In 2016, a physician from the UK, Dr. Rangan Chatterjee gave a TEDx talk about disease, and the title of his talk was How To Make Disease Disappear, chronic diseases. He started overthinking his medical knowledge when his 5-year old son nearly died. So he went back to study human health further and learned in the process that he was much more efficient as a doctor when he eliminated the root causes instead of treating the symptoms.
While I was watching the video I always thought, “This is exactly the same like with weight loss.” Being overweight is most of the time a chronic disease as well.
Then he said something that pieked my interest even more – something I have already known for years, but now I got proof for that by a physician. He said that the medical society is quite good at treating acute diseases, but that the problem is that they try to treat chronic diseases the exact same way like they treat acute diseases. He continued saying that chronic and acute diseases are two completely different things and require completely different strategies.
While I was watching I was jumping up and down on my seat and constantly exlaiming, “Yes! Yes! Exactly! Finally a doctor is talking about that important topic! Yeah!”
He then went on talking about the causes, and named things like:
- eating too much junk food
- chronic stress
- sleep deprivation (just one night of sleep deprivation can lead to the same insuline resistance like six months of eating junk food)
- chronic inflammation
- physical inactivity
- a lack of exposure to the sun (lack of Vitamin D)
- discruptions in the gut microbiom
Does that sound familiar to you? If you’re on my list for longer, it certainly should.
“The problem is that there are many different causes of insuline resistence (for example). And if we don’t address the causes for that particular patient, we will never get rid of the disease.” –Dr. Rangan Chatterjee
Now when he said, “Diseases are the symptom…” he really began to speak my ‘language’. Instead of asking, “What is the cure to this disease?” he began to ask, “What is the root cause? What triggered the disease?” Like I say it regarding weight issues, Dr. Chatterjee also says that when many people have the same disease, they can all still have different root causes which lead to the very same disease. This is exactly the same like with excess weight. Each overweight person has her own individual set of root causes.
The root causes he lists for ANY diseases are:
- Stress
- Sleep
- Physical Activity
- Gut Health
- Infections
- Environmental Toxins
- Sunlight
- Diet
Every single chronic disease he was talking about could be associated with one or several of these root causes. And he clearly said that once ALL of the INDIVIDUAL root causes where eliminated, the body could begin to heal and the disease will be reversed.
All these causes plus many more I have been sharing with you for years. But did you take this seriously? Did you believe me? Did you take care of your root causes? If not, it is my hope that you begin to listen now and believe what comes from a doctor’s mouth.
“We need to update our thinking. Our genetics are NOT our destiny! Our genes load the gun but it’s our environment that pulls the trigger.” –Dr. Rangan Chatterjee
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Although this talk only covers physical causes like sleep, exercise, gut health, etc., it still applies to maintainable weight loss as well. Because extra weight – especially obesity – is nothing else but a chronic disease.
Everything – literally everything – Dr. Chatterjee said in his talk completely and totally applies to our topic weight loss as well. EVERYTHING, with no exception.
Just think about, if you only could start changing these eight physical root causes Dr. Rangan mentioned, how far would you get? Changing the physical root causes is what leads to fast weight loss. Then, once you will be ready to take it a step further, you and I can begin to talk about the impact your emotions, your mindset, your subconscious mind – your psychology – has on your weight and how you can reverse that part of the issue.
Those of you who know me longer and better will not be surprised when I say that I take this further….much further. I firmly believe that we humans are body, mind, and spirit and that we can’t get cut in pieces or slices. We are whole beings and need to be treated as such, on the body, mind and spirit levels. Then you will begin to make your weight loss MAINTAINABLE!
“We need personalized medizine. We need precision medicine. If you actually take a step back, this is preventative medicine in its purest form.” –Dr. Rangan Chatterjee
Likewise we also need a personalized weight loss strategy. Each of us has her individual bunch of possible root causes that need to be addressed to lose weight. That’s why the diet approach is so ridiculous. Although exercise is very important for good health as well as for a nicely toned body, it still should never be the only tactic, especially for women.
“We have to stop applying 20th Century thinking to 21st Century problems. We need to take back control, empower ourselves and re-educate ourselves away from our fear of disease and right back down the curve to optimal health.” –Dr. Rangan Chatterjee
For thousands of years people got only fat through crapulousness. Therefore cutting down on the amount was the only way of losing weight back then. But today we live in a complex world with complex problems. We have hormonal problems, we have a toxic overload, we have food intolerances, we live in an overradiated world where our sleep is constantly disturbed. No longer is diet the only cause of weight gain, actually, with so much healthy food we have today it hardly ever is. And therefore it seldom is the solution either. It can sometimes be part of an overall weight loss strategy, but even then you would look behind the eating habit and ask “Why?” Very often overeating has deeper causes, some are of physical nature (i.e. a parasite overgrowth) and other causes are psychological.
Complex problems call for complex solutions. So let’s start right away by eliminating one cause after the other, like pealing an onion.
Now allow me to change one of Dr. Chatterjee’s statements and adjust it to the topic weight loss:
If we do that (take back control, empower ourselves and re-educate ourselves away from fear to optimal health) – you and I together – we can not only change our weight and health, the weight and health of our families, next the weight and health of our communities, and eventually the weight and health of the entire world.
Happy weight loss!
Recently I stumbled on the following story which I find very inspirational. When I read it, I instantly had to think of you. So I decided to share that story with you today. 
For years I am trying to convince my readers and clients to practice appreciation toward their body, because appreciation can really heal many wounds, especially the wounds of the soul. I do get how hard it is to appreciate a body which is overweight or even obese, a body you don’t like. But sometimes it just takes a small step beyond the ordinary, a step into the unknown, an uncomfortable step, even a step that might seem weird at the beginning to make new and desired experiences and see better results. 
Write a list of everything you can be thankful for to your body and everything you like about it. Then keep writing that list for seven days minimum. Every morning after waking up and every evening before going to sleep you thank your body for everything it is doing for you. Try to be serious. Remember, you have plenty of reasons to be genuinely thankful for to your body. 
On the very first coaching call she brought up all her problems at once and it was a real challenge to dig through the clutter and to choose the most pressing issue to begin with. She had pretty much all the problems you can have: deep depression; financially broke; unemployed; she had no idea what kind of job she wanted – all she knew was that she no longer wanted to work as a nurse; she had no more energy left and has gained a lot of weight (close to being obese); a daily almost crippling head ache; in a relationship she was deeply unhappy with; having been abused by her father; an extremely dominant mother who thought that Giselle was not capable of accomplishing anything and thus made all the decisions for her and even took over the job of raising her child.
After some job interviews she realized that she no longer wanted a job and put an add in the newspaper offering her service as a caretaker for elderly people. Within only a few days she got two great engagements and now she is her own boss, deciding how much her work is worth and making the price. Now she earns more money than she has ever earned before as a nurse and has not to work any night shifts anymore. 
She began to be more careful about when and how much she would allow her bossy sister and girlfriends into her life and what she would tolerate from them. She learned to say ‘No’. For the first time in her life she could set boundaries and clearly say what is tolerable and what is not. 
Two weeks ago she met a lovely man who is 10 years younger than Giselle – the kind of man she always wanted and was certain he would not exist. They both fell in love with each other and both feel that the other one is just the “one”, the partner they have always been looking for and dreamed of but never found before. Very quickly they realized that everything fits. Beside the fastly growing love, they have many common interests, he treats her with the respect she deserves, and they have the best sex life ever. They both feel that they have arrived. 
In Giselle’s case, I did nothing else but helping her to transform her personal root causes which had led to weight gain. We never did anything regarding her weight at all. She always loved cooking and she is still enjoying it and has no food restrictions except those foods she is allergic to. What we did do for the sake of her health is eliminating a few bad habits. 
Root causes can be found on the physical level (e.g. food intolerances, diabetes, toxic overload, etc.), the emotional level (how you emotionally respond to circumstances and the world around you), the mental level (your mindset, your way of thinking, what you say, your belief system), the psychological level (your memories, your subconscious mind, past experiences, unhealthy boundaries, etc.), and even on the spiritual level (karma, stuck energy, etc.). They can be experienced in relationships with the opposite sex and the family, in your professional life, in your health or the lack of it, and whether or not your life is interesting, fulfilling and well balanced or not. 
When you adhere to the laws of the universe, you will reap positive things in ALL aspects of your life. It doesn’t matter whether you want to lose weight, find a better paid job, find a new love, gain better health or achieve any goal, the way to approach these goals is always the same. Just follow the laws of nature and you will manifest all these things into your life because when you do that, literally your whole life is going to improve. You can’t cut your being and your life in slices and pieces either. On the other hand you can not go on a diet and by doing so find a better job, find a new love, improve your health and lose weight all at the same time and with that same tactic. The reason is because diets are not only not based on the laws of nature, they are flat out a violation of the laws of your body. Our body reacts conversely to diets than we want and consequently we ‘reap’ the yo-yo effect.
According to scientists, the worst of all bad habits – besides smoking – is a sedentary lifestyle. Frankly, I have no doubt that sitting all day is very unhealthy. You don’t have to be a physician to understand what sitting all day can do to our body. But what are the alternatives when you have an office job? There are a few ways you can do about that:
Although eating a good amount of protein is important for weight loss, many people eat far too much meat. The biggest problem is the growth hormone IGF-1 farmers use to raise their animals for bigger profits. That substance can promote the growth of cancer cells.
Unfortunately it gets worse regarding cooking. The by far worst and most health hazard habit is using microwave ovens. And it doesn’t matter whether you just defrost some frozen food or heat the food in the oven. First of all, although the manufacturers will tell you, that their ovens don’t leak, they do. Secondly, as soon as you switch on the oven, the electromagnetic radiation goes up dramatically – in other words, they radiate a lot. Thirdly, microwaves alter the DNA in your food and thus your body does not recognize food as such but as toxins. Within only three minutes of eating something microwaved, your blood tests positive for cancer. I know scientists who call microwave ovens “The kiss of death”.
Using bad oils to cook is another health threat. For several years now health experts are warning from using the wrong oils. Most of the time these are cheap ones. When heated, they release compounds that are found in cigarette smoke, such as aldehydes and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.
Many Americans are insanely sleep deprived. Sleep deprivation leads to symptoms like high blood pressure, heart attacks, strokes, and obesity. Studies show that poor sleep or sleep deprivation can speed up the growth of tumors.
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Then they go on the next fad diet, take expensive weight loss products or get a gastric surgery done which create tremendous health problems and make matters worse in any regard. And at the end they gain that quickly lost weight back because it was not a sustainable method. Yes, they did have quick success…but at what cost? 
Sоmе оf these habits are simply about kеерing our body funсtiоning рrореrlу but a lоt оf habits have to dо with the way wе do things, move, behave, react to people, situations and circumstances; the way we think and perceive our environment. Unlеѕѕ we livе in a ѕоlitаrу wоrld with no intеrасtiоn with thе rеѕt оf thе wоrld оr thе people thеrеin, wе will аlwауѕ bе соnfrоntеd with ѕituаtiоnѕ where wе must mаkе сhоiсеѕ, and these choices often happen within a split second by bypassing our conscious mind. Sоmе are simple, ѕоmе are more соmрlеx like whаt tо еаt оr what not tо еаt, when to exercise and when to relax. Many оf them require nо thought though since our brain is already pre-programmed tо асt in a helpful wау in our body’s terms. We hаvе done something wеll or inappropriately in thе past and our brain hаѕ received fееdbасk (it wеnt wеll, do thаt аgаin; аltеrnаtivеlу thаt wаѕ rubbish, do ѕоmеthing differently). Cоnѕеԛuеntlу the unconscious part of our brain iѕ full of wауѕ of dеаling with situations that wе thоughtlеѕѕlу еmрlоу to make our lives easier.
You just can’t conquer habit with willpower. The only way to optimally dealing with habit is by understanding the way our subconscious mind works and using it’s own way of forming new habits. By the way, strong willpower is a habit as well. Your ways of aproaching weight loss, your ways of pursuing a goal, your mindset, your motivation (or the lack of it), these are all habits as well and can – need to – be trained.
How many times did you decide to exercise three to four times a week and then something came into your way? You thought, “Well, what does it matter. It’s just once.” But then something else came up, the weather wasn’t to your liking, your child looked like he might get a cold…and then there was the point where you realized that you haven’t been to the gym for two weeks and now you have lost all your motivation?
One of my current members recently had some great success simply by following the daily action steps in my free Facebook group. Then Christmas came, New Year came, now we are two weeks into the new year and she almost disappeared.
Here are 30 signs of self-sabotage:
And here is the big problem.
Then check back on your bigger WHY – the reason WHY you wanted to lose weight in the first place. At this point it may also help to go deeper with your WHY, away from your own person to a bigger purpose. 
Flies constantly buzz around on the glass just moving millimeters trying to miraculously move through the glass to freedom, and this goes on for days. Sometimes they fly up and then fly very quickly toward the glass in an attempt to break through it. They just never seem to get tired from trying. Of course they are attracted by the light that is on the other side. But they don’t realize that there is no direct way through the glass. All they would have to do is crawling or flying around the window frame and they would be free. But no, even when you help them, they refuse to take that little hurdle around the window frame and then be free.
Henceforward my friend’s “What if…?” stuck with me, and each time I felt discouraged I thought, “What if there is a solution I don’t know yet?” One day I received an unsolicited email which described my problem word by word in their headline. Usually I move these emails to my spam folder immediately, but then something stopped my hand with the mouse and I started reading. On their website they explained exactly my problem and shared how they solve the issue (and no, I never discussed this dilemma with anybody by email so that Google could send me the right ads). It was about a method of a group of European dentists who are practicing in Bulgaria no dentist in my own country knew about or was brave enough to try.
Was it a detour? Only at the first sight. At the end it turned out to be much faster than any other solution I knew, and despite of the flight still less than half the price I would have had to pay in Switzerland for a solution that was not acceptable, and way better and more reliable than anything else. That “detour” turned out to be the fastest way possible to my desired goal. On top of that it was a wonderful experience to fly over the Carpatian Mountains and to have a one-week vacation with a view of the Black Ocean.
When you are on the WRONG path, you can run as fast as you want; you can be as disciplined and frantic as you can; you can be totally determined to achieve your goal but you will still NEVER arrive because it’s the wrong road. On the other hand, if you are on the RIGHT road toward your goal, you can walk as slowly as you want, you can take baby steps, you can even crawl and still achieve your destination. Depending on how fast you move forward it will take longer or faster to reach your goal, but it is certain that you will reach it one day because you are on the right road. On the other hand, when you’re on the WRONG route you will just never get there, no matter what.
Or can you finally open up your mind and ask yourself, “What if there is another, faster, better and healthier solution I just never took into consideration?” 
And it gets much worse.
Since I have talked about the diet approach many times, I want to make this short. Dieting is against the body’s own nature and therefore can’t work long term. Going on a diet can give you some short term results but the weight will come back after a while. Depending on how many diets you have been trying or will choose to try, the constant up and down usually goes on for years and the person will eventually come to a point where she will resignate and give up all weight loss attempts.
Exercise alone has never been a fast tactic. Although exercise should always be part of a sensible weight loss strategy, it’s far from being fast nor maintainable. You can jog for an hour every day and 365 days and you may not even lose a pound. Believe me, I did it and that was the results. Zero weight loss.
Like with any diet, at the beginning you may lose a lot of weight very quickly. But after a while you will gain it back because you didn’t take your body’s nature into consideration. You can’t fool your body.
In my humble opinion this is the most stupid way of losing weight, and any doctor who offers that kind of surgeries should be put in jail for a long time. Gastric surgery is slow murder.
Hypnoses is a great method and I personally use several kinds of hypnoses in my coaching and therapy practice.
Although a healthy lifestyle ABSOLUTELY has to be part of a maintainable weight loss strategy, by itself it’s not a fast method and very often not even a lasting solution. The healthy lifestyle approach looks at weight issues exclusively from the physical standpoint and that’s never enough to make losing weight to last. Inner causes will not be transformed. 
Changing your diet may bring you a step ahead.
