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Weight Loss: The bigger issue!

Weight loss, green coffee beans and the THE BIGGER ISSUE

A new hope for weight loss was reviewed on Dr. Oz show, "In a recent trial, 16 overweight young adults lost a whopping 17.5 lbs and 16% body fat in 22 weeks using green coffee been extract.  The participants were assigned a low dose at one point and a high dose at another point during the 22 weeks, with more weight loss occurring during the high dose period.  The low dose was 700 mg and the high dose was 1050 mg per day.

Apart from the amount of weight lost, what's great about this study is that the people actually continued eating their normal amount of food. No dieting!"

Everyone, would like to pop a pill and lose weight. When it comes to weight loss most folks know the following:

  1. Exercise more (resistance training and aerobics). get enough sleep
  2. Eat more fruits, vegetables, fish or modest (3 oz.) portions lean red meat from grass fed cattle
  3. Eat high fiber foods while avoiding processed foods and all white flour products
  4. Eat unsweetened yogurt or Kiefer to improve intestinal functioning
  5. Eat less or avoid completely: fast food, junk food, deep fried food, dessert
  6. Don't go back for seconds
  7. Don't eat late at night
There are no mysteries in the above list. The challenge is to follow the above list by regulating ourselves. Self-regulation in our industrialized-computerized-social networked-high speed world may just be a dream to many. Come home from work at night, chill out in front of the TV and eat comfort food-even though a hearty supper was consumed. It is that topic that I wish to address: emotional eating. In a world beset with trauma, news-flashes, terrorism, unemployment and   weak family dynamics. Many people want to escape or at least find themselves with a daily dose of anxiety that needs to be squashed before sleep is entertained. The common cure for daily anxiety: eat...
 
Okay, many attempt to micro-manage the eating issue with specialty or fad diets that generate a yo-yo effect. That is, lose weight then put it right back on (often quickly). Programs that stress healthy eating changes make more sense than programs that introduce fad foods and drinks. But, still each and every night we face the two giants: TV and snacks. Many if not most people are defeated each night by the aforementioned dynamic duo. Each and every morning we vow to change the pattern and repent. Whoa! Changing patterns is incredibly difficult--that is, unless you are advising other people, then it is quite simple.
 
Can even one pattern be changed?  Possibly. Education about healthy eating is a plus. Emptying your pantries of junk food and nuked fast food removes temptation. One more idea to consider: reducing daily stress. It is at this point I would suggest biofeedback in one of it's many forms. There are home trainers as well as professional practitioners who can assist us to quell limbic system arousal or an overactive sympathetic nervous system. Neurofeedback is an especially power treatment. One form known as alpha/theta training promotes deep relaxation-something missing from most of our  hectic lives. While the immediate goal is to reduce late-night emotional eating; reduced stress and internal calmness has long been associated with improved immune system functioning as well as longevity. If you have not heard about the neurofeedback and the profound sense of relaxation that can be realized by those who have trained for 20-30 sessions, I invite you to investigate. We are in a state-of-the art world. The solution to weight loss via reduced stress may just come from state-of-the art biofeedback equipment.  
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