© Touch for Health Kinesiology Association Journal (year 2001)

Weight Loss: A Different Approachby Wayne W. Topping. PhD

TOPPING INTERNATIONAL INSTITUUTE, INC2505 Cedarwood Ave, Suite 3, Bellingham, WA 98225, USA.

Phone: 360-647-2703, Fax: 360-647-0164, e-mail: topping2@gte.net

America is now the fattest nation on earth and getting fatter at a fast rate. Yet weightloss is a huge industry. Why are we failing? Its time for a rethink.

Americans are getting fatter in spite of about15 years of low fat foods, lots of exerciseequipment, and tens of different weight lossdiets. Maybe, instead of being overly focusedon weight loss, we should see overweight asevidence that the person's life style isunhealthy and initiate appropriate changes.The basic premise here being that the healthybody/mind will tend to normalize its weight.

Back to BasicsLast year at the TFHKA Annual Meeting Idescribed how the Italian economist VilfredoPareto had discovered that 80 percent of thewealth went to 20 percent of the people. Inbroader terms, the 80/20 Principle, Pareto'sPrinciple - asserts that a minority of causes,inputs or effort lead to a majority of theresults, outputs or rewards. Therefore, themajority of health problems (the 80%) will becaused by a few significant factors. If theclient's goal is to lose weight, what are thefew changes or life style corrections needed inorder to maximize the client's results?

The excess weight is an obvious symptom thattheir body/mind is out of balance. However,rather than over focusing on the weight whynot broaden (no pun intended) the picture. Asa person becomes more overweight they candevelop hypertension, heart disease, strokeand diabetes. They have a greater chance ofdeveloping cancers of the breast, uterus,ovaries, colon, rectum and prostate. As onegets heavier it becomes more difficult to moveand energy decreases. Decreased self-esteemcan lead to use of comfort foods Gunk foods)that make one feel good temporarily. Yet thosesame foods are usually biocidic and acceleratethe decline in health.Thus rather than having weight loss as the

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only issue it would be wiser to see that goal inits proper context of improving health. Thatway the client is less likely to try to loseweight with Fen-phen or liquid protein dietsand kill themselves in the process.' No sensein winning the battle (weight loss) whilelosing the war (dying prematurely).Our client's goals are then going to be aboutadequate restful sleep, appropriate exercise, adiet that supports all aspects of life, having anappropriate balance between recreation andwork, etc. As their body/mind goes back intobalance their weight should normalize.Because we are more interested in improvedhealth rather than the quick fix probably thenumber one need is for proper motivation.

1. Motivation

If a client comes in to me wanting to loseweight, I want to see the extent of theirdesire to succeed. If their major reason tolose weight is to get their spouse off theirback, then I know their chances are poor.They are not losing weight for the rightreasons. What will happen as soon as theyhave a major conflict with their spouse?You are right! Gain weight - to punish thespouse. To lose weight the client needs tohave their own very strong internalizedreasons.I believe that for a client to be successfulin losing weight and improving health thenumber one requirement is to make it aBURNING DESIRE (what motivationalspeaker Jack Zufelt calls a COREDESIRE).

Probably the top two New Year'sresolutions are to lose weight and to getfit. Yet 15 percent of those people who

© Touch for Health Kinesiology Association Journal (yr 2001)

sign up for memberships to gyms andfitness clubs around the New Year don'teven show up a single time. Hardly a coredesire! To successfully achieve their goalsclients need to make weight loss a (£100'on a 0-100 scale. The desire needs to beso strong that they w111do whatever ittakes. Setting a goal doesn't ensuresuccess. However, crystallize the desireinto words to provide a focus andcommitment, make it a core desire andachievement becomes inevitable. Lookingback on my life at the goals I've achieved -such as running a sub-3 hour marathon,and climbing the Matterhorn - I recognizethat I made them core desires.

Ask your client what their goal is. Is thereenthusiasm and conviction in their voice?How would you rate them on a 0-100scale? How do they rate themselves?Repeat the process with muscle testing:

"On a 0-100 scale, with 100 beingmaximum, your desire to achieve thisgoal is 30 or above (test indicatormuscle, 1M).. 40 or above (test 1M)...50 or above (test 1M)", etc., until the1M switches off: If less than 100%what does the client need to do tobring it to 100%?

Once their goal becomes a core desire theywill make the other life style changesnecessary, they will do whatever it takes.

2. OxygenAnyone who is serious about significantlyimproving their health will want to doaerobic exercise for improved metabolicfunctioning, better circulation,assimilation, digestion and elimination,blood purification, strengthened immunesystem, and fat reduction. Last year Irecommended Body Flex as a veryconvenient exercise routine to oxygenatethe system. Oxycise is another possibility.Diets can decrease subcutaneous fat.However, to change the body'smetabolism so that you burn more calories24 hours a day you need to make themuscles leaner by decreasing theintramuscular fat through aerobicexercises.

3. WaterW. Duane Albert, M.D., at the OrangeCoast Medical Clinic in SouthernCalifornia, says: "Incredible as it mayseem, water is quite possibly the singlemost important catalyst in losing weightand keeping it off." Why?

• When the body gets less water, itthinks this is a threat to survival and itbegins to retain as much water as itcan. This results in swollen feet, legsand hands. Therefore, to get rid offluid retention, drink more water.

• Drinking more water suppresses theappetite naturally. There is a decreasein hunger almost overnight.

• Water helps the body metabolizestored fat; a decrease in water intakewill cause fat deposits to increase. Thekidneys cannot function' properlywithout adequate water. When theydon't work to capacity some of theirload is dumped onto the liver.However, one of the liver's primaryfunctions is to metabolize stored fatinto usable energy for the body. Theliver cannot function optimally if it hasto do some of the work of the kidneys.Consequently the liver metabolizesless fat and more remains stored in thebody.

Dr. Albert recommends that maximum fatis burned by consuming 1 quart of waterover a 30-minute period in the morning, 1quart during 30 minutes around noon, and1 quart between 5-6 p.m.

4. MineralsWhen animals chew or gnaw on a woodenfence or gate, an intelligent farmerrecognizes this behavior (cribbing) as, asymptom of mineral deficiency. Whenpregnant women eat coal, clay, chalk, etc.(geophagia) we think it is strange and failto recognize the innate drive to get moreminerals into the diet. These are examplesof pica, defined by Longman's EnglishLarousse (1968) as "a morbid craving toeat things not normally eaten, e.g. coal,chalk".

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We see pica in children who pick theirnose and eat it, or eat lead paint, orchildren and adults who bite theirfingernails. However, in America mostpica, largely unrecognized, is manifestedas chewing gum, cravings for sugar,chocolate, snack food, soft drinks, as wellas smoking, alcohol and drug use. Suchsubstances cannot correct the underlyingmineral deficiency, cravings continueunabated, the empty calories contribute toweight gain, and the health becomes moreand more endangered due to furtherdepletion of vitamins and minerals.

Therefore, if anyone is serious aboutimproving their health and losing weightthey will decrease their intake of biocidicfoods, increase their intake of biogenicfoods and supplement to ensure they aregetting adequate minerals, especiallychromium and vanadium (thesedeficiencies result in thirst for soft drinksand hunger for carbohydrates (soft drinks,coffee and teas with added sugar, alcohol,pasta, candies desserts, bread, etc.).

5. Stop Training Like Sumo WrestlersThe world's experts at gaining weight arethe sumo wrestlers of Japan. They usefour major eating behaviors in order togain colossal weight. Mary Roach, in herarticle Advice from the World's BiggestWeight Experts: Their Gain Can BeYour Loss points out that people wantingto lose weight are often using the samebehaviors and are mystified as to why theyare becoming more like sumo wrestlers.

Sumo wrestlers have learned to put onmaximum weight working out five hours aday seven days a week on a low fatJapanese diet comprising mainly lice, fishand vegetables. They have determined thatit isn't primarily what you eat that makesyou gain weight, but how and when youeat, and what you do before and aftereating.a. Sumo Wrestlers Gorge

Sumo wrestlers eat most of their foodin one or two large meals a day andnever eat breakfast. Gorgingapparently allows more weight gain

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than eating the same number ofcalories spread out through the day.Fool ing your body into thinking youare starving by skipping meals slowsdown your metabolism so that youburn fewer calories in order toconserve energy.In 1972, Franz Halberg, an expert onchronobiology, the study ofphysiological cycles, conducted astudy where for one week subjects atea 2,000 calorie meal within an hourafter getting up. The following week,they ate the meal 12 hours later. Mostof the subjects lost weight on thebreakfast-only pattern, and gained onthe dinners (Roach, 1993). The sumowrestlers had already figured this out.

b. Sumo Wrestlers Sleep AfterEatingEven though the typical midday mealof fish stew, rice, and pickles isn't allthat rich, sumo wrestlers help ensurethat most of it goes to their waistlinesby taking a nap after lunch. . .

c . Sumo Wrestlers Exercise ThenEatNormally, exercise would boost themetabolism so more calories areburned. However, sumo wrestlershave found that by exercising on anempty stomach the metabolic rate isreduced and the exercise burns upfewer calories.

e. Sumo Wrestlers Eat Their MealsTogetherA meal eaten with other people islikely to be considerably bigger than ameal eaten alone: 44 percent larger,according to one study, and with anaverage of 30 percent more caloriesand fat.

Lessons from the SumoWrestlersSumo wrestlers' behaviors aredesigned to put on excessive weight.Ironically, Americans trying to loseweight are often doing the same -reducing the number of meals,

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skipping breakfast, sleeping soon aftertheir evening meal, exercising theneating, etc.

To lose weight do the opposite of theSumo wrestlers:• Eat lots of small meals, e.g.

breakfast, lunch, dinner, and acouple of snacks.

• Don't skip breakfast.• Never starve yourself.• Eat your biggest portions early in

the day.• Don't exercise on an empty

stomach.• Do aerobic workouts. Anaerobic

exercise won't burn fat.• Avoid eating more than you need

when dining with family andfriends.

6. Psycholo~ical Reasons for Wei~ht GainIn an article entitled "Is marriage makingyou FAT?", Richard Stuart and BarbaraJacobson point out that they surveyedalmost 25,000 women and found that bythe thirteenth year of marriage, wives hadgained an average of 24.7 pounds, whiletheir husbands had gained 19.4 pounds.Happily married women had an averageweight gain of 18.4 pounds whileunhappily married women had gained42.6 pounds.Stuart and Jacobson concluded thatmarried women gain weight for threemajor reasons:a. Because of the responsibilities

and stresses of being a wife andmother. Stress leads to theconsumption of comfort foods.Therefore, use ESR; exercise to bumup stress hormones, and carve outsome 'alone time'.

b. The security of a trusting,loving relationship may meanthat a woman does not make aneffort to keep the weight off.

c. Marital and sexual problems.Food is eaten to tranquilize anxiety andprovide comfort against feelings of

loneliness, anger, depression, orhelplessness. Rewards for over eatinginclude:• To avoid being attractive to other

men.• To lessen chances for an affair or

becoming sexually promiscuous.• To diminish her husband's sexual

desires.• To inhibit her own sexual desires.• To have a less feminine body.• To protect from abuse -- sexual,

physical, or emotional.• To hide her true feelings.• To keep from leaving her partner.• To have more power. To stop

from being pushed around.• A way to rebel against someone

who wants her to be thin(parents/husband).

• To mask fears of marital failure.Being fat justifies a husband'sdisinterest and even his abuse.

• Being fat means that when peopleaccept her, they like her for whoshe is, not for how she looks.

• Food is a convenient substancewhen love, affection and sexualpleasure are lacking.

Muscle testing can be used onstatements to see if there is any stressaround these issues. Stress can bedefused using eye rotations and brainintegration as described in Topping(1985 and 1990).

ConclusionWeight loss should not be overly focused onweight reduction but should be aimed atimproving health and the quality of life. Thiswill include getting sufficient aerobic exercise,drinking adequate water, supplementing witha mineral complex or whole foods. It meanseating three or more times a day, not skippingbreakfast, not eating a large meal just beforesleep. It means addressing marital and sexualproblems and stress reduction rather thanusing food to tranquilize the body/mind.

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© Touch for Health Kinesiology Association Journal (yr 2001)

However, the number one requirement toimprove one's health and lose weight is tomake this a core desire. The client will then dowhatever it takes until they succeed.

ReferencesBailey, Covert. The New Fit or Fat. Boston,MA: Houghton Mifflin, 1991.

Batmanghelidj, F. Your Body's Many Criesfor Water. Falls Church, VA: Global HealthSolutions, 1997.

Childers, Greer with Bobbie Katz. Be aLoser! New York, NY: Times Books, 1998.

Johnson, Jill R. Oxv cise! Conifer, CO:Oxycise! International, 1997.Roach, Mary, "Advice from the World'sBiggest Weight Experts: Their Gain Can BeYour Loss." Health, p. 62-72, March/April,1993.Stuart, Richard B., and Barbara Jacobson, "IsMarriage Making You FAT?" Nevi' Woman,p. 70-77, December 1987.

Topping, Wayne W. "Applying the 80/20Principle to our Kinesiological Work." Touchfor Health Kinesiology Association Journal(year 2000), p. 46-51.

Topping, Wayne W. Stress Release.Bellingham, W A: Topping InternationalInstitute, 1985.

Topping, Wayne W. Success Over Distress.Bellingham, W A: Topping InternationalInstitute, 1990.

Zufelt, Jack M. "How to Use the ConqueringForce Within You" audio tape set. Littleton,CO, 1999.

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