Nature’s Sunshine Distributor: Four Winds Nutrition in Winter Park Fl. 32789

Gaining Weight ... Losing Weight
Common sense remarks
By Steven Horne (Nature's Field)

Here are the rules to follow if you want to gain weight

1. Skip breakfast.

2. Don’t stop and eat when you get hungry: keep rushing around and pushing yourself to get things done.

3. When you do eat, eat quickly so you can get back to all the things you need to get done.

4. When you do get something to eat, eat it while you’re working. driving or trying to get something else done.

5. Come home really hungry after a hard day’s work where you haven’t eaten regularly throughout the day. then eat a big meal late at night and/or plenty of snacks before bedtime. I learned this from a “Hollywood” nutritionist, who uses this program for actors who need to gain weight for certain movie roles.

This program helps you gain weight for the same reason that dieting doesn’t help you lose weight-it sends your body into feast or famine cycles. Because you don’t take time to eat regularly, you get "starved" so your appetite becomes excessive. Then, you eat more than you need and your body "stores" the excess to cover for the next time you don’t eat.
Constant repetitions of this cycle cause you to slowly, but surely, gain weight.

Eating Should be Pleasurable

This pattern of eating not only puts you on a blood sugar roller coaster; it also shows you’re too stressed and probably not very happy. When you’re experiencing happiness (or pleasure) in your life, your body sends chemical messages that lower your appetite, increase your metabolism, enhance your immune system and make you feel good. Conversely, when you’re feeling stressed, the chemical messengers that flood your body increase your appetite (especially for sugar and simple carbohydrates), decrease your metabolism, reduce immune function and make you feel bad.

Supplements Can Help, Too

There are specific health issues that can interfere with weight loss. Here are sorne of those issues and some things you can do about them.

1. Low Thyroid

The body burns fat in order to stay warm and the gland that sends the chemical messages to burn that fat is the thyroid. Low thyroid is extremely common, especially among women, and can result in weight gain, fatigue, depression, cold hands and feet and dry skin. If low thyroid may be a problem for you, then Thyroid Support, Thyroid Activator, Liquid Dulse or Black Walnut could help you lose weight. In some cases, an iodine supplement like lodoral or even thyroid medication may be needed.

2. Toxidty and Inflammation

Toxins contribute to weight gain in two ways because they cause inflammation and because fat stores toxins. The rapid weight loss most people experience at the beginning of any diet program or cleanse is typically due to a reduction of inflammation and fluid retention. Conversely, when a person gains 5 or 10 pounds after a weekend of binging, most of it is fluid retention caused by the irritating food additives and chemicals in junk food. So, a good cleansing program such as Tiao He Cleanse or Dieter’s Cleanse can also help with weight loss. Fiber supplements like Psyllium Hulls Combination or Fat Grabbers can also be helpful.

3. Sress

There is a lot of research showing that stress contributes to weight gain. This is partly because stress promotes the release of cortisol, a hormone from the adrenals. Cortisol is a chemical messenger that causes the body to break down proteins for energy and also causes carbohydrates to be stored as fat (particularly in the abdominal area). So, stress can cause a decrease in muscle mass and an increase in fat deposition. In this case, supplements like Nature’s Cortisol or Adrenal Support may be helpful.
Nature’s Cortisol will help when the adrenals are overactive
Adrenal Support when adrenals are underactive.

Understanding the consequences of poorly managed stress.
ToDay'sDietitian

There is a connection between the health of your thyroid, the adrenals (stress... cortisol release) and the gut (t4 conversion in T3).

Cortisol (along with its partner epinephrine or adrenaline) is best known for its involvement in the “fight-or-flight” response and temporary increase in energy production, at the expense of processes that are not required for immediate survival. The resulting biochemical and hormonal imbalances (ideally) resolve due to a hormonally driven negative feedback loop.

The following is a typical example of how the stress response operates as its intended survival mechanism:

1. An individual is faced with a stressor.

2. A complex hormonal cascade ensues, and the adrenals secrete cortisol.

3. Cortisol prepares the body for a fight-or-flight response by flooding it with glucose, supplying an immediate energy source to large muscles.

4. Cortisol inhibits insulin production in an attempt to prevent glucose from being stored, favoring its immediate use.

5. Cortisol narrows the arteries while the epinephrine increases heart rate, both of which force blood to pump harder and faster.

6. The individual addresses and resolves the situation.

7. Hormone levels return to normal.

So what’s the problem?
In short, the theory is that with our ever-stressed, fast-paced lifestyle, our bodies are pumping out cortisol almost constantly, which can wreak havoc on our health. This whole-body process, mediated by hormones and the immune system, identifies cortisol as one of the many players. But isolating its role helps put into context the many complex mechanisms that lead to specific physiological damage... such as diabetes (increased blood sugar level), hypothyroid, immune issues, wieight gain, cardiovascular disease.

Cardiovascular Disease
As we have seen above, cortisol constricts blood vessels and increases blood pressure to enhance the delivery of oxygenated blood. This is advantageous for fight-or-flight situations but not perpetually.
Over time, such arterial constriction and high blood pressure can lead to vessel damage and plaque buildup—the perfect scenario for a heart attack.

4. Inflammation

Remember that cortisol is also released in response to chronic inflammation, so a supplement likeThai-Go that has an antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties can also help to reduce cortisol output.
Reducing inflammation also increases metabolism and helps leptin the fat burning hormone, work better.

5. Food Cravings

While adjusting to a better diet, it can help to take some supplements that reduce appetite and food cravings. Garcinia Combination may be helpful. Cravings for sugar are signs of blood sugar problems and usually indicate that the diet is lacking fat and protein. Licorice Root Atc and Super Algae are two supplements that can control blood sugar levels and reduce the cravings in sweets. NSP’s xylitol sweetened gum or mints can also satisfy the occasional cravings for sweets without causing the blood sugar spikes that lead to weight gain.

6. Enzymes

Digestive enzymes such as Proactazyme or Food Enzymes can also aid weight loss by improving digestive function. Enzyme deficiency contributes to weight gain.

These are just a few examples of the many supplements available that can assist your weight loss program.