Obesity is defined as the excessive accumulation of body fat, or an increase in body weight beyond the limitation of skeletal and physical abilities. Overweight and obese people face a clear health risk. Obesity has been linked with numerous health conditions including heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, gall bladder disease, respiratory conditions, complications of pregnancy, even certain cancers. Obesity shortens a person's life span. Once a person becomes obese, all that is required to remain obese is that the energy input (food) equal the energy output. In other words, once a person becomes obese, all they have to eat is the same amount of food as a person of average weight to remain obese.

A January, 1997 Harris Poll showed that 75% of Americans, twenty-five or older, are overweight. The number of severely obese children in the United States nearly doubled between 1965 and 1980. If this trend continues, the rate of overweight and obese adult Americans will continue to rise.

As many as 50% of women and 25% of men in America are trying to lose weight at any given time by dieting, exercise, behavior modification, or drugs. Diets for weight loss have been shown to be ineffective and even damaging to one's health. Scientific studies reveal that most low-calorie diets that aren't accompanied by heavy exercise, can result in a 50% loss of lean muscle mass. Most people trying to lose weight are able to lose one tenth of their body weight, however, up to two-thirds of that weight is regained within a year, and all (or more) is regained after five years.

There are a variety of reasons why people are unable to lose weight. The following is a list of physical and psychological reasons for not being able to lose weight:
1. Is your thyroid gland sluggish? This will change your metabolism rate (rate of burning fuel for energy in the body) and make it more difficult to lose weight.
2. Is glandular malfunction causing you to have a pear-shaped figure?
3. Do you have bloating and swelling from excessive fluid retention?
4. Do you have poor digestion and assimilation (undernourished people, having inadequate intake of essential nutrients or- do not easily burn fat), poor circulation, poor liver function, or constipation?
5. Are you deficient in digestive enzymes, acidophilus, or have improper pH levels (acid-base levels) in your digestive or body chemistry?
6. Are you a binge eater, stress eater, reward eater, have a big sweet-tooth?
Having a knowledge of how your body works, and if your individual chemistry is working properly or is unbalanced, and looking at what type of eating habits you have will make it easier for you to choose the correct program to make the necessary long-term changes in diet, body chemistry, and lifestyle to gain the results you desire. Permanent weight loss can be achieved safely, and without side-effects in this way.

Dr. Pouls' Opinion.
Weight Loss:
Our society is very confused as to why so many people are obese. It is commonly assumed that obesity is due to a lack of character, discipline, or will power. It is also commonly believed that one must severely restrict calories in order to lose weight. Another popular myth is that obesity is due only to overeating. The truth is that there is a complex interaction of many variables, unique to each person, which determines their "set point" and "basic metabolic rate" (BMR), including one's environment, culture, eating and exercise habits, genetic makeup, and individual biochemistry. The "set point" theory states that one's size and body fat are determined by genetics and eating patterns at certain life stages which determine adult body weight. To try to lose or gain weight away from this "set point" will cause a shift in body physiology and biochemistry that will cause the person to return to the set point. This is why most people return to their previous weight after a diet. Basic metabolic rate (BMR) is the rate which the body utilizes energy. The BMR can be affected by age, sex, hormones, body size, fat to muscle ratio, and diet. BMR varies greatly between individuals. Thin people have higher metabolic rates and burn calories at a much higher rate than obese people.

The best answers seem to combine common knowledge and basic logic. If you don't want to gain fat, don't put more fat in you mouth than you plan to exercise off or your body can metabolize before your next meal. To properly manage weight, people have to be conscious about how much fat is in the food they eat in relationship to their individual metabolic rate. A well-balanced diet which avoids fat-laden foods, an individual nutritional supplement plan, regular exercise, plenty of pure water, and stress reduction will all help maintain a healthy weight compatible with one's body type. Lack of certain specific nutrients is often the reason people cannot properly digest and utilize fats. Fat is not easily or fully burned and utilized as a fuel by the body. If metabolic conditions aren't correct or if certain nutrients are not available, the body will store fat as a source of future potential energy rather than break it down.

Four things that I have found to be crucial for any successful weight loss program are:
1. A diet containing as few processed foods as possible. Avoid 'dead' foods like canned, salted, pickled, preserved, and overcooked foods. Avoid foods containing animal fats.
2. Nutritional support for a 'sluggish' thyroid gland, if needed.
3. Regular, significant exercise and plenty of pure, filtered water (6-8 eight oz. glasses/day).
4. Psychological or emotional counseling or work to help determine underlying emotional causes of weight gain.
There are numerous nutrients that I recommend in my clinical practice to help in curbing appetite, to balance and stabilize blood sugar, to increase the basic metabolic rate (BMR), to maintain healthy cholesterol levels, to assist the body in the digestion, breakdown and elimination of fat, and to support healthy thyroid function.

A safe and natural way to 'fool' the body into thinking it is more full is by using fiber products. When fiber products are mixed with water or juice it forms a gelatinous mass which assists in cleaning out the intestinal tract as it passes through, and also assists in controlling blood sugar levels, and reduces the number of calories the body absorbs. This fiber-gelatin mass also makes a person feel full. Weight loss studies have shown that guar gum fiber, a water soluble fiber, has produced the most impressive results. It has also been shown that a person can lose up to 50 percent more weight by supplementing the diet with fiber than by simply reducing or restricting calories. It is important to take fiber products at least one hour before or after taking nutritional supplements or other medications as their absorption into the body may be decreased by the fiber. Of course, I only recommend fiber products as an adjunct to a total weight loss program.

Two ingredients that I often recommend for food cravings associated with hypoglycemia are chromium picolinate and free from amino acids, both found in the Amino Balance Support System When these two nutrients are taken between meals they help balance blood sugar, curb the appetite, and stop sugar cravings.

Imbalances in the function of the thyroid gland can often bring about weight problems. A sluggish thyroid is associated with weight gain in the body. Nutrients which support balanced thyroid function include ionic trace minerals Concentrated Liquid Ionic Mineral Support System and in some cases iodine. Whenever addressing hormonal conditions it is imperative you are working with a knowledgeable health care professional.

Medium-chain triglycerides (MCT) are special types of saturated fats prepared from coconut oil. MCT's are an easily absorbed energy source and are a popular natural aid in weight loss. Unlike regular fats, MCT's do not appear to cause weight gain and actually promote weight loss by increasing the rate at which calories burned (are used up by the body).

Another useful tool for people attempting to control or lose weight is to refer to the glycemic index, which is a listing of most foods and drinks and their ability to raise (or lower) blood sugar and their effects on insulin levels in the body. Insulin is the hormone produced by the pancreas which assists the body in balancing blood sugar by regulating carbohydrate (sugar), fat (lipid), and protein (amino acid) metabolism. The glycemic index also tells you the fat-storing properties of foods and drinks. People who want to lose weight can eat as much of the low glycemic index foods as they want. Diabetics and hypoglycemic patients should also eat primarily low glycemic index foods. High glycemic index foods stimulate the release of lipoprotein lipase (LPL), which is responsible for fat storage in the cells of the body.