It's Not Your Fault You're Overweight

Out of alllll of the reading I've done since I started this journey in 2019, all the books I've read to learn about nutrition, how the body works, how food affects our bodies, etc., the one thing I've learned that completely changed me....

Obesity is not our fault.

Yep, you read that right. It's not our fault. Despite what we've been told for the last 40-50 years (because that's when things changed with our diets), we do not become obese by consuming too many calories and not being active enough. That's not how it works. That's why SO many of us have tried losing weight by reducing our calories and exercising more only to find it didn't work. I know I had done that for years with no results! How about you?

I won't go deep into detail about this part here but basically there are two types of people - those who have the genetics to be naturally lean no matter what they eat (we all know someone like that right?) and those of us who have the genetics that causes our bodies to store fat - despite reducing calories, following an exercise plan, and doing all the things we think we're supposed to do to lose weight.

So if our genetics are part of the problem and reducing calories isn't going to work what do we do?

A calorie is NOT just a calorie - it matters what TYPE of calorie it is when you're eating - and THAT is the problem. It's not how many are consumed but what type of calories are being consumed. I’m not saying you can go nuts and eat thousands of calories a day of course but if you eat healthy meals and you eat to the point of satiety (feeling full) then you'll be okay and you don't have to count calories.

If you've been eating a diet that's high in sugar, high in carbs, and high in unhealthy processed foods (which is the Standard American Diet), THAT causes obesity. Obesity is a symptom of a much bigger problem - inflammation, insulin resistance, and your body's inability to properly process and digest the type of food you’re eating.

That's why the keto lifestyle works. Because you're removing the toxic food from your life and you're replacing it with healthy foods. When you do that, your body begins to work like it was designed. It processes the food properly, it digests it the way it's supposed to, it releases very little insulin into your bloodstream, it doesn't store fat but uses it as fuel, and not only does that allow your body to work properly, it allows your body to use up that excess fat that it's stored which allows you to lose weight.

This is why it's SO IMPORTANT for us to realize this is not a "diet" that we do for 30 days to lose some weight and then go back to "normal." "Normal" is what got us here. This is a LIFESTYLE that we need to embrace. This is what will allow us to be healthy and reduce (greatly!) our chances of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, stroke, dementia, Alzheimer's, and so many other health problems.

Isn't that what you want for yourself? Isn't that what you want for your family? For your children?

Just remember that obesity is not your fault. I’ll share more about this in days to come too!