How to Lose 30 lbs in 30 days the right way: What You need is a God Mother

How to Lose 30 lbs. in 30 days : 

What you need is a God Mother

As children we all like fairy tales and each of us had our favorite.  Mine was a toss up between the Wizard of Oz and Cinderella, but then I thought in the end,   Dorothy was led to a fake Wizard. So, by default Cinderella and her fairy godmother won out.

A godmother is a woman who, as defined by Webster:

Is pioneering in a MOVEMENT or ORGANIZATION; Represents a child at baptism (REBIRTH) and promises to take responsibility for their education, especially spiritual

The weight loss industry has indeed become a web of fairy tales and when it comes to releasing weight, people are indeed looking for a Godmother; someone  who will make  all the fat go away and quickly. Yet, after repeated cycles of failures and successes  there is this vague sense that something is terribly wrong. In   not knowing the answer , our heroes and heroines  start yet another program, hoping against all hope that this time, things will be different. It is not.  The thighs start rubbing together again or make noise while walking. For the ladies the bra straps are  digging into the  shoulder  often cutting so deep it sometimes causes bleeding or  rash. All obese people, regardless of how brave they appear,  secretly wonder if anyone is watching their rear-end as they walk . They fear the stairs; they fear the gym; they fear  walking, they fear running, they fear getting on their knees; they fear the beach. Nevertheless,   the primary advice from  every physician and fitness expert is to exercise more. It is no wonder that  overweight people don't throw spit balls at us all.

GETTING to KNOW  the HEROINE
I believe in the inherent wisdom of people. So, our group of heroines secretly seek someone who will make sense of all of this madness. They want real answers to some hard questions. They want someone who can explain the reason for their  trials and tribulations, for what should have been a relatively simple and harmless wellness journey. Our heroine is confused, feeling despair, depression and embarrassment for the repeated failures. They are often angry at themselves for allowing THIS to happen in the first place, in fact to be truthful, every year since the age of 18.  It seems nearly everyone recalls how much they weighed at the age of 18. During intake interviews which exceeded 15,000 it was asked, "How much did you weigh at age 18?" , the ladies demurely answer with a slight giggle, "Size 5", snaps one respondent. Another lady replied, " I weighed 130 lbs. and wore a size 12, with a 28 inch waist". She added, "Today, I am still 5'4"; I am 44 and weigh 254. Maybe I should play the #'s, right?" . She laughs, yet some how I don't think she is really laughing.   I detect a slight pause waiting to hear my reaction or perhaps a slight gasp from me at how much she now weighs. The men in their best macho voice, knowing that they were never really pro (football) material,   proudly answer, "Back in the day, I weighed 215 and I am 5'10; now I weigh 310 lbs. and don't exercise at all . I work a desk job and around the wheel.....either 8-4 p.m.,  12-8 a.m.,  or 4-12 a.m." He proudly adds, "I am able to catch naps at my job", as if that makes him smarter than the system. He readily admits that he really doesn't exercise at all and definitely doesn't eat right. He adds, "Everything is closed when I am awake, and when everything is open, I am sleeping". Sounds like the lifestyle of a any crack  addict, doesn't it?

What if we frame our conversation from 2 different angles as it pertains to  our heroine, Dorothy and  see if we can discern  why her weight loss attempts keep failing?  Will we be able to defend our "lost child" and discover that the program that is needed does not exist ?  Or, as with  Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz, was the right program there all along, just not yet discovered?    The purpose of this article is to answer these questions.

Our Heroine

Dorothy

She's an African-American female,  between the ages of 45-56

She is 5'4'and weighs 310. Our heroine was told she is "pre~diabetic"
and although  prescribed Metformin, 

, she  stopped taking it on her own,

because "she doesn't like medications" adding,  "Besides, I am NOT diabetic yet"

She almost brags that she has not been diagnosed with HBP  and although she was advised that  her cholesterol is high, she  does not recall the number  and is not taking medication for this either . She told her coach that her healthy goal weight is  250 lbs., stating that  the goal of releasing 100lbs seemed impossible and unattainable, as she always ends up  fighting horrific cravings, She complains of inflammation in the knee and left hand and  numbness in her right hand. Her MD diagnosed her as having a degenerative disk in her spine and arthritis in her neck. Dorothy is a recent widow, who was already living apart from her husband, but in the same house, making for a very unhealthy and degrading environment. To make matters worse, upon his death, Dorothy discovered via  texts messages and Facebook chats that  her estranged husband had a long-standing mistress. This left our heroine feeling  her angry and bitter. Dorothy is also a recovering crack addict and alcoholic and has been clean for 20 years. With food she is NOT "clean", as in eating clean, that is.

While obesity rates for white men and white women remain very close, the gap is much wider for blacks, where the female obesity rate has soared to 57 %, far above the African-American male rate of 38 %. The gender gap is widening among Hispanics, as well 46 % for women; 39 % for men. It follows therefore,  that  the African American female is  now the heaviest class of people in the world.

The Scarecrow, the Tin Man and the Lion

Lions and Tigers and bears, Oh my! All three of our beloved characters are animal, while Dorothy our heroine, obviously female.  Yet the entire fairy tale is centered around the mismatch of Dorothy getting all of her guidance and wisdom from animals, surely a mismatch. The rest of fairy tale is Dorothy's search for the HUMAN, someone more like her,  who promises to have  all the answers.  In the real OZ, other mismatches can be found. According to a research study by the National Institutes for Health, "The counseling literature is replete with examples of the importance of counselors acknowledging and addressing racial and ethnic differences between a counselor and client during treatment". There are numerous research studies that supports this same conclusion. 

Nevertheless, one will quickly notice that most programs target the majority culture. There are no programs that I am aware of where an African  American female is at the  helm. If obesity rates are highest among African American woman, then it would seem that we need more specialists in this area who are African American.

As I write , I  must trust this is not seen as a racist or separatist position. Instead, it is an article genuinely seeking answers on how to help our heroine, Dorothy, who happens to be of African American descent. This time, our heroine represents the majority.   Thus, we can conclude that our heroine will not be  helped best  by Dr. Oz's, Dr. Phil's, the Richard Simmons', Dr. Hyman's, Dr. Daniel Amen's, or even Pastor Rick Warren.

POPULAR PROGRAMS and FAIRY TALES

As with most hero's and heroine's whom are overweight, Dorothy stumbled across Weight Watchers. However, the powers behind this curtain don't look like our heroine  either.
From 1978 until 1999, Weight Watchers was owned by the H. J. Heinz Company, which continues to produce packaged foods bearing the Weight Watchers brand. Yet, McDonald's, Burger King and all hamburger fast food restaurants are at the top of the list for promoting unhealthy eating and thus, fueling the obesity epidemic . We are certain the facts will bare out that fast food hamburger restaurants are the largest wholesale purchasers of ketchup.  Further , there is no doubt  that  ketchup is one of Heinz's top sellers. Therefore, does Weight Watcher's really care if Dorothy releases weight if they are indirectly financed with stock  connected to fast food restaurants?

In October 2015 Oprah Winfrey purchased a 10% stake in Weight Watchers. However, Oprah has  well documented issues with weight herself and may in fact have done more than any single thing to discourage AA women in their weight loss journey. The thinking that could be lurking beyond Oprah's endorsement of Weight Watcher's is this: "If after these all these years  the billionaires  discovers the program I have already tried unsuccessfully many times before then perhaps nobody can conquer this evil monster". You must remember, to the African American female community, a billionaires who talks spirituality and makes millionaires out of people simple by having them on her show is as good as it gets.  The paradox is this: If Oprah is telling us that after all this time , Weight Watcher's is THGE answer, then I am even more confused than ever, because I have already tried Weight Watcher's ". Our heroine surmises: "If Oprah can't do it, nobody can". Everyone knows Oprah has lost weight and gained it back  many, many  times before. So we ask:  "Is Oprah the Wizard behind the curtain,  that our heroine Dorothy  discovered was fake"?  

Jean Nidetch

Founder of Weight Watchers'

"She never ate dessert in public. But at night, by the dim light of the refrigerator, she gorged on goodies.

  Then one day in 1961, Jean Nidetch, a 214-pound Queens housewife with a 44-inch waist and an addiction to cookies by the box, ran into a neighbor at the supermarket. “Oh, Jean, you look so good!” the neighbor said. “When are you due?” She shed 72 pounds and helped found Weight Watchers, the organization that turned the drab, frustrating diet into a quasi-religious quest, with membership commitments, eating systems, inspirational meetings and cookbooks, food products and motivational success stories to reinforce the frail will. "

  

Are you still confused Dorothy?  

Fairy tale

Fairy Tale

The AMERICAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION WEIGHS IN

As Dorothy travels further down the  yellow brick road seeking answers  to her long-standing weight loss failures, she stumbles upon this sign  in the road:

 On June 19, 2013,

the American Medical Association declare that obesity is a disease 

Dorothy wonders what this sign means.  A scarecrow tells her that it means OBESITY is a metabolic disorder, like diabetes. But Dorothy recalls being told she was merely "pre-diabetic" so she is very confused. Her Godmother arrives and tells her not to fear.  A disease is merely:

"A disorder of structure or function in a human, animal, or plant, especially one that produces specific signs or symptoms or that affects a specific location and is not simply a direct result of physical injury"

~or~

"A particular quality, habit, or disposition regarded

as adversely affecting a person or group of people"

Dorothy long since realized that her habit of eating too much food was having an adverse effect on her family. She knew she was exacerbating her medical problems. She was too heavy to get up the stairs. Medical doctors looked at her with disgust each time she arrived for a medical appointment. They recommended that she see the "Diabetes educator",  since this was a free service provided to her by her insurance plan. The educator told her to do several things:

1. Drink OJ or suck on peppermint when her blood sugar fell too low. But one time she went through gallons of orange juice feeling it was ok, since it was given to her almost as medical advice
2. She was told to get an elliptical machine. Dorothy did that as well, but her thighs rubbed together so much that they got chaffed and her breasts were so heavy, her shoulder started bleeding.  Tired and exhausted to point of feeling dizzy after her workouts, she found herself gouging on carbs and she gained 13 lbs during the first 15 days of owning the machine. Dorothy quit by Day #20
3. Eat   treats like Jello and lot's of fruit, instead of candy and other traditional goodies, such as cake and ice cream.  However, Dorothy gained 5 lbs in 3 days, after she ate 3 bowls of Jello made with  fruit added  thinking it was healthy. She stopped buying Jello because she was gaining  weight and besides, she didn't even like Jello that much. She continued eating 5-6 servings  of fruit per day, as recommended by  her diabetes educator, but she kept gaining about 2-3 lbs per month. She discovered her A1C score was 6.1, but she didn't  know what that meant either.

Dorothy's God Mother showed up and  whispered: "Obesity is  the disease of "addiction". Suddenly, she felt her toes wiggle in her ruby slippers and she knew she was having an "ah ha" moment. She too felt that neither her doctor, or her trainer really understood what was doing with food, behind close doors. She secretly gloated realizes  everyone THOUGHT they knew. Ironically,  those that thought they knew what she was doing with food were the degreed professionals;  her primary care physician, the diabetes educator , the bariatric surgeon and  the fitness trainer.  Dorothy felt empowered and very clever. She was  even tricking the pro's because she knew they were not hitting the bulls-eye,  about what  she was really doing with food. Exercise would not help with the 2 cartons of cookies or the 5 cups of Starbuck's coffee with sugar and creamer. It was all beginning to make sense to her.  She recalled that there is  an organization called OVEREATER's ANONYMOUS, started , January, 1960. (see www.oa.org) This free organization works in the same fashion as Alcoholics Anonymous (1935) , Narcotic's Anonymous (1953)  and all the other community-based recovery programs.

The basic belief of Overeater's Anonymous is this: "No matter what your problem with food, be it compulsive overeating, undereating, food addiction, anorexia, bulimia, binge eating, or over exercising" you are dealing with an addiction".  Yes, notice it mentions UNDEREATING. Thus far, no one has explained this dimension of Dorothy's  behavior which actually served to convince Dorothy that she was NOT addicted to food at all. How could I be, she thought; "I can go all day without eating" . Thus far in her journey down the yellow brick road,  no one had even mentioned, let alone explained the issue of skipping meals all day as being part of her addiction. But still, a nagging thought remained.While OA made sense, it was lacking meal planning assistance, vitamins and minerals,  nutritional support and nutritional education.  Their strength was their insight into what Dorothy was really doing with her food...all the kooky stuff behind closed doors. Therefore, the OA accountability partner system was great, but incomplete.  

Dorothy's  Ah-Ha Moment

If my challenge with food is an addiction, which has it's roots in psychology

then a focus on  exercise is absolutely the wrong answer,
since even exercise can be addictive

Dorothy under the influence of a drug, but what did they give her?

Our HEROINE follows the yellow brick road  to AUSTRALIA and meets the CRAIG's 

"Jenny Craig, Inc., is an American weight loss, weight management, and nutrition company founded in 1983 by Jenny Craig and her husband, Sidney Craig. The program was started in Melbourne, Australia and began operations in the United States in 1985. The company was operated as part of Nestlé Nutrition. On November 19, 2013, Jenny Craig Inc. was purchased by North Castle Partners for an undisclosed amount. The program combines individual weight management counseling with a menu of frozen meals and other foods, which are distributed through its centers or shipped directly to clients."

Our heroine, Dorothy was struck by this statement in Jenny Craig's corporate  description.

"Jenny Craig  includes foods and chocolate designed to appeal to certain groups of people, also. The menu includes meatless selections, as well as plans directed toward men and women, teens, type 2 diabetics, and the elderly"

Confused, she could not understand why a program would say they offer foods and "chocolate" to appeal to certain groups of people. Who were these people? Overweight people? Females? Black people?

Remember,  at the beginning of Dorothy's journey she  learned:

• African American's are the most obese people in the world and within that race;
• African American females have  the highest incidence of overweight and obesity

It therefore  follows that African Americans females have the highest incidence of diabetes. So, does this mean that the  Jenny Craig company, who until recently was owned by NESTLE , (the chocolate manufacturing company of the world)  targets foods and chocolate to diabetic African American females?

The Wizard behind this curtain too, has been revealed as a fake. Dorothy is depressed, discouraged, angry and confused. She is feeling no one really has her best interest at heart and after trying this program she fails again. Dorothy is left feeling despondent. While she has neglected to take her diabetes medication, she knows for sure that she should not be targeted with chocolates. The Tin Man surmised that it is one thing to cheat on her own with chocolate; it is another to be targeted like a drug pusher chases an addict. Oh wait..... that's right, Obesity is a  disease of addiction. 

There's No Place like Home:

Dorothy was reminded that her mother would give her castor oil whenever she was sick. She recalls that she would sneeze and a tablespoon of castor oil would be shoved under her nose. Knowing that the castor oil was used to detoxify her colon, she always wondered what did sneezing have to do with her butt! Her mother and her grandmother taught her this family mantra: "Whenever anything is wrong, "clean yourself out". They never asked the MD for permission. It was Grandma's brand of self-health care. This meant if one is overweight, a detox is important for that too. After all, Grandma said if anything is wrong, one should detox . Dorothy wondered how she had forgotten this awesome self care advice. Our heroine googled detox and only found one program that provided coaching on how to do so within a structured, educational  program.

Later, Dorothy was reminded that when she was pregnant she was given a pre-natal vitamin immediately by her MD.  He explained that while a growing  fetus is eating off of the mother, the mother is at risk of becoming malnourished, because both the mother and the growing child are in need of  90 vitamins and minerals daily. The Tin Man researched the existence of malnutrition in industrialized countries and he learned that in the US in particular, malnutrition manifests as obesity. Our heroine then came across 1991  Nobel prize nominee, Dr. Joel Wallach, a veterinarian and a Naturopathic physician who was recognized for his work with liquid nutrition. Although Jenny Craig stated the they distributed foods and chocolate, they did not mention vitamins. Further, her MD seemed not to  believe in vitamins any longer, now that she has delivered.

CAVE MAN EATING

After trying Jenny Craig, Nutri System, Dr. Atkins, Weight Watcher's the lion reminded Dorothy that her grandmother ate meat for breakfast. She was served foods like  fish and grits and although the Tin Man advised Dorothy  she should stay away from the glutens, she recalled how much better she felt eating a high  quality protein meal for breakfast. She began googling everything she could find about ancestral eating lifestyles. During this leg of her journey, Dorothy came upon these signs on the road:    

Clients  who combined detox, diet and liquid vitamins released weight 37% faster and healthier, compared to programs where they used exercise alone , vitamins alone, exercise and diet alone  or psychotherapy|recovery groups  alone. The programs that  provided education and encouragement to assist  individual's to responsibly practice  self-health care were the most effective. The areas most sought after by customers was:

• 1. education on   internal detoxification through the  use of herbs
•  
• 2.  the science and proper practice of the PALEO lifestyle, and
•  
• 3. Assistance with  selecting the best brands and the right vitamins and minerals for their special needs.

Michelle Edmonds, M.A., M.ED is a nutritionally-trained counseling psychologist and the author of Detox Your Mind or the Fat Will Come Back: The Emotional Triggers to Weight Gain, to be released 2017. She is the CEO of the Serenity Radio Network (SRN), a station dedicated to growth in Mind, Body  and Spirit . A leader and innovator in the industry since 1992,  Michelle is a sought after speaker and writer and program developer on issues related to  wellness and  self-health care .