Function-Based Weight Loss

1. Why Do Most Weight Loss Programs Fail To Achiever Lasting Results?

According to Dr. Traci Mann, a professor of psychology at the University of Minnesota, almost all dieters in any commercial weight loss program will gain all the weight they lost back after about 2 years. Many will even gain an additional 5%. Why? Because most commercial weight loss programs such as Weight Watchers focus on calories from a standpoint of deprivation, not health promotion.

New research has shown that calorie restriction is certainly important, but it has to be done in a way that gets your genes to turn on certain switches that lead to healthy function (More on these important switches below). Restricting calories in the hopes that by just not eating as many will cause long term weight loss is extremely short-sighted since you can’t fool the body; it adapts quite well. You need to restrict calories in conjunction with improving function, not just for deprivation in the hopes that the body will rid itself of fat.

In short, if you’re not healthy and if your body is not functioning properly it is extremely difficult to have long term, sustained weight loss. It can get a little complicated, but our job is to simplify it for you and create actionable steps for you to follow while you learn.

2. What is Function-Based Weight Loss?

The human body was designed so that well being and maintaining an optimal weight depend on proper function; meaning, all the systems and organs in your body must be working properly. In a body that is functioning properly, there is a perfect amount of insulin in the blood, no chronic inflammation, hormone balance and no toxicity. These factors, and many others, not only have a direct and immediate affect on your health and weight, but it goes even deeper than that. A healthy and properly functioning body signals the proper genes to turn on or off to optimize your very human potential. And our program is going to show you how to use this information to change your life.

The function-based program is about getting your body so healthy and highly functioning, that it naturally sheds excess weight and more importantly, improves your health status on multiple levels. In addition, it’s also about using testing and questionnaires to uncover hidden blockages that are preventing health and weight loss. And finally, it’s about promoting the processes of autophagy and mTOR; perhaps two of the most important concepts in health, longevity, and weight loss.

3. What is Autophagy and mTOR?

These may sound like really strange terms but don’t be intimidated. We’re going to make them easy to understand and we’re going to show you how to use these concepts to literally change your life.

Autophagy literally means “self-eating”. It is the process of recycling worn-out or old cells and cellular parts so that the body can reuse them and so that they don’t build up in the body. It is one of the most important concepts in all of health and weight loss. mTOR, as author and health expert, James Clement tells us in his book “The Switch”, is just that; a switch. When the mTOR switch is turned down, autophagy is turned up and that it is incredibly “health-promoting” in many ways. Therefore, one of our main goals is to do as many things as we can to turn your mTOR switches off so that you can lose weight, stay disease-free, and live a long, healthy life. We’ll show you exactly how to do this.

4. Why Do I Have To Get Healthy First? Why Can’t I Just Do A Crash Diet and Starve Myself?

The aim of this program is to shift the goal and your viewpoint from losing weight to attaining health. If we do not fully heal/rejuvenate your weak glands and hormones, stop being inflammed and heal your gut, you will never reach your ideal weight and be able to keep it off.

Overweight is a symptom of an unhealthy body; when certain glands get sick, the hormones they produce can physically dissolve the muscles in your legs, buttocks and arms, leaving you with shrunken, weak and flaccid muscles. These destructive hormones literally eat up muscle proteins, turning them into fat around your midsection. So, instead of using fat reserves for fuel, your body uses muscle proteins, which are turned into sugar as fuel, leaving you fat, flabby, stressed and weak.

As you begin the program and your glands begin to heal, the muscles need to be rebuilt before the body can burn its fat reserves. The muscles (which are protein) are heavier than fat, but take up less space; therefore, your weight may not initially change, but your clothes will feel looser. Fat is survival (reserve energy) to the body and it will not be released until it’s in safe mode. (Diagram on healing phase page 18 in the book will look good in the bodysite app/this section of info.) It could take about a month before your body is healthy enough to burn fat and the weight starts to come off. However, your energy will be up, you’ll feel stronger, have fewer cravings and your overall mood will improve.

We are going to get your body to switch from using stored and dietary sugar as fuel and begin tapping into your fat reserves as fuel