Not everyone fits into a certain mold or box and the same is true for nutrition. It seems the most popular diets are high in protein. The big name protein diets are Atkins, The Zone and Heller. There are many others, many weight loss centers and gyms promote the high protein diets including the shakes and bars. No doubt about it some of these high protein diets are down right bad and damage the system. How can anyone think that a grease laden breakfast is good for you? Bad as they are my guess is that at least 75% of the population in our area has tried a high protein diet at least once in the last 10 years. What really bothers me about these diets is that no matter how bad, there is initial, temporary weight loss and health risks seem to improve. Cholesterol and blood pressure levels improve. But this all plateaus out in a few months and returns back to its original levels. Sometimes there is great weight loss such as 100 lbs, but whether it is 100 or 20, most likely it was not bodyfat loss. Bodyfat percentage is the key here. Until bodyfat is lost there is no real weight loss, even though it says so on the scales. You’ve seen that commercial “now you’re just a smaller version of the same fat person”. At the same time due to the unbalanced nature of the high protein diet the body is forced to fight for survival. Mother nature has given us the ability for fight or flight and when we are starving the body will find a way for us to survive. One of the first things that happens is that the metabolism slows to conserve fuel, thinking power also decreases. Another big thing is that the body starts to look within itself for fuel reserves. Fat is the last burned on a restrictive, unbalanced or too low calorie diet. This is where arthritis and osteoporosis begin, unless caused by a injury to the area. The body looks to where it has protein stored and that is the bone and muscle, thus begins the rapid plunge into un-necessary early old age and a poorer quality of life, all for a few bad meal choices and lack of balance.
Remainder of this article has been removed by Bonnie. Come into Achieve for a free copy of this article or one of the others...... 

Surgeon Generals 2002 Report
by Bonnie Sprinkle

The Surgeon General issues a community call to action as health problems resulting from overweight and obesity could reverse many of the health gains in recent decades. In preparation of this report several strategies were reviewed for their proven scientific effectiveness. Two important ones being to:

1) Change the perception of obesity so that health becomes the chief concern, not personal appearance.

2) Educate health care providers and health profession students on the prevention and treatment of overweight and obesity across the lifespan.

"Overweight and obesity are among the most pressing new health challenges we face today," Health & Human Service Secretary Tommy G. Thompson said. "Our modern environment has allowed these conditions to increase at alarming rates and become a growing health problem for our nation. By confronting these conditions, we have tremendous opportunities to prevent the unnecessary disease and disability they portend for our future."

Surgeon General David Satcher recently said "Overweight and obesity may soon cause as much preventable disease and death as cigarette smoking," "People tend to think of overweight and obesity as strictly a personal matter, but there is much that communities can and should do to address these problems." Administrators of Insurance Programs and employers need to take a serious look at Preventative Health Care Programs and the importance they play in reducing healthcare and insurance costs for everyone.

Obesity among adults has doubled since 1980, while overweight among adolescents has tripled. Only 3 percent of all Americans meet at least four of the five federal Food Guide Pyramid recommendations. Forty percent of adults engage in no leisure-time physical activity at all.

Weight loss, while the long term goal should not be the initial goal of a successful return to health / obesity reduction program. The first results should be: increased energy, better thinking power, sleep better, an added spring to the step, in general feeling better. Bodyfat reduction is the best true guideline, rather than weight loss. Many of our current popular diet programs promote weight loss, but with bodyfat percentages increasing and health risks increasing with these weight loss programs. We can see the results of the last few decades of dieting. Arthritis, diabetes, hypertension are for the most created by a few years of poor eating. Modern medicine can keep us alive longer, it’s up to us to improve the quality of those years.

At Achieve Fitness, Bonnie will look at your specific joint issues, working to restore balance while giving you a safe & effective exercise program.

When Diet & Exercise fails take........by Bonnie Sprinkle 2000

I love that commercial for the cholesterol reducing medication. It starts off when diet and exercise fail, take this medication. It sounds reasonable enough, but lets look at that statement a little closer. To me this mentality is a major part of what has created the horrible state of health in our nation today.

How does diet and exercise fail, many folks seem to think that they do fail? What fails are poor diet plans, fad diets, and dieting through medication. Most people when advised to lose weight by their doctor will cut out some bad things like soda and deep fried, but what else does the average citizen do to diet? Most folks embark on a starvation diet full of good foods but lacking all the components to make it successful and again at a starvation level. To me this is the reason diets are not successful, if you don’t know how to eat properly, it is impossible to maintain that diet for the long term. Weight is usually lost with these poor eating plans and even some health levels improve, but they are temporary results and will plateau out before long.

Did you know that with a balanced healthy eating plan cholesterol levels can be in-line within 3 months and many folks much sooner than that? Would you do it if you knew how, probably not? Why not? Well public opinion and media advertising of diet products is why. Most folks are so afraid of gaining weight that they won’t even begin a healthy eating program. When returning to health is emphasized rather than weight loss, the weight loss will follow. The media makes it sound much easier to take this pill and all will be well. We should know by now that todays miracle medication is tomorrows lawsuit. Take this pill and suppress your appetite and that will force your body to store more fat and become even more sluggish in the bodies attempt to conserve energy to help the body survive the starvation it is suffering from. This is a vicious cycle. The Yo-Yo effect.

The words above talk mostly about why diet fail but it is also the reason exercise fails. If you are not eating enough to support the body functions and then try to exercise, you will not be successful and will soon give up the exercise. Another reason for quitting is overdoing the exercise. Trying for five to seven days a week of exercise when you did none before is a sure way to burn out in two weeks to a month. For the average person 3 days a week is a good start, keep it moderate. If you maintain that then you can increase the days.

The time has come that we must become responsible for our own well being. Looking to a miracle pill has not worked