Obesity is one of the greatest contributors to heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and other debilitating diseases.  It may not be the only one, but it is one of the biggest.  So when thinking about weight loss, seeing the number on the scale move should not be your main goal.  The main goal is to get well, eliminate the need for medications, and help protect our families from suffering the loss of a parent or sibling in their 50’s and 60’s. 

My mom suffered with Multiple Sclerosis most of her adult life. She had to move into a nursing home at the age of 49, even though she was on all of the preventative medications the doctors prescribed. I whole-heartedly believe that no person or child should have to endure that at that age. 

So, weight loss is something that a lot of us want, but a life of wellness is what I would encourage you to strive for so that you enjoy fitting into your favorite clothes AND live a long healthy, active life.  

Here are 4 simple steps to creating optimal wellness with weight loss as a great side effect.

There are a few things that are crucial to create optimal wellness for our lives.  Optimal wellness has a simple definition.  It simply means that you live your life feeling fabulous, full of energy, and free from illness to a ripe old age.  It is not something we are born with, rather it is something we need to be intentional about creating every day.  

Here are a few of the things we want to focus on daily:

Eat for your Metabolic Design.   We each need a specific combined proportion of healthy carbs, protein, and fats to maximize our metabolism and stabilize our blood sugar, helping our body function at its highest level.

Drink ½ of your body weight in ounces of water every day.  We are made up of 70% water.  If we are dehydrated, and most Americans are chronically dehydrated, we have increased joint pain, brain fog, afternoon fatigue, high or low blood pressure and many more symptoms that many of us refer to as “just getting older”. 

Eliminate sugar from your diet. The average American consumes over 150 pounds of sugar per year.  Sugar is extremely detrimental to your health.  It leads to insulin resistance which eventually becomes diabetes if left untreated. Sugar feeds cancer. It causes a silent inflammation that leads to heart disease, strokes, and other cardiovascular diseases. Strive to consume no more than 40 grams of sugar per day to optimize your health. Keep in mind that there are close to 40 grams of sugar in one 12oz. can of coke.

Eat as many whole, natural foods as possible.  These are typically foods that do not have labels and ingredient decks. When you choose to eat foods that are packaged, canned, or frozen, make sure that the ingredients listed are things that you recognize.  When you choose fresh fruits and vegetables, organic meats, and whole grains like quinoa and oats, you avoid the majority of the cancer-causing additives that can incredibly damage our health.

These are four simple things that you can focus on daily to increase your vitality and wellness, while decreasing you risk of Heart Disease, Cancer, Alzheimer’s and Diabetes.  Granted, if you incorporate these 4 simple things daily, you live longer with more vitality, but you will also melt away those stubborn pounds as a great side effect to feeling fabulous!