order to lose weight successfully each of these factors should be looked at and properly addressed. These are the underlying factors that diet programs totally overlook. Instead they focus their attention on calorie and food restriction. Restriction can lead to rapid weight loss, but is dangerous because it triggers the body's survival mechanisms, which is to store calories in the (form of fat). This in turn leads to binges and overeating as soon as the diet is over. So not only does your metabolism slow down, but fat cells become bloated and fatty toxins are stored in the body's tissues. Thus, weight is put back on over time. This example explains why successful weight loss cannot be solely achieved through the latest fad diet or weight loss supplement. So on your quest for weight loss, what exactly should you be looking for as a solution? For starters you want to listen to your body for clues that you are making the wrong food choices, and change them. Acquire good eating habits that help you reduce body fat, and stop depending on quick weight loss dieting. Do your own research and you will find that diet foods are loaded with chemicals such as artificial sweetners like aspartame and artificial flavoring such as MSG, commonly disguised as hydrolyzed vegetable protein. These chemicals cause damage to the body’s organ that is responsible for regulating body weight, thus contributing to obesity among people who eat foods containing these substances. Not to mention that you become physically addicted to them. Bottom line is that sugars and processed foods have no place in your diet when you want to lose weight. Read your labels. There is no one product or magic potion for successful weight loss and good health. The key to lasting success is a comprehensive dietary/lifestyle program that addresses all your causes of excessive weight gain and obesity. Remember this is a life long commitment involving lifestyle changes, not just another new year's resolution or another jump on the latest fad diet train. Take charge of your life now! Look better, feel better and be better than ever!! Makeisha Lee is a health and nutrition consultant. For more information about cleansing and detoxifying your body, contact her at 614-595-1425 or makeisha@cleanseformula.com or learn more at www.CleanseFormula.com

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