By Frank Suárez, on September 11th, 2010
 Diabetes is a condition characterized by excessive urination, persistent thirst, weight loss, and chronic fatigue often accompanied by an apathetic emotional state. It is a fact that more than 90% of diabetics are overweight or obese. It is also known that diabetes is the principal cause of amputations, kidney problems, and heart attacks. The problem is that the number of people who are suffering from diabetes is increasing as time goes by; the American Diabetes Association estimates that there is currently 7.8% of the US population diagnosed with diabetes and another 18% of the population who are pre-diabetic, which in effect means they are future diabetics. According to US Census, the population was at 317 million in 2009 which translates to 81 million people, 25.8% of the population, who are already affected with diabetes and diagnosed or who are affected and are on track to be diagnosed with it. It is estimated that 1 in 4 Americans will be impacted with diabetes sooner or later. It is an epidemic and it continues to spread!
There are an unlimited number of theories regarding what causes diabetes. Scientists and medical researchers, who don’t really know the cause, always end up blaming the genes and the “hereditary factor”. Nutritionists blame sugar. Naturists blame chemicals and preservatives. The reality is that nobody really knows what causes this condition and the majority doesn’t know how to control it without medication, which is very useful for the pharmaceutical companies who benefit from the sale of such medications. Diabetics represent the percentage of the population with the most illnesses (high blood pressure, high triglycerides, high cholesterol, depression, male impotence, etc., etc.).
If we look at the fact that more than 90% of diabetics are overweight and at the proven fact that by losing weight blood glucose levels can be regulated and diabetes controlled, then we can conclude that diabetes has a lot to do with nutrition and with the metabolism of the human body.
In the last 12 years I have had the opportunity of helping more than 25, 000 lose weight. At least 7,500 of them were diabetic. I observed that with weight loss they experienced “miracles” such as: many diabetics did not have to inject insulin anymore, they were able to reduce or eliminate their diabetic medication (under the supervision of their medical doctor), men who suffered from impotence were able to recover their sexual potency, diabetics who had sores or wounds not healed, and that now were able to heal. In other words, pure miracles!
In ancient times in countries such as India, diabetes was detected by asking a person to urinate on the ground and then observing the reaction of ants to see if they were attracted to any possible sugar if the person was diabetic. By definition, diabetes is a problem of the body in which blood sugar called “glucose” accumulates in excess and it is precisely this same sugar that destroys the body of a diabetic. All sugars ferment when in humid and warm environments (such as the human body). A diabetic person has within his body the equivalent of a still http:/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moonshine, which produces acids and alcohols (moonshine), because of the excess sugar that floats in the blood. These acids and alcohol produced in the body due to the excess blood sugar slowly destroy his body. Because acids destroy oxygen, body cells drown in sugar and acids, a death caused by a lack of oxygen. Finally, the sugar kills the diabetic.
My experience with thousands of diabetics has been that diabetes is simply an inability of the body to process refined carbohydrates. In other words, a diabetic body has serious problems when it is fed with bread, flour, candies, chocolate, rice, potatoes, sugary fruits, etc. If a diabetics makes the mistake of eating tropical fruits which are too sweet like raisins, mango and banana he will also have problems. At first I have seen in thousands of cases that if diabetics concentrate on eating natural carbohydrates such as vegetables or salad combined with meats (chicken, turkey, fish) and a lot of water (not sodas, not even diet soda) they will see a significant improvement in their diabetes. In fact we have documented hundreds of cases in which diabetics who apply the 3 x 1 Diet™ which we recommend and were able, with their doctor’s help, to totally eliminate the need to inject insulin. Others had to reduce or eliminate their medication for diabetes when this diet was applied.
The book The Power of Your Metabolism explains the 3 x 1 Diet™ and the life style changes that have resulted in great help for diabetics and for those persons who want to lose weight. If you need more information you can access www.RelaxSlim.com. If you combine a diet that is easy to maintain because you can eat “all types of food”, such as the 3 x 1 Diet™, with sufficient amounts of water intake, the results are almost immediate. The person will lose weight and control their diabetes.
Frank Suárez
Metabolism and Obesity Specialist
By Frank Suárez, on June 12th, 2010
All humans have a gland that is located in the neck that is shaped like a butterfly with its wings open. This gland is called the thyroid gland and its hormones control your metabolism as well as your body temperature. Without going into technical details, we can say that this gland produces a hormone that within medicine is called T4. This hormone, T4, is not an active hormone, but more of a storage hormone. It is called T4 because it is made up of 4 atoms. The body, through the action of an enzyme called deiodinase, converts the hormone T4 into the T3 hormone, which is an active hormone, not a storage one. The T3 hormone is the one that really increases the metabolism and increases the temperature of the body. It is the active hormone.
The T4 hormone would be the equivalent of having petroleum and the T3 would be like having the active and useable product of petroleum, gasoline
There is another hormone that plays a role in this called TSH (Thyroid Stimulating Hormone). This is the hormone that the brain produces to request from the thyroid gland a higher production of T4 hormone. The TSH hormone is a “messenger” hormone that carries the brain’s orders to the thyroid to tell it to produce more T4, as well as T3, to sustain both the metabolism and the body’s temperature. When the brain detects too little activity from the T3 hormone in the cells, it then produces more TSH in order to stimulate the thyroid gland to produce more T4 hormone that can later be converted into the active hormone, T3. It is a system where the brain constantly monitors the amount of T3 available and orders the thyroid gland to produce more T4 through its messenger hormone TSH.
People that have problems with their thyroid gland suffer from a condition called hypothyroidism, which is a very common condition and for which there exist various medications, like Synthroid® and other brands.
When a person suffers from hypothyroidism they can experience one or several of the following symptoms:
High cholesterol
Difficulty losing weight
Hair loss
Digestive problems
Depression
Dry skin
Constipation
Water retention
Coldness in extremities
Constantly feeling tired
Frequent infections
Memory loss
Lack of interest in sex
Insomnia
If your doctor suspects that you have hypothyroidism, he or she has you do some laboratory test to measure the quantities of T4, T3 and TSH in your blood. There are levels that are considered “normal” for each one of these hormones and knowing the levels of each allows the doctor to determine which medication will be necessary to correct the situation. Unfortunately, the tests are not infallible and some experts say that nearly 50% of these tests fail to detect thyroid problems.
Having worked with thousands of overweight and obese people for the past 10 years, I have to agree with these experts that the thyroid hormones laboratory test is not fail proof. I have known thousands of people that have all the hypothyroid symptoms and yet their lab tests say they are not hypothyroid. The fact that hypothyroidism doesn’t always show in the lab tests is the reason why Dr. Broda Barnes called his best seller book “Hypothyroidism: The Unsuspected Illness”.
If you suffer from a slow metabolism, and you also have several of the symptoms of hypothyroidism that were listed before, you might suspect that there are problems with your thyroid gland. The laboratory tests that exist are of some help, but they are not always 100% correct in detecting a hypothyroid condition.
By Frank Suárez, on January 20th, 2010
 When we wish to lose weight, we find ourselves obligated to reduce the consumption of refined carbohydrates (bread, pasta, pizza, flour, candies, sugar, etc). It is the only way of accomplishing healthy weight loss since this type of carbohydrates turn into glucose (sugar in the blood) and the excess glucose then becomes FAT with the help of the insulin hormone produced in our bodies. For various interesting reasons, which we will discuss further, for many people, the most difficult food to eliminate from their diet and the “biggest sacrifice” is considered to be bread or pasta.
After ten years of experience in helping people recuperate their metabolism and slim down, I have learned to recognize the metabolism problems that “body intolerances” can cause. Everybody knows what an “allergy” is because when someone is allergic to a certain food and they ingest it, the allergic reaction is very noticeable. Allergies produce headaches, itching, and loss of breath, phlegm, indigestion, and inflammation which is immediately noticeable in the body. If a person is allergic to seafood and he or she ingests any, the results can be deadly from the crisis or allergic reaction that it causes.
“Intolerances” are a type of negative reaction that the body has to certain foods which do not necessarily include immune system reactions (itching, phlegm, inflammation, etc.). An “intolerance” is a type of negative reaction of the body, which is less noticeable than an allergic reaction. However, when the body has intolerance towards a certain food and we consume this food, the metabolism will decrease to the point where we won’t be able to lose weight. In other words, “intolerances” make us fat because they weaken the metabolism.
The most common foods that cause intolerance are wheat, soy, and corn. In my experience the food that most prevents people from losing weight is wheat, which is a staple of our daily meals. Pasta, cakes, and other foods all contain wheat as a main ingredient.
Wheat contains a protein called “gluten” which causes trouble for a lot of us when it comes to losing weight. Gluten can cause, for many of us, intolerance that creates constipation, headaches, fatigue, indigestion, gases and accumulation of water in the body (edema). When a person is intolerant to the gluten contained in the wheat, he or she will have trouble losing weight, in addition to the possible emotional imbalances like anxiety, memory loss, disorientation and even depression. In fact, it has been noted that many children and adults who are being diagnosed with the popular psychiatric disease ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) really suffer from gluten intolerance. Many of these adults and children, who are put on a wheat-free and gluten-free diet, begin to act “normal” again.
There is an illness called “celiac disease” which not many doctors can easily diagnose. It is an illness caused by a severe intolerance to the gluten protein contained in wheat. There are families that suffer a great deal with strange illnesses and emotional or behavioral-type problems only because they are unaware of gluten intolerance. Some of them end up drugged with antidepressants which only makes the situation worse.
A very interesting discovery revealed that the gluten in wheat functions as an opiate. An opiate is a substance with effects similar to opium (the source of drugs such as morphine and heroin) with a very addictive power. This is the reason that many people who are obese or overweight are addicted to bread! They see a basket full of bread and their mouth begins to water while something inside screams: GIVE IT TO ME!
I know all about this subject very well from personal experience. When I began my quest to lose weight I discovered that my body is one of those bodies that wants nothing to do with gluten or wheat. Whenever I ate bread or pasta, I felt that my body was heavier and I could tell that my clothes fit tighter. Also, I just could not lose weight no matter what diet I was on. With time I discovered that gluten causes a reaction in my body that forces it to retain water and thus my clothes fit tighter. I realized that if I completely avoided gluten and sauces that contain wheat, I was able to lose weight.
I my book The Power of Your Metabolism I dedicated an entire chapter to the subject of “intolerances”. I have received hundreds of emails from people who were able to finally lose weight after eliminating wheat from their diet. Others have been able to handle their indigestion, headaches, and even thyroid problems since eliminating wheat from their diet. Some experts have concluded that for those who are intolerant to gluten, consuming it could damage the thyroid gland.
Everyone has a different heritage origin. Our ancestors, whose genes determined our own genetic characteristics, were hunters and gatherers as opposed to agriculturists. Hunters and gatherers did not farm the lands and they did not eat wheat, thus their bodies never adapted to it. The origin of wheat is wild and it was domesticated and cultivated by our more modern agriculture ancestors.
In any event, should you discover intolerance to wheat; you still have the majority of every other food you can enjoy. It’s just that if you are intolerant and do not discover it, you expose yourself to failure in all your attempts to lose weight, if you don’t avoid the delicious and tempting “daily bread”.
Frank Suárez, Metabolism and Obesity Specialist
By Frank Suárez, on October 13th, 2009
 Sleep to lose weight It’s funny how everything that happens in our body is related to everything else that happens in the body. Many people who experience the problem of having a “slow metabolism”, which makes it hard for them to lose weight, also suffer from insomnia (difficulty sleeping). The reality is that sleep is vital for metabolism and health.
The human body is in a constant process of construction (new cells) and repairing the cells that have undergone some damage. Some of the cells that make up the body are dying every day while they are being replaced by new cells that are created every day.
When we sleep, the body repairs the cells that have undergone some damage. The reality is that the body never “sleeps” since it is always working on either repairing or creating something internally. We ourselves do “sleep” because we rest our minds and we rest from the vigilance and constant attention that our senses are subjected to by the environment. But the body never really stops working and it continuously maintains its entire defense system on alert (the immune system) in case it detects a danger (bacteria, parasite, virus, etc) that it needs to attack.
For people who suffer from insomnia, or those who wake up repeatedly throughout the night because of light sleep, losing weight becomes nearly impossible. This is because lack of adequate sleep produces a state of stress on the body. When the body is under stress, it produces an excess of the stress hormone called cortisol and this is a hormone which accumulates fat (it’s fattening) while it slowing destroys muscle tissue, thus resulting in wrinkles and flaccid skin. This is why, when we don’t sleep well, we wake up in the morning in a state of crisis and with very little energy.
The cortisol hormone that the body produces when stress exists in the body is the same substance as the cortisol medication that many people have taken and they notice that they have gained weight after taking it. The body produces cortisol every time it is under physical or emotional stress.
Many times this insomnia is caused by a condition relating to the thyroid gland called hypothyroidism. Unfortunately, hypothyroidism is not always detected via a laboratory analysis of the blood because it could exist as a “subclinical hypothyroidism”. Many people suffer from thyroid problems which cause insomnia and obesity and yet their lab work does not detect that such problem exist.
One way of knowing if the insomnia is being caused by problems with the thyroid gland is to take your body temperature. Doctor Broda Barnes, an endocrinologist (hormone specialist) discovered that the body’s temperature directly reflects a problem with the thyroid gland even if the blood analysis does not show the problem. This is called the “Barnes temperature test” and it is even listed in the reference books used by doctors in their offices (a book they call PDR).
If you do not sleep well and have difficulty losing weight, you can learn to take your body temperature to detect whether your thyroid is affected. This test can be done by any person at home and it’s free. Perhaps this is why (free and not lucrative for some) it isn’t more accepted by physicians. Generally, nobody promotes those things that don’t make them money.
I have concluded, while I observe the healthcare industry, that healthy people are not good business for these industries. There are plenty of good doctors out there and a very good number of health professionals that have the intention of truly helping their patients. But, for the pharmaceutical industry and other related health industries, their business depends on our ignorance and illnesses. This is the only way we’ll continue to consume their products and services.
Anyway, our only true defense against this is KNOWLEDGE. If we understand the basic principles that better our health and better the metabolism, we avoid being the victims of ignorance. This is why I wrote The Power of Your Metabolism where I explain, in simple words, which are the factors that determine whether we sleep well, lose weight, and better our health.
Frank Suárez, Obesity and Metabolism Specialist
By Frank Suárez, on September 18th, 2009
 Candida Albicans Yeast In order to lose weight, you have to improve your metabolism. People that have a “slow metabolism” fail in every attempt to diet because their metabolism does not cooperate when it comes to burning fat. One of the factors that cause this infamous “slow metabolism” is candida albicans yeast infections. These infections are much more common amongst women and people with diabetes.
The reason why some people can have an excess of candida in their bodies is due to the fact that this yeast can rapidly reproduce when one of the following occurs: you have to use antibiotics,
you consume a lot of refined carbohydrates like (sugar, chocolates, pasta, rice, etc.),
you take birth control medication or medication containing cortisol (like the pump used for asthma).
People that have an excess of candida in their bodies can experience the following symptoms caused by the toxins which the yeast expels:
• Itchy skin (especially at night)
• Sinusitis
• Migraines or headaches
• Constantly feeling tired or weak
• Acne
• Intestinal gases or stomach gases
• Allergies to some foods
• Muscular Pain
• Irritability or depression
• Sensitivity to sunlight, teary eyes
• Ear infections
• Constipation
• Urinary tract infections
• Frequent diarrhea
• Rash or spots on skin after sunbathing
• A taste “of metal” in the mouth
• Vaginal itching or discharge
• Tendency to lose weight
• Slow metabolism
To lose weight I recommend you follow a diet avoiding refined carbohydrates (bread, pasta, pizza, rice, sugar, candies, chocolates, flour (wheat or corn), etc.) such as the 2×1 Diet© or the 3×1 Diet© described in the book The Power of Your Metabolism. It is also necessary to consume enough water on a daily basis and cut back on carbonated soft drinks, including “diet soft drinks” which are actually very fattening. If all is done correctly, your metabolism can become faster and you could lose up to 3 pounds of body fat per week which you can feel when your clothes fit a lot looser and you feel much more energetic and happy.
We have already developed natural supplements that will help you detoxify your body of the Candida Albicans yeast while reestablishing your intestinal and vaginal (in the case of women) flora to a healthy state. You can use the Candiseptic™ Kit, a 28-day program in conjunction with very potent vitamins and the COCO- 10 Plus to rid your body of the candida infection. The 2 x 1 Diet© of the 3 x 1 Diet© should be followed during the detoxification process.
There are various factors which reduce the metabolism and make it nearly impossible to lose weight. The good news is that you can improve on all of these factors if you learn how to do so and do it. In the subject of weight loss there are NO MIRACLES. You have to get to the root of the problem which more than a problem with your diet, could be a problem with your METABOLISM. It’s never too late to lose weight and regain your health. When people lose weight they are able to control their high blood pressure problems, high cholesterol, diabetes, and even hypothyroidism (problems with the thyroid gland).
Frank Suárez Metabolism and Obesity Specialist
By Frank Suárez, on June 22nd, 2009
 Three Reasons for Constipation It is estimated that approximately 40% of women and 8% of men suffer from constipation. Constipation is a condition in which evacuation of the bowels is difficult and does not occur regularly. Constipation makes your metabolism slower and causes you to have more difficulty losing weight. Constipation is a factor that causes a “slow metabolism”.
The food we eat is the source of energy for our body. This food, as part of the process of the metabolism, gets digested, then absorbed (absorption principally takes place in the intestines), and finally it goes through the process of elimination. If any of these processes are affected, the metabolism suffers and the person will have a hard time losing weight.
The main causes of constipation are: hypothyroidism, infections of the Candida Albicans yeast and dehydration (lack of water). It is true that fiber consumption is important, but even those people who hardly consume any fiber as part of their diet are able to have an adequate bowel movement and do not necessarily suffer from constipation.
People with hypothyroidism can suffer from constipation because the thyroid gland controls all of the body’s movements because it controls the body’s energy. To move anything you must have energy. People who suffer from hypothyroidism have very little energy and this causes them to have less movement in their intestines. The intestines have to move in order to expel the excess matter and toxins from the body. When movement is lacking so will elimination.
Another thing is that when a body is overweight or obese, the Candida Albicans yeast, a usual inhabitant of the intestines, overgrows and invades a substantial part of the intestines. This yeast is part of EVERY human being’s body. This yeast feeds from refined carbohydrates such as flour, bread, pasta, sugar, candies, chocolates, sugary fruits, etc. If a person consumes too much of these types of food, the yeast will grow and grow and grow until it invades the majority of the intestines. When it invades the intestines in an aggressive manner, a severe state of constipation is produced due to the fact that the yeast will perforate the intestinal walls and cause irritation. Irritation inhibits the intestinal movement and makes constipation worse.
Lastly, if a person’s water consumption is low or if he or she drinks sodas, especially diet soda, the body will dehydrate to the point that it will become constipated. When the body is so extremely thirsty for water, the intestines will extract too much water from the food you eat creating a dry and very solid fecal mass that blocks the intestines. Without enough water, the moist environment needed to allow movement for elimination is not maintained.
To fight a candida albicans yeast infection it is recommended that you follow a diet low in refined carbohydrates such as the 2 x 1 Diet© as explained in the book The Power of Your Metabolism (www.thepowerofyourmetabolism.com). If carbohydrates are not reduced, there won’t be a chance of reducing the yeast colony to reestablish functionality in your intestines. The other thing that will help you is using a product such as COCO- 10 Plus™ which contains organic coconut oil and the Japanese supplement Co-Q10. The coconut oil acts as a fungicide (kills fungi) and the Co-Q10 increases the energy of the intestinal cells. In fact, the COCO-10 Plus™ is ideally perfect for people who suffer from hypothyroidism because it may help to improve the thyroid’s function while detoxifying the body of yeast, bacteria, and parasites.
A VERY EFFECTIVE aid to help a person regulate elimination and control constipation is utilizing a MAGNESIUM supplement. Magnesium is a natural mineral extracted from vegetables like broccoli and it makes a person have regular bowel movements. Using magnesium capsules daily will totally regulate the process of elimination. In other words, with the help of magnesium capsules a person can achieve regular bowel movements on a daily basis. Contrary to laxatives which contain irritating herbs, magnesium is effective and does not cause intestinal pain nor does it irritate the intestines. There are people who only need 2 capsules of magnesium a day to control their constipation. Others might need 3 or 4 capsules daily depending on the severity of their constipation. However, the good news is that magnesium is natural, non-irritating and it works effectively for those who suffer from constipation.
As soon as you begin to use the magnesium capsules, you will notice not only that you are able to regularly go to the bathroom, but also backaches will be less or totally gone and sometimes headaches will be eliminated as well. Backaches are many times caused by the muscles in your back which mainly lack magnesium. Experts estimate that approximately 85% of the population is deficient in magnesium.
Well, the point is that if you suffer from constipation, you will have a hard time losing weight. If you resolve your constipation problem it will be easier to lose weight because your metabolism will not be affected by a toxic, acidic state in your body or from the lack of oxygen that constipation can cause. If you have a hard time obtaining a good quality magnesium product that is effective, you can call my office at 1.888.348.7352. We also have COCO-10 Plus and the Candiseptic Kit available at www.relaxslim.com.
Any which way you must find a solution to the problem of constipation in order to improve your metabolism and lose weight.
By Frank Suárez, on May 12th, 2009
It has been proven that stress makes you fat. Different scientific studies have proven that this is true. If you are experiencing a lot of stress, you won’t be able to lose weight easily and you will even begin to gain weight even if you eat very little food.
Those relationships that are very stressful, the work environments full of pressure and even financial problems, amongst others, can produce a state of stress. When we feel stress, the automatic message we send to the body is: DANGER. The human body responds to the DANGER by producing the hormone cortisol.
This hormone cortisol, which invades our body when we feel stress, causes the following effects:
- accumulates fat mainly in the stomach area
- destroys the muscles (this creates flaccid skin)
- reduces the immune system (people get sick more easily when they have stress)
- increases the levels of glucose in the blood (this is what makes us fat, glucose turns into fat)
- causes insomnia, gives you difficulty with sleeping (you wake up feeling tired)
- the thyroid gland function is reduced which in turn reduces the metabolism
It is impossible to lose weight when stress is out of control.
The easiest way of figuring out if you are gaining weight due to stress is by observing the quality of your sleep. The hormone cortisol which is the “stress hormone” is produced only when we are under some sort of stress (infections, pain, etc.) or outside stress (emotional pressures or “dangers” perceived in our environment). Cortisol is an ALERT hormone and this is the reason that sleep is affected when we have had an extremely stressful and agitated day, too much cortisol was produced.
Even those people who are having problems with their significant other or a family member, begin to notice that their clothing fits tighter. This happens because the effects of stress and the production of cortisol begin to accumulate fat and weight gain is inevitable.
Recently, the book “The Power of Your Metabolism” was published. This book reveals all the techniques that have been proven successful to those people that want to improve their metabolism and lose weight and even techniques that help reduce stress. Additionally, you can get help or order this book by calling Relax Slim System (www.RelaxSlim.com) by calling 1.888.348.7352.
As an additional help, natural supplements have been developed to control the effects of stress by reducing the production of cortisol in the body while you are experiencing stress. One of these supplements is STRESS DEFENDER ANGEL. With the help of this supplement the negative effects of stress are controlled and people can lose weight while reducing the fat from the stomach or abdomen area.
When it comes to losing weight, there are no miracles. To be successful, you must improve your metabolism while you control those things which make us gain weight including excessive stress. We live in a society where we experience many social and economic pressures. We are surrounded with technology (cell phones, televisions, etc) but our quality of life has been suffering. Every time we are living life more hurriedly and experiencing more and more stress. This is one of the reasons why the population’s obesity levels have increased over time.
Everybody at every age can lose weight; I have seen it happen in more than 10,000 people. People with diabetes can lose weight and even the elderly. In order to achieve weight loss, you got to do what you got to do. Not doing so, puts us at risk for high blood pressure, heart problems, high cholesterol and even depression. Overweight people don’t just dislike the way they look, they also don’t feel well. There are solutions to the problem of overweight, many of which you will find in the book “The Power of Your Metabolism”.
Frank Suárez Obesity and Metabolism Specialist
Tel. 1-888-348-7352
www.RelaxSlim.com
By Frank Suárez, on May 4th, 2009
 Don't Lose Weight, Lose Fat It is estimated that on any given day of the year, 38% of the population are on some type of diet or exercise program to “lose weight”. This means that more than 1 in 3 people wish to achieve a reduction of their body weight and are willing to sacrifice something to achieve this.
The sad part is that the majority, about 95% of these people, end-up abandoning their efforts or fail in their intent to diet or exercise. Very few achieve their goal and even less is able to maintain any weight lost. Because of this, obesity and overweight conditions have been increasing throughout the last 40 years and today these conditions have become an “epidemic” because they affect the large part of our population.
Meanwhile we receive heavy advertising through the media with daily images of skeletally thin models as a symbol of how thin we all should be. Everything we see on television and print media indicates that we are “fat” and that we carry more pounds than we should.
In my experience, a lot of the people who go on a diet fail simply because they have a wrong idea or a compulsion to “lose weight”. The generality that the problem is too much weight is a wrong idea. The general problem is not that we have too much weight, but rather that we have too much FAT, and this is what classifies us as “fat”, the body fat.
There is an important difference that we must recognize before we go on a diet only to then feel a “failure” because we are not “losing weight” like we wanted to. The crucial difference lies in knowing how to set the right goal. “Losing weight” is not the same as SLIMMING DOWN. When the body experiences weight loss, the loss could come from losing water, muscle or fat. In reality, what we are interested in is losing BODY FAT. We don’t want to lose water because our body will dehydrate and metabolism will slow down which will eventually make us fat. We don’t want to reduce muscle mass either because our skin will be flaccid and loose. The important thing is to reduce FAT. That is called SLIMMING DOWN and that is what we really want to achieve.
Some people have a compulsion with their body weight. They want to achieve, no matter what, weight loss. But, they forget that the body is made up of a lot of different components: water, bones, muscles, tissue and fat. The only thing we really want to reduce is body fat because it is body fat that makes us “fat”. It is also excessive fat that blocks our arteries and causes high blood pressure and heart attacks. It is excessive fat that causes an insulin resistance on diabetics and makes it impossible for them to control their condition. It is excessive body fat that makes some women infertile and causes a very painful or irregular menstruation. Fat is a necessary substance, but when it accumulates in excess it causes a bunch of hormonal and health problems. What we want to reduce is our body fat excess. In other words, SLIM DOWN.
Measuring body weight alone has never been a good indicator of how much fat a body has. This is because a human body is made up of at least 65% water and water weights much more than fat. Fat is not a heavy substance and this is why overweight people float in water much more easily. Fat is a very light substance, but it is very VOLUMINOUS. In other words, it occupies a lot of space. Which is why trying to measure the results of a diet or an exercise program with a scale is exposing you to failure. What we should really look at, to determine if we are losing weight, is your dress size. Observing the way your clothes now fit never fails because this tells you clearly whether you are really reducing fat in your body.
In addition, when we put additional pressure to weigh ourselves it creates an anxiety that increases cortisol hormone levels and this prevents us from slimming down. The continuous stress to weigh ourselves every day sabotages our efforts because the cortisol hormone reduces metabolism, makes us hungry and makes us fat.
If you want to go the logical and effective way when it comes to being slim, lose the scale. Do not weigh your body more than once a week and always keep in mind that the problem is not “being heavy”. The real problem is being “fat” and that cannot easily be determined well by a scale. Observe the changes in your dress size. If someone asks how many pounds you’ve lost, simply tell them “I lost 2 dress sizes” or “I lost 4 inches around my waist”. Don’t put too much importance to your body weight. Do put your attention to being able to fit into those clothes you have hanging in your closet that didn’t fit anymore.
Ironically, when a person begins an exercise routine, he or she gains weight. But this weight gain is good because a person is actually gaining muscle mass. Muscles weigh 2 ½ times more than fat. If you increase muscle, fat will reduce and you will be thinner. Increasing muscles is a good thing. I have heard a so-called nutritional expert tell his client not to exercise because exercise makes you gain weight. This is just a reflection of the expert’s ignorance regarding the human body. The best way to slim down is with the correct diet plan paired with an exercise routine.
So, forget about your weight. It is not important. Observe your dress size or the size of your waist. Give your scale a vacation and you will see that you will slim down and increase your energy.
Frank Suarez
Author , The Power of Your Metabolism
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Diabetes is a condition characterized by excessive urination, persistent thirst, weight loss, and chronic fatigue often accompanied by an apathetic emotional state. It is a fact that more than 90% of diabetics are overweight or obese. It is also known that diabetes is the principal cause of amputations, kidney problems, and heart attacks. The problem is that the number of people who are suffering from diabetes is increasing as time goes by; the American Diabetes Association estimates that there is currently 7.8% of the US population diagnosed with diabetes and another 18% of the population who are pre-diabetic, which in effect means they are future diabetics. According to US Census, the population was at 317 million in 2009 which translates to 81 million people, 25.8% of the population, who are already affected with diabetes and diagnosed or who are affected and are on track to be diagnosed with it. It is estimated that 1 in 4 Americans will be impacted with diabetes sooner or later. It is an epidemic and it continues to spread!
