NeoWeight – a new approach to weight loss

Welcome to Neoweight.com. If you’re struggling to lose weight, you’ve come to the right place. We want to help you. You have the right to be skeptical of our “new approach” to weight loss, especially when there are so many sites out there that want to sell “miracle” weight loss products or are promoting “miracle” diets. Our approach to weight loss isn’t miraculously new, but it does make sense, and we think it can help you, “lose weight, gain health, and not go on a diet” as our motto goes. In complete honesty, we aren’t here to tell you things you already know or to sell you miraculous products, we just want to help you, because we think we know a thing or two about weight loss that other people don’t. But before we explain our weight loss strategies to you, its important that we recognize the problem:

Why you are Overweight

The established answer for this is the formula: (calories eaten – calories burned = excess calories = weight gain). Most people will tell you that you’re overweight because you eat too much and don’t exercise enough, and therefore, the solution to weight loss is  going on a “diet” by eating less and exercising more. This may seem to make sense… but this idea fails to address a few key factors.

1. Food provides more than just calories. This caloric outlook fails to realize the importance of the vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and other compounds that food provides. It also fails to examine the effect of the preservatives, pesticides, and chemicals that are present in many processed foods. My point is, a Carl’s Junior six dollar burger and a home cooked meal made of something like fish, whole grains, and vegetables, may have a similar number of calories, but these foods provide more than just energy. The healthy omega 3 fats, and plethora or vitamins, minerals, etc. in the home cooked meal provide the body with the things it needs to function correctly. The body responds differently to the a burger which is highly processed, loaded with sugar, salt, and other chemical compounds the body is not used to. This “different reaction” may involve storing the calories as fat, instead of converting them to muscle. So in our new approach to weight loss, the way we look at food must be re-considered.
2. If weight loss is as simple as algebra, why are dieters so often unsuccessful? If weight loss is really as simple as burning more calories than you consume, then why does the simple solution of going on a diet (by eating less) not work for so many people? One answer may be, these people are lazy, don’t have enough will power, etc. From my research and observations, I think that this is a bit absurd. The answer to why eating less does not lead to long-term weight loss in many people lies primarily in our genetics. When one starts eating less, he or she may shed 5, 10, or maybe even 20 or more pounds. However, as the individual continues losing weight, the body gets “confused” and its evolutionary response is to save energy. The body thinks it is starving and so it begins burning less calories and converts more of any food eaten into body fat. This “starvation response” gave our ancestors a better chance of surviving when food was sparse. So, when one goes on a diet and eats less, his or her body may convert a larger proportion of calories into body fat. Also, the individual’s body will start conserving energy, which can lead to bodily tiredness. When one is tired, it is a lot harder to get exercise, which is very important to weight loss.
3. Improper bodily function. An overweight person and a healthy person may both consume the same meal, however, the nutrition that there body receives from this meal may be entirely different. A healthy person’s bodily system will generally extract more of the nutrients from the food and convert the energy into muscle rather than fat. A person who is overweight, most likely has problems with his or her digestive and hormonal systems that can lead to less extraction of nutrients and conversion of food into body fat. So, if one is overweight, he or she must work to repair his or her digestive and hormonal systems as much as possible (with a few all natural supplements and lifestyle changes).

As you see, weight loss is much more complex than just calories. When one tries to lose weight through eating less and or calorie counting, the result is often pain and failure. In our “new approach” to weight loss, it is necessary to look at food as more than just calories and to consider how each individual’s body processes food differently. When we approach weight loss from this new outlook, we think it is possible to lose weight without a painful diet through focusing on overall bodily health. We think it is very important to avoid the pitfalls of the “diet” which involves eating less. Even if you have a “super human will” to cut down on calories, your body will think its starving and you may even become malnourished! If instead of focusing on eating less, we focus on eating better and repairing the individual body, then the body can begin to function as it is supposed to. When a body functions as it is supposed to, the result is vibrant health, and weight loss!

Below you will see our 5 point approach to weight loss. We will explain the basics to each point here. You can find posts with weight loss advice, based on these strategies, in the right sidebar, under “Categories”.

The Neoweight 5 point approach to weight loss:

1. Eat real food. There’s a lot of debate about what the “perfect diet”. Some nutritionists have one theory, others have others. In my opinion, eating should be pretty common sense. Our motto is: eat “real food”. “Eat like your grandparents” is another motto to go by. I think that eating the way people did before the onset of the obesity epidemic in the 1970′s should make pretty good sense to anyone. This means, no sodas, chips, fast food, etc. If its processed or contains chemical preservatives of any sort it should probably be avoided. Basically, eat the food that human beings have been eating for thousands of years: lots of vegetables, fruits, nuts, meats, and whole grains.
2. Get exercise in an enjoyable way. Some level of exercise is necessary for health and weight loss. It is important to make exercise a part of your lifestyle. Finding un-tedious and perhaps even enjoyable ways to exercise can make for a much more enjoyable and healthy way of living
3. Develop healthy eating habits. In our busy lifestyle’s we often forget to enjoy our food! Bad habits like eating very fast and failing to completely chew food can lead to weight gain and poor health.
4. A healthier and happier lifestyle. Stress, lack of sleep, and other things in our lives can affect hormones levels in a way that leads to weight gain.
5. A few natural supplements. To help the body heal itself and to function correctly, we believe that a few all natural supplements can be very important (an example would be taking a pro-biotic to rebuild healthy gut bacteria).

Our 5 point system is by no means revolutionary, but we think it is good guide for weight loss. It is different than the typical “diet” strategy because it focuses more on health than weight loss. When we work to fix our bodies, so that they work as they should, the result is vibrant health and the byproduct of this is natural weight loss. The 5 point approach will help your body become well nourished, it will hopefully give you more energy, and it will help you avoid future health problems. Weight loss the NeoWeight way, is an investment in your health insurance!

Finally, if you haven’t begun reading any of our posts, we think that the following would be a good first read: when diet and exercise aren’t enough .