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So, I am beginning our journey with a subject we are all concerned with, some more than others, and that is weight gain and maintenance. If you were to believe the ads on TV, you might think there is something terribly wrong with you for not shedding at least 50 pounds in two weeks and having fun eating all you want on the way. Since it is so 'easy' and 'fun', you must be defective or at least have a defective gene.

Well, in a way it is true'but it's not so much about a defective fat gene as about your fat cells. We are all born with the fat cells we will have all our lives, but they either shrink or expand, depending on how many calories we consume. BUT, at the same time they shrink, our metabolisms (the number of calories burned per square meter) react by slowing down to maintain our weight within a certain range. They seem to fear we are going to starve and perhaps want to protect us from devastation, so our metabolisms slow down at least 20% and work hard at keeping us fat.

So, what am I saying? That losing weight is impossible because our metabolisms don't want us to. Yes and no. To continue:

Each of us has a normal body weight range our body gravitates towards, ranging from 10 to 20 pounds. Going much above (or much below for that matter) that range is really tough because the body rebels by increasing or decreasing the appetite and changing the metabolism so that it will go stay in that range.

Another fascinating fact is that in numerous arduous and scientific studies, (which I will cite at the end) upon analyzing metabolic changes, fat people who had lost weight were like people who had psychological and physical signs of starvation. They dreamed of food, obsessed about it, horded it, fantasized about it, were even depressed and suicidal.

So, why am I sharing this information with you? Because I want you to give up feeling and looking better? Because I want you to Because I want you to know that it is not as easy as the makers of diet pills and programs would have you believe. There are physiological and psychological reasons why it is harder for some to lose weight than others. There is a They believe people want 'easy' and that is what they are selling. I believe people not only want but need the truth, and the only thing I am selling is truth.

Please know that you WILL lose weight by eating less calories, eating a balanced, healthy diet, and exercising. Just don't get frustrated in the process. It will be your life's work. It's important work. You know all of the degenerative diseases that are caused by overweight. You work hard at your job. You work hard at parenting. You will also have to work hard at staying thin once you have lost the weight. And you can be very proud of yourself if you achieve your weight goals because so few can.