Michael Boyle's Strengthcoach.com Blog

1. Poor relationship with food.
It does not matter what you are eating or when you eat it, if you have a poor relationship with food, you are not likely to be able to lose those extra pounds. Get in touch with your Self and your food. Develop a healthy relationship with food first, then worry about the rest of this list!

2. Poor nutrition.
You will never out-train bad nutrition! Stop cutting calories, stop skipping meals, stop eating processed foods, and seek the services of someone, like yours truly, who can coach you on how to determine how you should be eating. Basically, stop eating C.R.A.P. Yes, that is actually an acronym (courtesy of Dr. Sherri Rogers) which stands for C = caffeine, cola, and corn. I actually added corn to the C list. In my experience, a large percentage of people are intolerant to corn when tested accurately with blood tests. Corn is universally contaminated in the U.S. and is almost completely genetically modified at this point and is nutritionally bankrupt. It is also the most highly subsidized crop in the world. You can find corn in batteries and diapers – yes, I am serious. How ridiculous is that?! R = Refined food and white rice; A = additives and alcohol; and P = processed foods and pasteurized dairy. All of these foods will serve to make you fatter and I do not care how much exercise or cardio you do – you cannot out train bad nutrition.

3. Wrong exercise.
Many people are over exposing themselves to cardiovascular exercise and are simply overtraining. Remember, “work out” means that you have to expend energy to get the job done. If you are already running on empty, working “out” will only serve as an additional energy drain on the system.

4. You are doing way too much cardio.
I have a previous post on the detrimental aspects of traditional cardiovascular training. An over reliance on traditional cardiovascular exercise will actually create a hormonal environment that is not conducive to building muscle and/or losing fat. You can read my post on the detrimental aspects of cardio here http://conscioushealthandperformance.blogspot.com/2010/06/why-cardio-sucks.html

5. You are cutting calories or skipping meals.
Consider this when using calorie cutting to achieve your weight loss goals: Within 24 hours of going on a low calorie diet, which is defined as eating less than 2000 calories per day (according to the World Health Organization), you immediately deplete your brain chemistry and have been shown to increase fat storing (lipogenic) enzymes in the body. This is particularly important for females who already have 3 times the amount of fat storing (lipolytic) enzymes as fat burning ones. Any changes in brain chemistry will lead to cravings, usually for sugary food items. Low calorie dieting is especially damaging for anyone with a history of depression, anxiety, eating disorders or alcoholism. Remember, all of this occurs after a single day. In many cases I can run Functional Lab assessments to determine how nutritionally depleted my clients are. Anyone with a history of chronic yo-yo dieting, calorie restriction, or long-term use of most medications is likely to have severe nutritional deficiencies.

6. Poor attitude and/or stinkin’ thinkin’.
You must have a positive frame of mind when making nutritional and lifestyle modifications if they are to be part of a lasting change. If you start a new exercise or nutritional program with a poor attitude and thoughts of what you are giving up or losing by making the necessary changes, you are doomed from the start.

7. Lack of Quiet Time.
Quiet time is necessary for introspection so that you can get very clear about what you want and why you want it. No quiet time means you have no time for introspection, which means all you are doing day in and day out is pouring yourself out. This will lead you to being very fatigued. I recommend sitting quietly in a dark room (alone) and just breathe and be a witness to your thoughts for at least 20-30 minutes per day!

8. Adrenal fatigue.
The adrenals are linked to the function of nearly every major physiological system in the body. If they are wiped out due to chronic stress of any kind, you will have a hard time losing weight despite even the best nutritional and exercise efforts.

9. Thyroid Dysfunction.
The thyroid is a key regulator of metabolism. When dysfunctional, this gland will serve as a major roadblock to weight loss success. The function of the gland is also related to the function of the adrenals.

10. Hormonal Imbalances.
Forget about losing weight in the presence of hormonal issues. It simply will not happen.

11. Poor Detoxification Capacity.
The body stores toxins in fat. If you have a history of eating the Standard American Diet (loaded with toxins), your detoxification system is likely overloaded. With that, you are likely to not have the nutrition on board to run the primary and secondary detoxification pathways efficiently. When this is the case, the body will not allow you to burn fat to prevent the further overloading the detoxification system. This is obviously not good for your fat loss goals.

12. Poor Sleep.
The body handles its physical and neurogenic/psychogenic repair during the hours between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. Poor and disrupted sleep can lead to issues in virtually any physiological system in the body. Poor sleep can also lead to over consumption of carbohydrates, stimulant (caffeine, sugar, etc.) cravings, fatigue, and poor mood to name a few. These will all sabotage your weight loss efforts.

13. You have no purpose.
It has been my observation that those individuals who view their life as connected to the world as a whole and view their life as one with meaning and purpose have a much easier time losing weight when given the correct advice for accomplishing that task. If you do not have a clearly defined purpose for the use of your life’s energy, you will be dealing with chronic stress everyday -even if you think you are not! That stressor can easily sabotage weight loss efforts.

14. You make poor choices.
Many people simply do not know the proper nutrition and lifestyle choices to make when it comes to trying to lose those extra pounds. They may have no real issues in the above-mentioned areas, but they simply make lousy choices on a daily basis and no one has taught them how to make better ones. You can often find these people running from place to place, doctor to doctor, and on and on – trying to figure out what is “wrong” with them. The only thing wrong is that they have made a series of rotten choices and need to learn to make different ones. Remember, the definition of insanity according to our good friend Alert Einstein is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.

Well, there you have them (in no particular order I might add). My top reasons you are not losing weight. I look forward to your comments, e-mails, and posts.

Love and Chi,
Brandon Alleman, CHEK 3, HHP