Maile Pols, Ph.D, well-known in the industry  has come up with some physical and psychological reasons as to why it is so hard to lose weight.  Some of her suggestions seem obvious, and are also recommended by the American Cancer Institute such as avoiding processed foods and eating more fruits and vegetables,  but others are thought provoking and may warrant a visit to your doctor to see if you may have a sluggish thyroid gland or glandular malfunction. 

Dr Pols asks: 

1. Is your thyroid gland sluggish? This will change your metabolism rate (rate of burning fuel for energy in the body) and make it more difficult to lose weight.

2. Is glandular malfunction causing you to have a pear-shaped figure?

3. Do you have bloating and swelling from excessive fluid retention?

4. Do you have poor digestion and assimilation (undernourished people, having inadequate intake of essential nutrients or- do not easily burn fat), poor circulation, poor liver function, or constipation?

5. Are you deficient in digestive enzymes, acidophilus, or have improper  pH levels (acid-base levels) in your digestive or body chemistry?

6. Are you a binge eater, stress eater, reward eater, have a big sweet-tooth?

Dr. Pols’ four points crucial for any successful weight loss program:

1. A diet containing as few processed foods as possible. Avoid ‘dead’ foods like canned, salted, pickled, preserved, and overcooked foods.

2. Avoid foods containing animal fats.

3. Nutritional support for a ’sluggish’ thyroid gland, if needed.

4. Regular, significant exercise and plenty of pure, filtered water (6-8 eight oz. glasses/day).

5. Psychological or emotional counseling or work to help determine underlying emotional causes of weight gain.

Overweight and obese people face a clear health risk. Obesity has been linked with numerous health conditions including heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, gall bladder disease, respiratory conditions, complications of pregnancy, even certain cancers. Obesity shortens a person’s life span. Once a person becomes obese, all that is required to remain obese is that the energy input (food) equal the energy output. In other words, once a person becomes obese, all they have to eat is the same amount of food as a person of average weight to remain obese.

As many as 50% of women and 25% of men in America are trying to lose weight at any given time by dieting, exercise, behavior modification, or drugs. Diets for weight loss have been shown to be ineffective and even damaging to one’s health.

Dr. Pols discusses that scientific studies reveal that most low-calorie diets that aren’t accompanied by heavy exercise, can result in a 50% loss of lean muscle mass. “Having a knowledge of how your body works, and if your individual chemistry is working properly or is unbalanced, and looking at what type of eating habits you have will make it easier for you to choose the correct program to make the necessary long-term changes in diet, body chemistry, and lifestyle to gain the results you desire. Permanent weight loss can be achieved safely, and without side-effects in this way.”

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