‘8 Weeks to Wellness’ Taught Me What Makes Us Fat. It’s Not Saturated Fat. It’s Sugar.

By JIM SMITH
 

In March, I wrote in my YourHub column that I had lost 25 pounds in a program called 8 Weeks to Wellness. Now, seven months later, I can report that I have not regained any of that weight. I weighed in the 240’s before the program and today I still weigh in the 210’s. I’ve continued to lose fat and gain muscle by continuing to have two training sessions a week in their fitness center (right). I now wear Large instead of XL shirts and I had my slacks and belts taken in about 3 inches — and I feel better.  Rita also lost over 20 pounds, but has regained about five pounds due to her slow recovery from a knee replacement, which kept her, until recently, from exercising and working out the way she’d like.

On July 28 in this space, I wrote about three couples who read my YourHub column and signed up for the same program. They experienced similar weight loss and, like Rita and me, have managed to keep off most of the weight they shed.

 

The reason, I’ve concluded, is the dietary education we all received during the 8-week program. Whether or not you want to sign up for 8 Weeks to Wellness as we did, you’ll want to learn about good fats vs. bad fats and good carbs vs. bad carbs.  Drs. Scott and Leah Hahn, who offer the program locally, helped us and can help you to improve your health and shed excess body fat.

 

Americans have a fat phobia and a complete misunderstanding about calories which can be attributed to a faulty science study in the 1950s that blamed body fat on dietary fat. The government took that study as true and created dietary guidelines based on its “findings.”

 

In line with those now-discredited and partially withdrawn government guidelines, food manufacturers removed the good fat and replaced it with bad fats (trans, esterified, or polyunsaturated fat). When foods are processed to decrease or remove fat, they don’t taste very good. To improve the taste (and thereby increase sales) sugar is added. Because of this, low-fat or fat-free diets have added sugar and/or starches which convert to sugar. These foods tend to make you hungry for more. As you eat more and more, the sugar levels in your blood go up and up.  Because of this, your body rapidly converts the excess sugar to fat. It’s no wonder Americans are getting fatter and fatter. 

 

The story of how this happened is well-documented in a book I’m reading by Mark Hyman, MD, called Eat Fat, Get Thin. I recommend it. That Sugar Film, which you can view online, also dramatizes what our low-fat, high sugar diet has done to us.

Saturated fat and other “good” fats satisfy your hunger, feed your brain (which is 60% fat), and fight disease naturally. Sugar is literally addictive. Not only does it not satisfy your hunger, it makes you hungry so you want to eat more.  Rita and I have experienced this personally. When we cut out sugar and started eating the high-fat Paleo-like diet that is part of 8 Weeks to Wellness, we ate smaller servings and found we were less hungry.  This is not what we thought dieting was like!

The average American eats from 130 to 170 pounds of sugar per year, and roughly the same amount of flour (which rapidly converts to sugar in the body) — almost one pound per day. Your body can’t burn that much sugar, so it stores it as fat.

 

Americans are, practically speaking, digging their graves with their teeth, supporting a food industry which profits from our addiction to sugar. In turn, they are supporting a pharmaceutical industry which sells drugs to address the resulting symptoms and illnesses, both physical and mental.

 

As before, I strongly urge you to learn about 8 Weeks to Wellness. It’s a holistic approach to wellness that balances this kind of nutritional education with personalized training to build muscle, not just lose fat, along with chiropractic adjustment, massage, and meditation to reduce stress. This program is offered locally by Body In Balance Wellness Center at 755 Heritage Road in Golden. They’re one of the only chiropractic offices you’ll find which has a fitness center with personal trainers on staff who get directions (like a prescription) from the doctors to customize the workouts of clients so they get the most out of each one-hour cardio and strength training session.

 

Attend a free introduction to 8 Weeks to Wellness at 6:30 p.m. on Oct. 5 at Body in Balance’s office. Call 303-215-0390 to reserve your seat, and ask about other classes. Meanwhile, read Dr. Leah's blog at www.bodyinbalancechiropractic.com.   You will change your life for the better.

 

Published Sept. 29, 2016, in the YourHub section of the Denver Post

Graduates of ‘8 Weeks to Wellness’ Learn Lifelong Strategies for Weight Loss & Good Health

By JIM SMITH

In March, I wrote in my page 3 YourHub column that I had lost 25 pounds in a program called 8 Weeks to Wellness. Now, five months later, I can report that I have not regained any of that weight. I weighed in the 240’s before the program and today I still weigh in the 210’s.  More importantly, while my weight hasn't changed, I lost 8 pounds of fat and gained 8 pounds of muscle during those five months.

My wife, Rita, also lost 20+ pounds when we took the program together in January and February, but she has regained about five pounds, only because her slow recovery from a late-March knee replacement has kept her from exercising the way she’d like.

Meanwhile, three couples who read my column signed up for the program, which they recently completed with similar success. All three of those couples are confident they’ll maintain their weight loss.

 

Roger, 71, lost 21 pounds.  He says the last time he weighed what he does now was in the 1970’s.  His wife, Joanne, 70, has lost 10 pounds.

 

Jim, 64, lost 22 pounds and is positively slender now at 138 pounds. The last time he weighed 138 was in high school. His wife, Lynn, 64, lost 28 pounds and could lose some more, which she is continuing to do on her own. Lynn told me that statins had previously reduced her cholesterol from the 270’s to the 170’s, but now her cholesterol is in the 120’s without taking statins. It’s common for graduates to no longer need certain drugs.  I myself stopped taking Prilosec.

 

Tom, 80, lost 30 pounds, going from 250 pounds before the program to 220 pounds at the end. Tom says the last time he weighed 220 was when he retired from the LAPD 25 years ago and did the Nutrisystem program. His wife, Carole, 78, lost 11 pounds. Both expect to stop taking certain meds after they see their doctors.

 

I have discussed with each of these couples why this program offers long-term success while other programs don’t.  We all agree that it is the education about diet and how the program created new habits in exercise as well as in what we eat.

 

For example, during the program we learned about the ill effects of sugar and, surprisingly, of low-calorie sugar substitutes. We learned about the glycemic index and what foods have a high glycemic index vs. a low glycemic index. 

 

Many weight-loss programs, such as those Tom and Lynn previously took, involve supplements and meals sold by the program. In 8 Weeks to Wellness we were provided with a protein powder for making twice-daily shakes, but mostly we were taught what to buy, cook and eat. With our success in the program, we’re all determined to keep making the same food decisions after the program ended as well as to continue our cardio and strength training regimens. (Most of us didn’t even have a regimen before the program!)

8 Weeks to Wellness is a holistic approach to wellness that balances sound nutrition (through education, not the sale of product) with personalized training to build muscle, not just lose fat, along with neuro-skeletal adjustment, massage, and guided meditation to reduce stress.

 

This program is offered locally by Body In Balance Wellness Center at 755 Heritage Road in Golden.  They’re one of the only chiropractic offices you’ll find which has a fitness center with personal trainers on staff who get directions (like a prescription) from the doctors to customize the workouts of clients so they get the most out of each one-hour cardio and strength training session.

 

Many chiropractic offices have X-ray machines, but this office has other tools for measuring such things as intracellular water, inflammatory markers, heart rate, fat and muscle mass and so much more.  In addition, a comprehensive blood analysis is done at the beginning and end of the 8 weeks to assess every aspect of each client’s health and to measure improvement over the 8 weeks.

 

Without exception, clients who undergo this 8-week course show improvement in important indicators such as cholesterol,  blood glucose, triglycerides, and more. 

 

I am not compensated for my endorsement of this program other than being reimbursed for the cost of this ad space. Rita and I are simply evangelists for the program because of how it has changed our own lives. You’re welcome to call me at 303-525-1851 or Rita at 303-277-1996 or visit www.8ww.com for more info.

 

Attend a free introduction to 8 Weeks to Wellness at 6:30 p.m. on August 3 at Body in Balance’s office. Call 303-215-0390 to reserve your seat(s).  August 17th is a free movie night at Body in Balance. They’ll be screening That Sugar Film.  On Sept. 14th they have a free class explaining the top secrets of improving your health. Ask about other classes.

Published July 28, 2016, in the YourHub section of the Denver Post.