The Truth about Weight Loss and Obesity
by Dr. James P. Cima, D.C.
Why Diet and Exercise Do Not Work and How Our Profession Can Spear-Head the Obesity Epidemic
How many patients and or loved ones do you treat where there is a direct correlation between their weight and their physical condition(s)?
There are many instances when patients come into my office where their weight is the largest contributing factor to their physical impairment and yet a lot of doctors will not address this issue. Even when you address this issue as delicately and politely as possible, do you create a nutritional program to improve their weight control? If not, then you are losing a very lucrative portion of your practice.
If you are not addressing this issue, either by omission or commission, then you are not giving the patients what they really need and desperately want.
This is an epidemic where people are paranoid because they have such issues with their weight. How many times do you hear, “Can’t eat this,” or “Have to eat that even though I hate it.” You go out to a fine restaurant and instead of enjoying yourself, you either feel guilty by what you ordered or deprived by what you did not order.
Why? Because people are obsessed with their weight and they do not know the truth and are misinformed about weight control, and the statistics bear this out.
In 1962, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) research statistics showed that the percentage of obesity in America’s population was at 13 percent. By 1980, it had risen to 15 percent; by 1994 to 23 percent; and, by the year 2000, the obesity progression in America had reached an unprecedented 31 percent!
Web MD states that:
• 58 million people are overweight.
• 40 million people are obese.
• 3 million people are morbidly obese.
• 80% of type II diabetes is related to obesity
• 70% of cardiovascular disease is related to obesity
• 42% of breast and colon cancer diagnosed among obese individuals is related to obesity.
The U.S. Surgeon General, Richard H. Carmona, stated in a report on July 16, 2003, that, “These overwhelming research statistics reveal an alarming obesity trend, the need for diagnosis, and a call to action.” (The Surgeon General forgot to mention the musculo- skeletal degenerative damage due to this epidemic that we see daily.) The two leading culprits perpetuating the epidemic of obesity are the food and the weight loss industry. The food industry is continually pushing calorie dense foods loaded with fat, white sugar, salt, and chemicals that not only put pounds of fat on our bodies, but are addicting as well. The only thing growing faster than the epidemic of obesity is the weight loss industry. We have diets, exercise programs, and weight loss Guru’s now more than ever. So why are we a nation of overweight and obese people? Because of all the garbage and nonsense that they are feeding us, literally!
The purpose of this article is to arm our profession with sensible and sound nutritional principles that will allow us to deal with this epidemic. If we, as a profession, do not seize this opportunity, others will, and it will threaten the health and economy of this nation. In this article, I will be addressing the questions that most of my patients ask about the principles of weight control.
Why does “losing weight” not work?
It is because weight loss is not only the wrong target or goal but it is unhealthy. If your goal is to lose weight, then I can almost guarantee you that you will fail and damage body chemistry. In fact, I can bet that after you lose your weight it will come back and you will have gained more weight than you lost. The biggest problem for most people is that they are fixated on achieving some number on the scale…. You get on the scale and, if you do not like the number, your day is ruined…. Sound familiar? The truth is the only one who knows how much you weigh is you, nobody else cares. Life isn’t a carnival or circus where people guess your weight. They have no idea how much you weigh, but they DO know what you look like. If you look great, you get complimented; they never ask how much you weigh. So, if your target is weight loss, then you are shooting at the wrong target and you can never do the right things to achieve the body and health you always wanted to achieve.
What should my target (goal) be if I want people to compliment my physical appearance?
The answer is simple: it’s body composition! What is body composition? It is looking at the composition of what the body is composed of, which is water, fat, and lean tissue (muscle). You see, when you lose weight through fad diets and exercise programs, you never take into account that your weight loss (especially at the beginning) is mostly lean tissue (muscle, organ, gland and bone) and water and very little fat. Depending on what type of diet(s) and exercise(s) you engage in over time can speed up this process where you continually increase the fat composition of your body until it is almost too late. You have stalled your metabolism and your body fat content has gone through the roof. Now you look for a simple fix to a complex problem as you go to the next huckster for the next con game. So, it is not how much weight you lose, it is what you lose. Now you can see why weight loss does not work and is the wrong goal.
When your goal is body composition, you must have the proper nutrition to fuel, repair and rebuild your body so those percentages stay healthy
What are healthy body composition percentages?
If we were to look at the healthy percentages of what your body composition should be composed of, it would be this:
1. Water makes up about 50-60% of your body weight
2. Lean body tissue makes up from between 30-40% of your body weight and is composed of your organs, glands, muscles, bones, and integument. (THE CALORIE BURNING CAPACITY OF YOUR BODY)
3. Body fat should make up 10-20% of your body weight. This fat is important for the production of your skin, cell membranes, protection of your organs, brain and nervous system, energy storage, and lymph production.
4. Minerals and carbohydrates account for 1-2% of your body weight.
How can I master my body composition?
Through the secrets of metabolic stimulation! If you can master your body composition, you will never have to worry about your weight and how you look again! Once you learn the secrets of metabolic stimulation to change and improve your body composition, you will be able to eat more and create the body you always wanted. The secrets of metabolic stimulation will be explored through the next three segments of this article.
For more information about this program, contact Dr. Cima at 1-877-627-2770 or visit www.cimasystem.com.