Sustainable Weight Loss with Healthy Transformations

Healthy Transformations is a weight-loss and anti-inflammatory dietary program that combines the most contemporary elements in the scientific fields of functional nutrition and behavioural modification.

The program is “coached” by two experts in their respective fields. Participants not only can expect to lose weight, but will also learn how food is the most effective treatment for chronic disease. Also, participants will come to understand their own food behaviours and learn how to change their food habits to encourage sustainable results.

The Healthy Transformations program is a scientifically based weight loss and health optimization program.  The key features of the program are the application of the most current scientific knowledge in the fields of diet, inflammatory disorders, and epigenetics combined with the best information in the field of behavioural science (this ensures the weight loss sticks!).  The program stands alone on a number of levels.

First, our program is 12 months in duration.  This is fundamental to success – it takes quite a while to establish new “food behaviours” and long-term (permanent) benefit is only achieved with the establishment of these actions.

Second, the dietary model is called the “Anti-Inflammatory” Diet.  It has been clearly identified that the majority of chronic diseases have their root in the phenomenon known as “low-grade cellular inflammation”.  Correcting this problem is crucial in establishing normal physiology, treating and curing disease, and (importantly) losing weight.  Key point – weight gain is connected to low grade inflammation and without changing the inflammatory problem in the body, weight loss will be unsuccessful.

As it relates to weight loss, we have 100% success rate for sustained weight loss beyond 12-months for those that follow the program commitments.

These are the core program commitments:

1. Show up to the meetings
2. Be honest with yourself and the facilitators of the program.
3. Trust and follow the process - adjustments may need to be made for individuals as our bodies respond differently.
4. Eat correct food, that tastes good and that you can eat for the rest of your life - if you can do the first three months then we can help you with getting this one on track!

Epigenetics is a field of scientific study that states that the “environment” has a significant influence on the nature of genetic expression in every one of us.  The term “epigenetics” means “above genetics” – suggesting that there are factors that are more important in determining genetic expression than simply the genes themselves.

In the latter part of the 20th Century, the model of “Genetic Determinism” was quite prominent.  In a nutshell, the model suggested that we are all born with a genetic blueprint that determined our physiology including the diseases that we would experience.  The basic failure (really, a very big surprise) of the Human Genome Project is that we are not as genetically complex as was thought.

Because of this, the model suggesting that everything that happens to us comes from our “blueprint” could not be supported.  Thus, the field of epigenetics moved to the forefront.  Yes, we are all born with a set of genes, but the influence of the “environment” is what determines the genetic expression.  The “environment” is diet, exercise, toxicity, sleep, stress, and a host of other things that, to the greatest extent, we have control over.  Therefore, the epigenetic model states that, in a number of ways, we are in control of our own genetic expression.

Weight Loss Recidivism is a term that essentially means weight loss failure.  It is (unfortunately) very common and is the effect that most people who lose weight will put the weight back on after a period of time.  In fact, in research applications where subjects have been put on weight loss programs and then followed without personal support for 12 months, the recidivism level is 97-98%!  That is, 97 or 98 out of 100 people in these studies gained their weight back 12 months after it was lost.

One of the reasons the Healthy Transformations program is 12 months in duration is very specifically to help our clients beat this recidivism data.  Technically, recidivism means the return to a previous mode, or form, of behaviour and has its’ application in the fields of psychology and social sciences.  This is important – it speaks to one of the fundamental aspects of the Healthy Transformations program.

Our program is unique in that we address the personal and cultural influences that affect our health outcomes.  This includes the staggering effect that culture and learned behaviours have on food choices – and many of these choices contribute to poor health.  Helping our clients to recognize these influences and behaviours, and then providing alternate strategies, is a large part of our success.

You might end up coming off of them. In fact, this is a common occurrence in our program.  Why?  Quite simply, because people who are overweight or obese are not healthy.  In fact, overweightness and obesity are symptoms of ill-health – in many cases, they go hand in hand with the inflammation that drives heart disease, diabetes, metabolic syndrome, and the list goes on.

Consequentially, many people who enter our program are on medications for the conditions that they are seeking to correct.  For each of these people, we require that they inform their medical doctor of their participation in the program and request that the parameters that were used to determine the need for medication be monitored.  Contemporary science is very clear – people who eat properly, lose weight, and exercise realize improvements in their health.

What commonly goes with this is a reduction, or elimination of the need for medications to treat the problems they are dealing with.  The Healthy Transformations program does not monitor the parameters of unique conditions and does not make recommendations on medication changes.

The short answer is no.  Now, this is not to say that exercise is not important – in fact, exercise is one of the environmental influences that has a significant influence on our health.  However, by itself, exercise is very ineffective at producing weight loss.  Using exercise to lose weight is one of the most misunderstood, and incorrectly applied interpretations in the weight-loss industry.  Here is the key point – weight gain (and the associated issues that come with weight gain) is an inflammatory problem.  Solving this problem requires that we apply strategies that reduce inflammation and the food that we eat is absolutely at the top of the list of these strategies.  As much as exercise is good for you on a bunch of other levels (including stimulating immunity), exercise does not reduce inflammation and, in fact, extreme exercise is actually a contributor to inflammation!  Clients who join our program are encouraged to exercise – however those who do not want to exercise are not required to do so.  The outcome of weight loss and improved health will occur with the proper application of food based strategies.