Weight loss study (I)

If we are going to discuss weight reduction, then we may have to make a distinction between the things of the world first. The things in the world can be divided into two kinds according to the means to solve them. One is that no one has done it and you don’t know the method, such as innovation, invention, creation; the other is that there are many people who have done it, with a large number of methods and practices, some succeeding while others failing. There is no doubt that weight reduction belongs to the latter, even you yourself have tried many times.

If so many methods and practices exist, why are there so many people who lose weight, but in the long run, less than 1% of them end up succeeding? I think the most critical problem is that there is no serious research and analysis of these methods, often hearing a friend or relative around the present, then inquire about the operation method, and then immediately began to try. Why no serious research and analysis? Because people are impulsive, and there is no real need from the heart. Impulses produce short-term behavior, but are not responsible for the outcome. An inner need, on the other hand, changes an individual’s behavior patterns and actively seeks answers and solutions, resulting in long-term behavior and results.

In the words of a quote I wrote in Instant.

“Even a big fat person is in some kind of balance. The weight is maintained at a low level and the daily energy flow in and out is constant. This equilibrium is moving very slowly in a certain direction, for example, under the equilibrium in fact the body has insulin resistance, then break the equilibrium state is to develop diabetes, feel thirsty, feel tired, skin abnormalities, etc..

So, where does this equilibrium come from? Externally, it comes from life style, life environment. Internally, it comes from the psychological state, the level of stress. They determine what your current state is like, at which point you are in balance. For example, if you are stressed and must stay up late, then you like to eat more, you like to snack, and lack of sleep is the inevitable result. Another example is that the genes are well tolerant of carbohydrates, and like to eat sweets and rice and noodles, and feel happy and peaceful after eating. Then the exterior may be normal, but the interior of the body may be fat overload.

So, if you want to break the balance and make your body move in the direction that favors you and re-establish the balance, then it’s not as simple as what to exercise a little, take some medicine, or watch your diet. From the above analysis, first you need to change your life pattern and mental state, break the original pattern, before a new balance point will appear. Otherwise, whether it is exercise or diet change, you will eventually return to the original balance point.

To further speculate, the source of everything is within. If one does not want to change from the heart, if one does not think and learn from the heart, then one is not motivated to make any substantial changes anyway. What does it mean to be from the heart? We don’t know what’s in a person’s heart, and we don’t even know if we are impulsive or if we are empowered by our inner strength? If an army has a target to attack, but does not see any actual rehearsal, no logistical supply, no tactical analysis, no enemy reconnaissance, no specific battle plan, the conclusion can only be one thing: it is not really ready to go to war.

In the case of not really ready to fight, there will be many “efficient” methods. Seven days to drop 10 pounds, a month to get back in shape, three months will see the mermaid line …… will not win, there is no hope. This is like sending out a company and trying to destroy an army.

If one is determined to really go to battle, then one will go to analyze how the present equilibrium state is formed? Item by item analysis of sleep, exercise, diet, hormones, internal and external stress, energy composition, nutritional makeup …… and then see where the problem lies? A large body of proven medical and physiological literature can provide many references with positive guidance, such as

The metabolic processes of sugars. The mechanism of fat production and destruction. The effects of high-carbohydrate foods on the body. The use of weight training and aerobic training. The function and mutual balance of hormones in the body ……

Thus, when a person learns how the balance of his body is established and understands how energy circulates in the body, then he moves from ignorance to enlightenment, from obscurity to clarity. Then he can proceed to change his life pattern and try to validate his ideas in the shortest possible time. And from the subsequent validation, he gains confidence, improves his mental state, and has the courage to change his life pattern.

Only when you get to such a state, it makes sense to discuss whether to include an exercise factor or whether to adjust the structure of your meals. Because the real needs have emerged, between the theoretical analysis and the predicted results, you need to fill in the blanks. You know what should be filled in so that you can do something about it. And because the arguments between theoretical analysis and results are very solid, with solid support from past data, filling in the blanks has a high chance of success. That’s how the balance really starts to move.”

The subtlety of the above discussion lies in the fact that people overeat and lose sleep due to stress, which eventually leads to obesity. Therefore, there is no more urgent job to reduce weight than to reduce or even release these stresses. However, it is interesting to note that if a person wants to really stand up and do something about their weight, they need a little more pressure about their weight and health. With this pressure, he will have enough motivation to seriously study, construct a body of knowledge about nutrition and exercise, and use it as a basis to try to find the right way to reduce their own weight.

In this process, it is clear that the “success stories” from people around you do not constitute a reason for action. Because that is just a phenomenon, basically irrelevant to you. Like the picture I posted last night, I dropped from 106.2 kg to 99.9 kg in a month’s time, and many people left comments asking what methods were used, but I didn’t answer directly. Instead, I turned to write a 2000 word long article today to explain a truth that does not seem to be directly related to weight loss. The reason for this is that I have discovered something between the ups and downs of weight over the years — heart change is the core of weight change. You can’t make the right action without the right heart, no matter what that action promised you in the first place.

There is one last thing I want to say to you. It is that all methods of weight loss work, more or less, sooner or later. Whether it’s balanced diets, low carb diets, low fat diets, Mediterranean diets, cardio training, weight training, low carb cycling, ketogenic diets, intermittent fasting …… Numerous examples prove that they all work. So instead, this has the very pernicious result that all those who support one of them will elevate the method to an ideology as a way to denigrate the other ways. Telling you that this is the only way to do it, this is the only way to do it, this is the only way to do it, this is the truth. And the other ways and means either don’t work, or the advocates harbor evil intentions and deliberately mislead and deceive.

This becomes another form of ignorance and obscurantism, and it has led to considerable strife. Whenever you propose a method, countless rebuttals appear in the comments in an effort to prove that their method is the correct one. And people expend so much energy in online arguments that they end up not having the breath to lose weight in reality. We all know that there are no muscles in the fingers, and no amount of practice will help.

(to be continued)

Title photo photography: i yunmai

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