The Truth About Your Weight Gain & How to Regain Control

Is there part of you that’s really upset with yourself for being in the shape you’re in - feeling guilty about the extra weight you’ve put on? Well stop it! It won’t help!

We all see the commercials about the new foods with zero (0) grams of trans fats, or made with whole grain, or containing “real dairy,” or “real fruit;” using phrases that make the foods sound like we ought to feel good about consuming them. We all know about the huge portions at restaurants and the fattening dressings put on salads. So why are so many people still struggling with their weight and with their health?

Some of the reasons are simple and others are not. Let’s start with the trickier ones. First of all, just because a label or advertisement says, “whole grain” or that there are zero grams of trans fats, don’t believe it. When a label reads, “zero (0) grams trans fats,” it sounds like there will be no trans fats in that product, and we all know how bad trans fats are. But when we read the nutrition label, we find that the product actually does contain trans fats. The level of trans fats may be less than one gram per serving, but that is more than zero trans fats!

Products labeled “made with real fruit,” may contain only a very small percentage of actual fruit. That is a far cry from being “real fruit.” Does that make it “unreal fruit?” Other examples of deceptive or misleading labeling occur with certain brands of cheeses. The front label may read, “made with real dairy” or “a real cheese product,” but the nutrition label will show that there is only a small percentage (often less than 10%) of real dairy in that cheese, so does that make it real? In my mind, that makes it 90% fake!
The main lesson to take away, here, is to carefully read the nutrition panel on your food items, and only eat real food.

The less complicated issue has to do with your mind. Unless you have a pathological reason such as hypothyroidism (an underactive thyroid) for struggling with your weight, the simple truth is that you are ingesting more food (calories) than your body is using (needs), which causes the body to store what it doesn’t use (fat). Now, what’s cool is that your mind is so powerful that it has been supporting this “habit,” and what’s great about that is that you can now train your mind to support you in your new habit of eating well, eating only what your body needs, and increasing your metabolism.

To begin to get your mind to work for you, ask yourself some questions: What does food mean to me? What am I subconsciously gaining by overeating? Does it feed my sorrow or boredom? Is that extra layer keeping me safe or protecting me in some way? Once you find the answer, and you will, it will free you to shed that extra layer. And once you do that, you will realize that there is nothing you can’t accomplish. How cool is that?

Consult your doctor before starting any exercise program or diet, especially if you have been diagnosed with diabetes or any other medical condition.

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