3 things the $72 billion Weight Loss industry wont tell you.
Currently one third of Americans over 20 years old are obese and weight loss companies are big business because they target not only Health but the guilt and shame attributed to pounds gained. Ranking in the billions, companies target that extra weight and are willing to stretch the truth for added cash flow. In the past 10 years the FTC has brought over 80 law enforcement actions against companies for making false or deceptive weight loss claims. Even more, the biggest players in the industry have accused one another of deceptive techniques. Weight watchers with 43% market share, sued Jenny Craig over ads that said “Jenny Craig clients lost, on average, over twice as much weight as those on the largest weight-loss program.” Weight watchers claimed that no clinical trial proved this statement and the advertisements were false and misleading. Although admitting no wrong doing, Jenny Craig agreed to never again publish or broadcast the ad again through a settlement in court.
“Dieting is making you fat”
A study from UCLA found that people who diet lose 5% - 10% of their starting weight within the first 6 months. Unfortunately 1 to 2 thirds of them regain more weight than they lost after the diets end. Dieting is a system designed around results now, pay now. Rinse and repeat. While the point of dieting is to lose weight, often the reverse happens. Diets are not long term solutions.
“Our nutrition labels are... uh... a little off”
Under the rules regulated by the FDA, “the ratio between the amount obtained by laboratory analysis and the amount declared on the product label in the Nutrition Facts panel must be 120% or less.” This means that if a food contains 120 calories, the label can state 100 and still be within regulations. In addition these regulations only require a minimum weight of the package label, manufacturers often put more food than the label reads. To be sure, while tracking nutrition contents you should be cognizant of these variable “nutrition facts”.
___________________________________________
After all there is hope! One necessary method of all in the world of weight loss, is movement. The human body is designed to move. Every aspect of our existence revolves around the ability to move our bodies in space. This includes food intake. The very act of eating is deduced to fuel the bodies ability to create movement, and with a surplus of intake without an equivalent energy expenditure through moving causes a gain in excess body fat. Put that in your grocery bag and tote it.
Not only do we burn calories during exercise, but resistance training has been found to induce a system coined EPOC. Excess Post-Exercise Oxygen Consumption, is the increase in metabolic rate burning calories 16-24 hours after exercise. That’s not all, an increase in lean muscle creates a prominent ability to burn more calories altogether. Lean muscle burns more fuel and you can’t get that at GNC.
Functional Exercise integrates the human kinetic and structure systems to facilitate optimal movement. Our bodies are a very complex system and optimizing this system is no easy feat. The fitness industry has exploded and with that there are a ton of choices, furthermore there’s a lucrative business agenda behind it all. Chose a Fitness Professional with holistic modalities and a true passion for the human anatomy. There is no one size fits all in exercise prescriptions, remember that. It’s important.
But I digress,
Regardless of our nutritional choices, if you are trying to lose body fat, the most important tool of all is exercise. Besides, aren’t we all Meant2Move?