The most single common wellness challenge that faces Americans today is the condition of being "overweight". In addition to the direct health problems that the extra pounds bring, there is the very real, often very painful problems of self-esteem and self confidence.

It's Not Your Fault
Since 1984, I've been helping people lose weight and keep it off, and whether they needed to lose 5 lbs. or 250 lbs. the personal image problems were very similar. The incredible frustration and anguish women and men can feel when they can't maintain a target weight is heartbreaking. The worst part is that in most cases it's really not their fault. We have been brought up to believe that convenience and taste are the primary factors in the foods we chose to eat. Supermarket food has lost much of it's nutritional value, and fast food is a horror story.

The quality of our food is the quality of our life. Today, you must supplement your food choices with a high-quality nutritional program to give your body what it needs to maintain and heal itself.

Typical Solutions Are Actually Worse Than The Problem
The medical profession has had little to offer except for strong diet drugs that invariably are found to be extremely dangerous after years of being prescribed. The warnings a few years ago about the Fen-Fen pills are just a replay of the damage done in the 60's and 70's by the amphetamines ("mother's little helper"). What will we learn about today's drugs? When it comes to diet drugs; just say no!

Restricted calorie diets are not the answer either. With the typical very low calorie diet, in addition to feeling bad, you end up losing muscle mass along with the fat. The body fights back (it's starving!) by slowing the metabolism and the resulting weight gain is mostly fat. This cycle tends to repeat itself (yo-yo dieting), and you end up rounder and rounder; in much worse shape than if you had never dieted at all!

The answer to the problem is re-educating the body to enjoy proper nutritious foods and maintain a regular schedule for eating, in addition to regular exercise. Ever try it? It's not easy! But there are safe, effective tools that make the task do-able. Today the market is filled with all-natural supplements that claim to help with the problem. Some are very helpful, some are a waste of money, and some are outright dangerous. It's difficult to know how to choose. Some people (I call them "professional dieters") simply try every new thing that comes along. They pay their offering to the "diet god" and put the bottle up on the "altar" (kitchen shelf) next to the other 20 bottles of pills that didn't work either!

People will try anything to lose weight and there is no shortage of gimmicks that take advantage of that. I've seen them all. diet soap, diet sunglasses (they made the food look ugly!), diet chewing gum, patches, acupressure appetite suppressors, the list is endless. Everybody's got a gimmick. But gimmicks don't work long-term.

Any weight-loss solution that doesn't address optimal health is not a solution.

• Yes it's true that people eat too much food...
• Yes it's true that people make poor food choices...
• Yes it's true that people don't get enough exercise...
• But the problem is bigger than that...
• The body triggers additional fat production to protect us from toxins.

It's no secret that we live in a toxic world. The air we breathe, the food we eat, the water we drink has been contaminated with the by-products of modern life. Even the furniture that you sit on, the rugs you walk on, and the home you live in give off toxins that your body must deal with.

Our bodies are miraculous. They have the natural ability to adapt and survive. Toxins trigger fat production to trap and store the toxins and protect our vital organs. Those toxins are then released as a part of the natural cycle of repair.

But today's world overloads our bodies with too many toxins, and we don't give our bodies the "fuel" they need to function properly. That fuel is the food, nutrients, water, fresh air and sunshine our bodies need to thrive. And so, as the world becomes more toxic people get fatter.

There is a solution. By feeding your body right and supplementing with a high-quality nutritional program to replace what is missing from our modern processed foods, it can overcome toxic overload. In addition to all of the other reasons for maintaining an optimal diet, the reduction of stored toxins will help you to look and feel better!