Barriers to Overcome

Each day, each week, each month, we face internal and external barriers that will thwart our weight loss journey. Recognize them; embrace them, and learn to overcome them.

This week seems to have been a week of challenges for many people. Some, who are once again facing a weight loss program, seemingly for the 100th time. Belief that they really can lose weight is low because every time they have tried to lose weight in the past they have regained.

But, what has happened? Why is it that people can lose weight and then regain everything, possibly even more? Are they destined to do this every time? Is it genetics? Do they simply lack will power? Do they have "low metabolism” as so many feel they have?
First off, weight gain is indeed a function of hormones in the body that have been with us for thousands of years. We are built for starvation. Our signalling hormones to store fat have not yet adapted to the excess of food and sedentary living all around us. People, some more than others, have intestinal hormones that signal the appetite and metabolic area of the brain. These people will likely store fat more easily than others. We are dealing with the front part of the brain which is the addictive area or the ‘impulse control' area. Again, some people have mal adaptive centers and are more driven to the taste and texture of food than others. It is important to recognize this because we blame ourselves for lack of will power, when actually, the issue has been an array of hormones that drives the body to store fat (presumably for the next famine).

Now look around. Food is everywhere. You can't even stop to fill your car up with gas without there being a small store filled with junk food. You visit friends and the first things you find are lots of high-calorie tasty snacks. You don't want to offend your friend, do you? So you snack. Your spouse watches TV in the evening, munching on potato chips or slurps on ice cream, and your frontal lobe is screaming with desire for some of that same food! Then there is alcohol. Didn't your cardiologist tell you that red wine is good for your heart? Or you travel a lot: trying to find small healthy meals in airports is difficult (not impossible, but difficult). At work, your co-workers bring in snacks that are difficult to resist. How many of us are walking or cycling to work? The most we do is click our garage door opener and get in the car. Sure, we go to the gym three times per week, but what are we doing the rest of the time? At a recent conference at Harvard a professor asked us where most Americans burn their calories in a day. The answer: ‘driving the car to and from work'!

It is no wonder, then, that when you combine our hormones that drive us to store fat , and plunk us in a society that is busy, filled with TV's , computers, excess food, and little need to walk anywhere, that we gain weight very easily!

Unfortunately, as of 2011 we have no drugs to block the signalling to eat, or to increase our metabolic rate. Instead, we must realize the difficult issues we face in losing and maintaining weight. You and I must learn not to have seconds. We must learn not to be ashamed to say ‘no' to the offering of unnecessary food from our friends. We must train ourselves to eat small portions equally throughout the day, and we must not have any junk food in the house that may trigger us to eat. Also, throughout the day we have to find ways to move! We were not created to sit in a chair or lie on a couch. Take a walk at noon hour. Get off the bus a few stops early. Walk or cycle to work if you are able. Minimize the time you spend in the evening in front of the computer and TV, and never eat while watching TV (simply because these are mindless empty calories and we never realize any sense of fullness).

Just to maintain weight, all of us need at least 180 minutes of activity a week (outside of our normal daily routines).

So, it is difficult; there is no question about that. But it is your body. It is your health, and only you can make decisions to eat or not eat, exercise or not exercise. For sure, I know you can learn to do this. You can learn to eat less and be happy. You can learn to exercise more and not "hate it”. But it takes lots of practice. You will face frustrations, but ultimately, you face happiness and empowerment when you finally gain control.

So, never ever give up trying. You can do it!

Dr. Doug