Why You Can't Lose Weight

Last March (2010) we paid off the last of our debt and so I decided to reward myself with a gym membership.  I became a gym junky going to the gym everyday and working out on the elliptical and then lifting weights.  When school let out for the summer, Rick joined me in my junkiness and started going with me.  However, I began to notice something.

Rick began working out like a crazy man and began losing weight.  I had a three month head start on him and hadn't lost a pound.  Not one.

I realize jealousy is not the appropriate emotion to feel here; however, it's what I felt.  I mean, yes - I was happy for the man.  But mostly - I was jealous.

Why is it that we can follow a strict eating plan and we can work out and we can run ourselves crazy trying to lose weight and then only lose 5-10 pounds or sometimes nothing at all?  Well, that's what I hope to touch on today.

Reason #1:  Food Allergies

If you have tried everything to lose weight and the pounds just will not come off, I'd like to tell you two things:  #1)  I so get it!  I feel your pain!  And #2)  Your problem might be food allergies.

You can call it a food allergy, a food sensitivity or a food intolerance.  Whatever you choose to call it - it will cause you to retain water and fat.  I love this article as I feel it hits the nail on the head.

It might be that you're simply intolerant of gluten.  Maybe it's something like corn or soy.  Or - you might be one of the "unlucky" ones like Craig and find that you're allergic to everything but cardboard.  However, whatever it is - if you would quit putting it in your body, your body would do two things.  First it would shed the water it's retaining.  That would lead to a 5-10 lb initial weight loss usually in the first week.  (Granted, you will probably suffer some headaches, maybe upset stomach, and even some grumpiness during this time as your body suffers from a little bit of withdrawal.  Good times!)  However, after that first week your body will respond to what you've been trying to do to lose weight.  If you're working out, it'll begin responding.  If you're eating salads everyday for lunch, it'll begin responding to that.  But - it will refuse to respond (by letting go of water and fat) as long as you're feeding it the exact allergen that is causing the trouble in the first place.

How do you figure out what food or substance your body doesn't like?  It's simple.  Go to a chiropractor that does muscle testing.  Wherever you live you can find one fairly close.  Get on the internet or the phone and begin calling or emailing asking if the chiropractor you're considering does muscle testing.  It is painless and takes less than 1 minute to check for a substance.  You don't even have to get adjusted (popped) if you are uncomfortable with that.  (I have two chiropractors in the Austin area that I would highly recommend.  Just shoot me an email.)

Reason #2:  Candida

This one isn't pretty.  I apologize.  However, it's a huge problem and it's relatively unknown on so many levels.

Candida is defined by dictionary.com as "A yeastlike, parasitic fungus that can cause an infection (candidiasis) such as athlete's foot and vaginitis."  However, before the men check out, it's not just a problem for women.  Candida affects millions of women and men.

This is my favorite article regarding candida because it covers more than just the "norm" when it comes to thinking about yeast.  Essentially, candida is a yeast infection that begins in the digestive system and spreads little by little to other parts of the body.  How?  Well, birth control pills, antibiotics, cortisone, and chemotherapy kill the good bacteria in our system that keep candida in check.  I don't know about you, but I've taken 3 out of those 4 at some point in my life!

For me, candida began affecting my bladder.  I'll spare you the details, and just suffice it to say that bladder problems plagued me for years before I discovered that candida might be the cause.  Candida can cause a multitude of symptoms ranging from bladder problems (like me) to depression, sinus infections, and muscle aches.

However, one of the products we recommend has been proven to combat Candida:  Agrisept.  You can find it on our products page and we'll be glad to share a regiment that has been recommended for fighting Candida.

Reason #3:  Your Workouts

I'll confess that when I learned about Peak 8 Exercise, I was furious.  How many hours did I spend on elliptical machines last year not losing ANYTHING?

What I learned is this:  If you want to lose weight, get a good workout, do your heart some good (call it whatever you want) - you must work your heart ANAEROBICALLY.  I was spending hours on ellipticals and sweating and panting, but only working my heart AEROBICALLY.

There's a difference.  And the difference is in the weight loss my friend.  (Ok, it's in the heart health part of it too.  But, who cares about being healthy?  I just want to be skinny!)    ;)

Here's how it works:

There are three types of muscle fibers in your body -

1. Slow (red muscle, which contains more oxygen)
2. Fast (white muscle)
3. Super-fast (white muscle)

When you work out like I was, "… [T]he blood supply is going to the red muscle. The white muscle really doesn't get a lot of blood because it doesn't need a lot of blood. It gets its energy from the stored up energy in your body. That's six to eight seconds worth of stored up energy and through the oxygen you breathe for 30 seconds or less."

I wasn't using my white muscle while on the ellipticals.  But, the white muscle is where the weight loss is.

When you work your super-fast fiber, it forces your heart to work anaerobically.  "If you don't work all three muscle fiber types and energy systems, then you're not going to work both processes of your heart muscle. Many mistakenly believe that cardio works out your heart muscle, but what you're really working is your slow twitch muscle fibers. You're not working the anaerobic process of your heart... traditional strength training and cardio only works your slow twitch muscle fibers. Your body kicks in these slow twitch muscles first, in an effort to not recruit your fast twitch muscles or work your heart anaerobically."*

You can go here to watch a few videos and read up more on Peak 8 Exercises.

In the meantime, if you're trying to lose a few pounds why don't you consider figuring out which foods your body doesn't tolerate well and cleansing your body with some Agrisept.  Then, after you've educated yourself, add in the Peak 8 Exercise and I bet I won't recognize you the next time I see you! 

* All quotes from http://fitness.mercola.com/sites/fitness/archive/2010/11/13/phil-campbell-on-peak-8-exercises.aspx