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CHANGE YOUR MIND – CHANGE YOUR LIFE: Health & Fitness SeriesGUIDED HEALTHY LIVING SERIES

Losing Weightwith a lifestyle change

Self-Paced TAKE ACTION Guide

Table of Contents

Page

Welcome 2

How to Use This Guide 3

The Struggle to Lose Weight 4

When Weight Loss Isn’t As It Seems 5

How Metabolism Works 7

Reasons for Fat Retention 10

Understanding Your Fat Cells 13

Dieting as a Cause of Obesity 15

Overcoming Fat Loss Resistance 17

9 Steps to Making Changes 19

Weight Loss Lifestyle Changes 28

Aerobic Activity Options 29

Strengthening Activity Options 30

Your Next Steps 31

Weekly Goals & Successes 32

Tracking Progress 33

References & Recommended Reading 34

Notes to Yourself 35

Losing Weight with a Lifestyle Change

Page 1© 2006 All Rights Reserved

Welcome

Hi, I’m Alice Greene, your guide.

Welcome to Losing Weight with a Lifestyle Change, a do-it-yourself guided program to help you understand ways to help you more easily and successfully lose fat and weight for the long term.

This is a self-paced, individualized and interactive format designed to help you make positive lifestyle changes that you can successfully incorporate into your daily routine for the long term.

This guide is a facilitator that will help you direct yourself and to put you into action, so that you can feel great about your body, yourself and your life. Do as little or as much as you feel is right for you.

Consider going through this guide with another person or even create a support group that does this together. I wish you great success in creating positive changes in your life.

America’ Healthy Lifestyle Coach

Page 2© 2006 All Rights Reserved


This guide starts off with an overview and some thought-provoking questions that will help you understand why you are likely struggling to either lose or maintain your weight as you’ve gotten older, as your hormones have gotten imbalanced or after doing a number of diets. As hard as you try, you may be making your situation worse.

Then you will learn some facts about fat loss resistance and metabolism that you may not have known, so that you have better perspective and are more informed to make decisions that are best for you.

The 9 Steps to Making Change will give you the roadmap for making long-term lifestyle changes. It will also give you the tool you need to address what gets in your way, which is often in your head. You will have a chance to uncover the real issues and any limiting beliefs, and then you will be guided in how to make choices and take action that feel right to you.

The guide ends with specific suggestions for making healthy lifestyle changes as it relates to reducing insulin resistance and blood sugar levels and includes sheets for you to determine your next steps, create weekly goals, and track your progress. There is also a page for you to make additional notes..

You will get more out of the guide if you take the time to answer the questions. That is where the insights, ah-has and answers lie. I can’t know what is right for you, but I can guide you to find the answers for yourself.

I hope you get a lot from this guide, and that it helps you get and stay motivated to take good care of yourself so you can live a fuller and better life.

How to Use This Guide

© 2006 All Rights Reserved


Are you one of those that want to lose weight, but you just can’t seem to loose it easily anymore? You’ve tried everything, but you keep ending up heavy – maybe heavier than when you started trying. You aren’t alone. This is happening to millions of people, and there is a reason for it.

Overweight Despite Trying Diets and ProgramsHow many people do you know are overweight despite all their efforts at dieting and trying to get in enough exercise? And what about yourself? Have you done what you thought would work?

You diet, but then you regain the weight. After you diet repeatedly, you seem to gain even more weight. Then you hit an age where the weight you once could lose fairly easily now doesn’t budge. So you exercise and eat better for several months, but nothing seems to happen so you give up. It’s as if you are weight loss resistant.

Is this your experience? __________

Most people struggling with their weight have tried a number of different things and done their best, and often it seems things are working. But winning short term battles isn’t the answer to winning the war and changing what is making you fat.

What Really Makes Us OverweightWithout realizing it, the battles are actually the problem. With each diet that severely cuts back calories you are telling your body that there is reason to prepare for a famine, so it obliges by gearing up the fat storing enzymes to hoard fat as soon as you begin eating normally.

While in the dieting state, the body perceives a food shortage and conserves its energy by reducing the metabolic rate and robbing any available sources of fuel it can find, which is primarily found in muscle tissue. As muscle is broken down, the metabolic rate is further adjusted to support a reduced need for energy, and you end up with a higher body fat % than when you started the diet.

Do you know your body fat % _________

In addition, most of us are dealing with busy and chaotic lifestyles that leave little room for relaxing and taking time just for ourselves, which creates an unrecognized level of chronic stress. This type of stress elevates a fat storing hormone called cortisol, which is further elevated when we diet or do a lot of drinking.

The Struggle to Lose Weight



The Scale Isn’t an Accurate Reflection You step on the scale and hold your breath. Is it going to be up or down? It could go either way, and what ever it says will impact how you feel about yourself and your day - or even your whole week. The scale, however, isn’t accurate and the numbers don’t reflect reality.

Are you attached to your scale and check it regularly? __________Does it determine what your day is going to be like? __________ Do you like how much power your scale has in your life? __________

Let’s start with why the scale isn’t an accurate reflection of your weight loss or gain. Most scales, even digital ones, aren’t one hundred percent accurate. This might not surprise you, but what will is that the number you see on the scale reflects your relative body weight, which isn’t an accurate number. Your weight shifts constantly during the day and throughout the week.

At any given time your weight is impacted by recent meals, visits to the bathroom, consumption of water, and fluid retention and loss of water weight. If you have a lot of fluid retention you may not be drinking enough water. The body hoards water when it is in danger of not having enough to perform key functions, such as maintaining body temperature. And if you are dieting, your body will release high amounts of water, which leads to water weight loss.

What Is Really Being Lost When You Diet?Most of the weight loss is water and the breakdown of muscle, bone and tissue –where glucose (your primary energy source converted from calories) is stored. Only after the body exhausts these resources does it start to convert fat into energy, but at the same time it begins to hoard fat for survival. So this is a catch 22. And as soon as you eat normally again, you’ll put on more fat because of a slower metabolism while gaining back all the water. What gets lost in the end is just muscle.

Have you noticed less muscle tone after a diet?

Unfortunately the scale doesn’t discriminate between fat, water and muscle. If it could, you would see that your body is about 70% water. This is one of the main reasons weight is so fluid. We store water in our muscles, fat and bones, as well as in other tissues. In fact, water makes up 75-80% of our muscles and 50% of our fat and bones.

When Weight Loss Isn’t As It Seems



The Scale Isn’t an Accurate Reflection Day to DayThe shift in water weight and other daily activities I mentioned earlier can put you up or down 3-5 pounds when you step on the scale. These few pounds do not reflect that you did something right or wrong in the prior days. Instead they reflect that the body isn’t static during the day or from day to day. It is very difficult to put on an actual pound in a day, much less 2 or 3 pounds.

To put on 1 pound takes eating 3500 additional calories than you burn off or normally eat. That’s almost impossible to do in one day. But it can be done over a weekend. When you put on a pound from eating 3500 excess calories, you are putting on a pound of fat – not water or muscle.

So you have to ask yourself what are you learning when you weigh yourself? What matters is the amount of fat you have in relationship to muscle. Day to day, fat and muscle weight isn’t going to change. Even week to week, it isn’t going to change all that much. What will change is the water weight. That can go up and down very quickly. However, changes in water weight aren’t an accurate reflection of what really matters, which is the fat weight.

What Matters is Fat Loss & Muscle GainWe’ve all been led to believe that the way to lose weight is by eating less. Wrong. Dieting does not lead to fat loss.

The way to lose real weight – the fat weight – is by exercising and eating enough healthy and satisfying foods to support your metabolism and exercise requirements. When you are losing fat weight for the long-term, you will lose about 1 pound of fat a week. Often this doesn’t get reflected on the scale because many people will often start strength training when they begin exercising, and muscle weighs more than fat. This is discouraging if you are accustomed to dieting and quickly dropping water weight.

Emotional Impact From Getting on the ScaleSo think of all the times you got on the scale sure that it would be down a few pounds only to discover it was up instead.

How did you feel? Was it worth getting on the scale? Did you beat yourself up over it?

You really can’t control what the scale says. Instead of getting on the scale,focus on what you can control and on ways to reduce the fat weight. If you want to gauge your success by a number, do it by how you feel in your clothes.

When Weight Loss Isn’t As It Seems



Metabolism is not well understood, which has caused most of us to inadvertently lower our metabolism and sabotage our weight loss efforts.

Metabolism is the rate at which your body breaks down nutrients (calories) and converts them into energy. This energy is used to sustain our basic body functions 24 hours aday. It is also used to fuel our physical activity. The higher the metabolism, the faster the body converts calories into energy. So a person with a higher metabolism burns calories faster than someone with a lower metabolism.

The Misconception of Low MetabolismsA common belief is that certain people are disadvantaged because they have an abnormally low metabolism and it is not within their control to change this. Very few people have abnormally low or high metabolic rates. Nearly everyone falls within the normal range and has the ability to move from the lower end of the range to the higher end. The exceptions are those with metabolic disorders, which require medication and are often detected when they are young.

The primary factor impacting metabolism is lean body mass (the ratio or percent of muscle to fat). The higher the lean body mass – or percent of muscle, the higher the metabolic rate. This is because muscles have high energy requirements and need about 25% of the calories available, burning at a rate of 3-4 times that of fat.

The secondary factor is how the body’s survival mechanisms adapt its energy expenditure to changes in diets, aging, hormone levels, medications and activity.

The Impact of Dieting & Skipping MealsDiets are designed to severely cut down the number of calories, which is interpreted by the body’s survival mechanism as temporary starvation. Perceived starvation occurs when less than 1200-1400 calories are consumed in a day, more than four or five hours has passed since the last feeding, and when the deficit of calories in to calories out exceeds 700 calories in a day.

How Metabolism Works

Diet Age Hormones Meds Activity

Lean Body Mass

Metabolism

Primary Factor Secondary Factors impacting metabolism

Fit Beyond 40 ©, 2005



In starvation mode the body deals with the lack of calories by reducing the metabolic rate up to 10-30%, accelerating water release (rapid weight loss), and increasing enzymes that store fat and decreasing enzymes that burn fat as fuel.

Skipping meals (particularly breakfast) also adds to the problem. People who eat breakfast tend to have above-average metabolisms, because they are providing the fuel needed to rev it up. Those that skip breakfast or other meals during the day are not refueling the metabolism, which in turn slows it down.

How often do you skip breakfast? _____________________

Loss of Muscle Mass From AgingAs people age they lose half a pound of muscle mass annually after the age of 30, leading to an increase in fat and decrease in lean body mass. This in turn impacts metabolism, reducing it by 5% each decade. That means someone in their sixties has a 20% slower metabolism than those in their twenties. Aging also leads to changes in hormones, particularly in estrogen, progesterone and testosterone. As these decrease so too does metabolism.

Hormonal Changes Affect MetabolismSpecific hormones directly affect metabolism. These are insulin, thyroid, cortisol, estrogen and testosterone. When these hormone levels change, so too does the level of metabolism.

Medications Impact Metabolic RatesMedications for depression and bipolar disorders are known to decrease metabolic rates. On the other hand, drugs used for thyroid problems, diabetes and menopause will generally bring people back into normal ranges.

The Role of Exercise in Boosting MetabolismLack of exercise leads to slower metabolisms. Those that are active burn more fuel and need more calories to sustain their metabolic activities. But it is aerobic activity that burns the most calories and also keeps the metabolic rate boosted for several hours after aerobic activity.

How exercise is done also impacts the metabolic rate. Exercising too hard can lead the body to conserve fuel and reduce the metabolic rates. By not exercising hard enough, the body won’t be in the fat burning zone to improve the lean body mass ratio..




Two Sides to Affecting the Metabolic RateFirst side of the equation is the supply of caloriesWhen you don’t give your body enough calories to burn, your metabolic rate slows as it conserves energy and parcels it out to where it is most needed in the body. During times of extreme dieting or food shortages, some parts of the body won’t get the energy it needs to function properly, which leads to fatigue, loss of mental clarity, stress and illness.

Second side is the demand for caloriesThe more you exercise and build muscle, the more calories your body needs and it will attempt to raise your metabolism. But it can only do that if there are enough calories to support the demand. If not, the metabolism will remain low. If so, it will increase. This is why fitness experts will tell their client to eat more when they begin exercising more. It is necessary to get results.


Calories In

Energy Supply

Metabolismregulator

“Furnace”conserves to

supportenergy demand

with greatestefficiency

Energy Demand

High Metabolism

Low Metabolism

Calories Burned

Isn’t fully supported

Calories In

Energy Supply Metabolismregulator

“Furnace”

Energy DemandHigh Metabolism

Low Metabolism

Calories Burned


Calories In

Energy Supply

Metabolismregulator

“Furnace”conserves to

supportenergy demand

with greatestefficiency

Energy DemandHigh Metabolism

Low Metabolism

Calories Burned

From more exerciseIsn’t supported



The primary reason it is so hard to lose weight for the long term is the struggle to lose fat, which I call fat loss resistance.

Fat loss resistance can be minimal or significant and it is why some people lose weight more easily than others and why it can seem for some to be impossible to make any headway in weight loss despite doing everything right. For women the problem is far greater than for men.

Rapid Weight Loss is Part of the ProblemUnfortunately fat loss resistance isn’t well understood. Doctors don’t know enough about it and many dieticians are equally in the dark. Their primary emphasis is weight loss, setting you up with a diet, and then checking to see how much you’ve lost at your next appointment. This is not helping. Nor are weight loss reality TV shows.

You don’t want to lose weight quickly, because that leads to even more fat. Instead you want to lose weight over time, and the reason is that a lot of physiological changes have to occur first before you can start to lose the fat and then the weight. Fat weighs less than muscle, so as you improve the fat to muscle ratio, your weight may not change.

When you lose weight rapidly, the weight loss is primarily water, muscle and a bit of fat. But when the weight is regained, fat and water are quickly replaced. The muscle can only be restored by rebuilding it. Fat and water are always the last to go and the first things to come back. It is best to focus on losing the fat, because then you are more likely to retain the muscle and have a way to achieve long-term weight loss results.

Medical Community Beginning to Study Fat CellsThe recent concern over obesity and obesity-related diseases, such as diabetes and heart disease, has led to considerable research and a better understanding of how fat cells work and how they are governed. In the past five years, a number of endocrinologists, internal medicine physicians and dieticians have begun to publish their findings and insights about what causes obesity.

Even earlier in 1993, Debra Waterhouse – a registered dietician, published Outsmarting the Female Fat Cell. She may have been one of the first to really understand and explain some of the things that fuel fat storage and why it’s so hard to release fat.

Reasons for Fat Retention



Dieting is a Leading Cause of Fat RetentionWhat is interesting is that no two experts in the medical profession address the fat loss issue from the same perspective or necessarily agree on how to explain fat physiology, but they all pretty much agree on several things.

They agree that dieting has been a contributing factor in obesity and fat retention, and they all conclude that regular and moderate exercise combined with balanced eating is the solution. Those physicians promoting specific programs have their own recommended diet and exercise programs, which is what sells their books. But in concept they all basically share the same beliefs, and these support the recommendations provided in the Guided Healthy Living Series.

The fact that dieting has contributed to obesity is hard for most people to accept, but look around – we are a nation of dieters, and we are also a nation with an epidemic of obesity, insulin resistance and heart disease.

The Medical Community Has Limited PerspectiveBecause physicians and nutritionists have varying perspectives on what contributes to the storage and release of fat, depending on their area of specialty – many of them don’t see the complete picture.

They are generally focused on just parts of the picture, which include:» Insulin resistance, leading to Syndrome X, pre-diabetes and Type II diabetes» Hypothyroidism, which slows down metabolism and leads to fatigue» High levels of cortisol from stress, which increases appetite and belly fat» Leptin and adiponectin, which affects appetite levels» Adrenaline (also called epinephrine), which is stimulated by stress » Reductions in estrogen, which leads to abdominal weight gain

People struggling with their weight are often aware of some of these issues.


FatCellHigh blood sugars & insulin

Epinephrine (Adrenaline)Hypothyroidism

Elevated cortisol

Leptin & Adiponectin

Changes in Estrogen




Hormonal Imbalance Directs Effects Fat LevelsThe factors can be very confusing, and the reason is because they are all hormones and each one plays a role in how much fat is stored or released, and some are affected by lifestyle choices in eating and exercise. So to understand fat loss resistance, you need to understand more about these hormones, which is fully discussed in the Balancing Hormones guide.

Hormones are the body’s messengers. They carry information and instructions between the cells and the brain, or from cells in one part of the body to cells in another part. There are hundreds of hormones, and when it comes to fat there are at least a dozen hormones that can be involved in whether it gets stored or released. Fat-storing hormones are insulin, cortisol and estrogen. Fat-releasing hormones are adrenaline and glucagon. And the hormone that impacts metabolism is the T3 thyroid hormone. In addition, fat produces its own hormones, including leptin, adiponectin, and a weakened form of estrogen.

What makes hormones complicated is they work together and affect one another. So when a hormone gets highly elevated or depressed, it becomes imbalanced and affects other hormone messengers and their messages. A heightened hormone, such as insulin (fat-storing), can override and block messages of another hormone, such as adrenaline (fat-releasing). And this is why fat loss resistance and it’s source is so difficult to understand, identify and overcome.


Fat-releasingEnzymes

Fat-releasingHormone

Insulin PresenceInsulin resistanceBlood sugars up

Elevated CortisolChronic stressBlood sugars up

Changes in EstrogenMenopauseAbdominal fat gain

HypothyroidismRapid weight lossT4 not producing T3

Glucagon BalanceBlood sugars downInsulin not presentProtein with carbsBalanced eatingFat Loss Patch

Stimulated AdrenalineRelease of epinephrineEating of foodAerobic exerciseFat Loss Patch

Fat-storingEnzymes

Fat-storingHormone Fat

Cell

Fat-Storing Hormones Fat-Releasing Hormones

Fat-releasing hormones activate fat-releasing enzymes, which Release fat from the cells for use as energy.

Fat-storing hormones activate fat-storing enzymes, which transfer calories (glucose and fat) into the fat cells.




Fat is more complex than was once understood. We each carry around about 30 billion fat cells, and those who are obese have closer to 200 billion of them. That is a lot of fat cells, each with the ability to grow to a thousand times its size. When a cell gets filled to capacity it then divides into two. The good news is that fat cells can also shrink.

Fat Cells Aren’t Created Equally Between the SexesMen have the good fortune to have smaller fat cells than women, unless they come from families who tend to be overweight. In that case, genetics plays a significant role. It is certainly harder for people that have been born with larger fat cells to manage their fat weight, but that doesn’t have to be an excuse to fuel the fat cells.

Fat is Governed by Our Genetic Survival CodeFat, while something we want to get rid of, is needed to provide warmth, get us through a famine or food shortage, and generate immediate energy in a fight or flight stressful situation. In this day and age, most people don’t need fat for these things, but fat cells don’t know this. They frequently experience periods of famine and the call to respond to stress by the way we live our lives. Fat cells, therefore, work hard to store calories we can’t currently use and then releases them when we need extra fuel for times of food shortages, stress and cold.

Fat Cells Aren’t All the SameFat gets stored whenever we eat more calories than we burn. Most fat cells simply store the fat. But abdominal fat cells are quite different. They do more than store fat. They have the ability to produce their own hormones, which can create more fat. Because of their active state, they are the most resistant to giving up their stored fat and they have the greatest impact on disease.

Understanding Your Fat Cells

LargerFatCell

FatCellMale Female



Family Genetics

Fat Cell Activity Driven by Enzymes and HormonesFat cells don’t operate on their own. They need a way for fat to enter and leave the cell. This is handled by fat-storing and fat-releasing enzymes, which are activated by many different hormones. The more fat-releasing enzymes you have, the more that can be activated. Men have nearly twice the number of fat-releasing enzymes than women, and conversely women have twice as many fat-storing ones as men to ensure survival during pregnancy in the event of a food shortage. This is one of the reasons women gain fat more easily and men lose it faster.

Dieting Feeds Fat CellsDieting is a way of life for many people. Formal dieting is based on severe calorie restriction for weeks on end. Yet many people simply lead busy and chaotic lives and have a tendency to skip breakfast or lunch and ignore their hunger signals. The general belief is that’s OK, because if you miss a meal you save on calories. But the truth is the body perceives this as a food shortage and acts accordingly.

Have you done lots of dieting over the years? ________Do you skip many meals or ignore your hunger? ________

When the body doesn’t get the calories it needs to fuel its daily metabolism, it interprets this as a potential famine and will slow down metabolism to conserve fuel and stimulate fat-storing enzymes so that incoming calories can be stored away to survive starvation.

So when you skip a meal and then eat a bigger meal later, more of that meal will be stored away as fat. This you probably already knew.

Understanding Your Fat Cells


Fat Enzyme Triggers Growth of Cell Cell Division

LargerFatCell

FatCell

Lifestyle: Eating Habits Body CompositionBlood Sugar LevelsStress LevelsExercise Levels

Imbalanced InsulinHormones: Estrogen

ThyroidCortisolEpinephrineLeptin

Fat-storing Enzymes

FatCell

FatCell



The human body is unable to distinguish between missing a meal or dieting and the beginning of a famine. It is triggered whenever you don’t get enough calories to fuel your daily energy requirements or there is an extended period of time you go without food (beyond 5-7 hours). At that point the body activates fat-storing enzymes, deactivates fat-releasing enzymes and begins to hoard as much fat as it can – primarily in the abdominal area. In extreme diets, where people eat under 1200 calories for nearly two weeks or more, there can be a 50% increase in fat-storing and 50% decrease in fat-releasing enzymes. The longer this goes on, the higher the percentage.

Rapid Weight Loss isn’t the Real DealSo why does it seem like you are losing the fat when you lose all that weight? In the first week, about ninety percent of the weight loss is water. During the next week or so it is primarily water and muscle weight. The body breaks down muscle, because that is where extra fuel (called glucose – from carbohydrates) is stored. When the muscle gets broken down, water and nitrogen is released with the glucose. The nitrogen also causes water to be released from other tissues. Since most tissues in the body are primarily made of water, a significant drop in weight occurs when these fluids are released.

The body will also break down fat, when it can’t find any more glucose. At this point it will convert fat into glucose, so that the body can continue to function, because the body is primarily fueled by glucose. Metabolizing fat into glucose is ketosis, which is unnatural and stressful on the body.

Dieting as a Cause of Obesity


Skip a meal PerceivedUndereating = “Famine”Any Dieting

Fat-storing Enzymes

Fat-releasingEnzymes

Water release from stored glucose

Nitrogen

Tissue release of water

Muscle breakdown for glucose

Fat breakdown into glucose (ketosis)

Fat-storing Enzymes

Week 1 Week 2-3 Week 2/3-on




Ketosis Creates a Fat Storing MachineThe stress of dieting and ketosis increases cortisol levels, which increases fat-storing. Ketosis also demonstrates to the body that extended famines are real and there is a need for even greater fat storing the next time a food shortage or starvation occurs. Being in starvation mode, particularly when it is extreme enough to require ketosis, damages the fat enzyme mechanisms making it very difficult to reactive fat-releasing enzymes. Starvation from dieting also reduces muscle mass, which reduces metabolism levels.

So after a diet, you may be thinner and lighter in weight, but you now have a fat-storing machine full of bigger fat cells primed for food and much less muscle mass than you had when you started the diet. In addition the size of the fat cells and number of fat-storing enzymes increases with each additional diet.

Diet-Binge-Diet-Binge Seesaw Fuels the FatOnce a diet ends, the first thing most people do is binge on foods they have been denied. This is called deprivation backlash. They can’t seem to get enough food and don’t know when to stop eating. This is also driven by the body’s need for fuel, which it didn’t get enough of during the diet, and for storing more fat in anticipation of the next famine. Once the body experiences a diet as famine, it anticipates more famine. And the more famine it experiences, the more it prepares.

Overeating is just as bad as undereating, which is the binge-diet-binge cycle. They are both fat storing modes. When you don’t get enough food, like when you skip a meal or don’t eat enough during the day, the body prepares to hoard fat at the next meal. When you eat more calories than the body can burn as energy, the fat-storing enzymes are in high gear and the fat cells are storing as much as they can when you eat..

Dieting as a Cause of Obesity

Fat-storing Enzymes

Dieting = CortisolBingeing= Insulin

=



The only way to shrink fat cells is to activate your fat-releasing enzymes. These enzymes work to release fat from the cell and into the bloodstream so that it can be used as fuel. Fat-releasing enzymes are activated when the body needs to burn more fuel than it has available from its daily intake – either from increased adrenaline, aerobic activity or a metabolism burning at a higher rate. Once released, fat travels to the working muscle where fuel is converted into energy and burned off. If it isn’t burned, it will be re-stored as fat.

Balanced Eating Improves Metabolism and Insulin LevelsThe most important thing is to eat food to the rate at which your body burns energy (by eating when you are hungry and stopping before you get full). This keeps your blood sugar and insulin levels balanced. The thing to avoid is under or over eating, because that will trigger your fat-storing hormones. You also want to eat foods that are a balance of carbohydrates, proteins and fats. This is called balanced eating.

Moderate Aerobic Exercise Activates Fat Releasing The second most important thing is to start burning the fat that has been stored away, by doing moderate – instead of high intensity – aerobic exercise to activate the fat-releasing hormones and enzymes. This will increase lean body mass and your metabolism, which can be further improved by doing some strength training to rebuild your muscle.

Building Muscle to Increase MetabolismMuscle burns four times more calories than fat burns, which increases your metabolic rate (if you are getting enough calories to support the higher energy demand). When you have more muscle in proportion to fat, you have a lower % body fat and leaner body mass. Strengthening exercises build muscle and greater bone density.

Stress Reduction Eliminates Another Fat Storing SourceAlong with balanced eating and moderate exercise is finding ways to reduce your stress so that cortisol is kept to a minimum. When stress is high and triggering fat storing, it is difficult for the body to release fat.

Water Fuels MetabolismWithout enough water, the body can’t easily break down calories into energy, which impacts the metabolic rate. So when you don’t drink enough water, you won’t burn as many calories or raise your metabolism.

Overcoming Fat Loss Resistance



What have you learned from reading the preceding sections that you want to make note of? What was an ah-ha? What stands out that helps you see why you are struggling with your weight?

When Weight Loss Isn’t As It Seems (pages 5-6)

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

How Metabolism Works (pages 7-9)_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

Reasons For Fat Retention (pages 10-12)_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

Understanding Your Fat Cells (pages 13-14)_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

Dieting As a Cause of Obesity (pages 15-16)

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

Overcoming Fat Loss Resistance (page 17)_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

Other insight or thought you had?_____________________________________________________________

Overcoming Fat Loss Resistance



#1: Respond to a Defining Moment

Have you had unsettling moments when you couldn’t easily get up a flight of stairs or felt winded taking a brief walk, or what about when you had a painful experience because of something someone said, seeing a photo of yourself, or believing that others were judging you for your weight? Or perhaps something else about your weight has occurred that is bothering you. What is it?

Note your unsettling moments ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Have you been told by one of your health practitioners that you need to lose some weight to minimize your risk of disease or to avoid going on medications. Or have you been experiencing greater pain or discomfort because of your weight? Are you ignoring these messages?

Identify your physical messages________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

What is keeping you from responding to these messages?________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Is there one defining moment that you think would get you to take action?_______________________________________________________________

Even if you haven’t had that moment, do you think you could respond to the unsettling moments and physical messages if all it required was a small step?

_________ What could that small step be? _________________________

Small steps put you in action, and these lead to feeling better and successful.

9 Steps to Making Changes



#2: Get Motivated by a New Vision

What do you want to achieve and feel by losing weight? More energized and capableIn control and confidentFeel less ashamed and judgedMore comfortable and flexibleLess pain and discomfortWearing clothes can no longer fit intoAble to wear clothes that are fashionableSexy, sensual and open to touchSuccessful and fabulous________________________________________________________________________________________________

Create a vision of yourself already having achieved the things you want from this list. Feel how good that feels, and begin to live as if you were that person.

Create an affirmation that affirms you have achieved your goal, so that your subconscious is working with you to make it happen. What you believe impacts your motivation and results.

I am ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

As this new you, how do you envision your lifestyle so that you can help yourself shift from a fat storing to a fat releasing mode and increase your metabolism? (There is no right answer, nor do all of these items have to be filled in.)

I eat ____________________________________________________________I sleep __________________________________________________________I drink __________________________________________________________I am aerobically active _____________________________________________I am strengthening ________________________________________________I take care of myself by _____________________________________________I reduce my stress by ______________________________________________

What is your #1 motivator to live this lifestyle ____________________________How can you keep this motivation alive ________________________________




#3: Listen to Your Body and Honor It

Your body is working hard to let you know that it is out of balance when it is overweight and has a disproportionate body fat percentage to muscle.

• When your metabolism or thyroid slows down, you don’t feel as energized and you put on weight easily.

• When you have hunger signals, you body is telling you to refuel or stop eating. • When your hormones are out of balance, you don’t feel as well. • When you lose your muscle, you can’t lift as much, you aren’t as toned, and

you have less shock absorption in your knees and joints. • When your body hurts, you probably want to do less in your life and feel held

back from doing all the things you may want to do. • And when your blood sugar levels are too high, you crave food and feel overly

thirsty.

How have you been feeling physically?________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Do you feel as good as you know it is possible to feel or want to feel?________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

What is your body telling you?________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Do you remember a time when you felt great and invincible? Were you taking better care of yourself then? Would you like to feel that way again?________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________




#4: Determine Whose Beliefs are Running You

What do you believe about exercising, strengthening, your physical condition or abilities, drinking enough water or getting enough sleep as it relates to you and your lifestyle? Start with your beliefs about exercise, and then look at the rest.

What Are Your Beliefs About Exercising I believe it has to be: ________________________________________________I believe I must do: _________________________________________________I believe I can’t do less than: __________________________________________I believe the only types are: ___________________________________________I believe if I miss a week: ____________________________________________I believe I can’t exercise because: _____________________________________

Exercise doesn’t have to be hard work or done a specific way. There is a general perception of what qualifies for aerobic exercise to lose fat and weight, and it is more rigid, intense and limited than is necessary.

Exercise to be effective does not have to be a hard core workout. It can be more moderate, enjoyable, variable and flexible than you may believe. What is most important is coming up with aerobic activities that you like enough and at a pace you can really do. In this way you will enjoy it enough to continue and progress to add in more time, frequency, intensity and variety.

Anyone – with few exceptions, can be active, even if they have pain and limited range of motion. Movement often helps, and there are many programs available for those with physical limitations.

What new belief do you want to create around exercise?I believe I can: _____________________________________________________I believe it might be fun to: ___________________________________________I believe I can make time for: _________________________________________I believe it will feel good to: ___________________________________________I believe being active will help me: _____________________________________

Create new beliefs that are truly believable to you and that will be empowering and supportive to reach your fat and weight loss goals. They don’t have to be beliefs that others share – or from this guide for that matter. What matters is that you are in control of what you believe and they are in your best interests.




#5: Create Routines that Work for Your Life

The most common reason people don’t take better care of themselves, exercise regularly or eat better is because it doesn’t easily fit into their current lifestyle.

Yet we all create our own daily routines and lifestyle. There isn’t a national daily routine we all adhere to. We all make our own choices of what is important and where we spend our time, even if it doesn’t seem that way. You can change your priorities to include time and new routines to increase your metabolism and shift your body from a fat storing machine to a fat releasing engine.

Tweak Your Weekly Routine It is probably unrealistic to shift your daily routine significantly, so start with just baby steps. Later, when these are incorporated, add in something more.

Consider your current weekday routine…What is negotiable? _______________________________________________What is not negotiable? ____________________________________________Can you get up a bit earlier? ________________________________________What could be moved up or moved back a bit? __________________________Could you stop work a little earlier? ___________________________________Could you get home a little later? _____________________________________Could you do something at lunch time? ________________________________Could you include others or your family? _______________________________Where can you find 20 minutes or a half hour? __________________________Can you find these in more than one place in your day? ___________________

How can you change your weekday routine to support your weight loss effort?________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Consider your current weekend routine…What is negotiable? _______________________________________________What is not negotiable? ____________________________________________Can you get up a bit earlier? ________________________________________Where can you find 20 minutes or a half hour? __________________________Could you combine this with your leisure time? __________________________Who could join you? _______________________________________________

How can you change your weekend routine to support your weight loss effort?________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________




#6: Rewrite the Rules About Being a Perfectionist

How often have you started a fitness program, joined a gym or set some goals to lose weight, and then stopped because you didn’t feel you were fully successful?

How quickly do you give up because your day didn’t go as planned, you missed a few days or you couldn’t do what you set out to do for a whole week? Do you assume you are a failure because you didn’t do it all just right? You aren’t. That’s a belief you can change, giving yourself permission to do what you can and learn from what gets in the way, works better for you or is more realistic.

Life Will Always Get in the WayLife always gets in the way, and it is virtually impossible to always eat well, always fit in your exercising or always get in the full amount of time planned. The best thing to do when things interfere is to go with the flow, knowing you don’t always have full control. When you do that, you can let those days go without judgment and focus on today and setting new goals for the upcoming week. You can also learn from the situation and see what you could have done differently to support yourself in the future.

It isn’t about being exact, perfect and doing things just so. It is about setting an intention, doing the best you can, not judging yourself but observing with interest what happened and why, then learning what works better and renewing your intentions based on new insights.

Can you accept doing the best you can? __________

Are you willing to be non-judgmental and simply observe to learn what gets in the way of your plans and goals and what might work better for you? __________

What have you learned from times when you were challenged to reach your goal?___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

What has worked best for you in the past to stay on track, despite obstacles and interferences? ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________




#7: Discover What Really Makes You Feel Good

To succeed with fat loss and real weight loss that lasts requires a lifestyle change of new behaviors that you can do for the long term – instead of short term quick fixes. The goal isn’t to lose the weight and then go back to your usual way of doing things. It is to create a new way of living that you can sustain and do out of choice.

You Have Lots of ChoicesChoice is the operative word. If you don’t like doing or eating certain things, then you won’t keep them up, and that won’t lead to a healthier lifestyle.

What do you enjoy and think would be fun to eat, do and experience? This is what you want to identify and build into your new lifestyle routines. If you don’t like gym equipment, then don’t select that as your choice of aerobic activity or strength training regimen. If you dislike cottage cheese, certain fish or specific vegetables, don’t buy them. If you struggle to go to bed at 9pm, find a way to change your morning obligations so you can go to bed later and still get at least 7 hours of sleep. You do have more choices and opportunities to negotiate than you probably believe, if you determine that these are really important to you.

If you don’t know what you like, experiment and try new things to find out what is satisfying, enjoyable and even delightful. You’ll be surprised that you can really come to like things you initially thought wouldn’t be appealing. I know that from my own experience.

What aerobic activities do you like to do? (see page 29)______________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ______________________________

What strengthening activities are appealing? (see page)______________________________ ______________________________

What foods do you like to eat (and how can they be healthy)?Breakfast _______________________________________________________Lunch _________________________________________________________Dinner _________________________________________________________Snacks ________________________________________________________

How can you get enough water that is enjoyable? ________________________




#8: Establish Accountability to Keep Your Resolve

Deciding that it is time to lose weight and take action is enough to get you started at changing your routines, but making it a long term commitment and a lifestyle change requires more out of you. You can probably stick with some-thing for a few weeks or even a couple of months, particularly if you are seeing results. But successfully losing fat is much tougher. It takes a long term healthy lifestyle change to be free of the vicious cycle of losing and gaining.

What It Really Takes to SucceedIt takes many months before you see any indication you are on the right track and it takes a year (or even two years) to reach your goal – because it is the real deal. It is genuine fat loss, a significant change in your metabolism and a way of life that keeps your lean body mass.

Success is losing the weight and keeping it off for more than 2 years. Once you have a healthy lifestyle, that is fairly easy to do. The good news is that you will feel much better and more in control within the first few months, so while you may not see changes on the scale or in your clothes you will feel stronger, more energized, happier and more toned.

To get through the first year requires determination, fortitude and patience. What helps you with this is accountability and a way to stay motivated day to day and week to week.

Where can you get regular accountability by someone that won’t judge you, but will unconditionally listen to you and encourage you to address obstacles?________________________________________________________________

What type of accountability has helped you before? ______________________

Who can you buddy up with to keep you going and on track? _______________I will call ________________________________ on __________________

What motivates you (checking things off, competing, seeing accomplishments)?Pedometers and calorie trackers are motivating. So is preparing for a charity walk, road race or sponsored event. You can even challenge a friend.I am motivated by _______________________________________________

What type of self monitoring works for you? ____________________________(A log option is on page 32)

Set a date to put a structure into place for yourself. ___________




#9: Create Ah-ha Strategies Out of Disappointments

Because long-term weight loss doesn’t happen quickly, it can be frustrating to work hard and not see results for extended periods of time. But don’t give up. This process takes time, particularly if you have high fat loss resistance.

If you have done lots of dieting with yo-yo weight loss, are going through menopause or other hormonal changes and dealing with a fair amount of stress, you will be more fat loss resistant than a younger women that has not dieted much or that doesn’t have much stress.

The more fat loss resistant you are at the start, the longer it will take to see results. This doesn’t mean nothing is happening. A lot is happening internally to change your hormonal balance, your metabolism and your fat enzyme physiology. You just can’t see that. It will seem like you are stuck at a plateau, and until your metabolic set point changes and your fat releasing enzymes get the upper hand over the fat storing ones, you are. Hang in there. In the meantime you will start to feel better, see more definition and have more confidence.

Focus on your successes and how you are feeling.I have been successful at _________________________________________I am feeling better with ___________________________________________

This is the same strategy you want to do when you have days or weeks when things didn’t go as planned and you feel like you’ve failed to stay on track.

Everyone has days and weeks like this. The way to deal with them is to say Ok, I understand what got in the way. Here’s what has gone well. Here’s what didn’t. Now, what will help me to stay on track in the future when these things happen or acknowledge that some things are unavoidable and that’s ok. And don’t let it keep you from picking up where you left off. If you need help getting restarted, ask for it. Find a buddy, coach or another way to get back on track.

What has gone well is ____________________________________________What I feel good about is __________________________________________

What hasn’t gone as well is ________________________________________What I’ve learned is ______________________________________________What I’ll try next time is ___________________________________________What has helped me get back on track is _____________________________




The only way to successfully lose weight and keep it off is to stop the fat storing engine created by hormonal imbalances, dieting, overeating and inactivity, so you can begin to release the fat. The body can’t easily release fat while actively storing it, so the initial focus is to create a lifestyle change that stops what is driving the fat storing and reverse the fat loss resistance.

Stop Fat Storing by Creating Balance

Balanced EatingStop the fat storing by balancing your meals, focusing on eating when you are hungry in alignment with your metabolic needs and on choosing foods that create a low glycemic meal or snack.

Diets with severe calorie restrictions, skipping meals and undereating lead to fat hoarding. While overeating, bingeing or eating more than what your metabolism can burn off during the day turns excess calories into fat and elevates blood sugars that drives up insulin.

Hormonal BalancingIf you are experiencing menopause, thyroid, cortisol or other hormonal symptoms talk to your doctor about options to get your hormones rebalanced. If you don’t want to pursue medications, changing the way you eat, sleep, exercise and reducing stress can help. Hormones impact one another, and as you get one hormone in balance, others will be positively affected.

Stress Reduction & SleepReduction in your stress levels and getting enough sleep will reduce the fat storing cortisol hormone in your blood stream and the carb cravings that boost blood sugars and insulin.

Increase Fat ReleasingThe primary way to release and then burn fat is through regular moderate aerobic activities. Note the word moderate. If you exercise too hard, you will simply burn off carbs, not fat, and run the risk of pushing your metabolism back down. Also, it takes about 20 minutes for the fat to be released and ready to be burned off, which is why the ideal amount of time is 30-45 minutes.

Burn More Calories to Stay SlimThe only way to burn more is to increase your metabolism by eating enough, building muscle and drinking water.

Weight Loss Lifestyle Changes



IndoorsBasketballBikingBoxingDancingDance videosElliptical trainerKick boxing, Tae-Bo, etcMartial artsNordic TrakRock climbingRowingStairsVideos

ClubsAerobicsElliptical trainerKickboxingRacquetball or squashRock climbingRowingSpinningStairsSwimming & aquaticsTennisTreadmill

OutdoorsBikingCanoeingChi running or Chi walkingCross country skiingGardeningGolfHiking and back packingJump ropeKayakingNordic walkingRace walkingRock climbingRoller bladingRunningSoccer or field hockeySkatingSnow shoeingSoftball or baseballVolleyballWalkingWindsurfing

ClassesAerobicsAquaticsBelly DancingDancingJazzerciseKickboxingPower YogaTai Chi

What else?________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Which of these interest you?_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________

Aerobic Activity Options



Strength Training with EquipmentHiring a personal trainerUsing nautilus or similar equipment at a gymHome strengthening equipment (Total Gym, Bowflex, Universal gym, etc)Curves circuit (or other women’s fitness club with equipment)

Strength Training without Much EquipmentHiring a personal trainer for traditional or functional trainingBody Pump classesVideo program using stability ball, free weights, resistance bands, medicine

ball, BOSU, foam rollers, and other types of light equipmentMagazine routines using similar itemsOn-line trainer programsPhone coaching programsBooks with recommended routines

Combination Programs that StrengthenPilates with resistancePower YogaAquatics with resistanceStep with strengthening KickboxingTai Chi strengthening & balanceOutdoor boot camps

Additional Options You Want to Consider____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Strengthening Activity Options



Your Next Steps

To what extent do you think you are fat loss resistant? (pages 4-14)

_____ Have you frequently lost and then regained weight?

_____ Have you done a lot of dieting over the years?

_____ Do you skip many meals or ignore your hunger?

_____ Do you overeat frequently or eat lots of simple carbs?

_____ If you know your body fat %, is it close to or over 30%?

_____ Have you noticed less muscle after a diet?

_____ Are you in menopause, causing decrease in estrogen?

_____ Do you have a thyroid imbalance and not on meds?

_____ Do you have pre- or diagnosed diabetes (high insulin)?

_____ Are you under a lot of chronic stress?

Each “Yes” equals 1 point.

Low (1-2 points) Moderate (3-5 points) Significant (6-8 points)

High fat loss resistance (9-10 points)

My defining moment – or small step – that will put me into action is: (page 19)

____________________________________________________________

My #1 motivator to change my lifestyle is ________________________ (pg 20)

My affirmation is __________________________________________________

What is your body telling you? _________________________________ (pg 21)

What new belief will help you now? _____________________________ (pg 22)

To succeed long term, you need consistent healthy lifestyle habits to support

you. How can you change your weekday and weekend routines? (pg 23)

_______________________________________________________________

What have you learned works best for you to stay on track? (pg 24)

_______________________________________________________________

What activities do you like to do that you will try? (pg 25, 29, 30)

______________________________ _______________________________

______________________________ _______________________________

Can you create healthy meals you can enjoy? ____________________ (pg 25)

How can you get at least 8 glasses of water a day? ________________ (pg 25)

What can you do to reduce your stress? _________________________ (pg 28)



Weekly Goals & Successes

Week ___ Dates (___________ to ___________)

Lifestyle Changes Sun Mon Tues Wed Thurs Fri Sat

Balanced EatingBreakfast _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____Mid-Morning _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____Lunch _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____Afternoon _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____Dinner _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____Evening _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____

My success was ___________________________________________________________________________

My ah-ah is ___________________________________________________________________________

Aerobic Activity__________________ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _______________________ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____

My success was ___________________________________________________________________________

My ah-ah is ___________________________________________________________________________

Strengthening Activity__________________ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _______________________ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____

My success was ___________________________________________________________________________My ah-ah is ___________________________________________________________________________

Water__________________ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____

My success was ___________________________________________________________________________

Stress Reduction__________________ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _______________________ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____

My success was ___________________________________________________________________________

Remember to start with just a few things. You don’t want to get overwhelmed, injured or frustrated.



Tracking Your Progress

Date _______________________ (monthly check in)

What has been going really well?________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

What has been challenging?________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

What have I learned, and what new strategies can I use in the future?________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

What has changed for me? _________________________________________

Date _______________________ (monthly check in)

What has been going really well?________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

What has been challenging?________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

What have I learned, and what new strategies can I use in the future?________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

What has changed for me? _________________________________________





References & Recommended Reading

The Schwarzbein Principle IIby Diana Schwarzbein, MD

Perfect Balanceby Robert Greene, MD

What Your Doctor May Not Tell You about Hypothyroidismby Ken Blanchard, MD, PhD

The Hormone SolutionThe Teen Weight Loss Solutionby Erika Schwartz, MD

Outsmarting the Female Fat CellOutsmarting the Midlife Fat Cellby Debra Waterhouse, RD

Maximize Your Metabolism by Christopher Guerriero

Notes to Yourself



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