Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Pills and shakes are not enough

If you're trying to lose weight and get your health back, pills and shakes are not enough.

How else can we explain why most Americans are so overweight? Including many folks selling health and weight loss supplements.

Pills and shakes have a place. Just not first place.

According to nutrition professor Dr. Heidi, to lose the weight and get your health back, there are five ordered strategies. From the most natural to the least:
1st. Optimize your daily food plan. Ask: what am I eating and how can I make it better? Get as close as possible to a real food plan (not calorie counting, starving, industrial food or rabbit food).

2nd. Amp up your food plan where necessary. Add super foods e.g. green powders, cod liver and coconut oil, herbs, Pops, etc.

3rd. If symptoms persist after a month of doing 1 and 2 above, or if your doctor prescribes it, add nutraceuticals e.g. Vitamin B, alpha lipoic acid, L-carnitine, CoQ10, L-glutamine, etc.

4th. If symptoms still persist, add pharmaceuticals your doctor recommends. Many do this strategy together with nutraceuticals.

5th. Last resort: surgery. E.g., stomach stapling (Bariatric surgery), etc.
If you had to choose between #5 and #1, would you consider an optimal ER daily food plan first? For four weeks? And THEN decide re #5?

Next: "Why I was afraid to sign up for ER." (see here.)

20 comments:

Dean said...

My God, this is so out of whack that it is disturbing. Exercise should come in number 2 on your list. I understand you are promoting the ER program but let’s have some balance. A skinny body can still be weak if it is not fit. If a person wants to be in shape they need to exercise. Most things work if they can be maintained long enough for the results to appear. A fitness program and a healthy diet will beat any crazy diet long term.
Dean Mincer

Anonymous said...

Perhaps it goes without saying but shouldn't regular exercise be somewhere on this list? It would be extremely foolish to go in for stomach stapling surgery before one works on an exercise plan.

Kim Klaver said...

Hi guys---

Yes, I used to think exercise should be on the list to lose weight also. Only then I learned it may not be necessary for weight loss. Healthy, yes, to move around for circulation and energy...but for weight loss?

The recent evidence shows exercise is perhaps the slowest way of all to lose weight. Eating differently seems to work much faster. I'll ask Dr. Heidi to post some of the research.

This novel belief re the NON-link between exercise and weight loss turned out to be the case with the last group of ER folks. They lost 10 lbs and more over four weeks, and did not change their exercise habits.

ER's actually a crazy way of eating and drinking and living. I've been doing it for the past several years. The cycles of ER, that is.

That's why I promote it.

So yes, ER's not a diet that one goes on and then resumes the same old same old eating and drinking ways that got someone way out of balance in the first place.

Carol Raynor said...

I know it sounds “out of whack” to not have exercising in this list. I was one very skeptical person when I first heard of the Extreme Regime program. First surprise for me was exercise was not mandatory or a requirement because that was what I had always heard too.

I’m 55 years old and have tried all the “crazy diets” (shakes, pills, portion foods) and still could not lose weight. I even tried exercising but not for long. Learning what to eat to make my body metabolize and lose weight was so different than everything else (diets) I had tried for years. WHAT I’m now eating (real foods instead of processed foods) and learning my body needs fats (the good ones were a surprise) came as welcome change to my body.

I have lost 20 pounds in 5 weeks without exercising. My body will become fit when I shed this extra weight and give it the proper nutrition to function effectively. Then maybe I’ll feel like some exercise.

Anonymous said...

First research can often be skewed or looked at from a perspective that doesn't give a full picture.

If you take 2 people and feed the a whole food diet of 4000 calories, and put one on the couch and put the other one in a training program for a triathalon, what would the result be?

So Kim says "Only then I learned it may not be necessary for weight loss."

Well guess what.... good food is not mandatory for weight loss either if you are training for the Olympics (EXERCISE!!). Just ask 23 year-old USA Olympic swimmer, Michael Phelps.

weight loss goes like this... eat calories, burn calories... if you burn more than you eat then you lose, if you don't you gain.

eating isn't mandatory to lose weight, neither is exercise, but BOTH are recommended!

Shame on you, shame on Dr. Heidi. Never mind that you are abusing your network marketing contacts to spread this stuff. Really Kim I am appalled.

Shelley

Anonymous said...

What if you are someone that is not physically able to exercise? Does that mean you have to be fat forever? Of course not. It makes so much more sense good health with real food. Don't you agree?

Kim Klaver said...

Hi Shelley...

Yes, I think I'd have been appalled myself last year. That's before I noticed how many calories I was burning on my tread mill after 30-40 minutes.

Plus exercise, which I do each day, ALWAYS makes me hungry.

I thought it was great fun to see how Phelps ate 12,000 calories per day and worked out 5-6 hours every day.

The point of these findings AND the ER results so far is that the exercise weight-loss connection is much smaller than we might have thought.

That eating certain real foods works faster than exercising more.

And so far, the ER results (See Carol above) are bearing that out.

It's just that there seems to be a weak connection between exercise and weight loss.

Doesn't mean that movement/exercise isn't good for general health, like I said, I do it each day.

But the exercise-weight loss connection is not nearly as direct as we once thought, according to the people who are not exercising and losing pretty significant weight in ER.

In the end, I agree that no research will be predictive of what happens to everyone. So the bottom line is, you test it yourself.

That's what I've been doing the past several years. Changing nothing but what I ate allowed me, finally, to drop the last 8 lbs I've been trying to get rid of.

I know ER will not work for everyone.

This seems strange to me, too. But I've exercised and run and played tennis for 30 years, and it isn't until I changed a few things I ate that the last 8 pounds came off.

What can I say?

Test it. See what happens.

If it works when nothing else has, super. If not, keep trying the old and (for most people) what has not worked.

Working out an hour a day like I do is not in the cards for most people. So this is an option some daring ones can try.

:)

Anonymous said...

I know many people are selling the magic potions, but I find it very sad that people buy them.

Frankly, people don't want to do the exercise work or cut out the fattening foods. This is why they resort to pills and shakes. That's not my opinion. That's my belief.

I was diagnosed borderline diabetic 2 because my weight went through the roof after I needed Prednisone and then stopped almost all exercise for two years due to my serious operation.

So, I started a walking routine about four months ago. Let me just say I feel marvelous now. I add swimming to my exercise routine. Since walking does not promote weight loss from a calorie aspect, I switched to fat free milk, very little bread, an occasional desert, no Cokes. Honestly, what I thought would be painful was not bad at all.

Result: lost 15 pounds in 8 weeks. I will lose a whole bunch more, I'm sure of it. Diet and exercise, the path to success.

Anonymous said...

Nothing is mandatory for weight loss.

Don't you ever wonder how processed food can be shelved for such a long period of time? Chemical preservatives, processed, frozen food for the sake of convenience.

Research the history and see when the Americans start getting fat and unhealthy.

I appreciate someone in the NM industry is actually marketing real food. Even for money.

If real food is not for you, keep eating whatever you prefer to eat.

Anonymous said...

Oh I appreciate someone marketing real food, and when I eat real food someone makes money. That is not my issue.

Anyone who stops eating "whatever you prefer to eat" be it McDonalds or whatever and switches over to whole foods is better off.

However telling people that exercise is not mandatory to lose weight is a MISLEADING way to sell your product.

Kim I am not appalled at the results, so please do not purposely misunderstand 'in print' what I am saying.

Eating nutritious WHOLE foods your body will metabolize easier because it recognizes food, is of course the way to eat.

I am happy for the people in the ER program who don't find it reasonable to take an hour a day for exercise that they are finally losing weight. However if losing weight is your only goal why not eat whatever you want and then just go to the bathroom and stick your fingers down your throat.

The results will be the same. Oh maybe your iron levels will drop, but your body will extract some nutrients from the huge meal before you vomit, and you will have lovely thin face, and flacid muscles and loose skin hanging on your lovely new lower fat body!

Kim I am not appalled at the "so called" results. I am appalled that you don't seem to mind losing long time subscribers to Banana Marketing in your quest for new customers for your deal.

I am happy to oblige.

Shelley

Robin Plan said...

Here's what I learned about fat burning from Dr. Heidi's ER program. When we consume processed foods, low fat foods, artificial sweeteners etc. we are putting toxins in our body. The liver works to rid these toxins but when it's overloaded our body retains water to store the toxins in fat. So we end up fatter because of the excess water, fat and finally cellulite. Our body does this to protect us from the toxins.

Weight loss in the first stage is about what you eat. If you put fake in your body no amount of exercise will get rid of the fat and water stored in your body. Eating real food does burn the fat. Real food is not gourmet – it is simple food like grass fed meats.

When you reach a plateau with weight loss that is when exercise is helpful along with looking at what food you can change.

Exercise helps people live longer, it lowers heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and cancers, strengthens bones, reduces stress and improves immune system function. But exercise in the first stage of fat burning is not a factor. It helps make a healthy body but doesn't burn fat the way eating real food does. I know this is true for me. I'm very active 365 days a years. I work with lots of BIG dogs everyday and these guys keep me in shape. BUT, I've carried baby fat in my stomach for 10 years. I did exercise targeted to my abs, still had the roll of fat. Now I eat grass fed beef and pastured chickens and eggs with good oils like coconut and cod liver oil. Guess what? The baby fat is melting – I lost 1 - 1/2 inches the first week. I don't have a lot to lose – just the baby fat. The ER program is a healthy lifestyle change.

Robin

www.wholefoodandmoreblog.com

Anonymous said...

wow, I'm surprised by the hostility in some of these comments here.

If you want to understand what Kim and Dr. Heidi are talking about, take a tour of the Weston A Price foundation website (www.westonaprice.org) and learn about how big food companies are poisoning our food by using vegetable oils which are waste products of the food industry.

In this article by Mary Eing, PhD tells you how vegetable oils were introduced into the American diet.
http://www.westonaprice.org/knowyourfats/oiling.html

Also learn here about how obesity is NOT linked to eating healthy fats, Obesity is considered to be a modern disease and is perpetuated by eating processed foods & vegetable oils.
http://www.westonaprice.org/moderndiseases/obesity-weight-loss.html

Myths & Truths around nutrition:
http://www.westonaprice.org/mythstruths/index.html

Take some time to really read the information on the Weston Price foundation website and you will see that "conventional" nutritional information is flawed and is feed to us by big food companies.

Big food has influenced every part of our food system. People are removed from what whole foods are anymore.

I would not be surprised to see in the future, the same kind of legal claims against processed foods that were made against tobacco companies.

Big companies enhance food items with chemicals to make it taste better, to make you crave more. The are purposely doing this, knowing that these foods are poison to our bodies.

I know this sounds extreme but it's true.

Erin

Kim Klaver said...

Thanks, Robin and Erin.

Hi Shelley...

You write:

"However telling people that exercise is not mandatory to lose weight is a MISLEADING way to sell your product."

Actually, I have never led with that. It just so happens that in Dr. Heidi's first ER cycle, as Robin pointed out here, exercise is not required during those 4-5 weeks. People do it or not, as they wish. It's not part of the program.

And the folks have lost weight ranging from 4 to 20 lbs.

I agree that exercise is healthy for a person. I do it every day.

It just may not be the most efficient thing to do for fat loss and weight loss - not nearly as effective as people have thought in the past. Seems that changing to certain real foods and not eating others works faster, is all.

Let's say other people have similar results - not all, of course, but some. They lose weight and did not add more exercise to their day.

Why do you think that result would be such a bad thing? What if for many people, exercise is NOT that essential to that initial weight and fat loss? Why does that matter one way or the other?

You're not selling exercise equipment, are you? :)

Anonymous said...

I am very happy that Kim made this availabe to her subscribers. I for one was sick and tired of my upline pushing pills, shakes and meal bars.

I would be very unhappy with Kim if she didn't!!!

Carol Raynor said...

I would like to personally and publicly thank both Dr. Heidi for the work she is doing and Kim for letting us know about ER. Had Kim not done these posts, I might never have heard about it or experienced the weight loss I have so far. How would I have ever known but for Kim’s postings in her blogs? How long would I have continued the yo-yo diets? Who knows? It’s not about whether to exercise or not. It’s not just about weight loss. It is a change in the quality of what you eat and knowledge about what not to eat. I appreciate both of them for following their passion and telling others. When people follow their passion – it’s never about the money.

Anonymous said...

This is a very interesting topic, and people obviously have very strong feelings about it.

Let's leave the "is exercise good for you?" question alone for the moment. I think what Kim was focusing on is the universal assumption, to quote Anonymous that
"if you burn more than you eat then you lose, if you don't you gain."

Kim's assertion - and it sounds like its the experience of some of the ER participants - is that this may not be the complete picture.

The first place I saw discussion of the possibility that one type of calorie might have different impact on weight loss than another was reading about low-carb/Atkins diets having a supposed "metabolic advantage" over other (higher carb) diets with a similar caloric intake.

Here, Kim and Dr. Heidi are saying a similar thing, but in relation to whole foods and toxins, rather than high-carb/low-carb.

Yes, exercise is good for you and should be a part of your routine. Should someone try incorporating exercise into their program before having their stomach stapled? Absolutely. But can someone lose weight by changing what they eat, but keeping a similar caloric input? Maybe.

Here's a link to the Journal "Obesity" that published a study on Green Monkeys.

http://www.nature.com/oby/journal/v15/n7/full/oby2007200a.html

The research's initial purpose was to look at the dietary effects of trans fats on artherosclerosis. Diets differed only in trans fat levels (calories and proportions of fat to protien to carboydrates were the same). Caloric levels were set to maintain the monkeys' weight over the 6 year study period.

The unexpected results that they found were:

*Monkeys fed the higher trans fat diet had a 7% increase in weight compared to the < 2% gain in the lower trans fat group.

*Monkeys fed the higher trans fat diet had a higher percentage of abdominal fat deposits (33% greater in intra-abdominal areas and 29% in abdominal subcutaneous fat) than the others.

To quote the authors of the study: "The major findings of this study showed that, in the absence of caloric excess, TFA induces greater weight gain over time, with enhanced intra-abdominal deposition of fat between the two groups as measured at study termination."

So, is it true that all calories are created equal? Is it a foregone conclusion that weight loss/gain is dictated only by the amount of food versus the amount of exercise? Maybe. But maybe not.

Kim's example of jumping straight from diet modification and supplements to stomach stapling may have been a bit extreme.

But her point is that we need to not only consider how many calories we eat, but what we eat, when trying to lose weight. And that some people exercise (sometimes a lot) and still have a hard time losing weight.

Food selection isn't the ultimate and only answer to everyone's weight issues. But it is another piece of the puzzle that may be just what some people need to either jumpstart their initial weight loss (so they feel good enough to even consider starting an exercise program), or to take off those last few pounds of "baby fat".

Anonymous said...

Perhaps some of the vehemence pro- and con-exercise is due to the "fat and lazy" stereotype -- an idea that's deeply embedded in our culture and justifies the near-universal contempt for people of more than minimal girth.

A certain number of exercise fanatics have been "selling" us that exercise is THE cure for obesity -- in the face of growing evidence that it is not.

Yes, it's good for you. (Must insert orthodox disclaimer here.) HOWEVER I personally know (knew) three fit, medium-sized, exercise-prone gentlemen in their 50s who had heart attacks or a stroke WHILE EXERCISING. Not counting Isaac Hayes last week, who stroked out beside his treadmill. It was still running when his body was discovered.

Some trainers and weight-loss experts automatically equate weight with laziness. There's a real Puritan streak making itself known here:

Fat= lazy = bad.
Exercise = penance = redemption.

Not a good way to inspire nonbelievers to EITHER exercise or repent our errant ways.

Go Kim! Tell it like it is!

Jeff Iversen said...

I noticed that swimmer, Michael Phelps, does not follow an optimized daily food plan. He eats chocolate chip pancakes, french toast and grits as part of his typical 12,000 calories per day. Marathon runners and walkers are so skinny, they look like they might be bulemic or anorexic. Can one lose weight without exercise? Sure! I'm sure that you could be a little healthier too. Optimizing your daily exercise plan would give you the "one-two" punch that you need for faster weight loss. They work better together. If you are losing weight without exercising, are you losing bone mass and muscle at the same time? Why would that be good? Can you really "get your health back" without exercising?

I see that number three on the list is neutraceuticals. Aren't these synthetic and made in a lab? I thought you said this was bad and that is why you developed the Pops? Can't you find natural sources for these nutraceuticals, dry them up and put them in a pill form? Wouldn't that be safer?

People with more muscle, burn more calories even while they sleep. When I was in college, I swam 6-10 miles per day and ate anything I wanted. I am 6'2" and I went down to 147 pounds. This was not good. I started eating 4-7 heaping platefuls of food during every meal. I did not feel comfortable eating this much but I had to in order to keep from wasting away. My glycogen and fat stores were always depleted. The food I ate was stored as energy instead of being stored as fat. Exercise burns glycogen and fat.

Today, I eat less but still exercise and lift weights. You might be able to lose weight without exercise but you cannot "get your health back" in any signigficant way without it.

Exercise will always be a part of my list. Anybody who runs, swims, walks or rides on a regular basis knows that it will lower your heart rate and cut through fat like a hot knife through butter. At least,I would put exercise as 3a.

Anonymous said...

Regardless of what you used to think Kim, exercise is an important part of both being healthy (or getting your health back) and maintaining weight loss. As to the assertion that exercise causes heart attack or stroke this is simply untrue. The unhealthy lifestyle and eating habits that dominated those peoples lives prior to their exercise stint is what lead to the atherosclerotic buildup (along with their genetic makeup and predisposition to heart disease) and their ultimate untimely death via myocardial infarction or ischemic stroke. Had those people exercised regularly and eaten foods high in lean protein, fiber (both soluble and insoluble), anti-oxidants, vitamins, minerals, and healthy fats (i.e. olive oil and fish oil) they would still be alive today. So yes you can exercise regularly and eat a God awful diet and still die of a heart attack or stroke but the fact is that both are necessary for long life and lasting health. Of course it is true that people should eat healthy toxin free produce (i.e. organic fruits, vegetables, and dairy products) and meats that are not loaded with antibiotics and steroids. Of course they should avoid processed pre-packaged foods especially those high in refined carbohydrates and preservatives (usually some form of sodium that will cause water retention). Not all calories are created equal. Most of us have known that for some time now. If I get 3000 calories a day from drinking cokes and eating bacon I'm going to be a lot fatter and a lot less healthy than someone who got 3000 calories from eating fruits, vegetables, and lean meats. The simple fact is that people should follow a regular exercise plan and a healthy diet if they want to stay fit and healthy and keep any weight they might lose off for good. Stomach stapling or lap bands have no place on a health/weight loss to do list (even if it's listed as the least natural solution) especially one where regular exercise isn't even mentioned. Regular exercise raises a persons metabolic rate and lowers both blood pressure and resting heart rate.

Anonymous said...

Maybe this will help to clarify the exercise versus no-exercise topic. I am one of the ER participants from this first group, too. My story is much different from everyone else in the program, and may help some to understand, or at least open up to the possibility, that exercise doesn’t necessarily need to be forefront of every
program. Yes, I believe in exercise. A year ago, I was doing three hours a day: one of kickboxing (hard), one of cardio, one of walking (my dogs). But, then I got sick. REALLY sick. I had to stop everything cold turkey. I got to where I could barely walk up my stairs and had to hold the handrail.

I was also gaining weight as a result of the illness. I had shot my adrenal glands, so the hormones were not being fed to my system, so my insulin levels were at the pre-diabetic stage, my body was saving every calorie it got, my cells were being destroyed and my energy plummeted to the ground—that’s just a few of the myriad symptoms associated with this illness. I was working at about 20% of normal capacity. I was scared. And, I was gaining. I gained 20 pounds last year; when normally, I can’t gain much more than a pound or two. I was 118 pounds. Now, I’m 138. That might sound petty to you, but it’s not to me. I’m small boned and little, so that 20 pounds shows a lot.

I didn’t lose weight on the ER program. BUT, before you think to yourself that I’m one of the failures of the program, think again. I am eating far more fat than I ever have—lovely coconut oil and butter and cod liver oil and cream; I am eating wonderful foods, chock full of good things for my ill body; I am now able to walk my dogs at a much quicker pace with more energy left over, and can walk them twice, instead of just once a day; I am feeling calmer; and I’m feeling more positive and less depressed. All from doing the ER program. I have tried every low-fat, no-carb, low-carb, rabbit-food diet on the planet, to no avail. Everything, especially the shake-meal methods, caused me to gain more weight. I was so discouraged. With the ER program, I DIDN’T GAIN ANY MORE WEIGHT. That’s a milestone for me.

I was skeptical at first about the program, believe me. But, I’ve researched enough about nutrition since getting sick, and ten years before that for allergies, that I knew that Kim and Dr. Heidi were on the right track, and that Dr. Heidi knew her science and nutrition facts. So, before you think that everyone should be exercising, remember, there are those rehabbing from injury, those who simply can’t exercise because of paralysis or illness and those who can’t because right now, they’re too overweight to put any more strain on their bodies. But, it doesn’t mean that they have to stay overweight. They can begin by changing the way they eat and the way they think about food. (Dr. Heidi is a master at retraining thinking around food.) Then, incorporating exercise is definitely important to add in, in whatever way possible.

I will get back to my routine someday. I’ve been given a 15-month prognosis to full health. In the meantime, at least I’ve found a program that won’t put extra weight on me! I’m SO incredibly grateful to Kim for introducing me to Dr. Heidi through her mailing list and to Dr. Heidi for her wonderful program. This is just what I’ve been seeking. Words can’t express enough how grateful I am. If I were there in person, I’d give them both a big hug. Thanks for listening. Please give Kim and Dr. Heidi a break. They’re just trying to help. And, until you try the ER program, you won’t know if it’ll work for you. You have to go on faith, sometimes.

Also, in case you think that my dog walks are “exercise,” if you saw the slow pace we have to go because of my health, you’d understand that they are not exercise in the form of fat burning or weight reduction.

Best,

Sandi