(Guest post: Dr. BJ Hardick, D.C.)

Week in and week out, patients come to me in frustration, “Doctor, I’m doing everything right … why can’t I lose weight?”  The answer to this question has more to do with individual body chemistry than what particular diet works best.  In fact, there isn’t one diet perfect for every person.  Our individual heritage and genetic makeup predispose us to what foods are best for our body’s needs.

In the Maximized Living Core Nutrition Plan, we advise 3 things that need to be changed in everyone’s diet regardless of your heritage or genetic composition. These three essential changes are: (1) the type of fats you are eating (as well as ingesting more of them), (2) switching from commerically-raised to naturally-raised animal products, and, (3) eliminating processed carbohydrates.  The details of these changes are covered extensively in the Maximized Living Makeover.

As these three changes transcend all cultures, the exact amount of fat, protein and carbohydrates someone can process largely depends on where your ancestors are from.  For example, northern descents seem to favour diets high in protein and good fats, whereas individuals from warmer equatorial regions seem to thrive on higher amounts of unprocessed carbohydrates, including fruits, vegetables and whole grains.

This explains why some people lose weight on a vegetarian diet, some on the Atkins Diet, some on the South Beach Diet, others with Weight Watchers, etc., and why others are left wondering why the diet they chose didn’t work for them.  Chances are that diet wasn’t metabolically correct for their body chemistry.

However, it is HORMONES (not calories, grams of fat, or even your genetics), that are the MOST essential parameters that dictate what diet is best for you. While we have been taught for years to count calories and grams of fat, hormones are most often overlooked.  The one most note-worthy for weight loss is leptin.  Leptin is a hormone in your body that tells your brain when to stop eating, when to burn fat.  Leptin also regulates the function of other hormones, including sex and stress hormones.  If leptin is out of balance, despite your best efforts, you will not lose weight. Your brain will not get the message to burn fat for energy.  Instead, you will continue to be a sugar burner – and never a fat burner.  As a result, you will not use your fat stores for energy (nor lose fat), and you will have constant and uncontrollable cravings for sugar.  You will break down muscle tissue which your body converts to sugar for energy, causing a decrease in muscle mass, metabolism, and a constant downward spiral.

Remember: fat doesn’t make you fat.  It is the inability to burn fat that makes you fat! In the Maximized Living Makeover, we utilize a client questionnaire, and direct participants to the proper blood tests for leptin to determine what diet is best.  This is now truly “Customized Weight Loss,” which answers the questions left unanswered for so many years.

-Dr. BJ

On Wednesday, January 13 @ 6pm we will be teachingThe Maximized Living Nutrition Program for Weight Loss:

* Learn how to lose weight safely, without restrictive fad diets,
* Eat healthy, nutritious foods that are simple to prepare.
* Learn how to control insulin and leptin levels naturally without pills.
* Lose weight permanently by changing your body type

Wednesday, January 13, 2010 @ 6pm
1431 Corydon Ave.
Reserve your seat today! Call 477-5433.

Did you know most New Years resolutions are broken by day 4 of the new year? It’s true!Especially when it comes to fad diets…

Most fad diets have no “staying power” because they are very restrictive and generally have you eating unhealthy, refined foods and taking thousands of dollars of pills.

This is not good eats…

The reason why these approaches never work in the long term is because weight loss is dependent on hormones like insulin and leptin. If your weight loss program is not teaching you how to get these two hormones under control you will never achieve the results you want.

On Wednesday, January 13 @ 6pm we will be teaching The Maximized Living Nutrition Program for Weight Loss:

* Learn how to lose weight safely, without restrictive fad diets,
* Eat healthy, nutritious foods that are simple to prepare.
* Learn how to control insulin and leptin levels naturally without pills.
* Lose weight permanently by changing your body type

Wednesday, January 13, 2010 @ 6pm
1431 Corydon Ave.
Reserve your seat today! Call 477-5433.

Here is the recording of last week’s Osteoporosis and Vitamin D workshop at Chiropractic Life Centre. All notes and resource materials can be found by clicking here.

Advanced Workshop – Osteoporosis and Vitamin D from Chris Chatzoglou on Vimeo.

US Olympic Training Center, Colorado Springs, CO, October 16 – Maximized Living has teamed with USA Judo to deliver a holistic, whole-athlete approach to wellness that incorporates chiropractic principles, balanced nutrition, mental preparedness and exercise programs for building strength, speed and endurance on the mat.

“At USA Judo we’re constantly looking for innovative, pro-active approaches to train for top performance and that’s what Maximized Living provides in health care,” said Jose Rodriguez, chief executive officer of the nation’s governing body for the sport of judo and judo’s U.S. Olympic team.

USA Judo and Maximized Living have selected an elite group of specialized doctors skilled in working with world class athletes from its network of more than a thousand affiliated health experts nationwide.  These ML Doctors will work closely with USA Judo’s sports medicine staff at national training events, camps and competitions.

With this agreement, Maximized Living becomes the Official Wellness and Chiropractic Team for USA Judo. Also, USA Judo joins the Wellness Advisory Council, recently established by USA Wrestling and Maximized Living, exclusively for Maximized Living certified doctors to provide chiropractic, nutrition and comprehensive wellness programs to these elite athletes.

“We’re very excited to be part of USA Judo’s performance team,” said Ben Lerner, a former all-American wrestler and founder of Maximized Living. “Any athlete competing in a high impact sport needs wellness, including chiropractic care, so Judo is a great fit for what the Maximized Living Wellness Advisory Council is all about.”

“What makes this an even greater opportunity for us is that Judo is more than just a sport – it’s also a time honored tradition, an art, and an activity that improves body, mind, and spirit,” Lerner said. “We’re very committed to helping our USA Judo athletes compete at the highest level, sustain far fewer injuries, recover faster, and win more medals.”

Florida-based Maximized Living provides programs and certifications on their “Five Essentials”: chiropractic care to maximize nerve flow; nutrition; detoxification; exercise; and mental wellness.

“This is about making our athletes stronger and faster,” Rodriguez said. “This is about giving them the stamina and strength to last longer on the mat and perform at their pinnacle over more seasons.”

“In addition to working with USA Judo’s world class athletes, we are committed to supporting grass roots efforts in getting our youth and parents engaged in both the sport and the principles of lifelong wellness,” said Maximized Living President Shel Hart. “Maximized Living’s comprehensive Wellness Program and network of North American Doctors combined with the discipline and physical/mental conditioning through USA Judo are a winning formula.”
USA Judo, Inc., is the national governing body for the sport of Judo in the United States as sanctioned by the U.S. Olympic Committee. For more news and information about USA Judo and the sport, go to www.usjudo.org.

Maximized Living, Inc., oversees a network of more than a thousand doctors nationally, promoting wellness through their health centers, chiropractic coaching, and wellness programs and products. For more information, visit their website: www.maximizedliving.com.