9 Reasons Your Attempts At Weight Loss Didn’t Work
Looking at keywords that have brought people to my website I see a number of Google searches for “weight loss that works.” The world has likely told you weight gain is genetic and/or you can’t do anything about it without weight loss drugs. If you want to find weight loss that lasts then you’re in the right place. The way I see it, you’ve simply been doing the wrong things and ignoring things that matter. As you might imagine, when you do the right things and include the lifestyle habits that matter you’re going to be successful.
As a massage therapist I see people struggle with joint pain because they’re carrying too much weight. Add in lots of heavy exercise in attempt to lose weight and your joints begin to hurt even more.
Health is actually incredibly simple. It’s so simple in fact I see people who don’t believe what I offer will work for them. We’ve been given a dysfunctional relationship with food and fitness so for most people they think their life has to suck in some way for something to “work.”
Knowing how easy it is to dial in your body composition I don’t believe anyone needs to be medicated to reach their goals. I’ve worked on people on GLP-1 and they’ve traded weight loss for fragility. Fourty percent of weight loss is muscle and muscle mass determines longevity. They’ve essentially enrolled in an abbreviated life just so they can like the number on the scale.
I see countless people struggle but here’s the thing — it’s never been your fault. You’re not lacking willpower nor is your body completely broken and hopeless.
#1 Seed Oils Hinder Weight Loss
Touted as heart healthy they actually increase your odds of developing heart disease. Meanwhile butter is rich in Vitamin K2 that keeps calcium in your bones and out of your arteries. This is one of many lies that keep people confused about what’s healthy.
You’ve heard of antioxidants. Seed oils are the opposite, they’re pro-oxidants, pro-inflammation, and pro-aging. They also hinder your body’s ability to burn stored body fat for energy. So if you’ve ever cut your calories by eating boatloads of salad odds are your salad dressing was full of these oils that would prevent your body fat loss.
“But Jen, I use olive oil and avocado oil because they’re in the Mediterranean diet.” Another study came out recently showing that even “clean brands” of oils, chips, and condiments stating they’re made with avocado and olive oil, are actually are made with seed oils.
Whenever small companies sell out to big food, big food makes it dirty in order to save $$ but they also continue to charge you premium prices. #thingsthatfirejenup
#2 You Tried Weight Loss By Cutting Calories
The concept of calories was created by putting food into an oven.
You’re not an oven so why would this work for you?
If you eat broccoli, steak, or cookies those calories are not the same biochemically. If they were you could live on cookies and lose weight.
Calorie restricted diets have a 95-97% failure rate depending on various sources. This is one of the reasons I refer to when I say you’re not broken. The traditional approach to weight loss doesn’t work for anyone.
When you restrict your calories to lose weight 2 hormonal changes happen.
Your HUNGER hormones INCREASE
and
Your SATIETY hormones DECREASE
This means you’re going to find it much more difficult to feel full. They say you lack willpower and you must not want weight loss bad enough but no one can win that hormonal cascade.
#3 You’re Not Eating Enough — And You’re Simply Eating The Wrong Things
If it says fat free, sugar free, heart healthy, keto, low carb, and even the new products with “protein” added, these are the top things to avoid. They’re created with profits in mind, not weight loss or long term health.
People I’ve coached lose significant weight initially just by cutting out all the chemicals that are added to our food. These chemicals leave you inflamed setting the stage for chronic disease. As inflammation dissipates you’ll lose water weight — and you’ll feel a heck of a lot better.
The idea your body is a bank making deposits and withdrawals of calories has been driven into us when in reality your body is a delicate biochemical environment always striving for balance, a.k.a. homeostasis. Body composition is hormonal more than caloric.
#4 Lifestyle Matters Just As Much As Food Choices
You can count calories, carbs, and macros but the piece usually missing for successful weight loss is lifestyle habits.
Lifestyle determines what your hormonal environment looks like.
If you exercise frequently, get up for 4 am workouts, avoid the sun, and hate your job these are just a few reasons you might not see body fat loss.
#5 You Might Be Leptin Resistant
In this instance your body believes you’re starving so it zaps your energy. It doesn’t want you to burn too many calories and it increases your hunger — all so you don’t starve to death even though you’re carrying excess weight. Exercise is only 10% of weight loss. In this scenario the unending hunger is the bigger culprit.
When you’re ravenous you don’t have the patience to cook. In these instances people reach for what’s quick, convenient, and easy. That typically translates into processed food which is the true culprit.
#6 Weight Loss and Body Composition Are Two Separate Things
Some people assume that all weight loss is good but there are things you don’t want to lose:
Muscle mass
Bone Density
Connective Tissue
Organ mass
Hydration
Consider this:
One liter of water weighs 2.2 lbs. You eat, drink, and go to the bathroom. The scale goes up and down and most of it means absolutely nothing.
Heck, I’ve had girlfriends spend hundreds of dollars on a weekend “cleanse.” They drink green smoothies all weekend and spend a significant amount of time on the toilet. Come Monday the scale says they weigh less so in their mind they believe it worked. In reality you’re simply a little dehydrated.
#7 Weight Loss Programs Sabotage Your Point Of View
“But Jen, I did W_ W_, J_ C_, (insert whatever program you want), and I lost X number of pounds.”
Here’s the thing. If you gained the weight back then that weight loss program didn’t work. A program should work and it should last indefinitely. We’re the only mammal that doesn’t know what to eat and the only one that struggles with body composition.
Most weight loss programs are a great business model. They help you lose weight just enough for you to believe they’re helping you, but not well enough to prevent your return business. How many people do you know who’ve gone to W W multiple times?
What’s even worse is I get to see the psychological damage many of these programs do to women. I’ve yet to help a woman lose weight where I had to tell her to eat less. If anything, I have to encourage them to eat more and initially they’re afraid to.
They don’t trust themselves to eat so they weigh and measure everything they consume out of fear of what will happen if they don’t. How did something so necessary to our life become so complicated?
The truth is it’s not.
#8 Your Exercise Routine Is The Reason You Can’t Lose The Remaining Weight
You don’t like how you look in the mirror so you decide you’re going to exercise more and/or more intensely. Looking to burn as many calories as possible you decide to kick it up to 5-7 days a week of workouts for 1-2 hours each day. Some days you get up extra early just to make sure you don’t miss a session.
Or you enroll in a group fitness class where you enjoy being pushed to the brink because you believe you’re not motivated enough on your own.
And then there’s the running. Everyone thinks they need running for long distances at a red faced pace. More concerning are those who believe they need to add weights to the mix.
“Your future joints are calling to tell you to please stop.”
Exercise contributes 10% of body fat loss. The point of exercise is to strengthen the body to maintain range of motion, muscle mass, and bone density. Everyone uses the restroom and squats mimmic that motion. How long would you like to use the bathroom independently? THAT is the purpose of exercise. To be able to get off the floor by yourself and live as actively as you can for as long as you can.
#9 They Made You An Addict
In the mid 1980’s cigarette sales were going down so Phillip Morris bought Nabisco, General Foods, and Kraft. He took the addictive properties of cigarettes and applied them to our food. The goal was to chemically enhance food products with an addictive quality. This is why you can’t eat just 1 or a serving size.
Alternately, no one eats produce, meat, or any whole food in the same ravenous way. Even worse, using the popularity of the Camel cigarette cartoon figure they then put cartoons everywhere and bright colors to attract the attention of kids.
Most kids are picky eaters, teens are picky eaters with their own funds, college kids are usually too broke to eat well, and then we enter adulthood with 2 decades of poor eating under our belt. It’s no reason most people don’t know what to eat.
The worst trick is products that have been around for decades are no longer made with the same ingredients. Grains are loaded with glyphosate. Yeast Extract, monosodium glutamate, natural flavors, and maltodextrin are all designed to stimulate your brain and taste buds. They add healthy sounding ingredients like apple juice concentrate which actually has more fructose than high fructose corn syrup.
The Good News: Weight Loss That Lasts IS Possible
Prior to becoming a massage therapist I worked as an analytical chemist. Everyday I saw chemical safety data sheets state how much of a particular chemical is needed to kill 50% of mice.
If “X” amount of a chemical kills 50% of mice what does that do to your cells? Sure, they don’t put that much in 1 box of food, but what happens when it’s in multiple boxes? What happens when it’s in multiple boxes with a bunch of other random chemicals?
Let’s say I’m conducting a science experiment where I want to feed you random chemicals in random quantities for 75 years. What would it take for you to agree to that study?
Yet when you walk through any supermarket that’s what it is — a collection of random chemicals. When you consider the herbicides and pesticides on these products you begin to see why everyone is so sick.
If they have to wear hazmat protection to apply these chemicals how is it suddenly safe to eat?
How To Get Help From Jen:
If you live near Boise, Idaho I offer in person coaching sessions in my office. And I’ve made it affordable for everyone because no one should lose their health from the simple, and necessary, act of eating.
Click on the coaching services tab below to get started. I offer individual sessions as well as an 8 week program.
