How Important Is Maintaining A Normal Weight?

By BJLife/Alan Freishtat
Posted on 01/25/23

Alan is coming to the Baltimore-Washington area February 20 and 21st.  If you would like to schedule a meeting with him for an intake session, please email info@alanfitness.com or call our office 516-568-5027

A few years ago, I wrote several articles that were published as a blog/newsletter and at the time in the English HaModia and Baltimore Jewish Life about a lady named Aviva who had come to me previously (now 5 years) with a weight of 155 kilograms—that’s 341 pounds.  At the time of the last article, I wrote about her progress. That was three years ago and she had dropped 39 kilograms, or 86 pounds.  Without going into great detail, here blood tests also looked a lot better than when she started.  Now, as of the writing of this article, she has dropped 53 kilo or 121 pounds.  If you are visioning a skinny lady, we aren’t there yet.  As a matter of fact, in order to have a healthy weight, Aviva still has to lose another 25 kilograms, 55 more pounds to achieve a truly healthy weight.  She is working very hard, but her rate of weight loss has slowed to a crawl.  It’s frustrating for her. Even though she is doing just about everything right, it’s going very slow.  We have even switched to a hyper-nutrition protocol, similar to what Dr. Brooke Goldner use to reverse autoimmune diseases thinking there might be some underlying condition that is in the way.  Although it is helping, it hasn’t increased the rate of weight loss that much.  All this work and determination is amazing to see.  But why is it SO important for her to finish this weight loss journey and get to her goal?  Let’s take a look at why weight loss is so important in regard to our health and longevity and what has to change if we are going to put an end to our obesity epidemic.

The state of our health in Western society is not good and it is getting worse.  The United States spends more health dollars per person that any other country yet its outcomes are poor.  They are near the bottom of the list on health care of OCED countries. For decades already, we are seeing an increase type 2 diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, autoimmune diseases and cancers. There are specifically 12 different cancers related to overweight and obesity. In the U.S., the amount of overweight or obese people is getting close to 80% of the population.  But there are those who still think you can be “fit and fat” or that there will be some pill out there to fix what will ail you later on.  Please understand, being obese will shorten your life over what it would have been otherwise.  Life expectancy for men can be as much as 20 years less and for women about 5 years. That is what the data says!  But now, how do we go about fixing the problem? 

First and foremost, and I know you have heard this from me before, DON’T DIET!  With a 96% failure rate, why would you even consider such a thing!  Look out for the long term.  Losing weight and gaining it back will only make things more difficult.  Like Aviva, change your outlook on eating.  The quality of what you eat if MORE important than calorie counting.  Your food needs to be high fiber, nutrient dense, water dense and low in fat and cholesterol, particularly saturated fat.  So concentrate on vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes, lentils with just a little bit of nuts and seeds.  Highly processed and junk food are out and the animal proteins, like meat, chicken, fish, eggs, and dairy (especially hard cheese) need to be very minimal in your overall eating.  You can eat a lot, not be hungry and drop weight.  Remember the following, the same mechanisms that are making you overweight are the same things that will cause chronic or autoimmune disease down the road.  Even if your blood tests look very good, overweight and obese people have more and more inflammation going on internally and it’s is a matter of what time of what day it manifests itself into which malady.

Obviously, food is the main emphasis.  But there are other very important factors.  Exercise is important and simply 30-35 minutes 6 days a week can make a difference.  Add two days of strength training to be in a great place.  7-9 hours of sleep each night is essential.  Don’t drink alcohol in any excess.  Stress should be managed well.  Put this all together, have some patience, and the weight will go down and your health will go up.  ALL THIS WITHOUT BEING HUNGRY OR DEPRIVED.  All this while gaining stamina and energy.

This is why Aviva, with all the reasons in the world to be discouraged with the rate of progress, sticks with her program.  She understands the importance of living a healthy life and getting a better and better quality of life. There can be consecutive weeks where nothing moves and then only incremental weight loss, but in the end of the day, it is coming off and will continue to do so.  Aviva and everyone who takes off the extra kilos are “adding hours to their day, days to their year and years to their lives.” 

Alan Freishtat is an A.C.E. CERTIFIED PERSONAL TRAINER and a BEHAVIORAL CHANGE and WELLNESS COACH with over 20 years of professional experience. Alan is the creator and director of The Wellness Clinic for prevention and reversal of illness and disease.  He is available for private coaching sessions, consultations, assessments and personalized workout programs both in his office and by telephone and skype. Alan also lectures and gives seminars and workshops. He can be reached at 02-651-8502 or 050-555-7175, or by email at alan@alanfitness.com Check out his web site – www.alanfitness.com US Line: 516-568-5027