Natural weight control is the use of proven natural techniques to achieve and maintain a healthy weight. Most people think that weight control is just for those regarded as 'fat', but it also applies to those that are below accepted norms due to under eating as in anorexia nervosa and other disorders. The two extremes of obesity and anorexia are treated very differently due to the disparate needs of the two groups of patients. The system of weight control I use is based on sound nutritional principles that supply the body with optimum nutrition. You will never have to diet again. The words:- overweight, slimming diet, calorie controlled diet, low fat diet, weight loss, etc. will be for others to use - not you. It is possible that you will eat more food than you do at present and still reduce your overall weight and body lose lots of fat.
I hate the terms 'weight', 'overweight', 'diet', 'slimming diet', calorie controlled diet' and 'weight loss'. Look at your body, it is made of blood, vital organs, (like the liver and heart), skin, bones, muscles, the brain and nerves, oh! and I nearly forgot - FAT. All of this is your 'weight'. So if you are 'overweight' do you have too much blood? Too many vital organs? Extra muscles here and there? Additional bones growing from unusual places? Or is it more likely you have too much fat. So you are not 'overweight' you are over fat. Your weight is the whole of you, anything else is usually extra fat. Let's not forget you are supposed to have some body fat, here are the percentages of fat of total body weight I work to, (they do vary with age); Men 15-20% , Women 20-25%. Yes ladies you can have one quarter of your total body weight as fat and be perfectly healthy! (Other health professionals would suggest trimming 2-3% off these figures, and if you wish you can do so, but I feel it is unnecessary). So when we say 'weight loss' we mean fat loss - the last thing we want to do is lose Lean Body Mass, especially muscle as this is what 'burns fat away'.
Earlier I said I hate the term 'weight', another reason for this is we are programmed to compare ourselves to Height-Weight-Frame charts - if you are this tall and this build you should be this weight. Well like many things it works for 'Mr. and Mrs. Average' and just about no one else. There are a significant number of people who are perfectly healthy and are way off the scale. I will use myself as an example. For my height and skeletal frame the typical chart reckons I should be 10 st. 7lbs. (147lbs., 68kg.). (Notice the word typical because there are several versions, each with its own slightly different weights per height and skeletal frame. Also I am working in stones and pounds because very few people have any idea what weight means in kilograms. However for those that want it done in kg. I have worked out the conversions for you).
The weight of 10st. 7lbs. is to include a healthy 20% of body fat. I have been measured on three different machines for body fat and from this my Lean Body Mass, (blood, bones, organs, skeleton, muscles, skin and nerves), is an average of 13st. 0lbs. (182lbs., 83kg.). So with no fat on my body I am 2st. 7lbs. (35lbs., 16kg), 'overweight'. Now let's add 20% body fat - 36lbs. (17kg.), and we find I could weigh in at 218lbs. (99kg.), which is 15st. 8lbs. and still be in the healthy range even though the charts say I am 5st. 1lb. (71lbs., 32kg), 'overweight'! Needless to say I much prefer to work to body fat percentages when dealing with people that are over fat. My aim is to get you into the healthy body fat range and I really do not worry about your overall body weight to height.
Remember I said I hate the terms 'diet', 'slimming diet' and 'calorie controlled diet' - well they all mean the same - STARVING THE BODY! (We are all on a 'diet' because whatever we eat is our diet). This is very unhealthy and is the first stage of failure or the first step to anorexia or related disorders. IF YOU WANT A 'QUICK FIX DIET' THAT WILL LOSE YOU '7 POUNDS IN 7 DAYS' then leave this site and do not come to see me because I do not offer such stupid promises. Go and buy a magazine that has the latest 'fad diet' and fail like you have many times before. The failure will lead to depression, lack of confidence and damaged self-esteem. You may be one of the lucky ones that managed to reach your target weight but then reverted to your old eating pattern and the pounds piled back on. So you did it again, and again - not only is this unhealthy but you have become a serial or yo-yo dieter. All that hard work wasted because you only ever addressed the symptom never the root cause of the extra fat - the unhealthy eating habits.
So what do I offer? A way of eating that is natural and in harmony with the needs of the body, it will banish food cravings, hunger pangs, mood swings due to fluctuating glycogen/insulin levels, give you boundless energy and allow you to lose excess fat slowly and naturally over time, while preserving Lean Body Mass. You will never have to 'diet' again. My methods are gimmick free and really work.
When on a 'diet' most people are hungry and have food cravings because they are starving their body of energy in the hope of using up fat instead. Well let's look at the typical 'diet';- eat 1000 calories a day. Ok we are on starvation rations, your body uses up its carbohydrate stores to PRESERVE your fat stores. You lose several pounds in weight - "Wow what a great diet this is" you say. Well no, as you use up the carbohydrate stores water bound up with it is released, (so you also urinate a lot too), and this is where the several pounds of weight is lost from. So far you have not shed a single molecule of fat. As your body thinks it is facing a famine, (natural reaction to low food intake), it slows down your metabolism to preserve fat stores, making it harder to lose it. You also become lethargic and use even less energy. Is this really such a great 'diet' after all?
The lifestyle and way of eating is also ideal to help under eaters to rebuild their bodies and become healthy again.
What happens at a consultation?
The way we proceed depends on if you are coming to me because you are over fat or under eating.
Over fat
I will take a full dietary, nutritional and lifestyle profile. Then I will ask you to get weighed, work out your body fat percentage and take your blood pressure. As a result of these I may suggest that you have a food intolerance blood test as many people with weight problems are 'addicted' to foods, or additives they have an intolerance to and by eliminating them from their intake the weight problem 'melts magically away'. For most people this will not be required and we will design a new eating and life style for you. During this change over phase many people need some form of back up, so mini sessions can be booked and Homeopathic preparations are available. However the system is so natural most people take to it like 'a duck to water'. Occasionally, some patients have a Hypnotherapy session to help with the transition phase.
Under eating disorders
The approach is very different, except for the profiles, etc. during one of the early sessions. Every patient is dealt with uniquely and receives sessions of counselling/psychotherapy as required. With the client's permission family and friends may be included in the treatment plan to aid recovery. It helps if family members adopt the healthy eating lifestyle. Many patients have Hypnotherapy or NLP sessions and Homeopathic preparations.
Therapist - Richard Wain,
Wednesday and Saturday mornings and Thursday evening. |
