Obesity is at epidemic levels in the US with nearly 78 million adults and 13 million children who are obese.

Obesity is defined as being at least 20% overweight and/or having a BMI of 30 or higher. Obesity is dangerous from a health perspective. It leads to coronary heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, cancer, high blood pressure and depression.

The conventional approach to eliminate obesity is to change diet and exercise. The goal of the change is to consume less calories through diet and to burn more calories through exercise. The conventional approach also includes surgery and liposuction.

The holistic approach also focuses on diet and exercise, but goes beyond calorie counting and calorie burning. The holistic approach focuses on the types of food being consumed and distinguishes between types of calories. Not all calories are the same.

The holistic approach also focuses on nutrition and nutrients, detoxification, stress reduction, emotional balance and revving up the body’s metabolism and efficiency. The conventional approach treats all calories the same and does not deal with stress and emotional issues and how they trigger stress eating and obesity.

The holistic approach distinguishes between the calories in manufactured, processed and junk foods as well as the calories in whole foods.

A calorie is not a calorie. The calories in processed, manufactured and junk foods and refined sugar result in much more body fat. They spike blood sugar levels and do not burn off as easily as those calories in whole foods.

The holistic approach to eliminating obesity begins with the elimination of processed, manufactured, junk foods and refined sugar and starches. Most processed and packaged foods contain high fructose corn syrup, a form of refined sugar. The holistic approach looks at food as a source of fuel and nutrition for good health

The holistic diet for obesity consists of whole foods (i.e., vegetables, fruit, nuts, seeds and whole grains (and for those who are not vegan or vegetarian, some eggs, light meat and fish for protein)). For vegans and vegetarians, there is plenty of protein in vegetables, nuts, seeds, whole grains and legumes.

Organic and raw is best-i.e., salads, juices and smoothies. Prepare your own dressings for your salads. Use vinegar, avocado and citrus for salad dressings.

Eat a lot of dark green leafy vegetables such as spinach, kale, arugula and Swiss chard. This is because organic is devoid of toxins that trigger the body’s generation of fat cells discussed below. Raw ensures that you are maximizing the nutrition, life force and water/oxygen from your food.

While you are losing weight, eat plenty of protein to build up muscle tissue. Muscle tissue burns fat cells. You can boost your consumption of protein with protein powder mixed in almond milk or water. If you are not vegan or vegetarian. eggs, fish, and chicken are good sources of protein.

Eliminate Fried and Fatty Foods

The holistic approach to obesity eliminates fried foods. It eliminates or greatly reduces dairy, because dairy is highly caloric and toxic (if not organic).

Dairy is fatty. But, the body needs fats. The best fats to eat are plant-based fats such as avocado, coconut and coconut oil, nuts, seeds and whole plant based oil. These plant-based fats are still highly caloric and should be limited.

But they are much more easily digested and metabolized by the body. For good fats that the body needs, take Omega 3, 6 and 9 fatty acids from fish oil and hemp oil supplements and coconut oil.

Prepare your own meals as much as possible. Avoid restaurants as much as possible while you are trying to lose weight. The foods in restaurants are mostly non-organic and are often loaded with fat and sugar. Breakfast should be your largest meal, followed by lunch and dinner (your smallest meal).

The calories in processed, manufactured and junk foods and refined sugar are much more difficult to burn off. They consist of much harder crystals than those in whole foods.

Processed, manufactured and junk foods contain toxins (i.e., heavy metals and chemicals) and refined sugar and starches are toxic. All these toxins result in more body fat.

The body produces fat cells to encase toxins that are consumed. This is because the liver and kidneys cannot filter out too many toxins at once. As such non-organic and processed, manufactured and junk foods lead to obesity because they trigger the formation of body fat to store consumed toxins.

Non-organic foods (especially GMOs) contain toxins from pesticides This is another reason why the calories in an organic whole food diet are better to consume than the calories in a non-organic and processed. manufactured and junk food diet. As mentioned above, toxins trigger fat production and obesity.

Use Whole Foods

As you switch to the organic, raw whole food diet, body fat will melt away fairly quickly.

Whole foods contain vitamins, minerals, anti-oxidants and fiber that the body craves for good health. Processed and packaged foods do not contain much vitamins, minerals, anti-oxidants and fiber.

If one’s diet consists primarily of packaged and manufactured foods, the body will not get the nutrition it needs. Manufactured and processed foods lead to overeating because the body is in need of nutrition that are not in the foods being consumed by it.

Detoxification is required to rev up the body’s metabolism and to release stored toxins in body fat. Detoxification will improve digestion and metabolism and help the body become much more efficient. Detoxification will draw toxins out of the body that are encased in body fat.

Basic detoxification includes a daily drink of water and diatomaceous earth along with a daily drink of water, apple cider vinegar and fresh lemon. Use apple cider vinegar on your salads as well for detoxification purposes.

Drink a lot of water, at least eight, 8 ounce glasses of water per day. Water is detoxifying. Do not drink soda and sweetened drinks including artificially sweetened drinks. Soda and sweetened drinks are made sweet with sugar, which is toxic. Artificially sweetened drinks are made sweet with aspartame and other artificial sweeteners, which are toxic chemicals. Drink green tea to help rev up your metabolism.

Substitute natural sweeteners for refined sugar and artificial sweeteners. Substitute honey, cinnamon and stevia for refined sugar and high fructose corn syrup in processed foods. If you have sugar cravings, eat fruit to satisfy the cravings.

Detoxify

To help detoxify heavy metals from the body, drink a juice made from fresh bunches of cilantro and parsley steeped in boiling water.
Use milk thistle and dandelion root supplements and fresh ginger to detoxify the kidneys and liver.

Use iodine, ashwagandha and selenium to boost the thyroid and adrenals. Detoxify the intestines of candida over growth and parasites with prebiotic foods such as fresh garlic and onion, probiotic supplements and herbs like wormwood, black walnut shell and cloves..

Multi-vitamins

Take good size doses of multi vitamins- up the Recommended Daily Allowance, RDA of A, B Complex, C, D, E, K1 and k2. Take anti-oxidant supplements such as CO Q 10/Ubiquinol and Turmeric/Curcumin.

Take colloidal trace minerals on a daily basis. All of this will help reduce cravings for food by providing the body with the nutrition it craves and needs for good health.

Cayenne pepper will help rev up your metabolism along with green tea extract supplements and l-theanine, a derivative from green tea..

Try to keep calories to 2,000 or less per day. Eat three meals per day. You will feel full often when you move to the whole food diet because whole foods contain the vitamins, minerals and fiber that the body needs and craves.

If you get hungry between meals, eat fresh fruit,vegetables, nuts and/or seeds for snacks. Substitute whole grains for bread. Limit nuts, seeds, whole grains and staarchy vegetables while losing weight because they are highly caloric.

Observe hunger cues. Eat only when hungry, stop eating when full. Eat slowly and be fully in the moment when you are eating.

Exercise Daily

Exercise daily -at least an hour per day.. Do cardio/aerobic exercise and lift light weights. Walk at least two to three miles per day. As part of your exercise routine, walk uphill and jog at times. This will boost your heart rate. Lifting light weights will build up muscles tissue. Muscle helps burn calories and fat cells.

The holistic approach to obesity described above will rev up your metabolism and help you burn calories when you exercise.

Reduce Stress

Reduce stress and relax as much as possible.
Address emotional issues through emotional release techniques. This will reduce cortisol and adrenaline in your body.

Cortisol and adrenaline make it difficult for the body to burn off calories. Stress reduction and emotional release will reduce stress and emotional eating as well. Meditate, do yoga, exercise, stay in the moment and in balance. Adopt positive thinking techniques and do deep breathing exercises as well to relax and reduce stress.

Use supplements to help relax the body such as valerian root, magnesium and ashwagandha and drink hot cocoa for relaxation.

The foregoing is not intended to be medical advice. It is holistic health information. Consult your physician for medical advice.