So, You Want To Lose Weight?

A General Guide of How To Attack Weight Loss

It’s been said again and again, obesity is on the rise. Maybe you are reading this wondering why everyone else can’t seem to put down their fork, or maybe you are reading this and wondering how Jimmy can eat so many pizza’s and stay paper thin. In our quest to understand the seemingly impossible, I have come across 6 key factors, from a variety of doctors that play a role in keeping our bodies looking the way they do. These factors include your inner circle and influences, your attitude, your ability to relax and sleep, simple nutrition, imbalances and toxins, and lastly, exercise. I also share my own personal experiences of having to lose 20-30 pounds a couple times in my life, as well as how I maintain my ideal weight. Rest assured, if you want to change how you look, there is a lot more to it than simply getting on a treadmill.

1. Your Inner Circle and Influences

It has often been said, you are the equivalent of the 5 people you spend the most time with. As with most things in life, you will be affected by the people close to you, so choose wisely! Not that hanging around skinny people will automatically make you skinny, but those who have already mastered the ability of self-discipline in the areas that follow will have far greater impact on your success than any other one factor – and vice versa! Keep this in mind as you scroll through the rest of this article.

2. Attitude

The ability to maintain a positive attitude throughout this process is two-fold. First, it will allow you to stick to the process, through thick and thin, and also fight off the added weight gain from stress. As stated by Dr. Mark Hymann, author of such books as “10-Day Detox Diet” and most recent, “Food – What The Heck Should I Eat?”, he outlines the disastrous effects of stress in a 2014 online article. In this article, he mentions, “When you’re stressed, your adrenal glands release hormones like adrenaline and cortisol that flood your system, raising your heart rate, increasing your blood pressure, making your blood more likely to clot, damaging your brain’s memory center, increasing belly fat storage and generally wreaking havoc on your body.” He goes on to write out an entire scenario of what else this leads to in our hectic daily lives, and you begin to see how even a single stressful moment can compound itself and effect entire days, months, and even years!

Other moments when a positive attitude may run a little thin during this process would be when it comes to seeing results. Some people may see no results for weeks before reaching the tipping point, some people may see results very quickly at the start, followed by weeks with no results. Regardless, you must maintain faith in the process. At the end of 2018, I had ballooned up quite a bit (mainly due to chronic stress). When I began my weight loss journey, my thinking wasn’t aimed at a 2-4 week process; rather, I had a goal of seeing how far I could go in the next 4-6 months, with the added bonus of setting a goal to see how far I could run in a full calendar year. This has kept my mind on the process rather than focused on the results. However, as a bi-product of my new years resolutions and goals, I made sure to check in with my physical results, but was never troubled by how quickly or how slowly they would change. By focusing on goals that I could achieve, it has made the process much more enjoyable. For instance, I can’t control how much weight I would lose in a single week – I can set myself up for success, but at the end of the day, with all these different factors, it’s hard to set a linear goal throughout any given week. However, what I can control is how far I run in any given week, because that has more to do with time management and endurance. I took a measure of how far I was comfortable running in a single outing, and factored in how often I could run in any given week. This formulated a baseline. The goal then became to hit that target on a consistent basis throughout the year, knowing there would be weeks where the target wasn’t hit, but also weeks where I would exceed the target. This step by step process has been very useful in different areas and I highly recommend using it for giving you structure and steps on how to complete a goal. (If you would like assistance in how to use this process for your benefit, please reach out).

(Photo taken from Shutterstock)

3. Relax and Sleep

Oddly enough, if you had to choose between exercising and sleep, the healthier option is actually sleep. Sleep allows our bodies to repair themselves, detoxify, and also endure a deep state of relaxation – all of which are very beneficial in the realm of weight loss. There are different factors that affect our ability to sleep and relax, and it would be very wise to pay attention to how to impact these areas in a positive way. Legendary producer, Rick Ruben, is a profound example of how vital these areas are.

Ruben, who has produced albums for almost every legendary band you can think of, once weighed an astounding 318lbs, before transforming his life and losing 135lbs in 14 months. What’s even more astounding is the fact that he was an all organic vegan for over 20 years in the lead up to this change! One area that Rubin had struggled with throughout his life was being nocturnal. He would constantly miss classes throughout high school because he wouldn’t wake up in time, and when he ventured more into the music world, the night life became perfect for his work. To put it into perspective on how drastic he had to change, originally his doctor had him venture outside for 20 minutes as soon as he woke up, which started around 3pm!

Although it wasn’t until a nutritionist put Rubin on a high protein, low calorie diet, that he lost the weight, Rubin does attribute most of his success to first activating his circadian rhythm and gaining an enormous amount of energy through proper rest and low aerobic exercise. There’s an incredible podcast by Tim Ferriss where he interviews Rick Rubin on his transformation, along with stories on his music producing career. (You can find it HERE).

4. Simple Nutrition

I say simple nutrition, because to this day, I still find it very difficult to pay attention to actual “diets” for a couple reasons. First, I am super lazy when it comes to what I eat, so I keep it extremely simple. I hate having to dedicate enormous amounts of time meal prepping and cooking for any given week. It’s just another activity that consumes my time, my thinking, and my effort. However, rather than a weakness, this has turned in to a strength. Knowing that I won’t dedicate much time cooking meals and prepping meals, I need to understand the concept and create meals that will give me a similar result in a fraction of the time. So while you’re busy cursing because you just sliced open your finger trying to chop up a bunch of vegetables, I’m already on to the next task on a full belly, with plenty of nutrients, and with almost none of my decision power wasted.

The concept of simple nutrition is just that – simple. Ultimately, the best meals for weight loss involve a high protein and high fat diet, minimizing unnecessary carbohydrates and sugars. Growing up, I was taught the opposite thanks to the national food guide. If you look at a Canadian food guide from the 1990’s compared to the most recent food guide that came out in 2018, there are drastic differences. The main difference being that food companies whose products contained high doses of sugar actually sponsored a lot of the “scientific” studies that were used in creating the earlier versions of the food guide.

Why having a high protein and high fat diet is perfect for weight loss is two-fold. First, protein and fat takes the longest to digest, so you can go longer without feeling hungry. Second, your body is actually meant to burn fat for energy, so for people who are also incorporating higher levels of exercise into their lives, or work in a physically draining field, a high fat diet would be very beneficial in maintaining higher energy levels.

Going back to the original headline of this section, simple nutrition, combines a set amount of foods consumed daily, in similar fashion to Mark Zuckerberg selecting clothing attire. My main breakfast contains eggs, cayenne pepper, and a spinach and greek yogurt salad (some weeks I will add berries, grapes, and/or tomatoes). Lunch throughout the work week is strictly homemade oatmeal with cayenne pepper and a banana mixed in (some months I will add a green veggie powder rich with probiotics, prebiotics and enzymes). Finally, dinners throughout the work week combine celery sticks, greek yogurt, tomatoes, and possibly a clean protein shake before hitting the gym. I drink water religiously throughout the day, and consume roughly 3 apples on any given day. Weekends are where I generally mix it up with more eccentric meals (going out with friends or for breakfast) and most of the time I end up either snacking for lunch or skipping it entirely following a large breakfast. And let’s not forget one of my favourite snacks - unsalted peanuts.

There are weeks where I may add a few different items, such as berries, grapes, oranges, and peppers, but my core meals generally stay the same. If I am running longer distances or increasing my physical activity, I may up my consumption of peanuts along with adding a secret weapon of super foods found in a 100% natural liquid supplement (even contains the first ever all natural preservative in the world). This also makes grocery shopping super simple – it’s fast, effective, and costs me about $50-$60 a week to maintain this habit. The final key to my simple nutrition regiment includes premium dietary supplements. Did you know that adding a multi-vitamin to prisoners’ diets decreased violent behaviour by 80%? Not that I need this to hold back from lashing out at anyone, but if I am going to the troubles of consistently consuming vitamins and minerals, I want to ensure they are not only of the optimal levels, but also, they will be properly absorbed by my body. In order to guarantee this, these dietary supplements must not contain any synthetics, because our bodies do not recognize synthetics, and therefore will not absorb properly.

I will iterate that the above mentioned “diet” is something that I have found works for me, and has only been developed after consulting with nutritionists and reading about general nutrition. If you are looking for more specific nutritional advice for competitions, or perhaps you have a certain condition that needs to be addressed, you should contact a doctor or nutritionist beforehand. If you want to read a great, professional article on weight loss involving nutritional imbalances among other areas, check out Dr. Mark Hymann’s blog entry HERE.

Lastly, if you are anything like I am, you may have a weakness for sweets or some kind of evening snack that could throw off your whole nutritional trajectory. This is where a lot of people lose their weight loss battle, because not only are they consuming food that is detrimental to their journey, but often times the food is consumed later in the evening. This activates the energy-draining digestive system to work while you are trying to replenish your energy through sleep. Hence why you may find yourself waking up the next morning still feeling sluggish.

My suggestion is to not buy these products while you're grocery shopping. Even go as far as using the stores that offer the "uber shopping" service, where an employee of the store picks your grocery list and brings it to your car, so you don't even have to leave your car. It may cost a little extra, but may also save you months, or even years of weight loss struggles. Also, the fact that you don't have these items in your house while you're at your weakest moments (at night), you won't be able to consume them even if you want to!

5. Imbalances, Toxins, and your Metabolism

During my research, I found a consistent entry on this area throughout and for good reason. Internal imbalances and toxins can be drastically effect your metabolic rhythm. To quote Dr. Ray Hinish, “When hormones are optimal, your metabolism runs like a fine tuned race car. When your hormone signals go haywire, you’ll gain weight…lot’s of weight.” But hormones are not the only imbalances that can occur. With such a high presence of sugar in our diets, our insulin levels can be way out of whack as well, causing an increase of fat storage. This used to be very useful in earlier human years, as come harvest season, fruits would become more readily available and allow us to ripen ourselves for winter with a couple added pounds of fat for thermal protection. Nowadays, sugar is everywhere and consumed in copious amounts, causing pure insulin chaos, also known as type II diabetes.

Another key area that is hard to protect against would be toxins. These are literally found everywhere – from the water we drink, to the air we breathe, to even items we touch. Toxins play a major role in impeding a persons ability to lose weight. In one article, Dr. Mark Hymann mentions a lady who lost 40lbs after she did a mercury detox. Although we cannot protect ourselves everywhere, there are a few ways we can help prevent our bodies from taking on toxins and even helping with the detoxification process our bodies routinely go through.

First, for anyone who has followed me over the past couple years, they will notice the water bottle I keep diligently at my side. This thing has been my favourite purchase as it allows me to literally drink from any water source (except ocean water) and will give me the purest water on the planet. Most people, when they think of water filtration device, they will think of something like the LifeStraw. The LifeStraw is very good for eliminating microbials like viruses, parasites, and bacteria. However, there are so many more harmful contaminants in our water that need to be addressed before consuming. With my water bottle, I am able to filter out not only microbials, but also pesticides and herbicides, heavy metals such as lead and mercury, and even pharmaceuticals such as naproxen and ibuprofen. It is the best way to ensure your drinking water is free of anything that can be toxic to your body.

Second, I recommend acquiring a premium air filter for your home (and office if possible). Did you know the air quality in your home is actually worse than the air quality outside? When you include V.O.C.s found on new items like furniture or paint, along with dust mites found in our vents and carpets, along with air pollution that is pulled in from the outside, it’s a wonder how we’re able to breathe at all. To give you an example of how vital air and water quality is with our health in general, look at any research done on Canada’s chemical valley – also known as Sarnia, Ontario. The amount of people diagnosed with cancer is much higher in this area than the national average.

Third, your body is routinely detoxifying itself each day. The least you can do is to help eliminate these toxins faster with a remedy like exercise. Sweat gives the body another avenue to eliminate toxins in the body. On top of that, being able to “eliminate waste” on a daily basis is also essential. By drinking lots of water throughout the day, along with maintaining a healthy digestive system (also known as the microbiome) your body will be able to constantly eliminate toxins from the body to maintain your health and help with weight loss. There are a couple dietary supplements that I use in order to help with this process, but the main ingredients would be activated charcoal (which can be found on burnt toast), along with a high intake of green vegetables for probiotics, prebiotics, and enzymes, will help to detoxify the body. I know of one lady who had immense troubles all her life eliminating waste. She could go weeks without going #2 in the washroom, and even then needed help with laxatives. To give you an idea of how toxic her body was, her legs were practically purple. Once she started using a healthy dietary supplement, which gave her the equivalent of consuming 2lbs of vegetables each day, she was able to start eliminating waste on a much more regular schedule, and the purple colour in her legs disappeared. That is how important being regular is to maintaining a healthy body!

6. Exercise

First, take a look at where this category is positioned – last! That is because all the other factors mentioned above play a far more crucial role than simply exercising. You can exercise for hours on end, but if you don’t take care of the other categories first, your results will be less than satisfying. Furthermore, inflammation can add to your obesity worries. Simple foods with dairy or breads can cause the body to swell and become inflamed, so regardless of exercising, your body could stay inflamed simply because of what you are consuming.

Second, exercise is also really basic. According to Dr. Ray Hinish, simply by walking for 30 minutes a day, consistently for a month, you will loose weight.

What is the best approach when it comes to physical activity and weight loss? Twice in my life, I have had the unfortunate realization that I needed to lose a few pounds. And by a few pounds, I mean 20-30 pounds in a matter of a few months. Now, although the second time I saw results much quicker (just under 12lbs in 6 days), both times, I took the same approach when it came to exercising. I increased the number of times I worked out each week, and each work out included at least 10-20 minutes of cardio, along with lifting weights that concentrated on a variety of different areas on my body. There are three simple reasons for doing this. First, I wanted to increase my endurance for physical activity, increase my energy levels, and straight up burn any unwanted calories, which is why I chose to do at least 10-20 minutes of cardio each session. Second, I wanted to increase my ability to burn fat throughout the day, even when I wasn’t at the gym, so adding muscle mass was key to eliminating even more calories. Third, if I wanted to increase the amount of sessions each week, without causing muscle fatigue, I chose to focus on a different muscle area each day. This would allow my body to repair itself by the time I worked out those muscles the following week.

I didn’t put on loads of muscle, but that wasn’t the point. The point was to give my body the ability to burn the most amount of calories every single day, so even if I didn’t go to the gym, I would still burn more calories than before I started working out seriously. It’s a concept that I had heard mentioned by multiple professionals in the personal training and body building industry, but recently read as to why this was the case. Dr. Ray Hinish described why building muscle, as opposed to just running, is far more useful when it comes to weight loss:

“When you jog and run and cycle and swim, you build lots of type I muscle fibers and your body becomes a lean mean efficient machine…like a Toyota Prius…When you build type II muscle fibers through intense and heavy resistance training and high-intensity interval training, you turn the body into a gas-guzzling race car…that burns fat, like a teenager with a credit card burns money.”

If you have never been to a gym before, most gyms will have personal trainers you can consult with, or even people that can show you around. When you sign up with Crunch fitness, they give you an hour free with a personal trainer. It’s a great way to get started on some of the machines. If you have friends that go to the gym, ask them if you could work out with them once, just to learn some of the machines. Usually, the gym has incentives for their members to bring in new people. However, if they work out quite a bit and you are just starting out, be courteous and don’t expect to work out with them all the time. I don’t mind showing someone my work out regiment, or showing how to use a machine, but I prefer to work out alone, or with someone who will drive me to become stronger in whatever I am training for.

One last point when it comes to exercise. If you are determined to get into the gym for the first time in years (or ever), ALWAYS take a class in yoga or stretching. Whether it’s an online yoga class through YouTube, or a class at the gym you join, proper stretching is vital when it comes to exercising. Stretching allows your muscles to stay loose, your body to increase flexibility, and above all, allows blood flow to tight areas, which drastically helps in your body’s ability to repair itself and stay healthy. The last thing you want to do is start on this journey and end up throwing your back out a week into the process.

Conclusion

In conclusion, weight loss is achievable for those who understand the recipe it takes to have success. The one key attribute you will find in all the factors is consistency. Whether it’s your inner circle, attitude, relaxing, nutrition, imbalances and toxins, or even exercise, being consistent is the one factor that will either make you or break you. You will either consistently be engaged in the process, or you will be consistently disengaged and have the opposite desired outcome. Regardless, I hope this article helped shed some light on how you can kick start your weight loss journey. If you want more information, or if you want to know how I managed to lose just under 12lbs in 6 days, reach out and I will be happy to help!

Key Notes:

Dr. Mark Hymann, “Why Can’t I Lose Weight?” blog entry, 2017. https://drhyman.com/blog/2017/08/10/cant-lose-weight/

Dr. Mark Hymann, “Why Can’t I Lose Weight? (Part II)” blog entry, 2017. https://drhyman.com/blog/2017/08/16/cant-lose-weight-part-ii/

Dr. Mark Hymann, “How Chronic Stress Creates Hormonal Havoc” blog entry, 2014. https://drhyman.com/blog/2014/11/25/chronic-stress-creates-hormonal-havoc/

Dr. Mark Hymann, “Can Being Toxic Make Me Fat?” blog entry, 2016. https://drhyman.com/blog/2016/03/11/can-being-toxic-make-me-fat/

Dr. David Perlmutter, “You Can Lose The Weight – Four Simple Steps” blog entry, 2015. https://www.drperlmutter.com/can-lose-weight-four-simple-steps/

Dr. Ray Hinish, “The Ten Commandments of Permanent Weight Loss” blog entry, 2018. https://blog.cutthefatpodcast.com/4035/cut-the-fat-blog/weight-loss-motivation/the-10-commandments-of-permanent-weight-loss

The Tim Ferriss Show, “Rick Rubin, The Seclusive Zen Master” podcast, 2015.