For us to lose weight, we need to be able to put the pieces together. It goes beyond just researching and trying a specific method. We may need to draw inspiration from multiple sources to complete our perfect weight loss puzzle.
A Village Without Water
A True Story
Once in a small village, the land was dry and dusty. The people found it difficult to survive because they did not have water for agriculture or livestock farming.
One day, a knowledgeable man assessed the situation. He quickly realised that there was more than enough water from rain to sustain the community. However, all the rainwater flowed out of the community because the land was poorly structured and could not retain it. He also realised that the community had limestones that could be crushed to make cement several times stronger than the one available on the market.
The knowledgeable man gathered all the abled body men of the community. First, these men worked to make cement from the limestone. Then, using the homemade concrete and rocks, the men built a retaining wall that channelled the rainwater into a dam, which they also built. The community then flourished as it had more than enough water for farming and other use.
We need to be able to put the pieces together.
The community had everything it needed to fix the problem, except knowledge. We all have everything we need to lose weight. However, most of us lack the information and experience to put them together and make it happen. We know that we need to exercise consistently, have a healthy diet, and get sufficient sleep, but how do we assemble our unique weight loss puzzle?
NOLM is here to give real examples to assist you in getting there. Some readers may have already started a weight loss process and discovered what adjustments they need to make. Such readers do not need to read any further. For those who need or opt to continue reading, I recommend reading the articles in order. By doing this, you will get the best understanding and results.
The Role of the Engine
The engine generates the required power to drive the car. During the process, burning fuel generates a lot of heat. To prevent the engine from overheating, a liquid coolant – a substance used to regulate the temperature of a system – is circulated through the engine blocks to remove excess heat. A device called a “radiator” stores this coolant.
An Overheating Engine
A True Story
I once had an overheating issue with my car. It lost power and steam radiated from under the hood. The little knowledge I had told me to check the coolant levels in the radiator. When I looked under the car hood, the radiator tank had burst and could not hold the coolant needed to keep the engine cool. Hence, the engine overheated.
I called my good friend up, and we removed the radiator and took it to an auto shop, where I purchased a new one. We then placed the new radiator in the car, filled it with coolant and started the car. I was so happy that the car was working and was about to give it a drive down the road, but my friend said, “No, not so fast.” He asked me to allow the engine to run for a few minutes under observation. To my surprise, the car started overheating with the brand-new radiator.
In high school, I learned about a device in the car called a “thermostat.” This device is responsible for telling the radiator when the engine is too hot, so the radiator will release the coolant to remove the excess heat. If this device is not working, the radiator will not release the coolant, and the car will overheat. So, we removed the thermostat and returned to the auto shop to purchase a new one. After placing it in the car and running the engine for a while, we noticed that the system started working as it should, preventing the engine from overheating.
Take the time to learn the basics.
From my assessment of the situation, the root problem was the thermostat which caused the car to overheat, damaging the radiator. If I did not replace the thermostat, I would have ended up with another damaged radiator. In the end, a little knowledge went a long way to solve the problem.
Similarly, we need some knowledge about our bodies to successfully lose weight. We should invest the time to get the information, some of which you will find here. If you are going to take shortcuts and skip chapters, then you may miss out on vital information. In the end, it may cost you more than just another brand-new radiator. We have to make sacrifices if we are going to get it right; this means understanding the basics. If I were to take my car to a mechanic to fix the issue, it would have cost me a lot more than a new radiator and thermostat. But with my knowledge and the time I put in with my friend, we solved the issue without waiting in a long line and saved a lot of money.
Do your own research and take control of your health.
Yes, sometimes we will need an expert. But if we don’t know the basics, it may cost us more because experts are not always honest. An expert may charge us for an engine replacement when they only replaced a radiator. Knowing the basics, even if we cannot change the radiator ourselves, we can state the problem and what we expect them to change.
As much as our doctors may be more knowledgeable than us about the human body, they also depend on us to tell them how we feel so that they may better help us. Not every prescription or recommendation will work, and we need to inform our doctor to get the appropriate help. That said, there are also some basic things some of us can do ourselves. For example, some of us can monitor our own blood pressure and blood sugar levels, as I do, to know what, when and how we should eat and exercise to get the best results. Remember that these measurements are different for each of us based on our uniqueness, even if we live in the same house and eat the same food.
Do not waste your time attacking the symptoms.
Get rid of the root problem!
The radiator was not the root problem of the car overheating but rather the thermostat, which worked with the radiator to cool the engine. Similarly, weight gain may be associated with other health issues. Excess weight or fat, like the radiator, does not work in isolation of bodily systems and is not usually the root problem. Replacing the radiator would not fix the issues with the car. Similarly, you cannot just lose weight and expect to fix your health issues.
Being overweight is a symptom of other complications within the body. If we cut the fat out of our body, it would only reappear if the root cause of our weight gain remains unfixed.
The problems with the function of our body’s system could be a combination of what we put into our bodies and pre-existing damage to our systems from years of unhealthy living. It’s like putting gasoline into a vehicle that uses diesel or vice versa. The car will start malfunctioning, and if we proceed to drive with the malfunction, we will damage it. We cannot fix the damaged car and then continue using the incorrect fuel, expecting the problems to go away. We have to start using the correct. As for our body, we have to start eating right and allow time to heal our system to lose weight.
Operations are fast but may not last.
We can do operations, such as liposuction, to get rid of fat and lose weight quickly. However, these surgeries do not prevent us from regaining the excess weight if we do not change our lifestyle. These procedures need to be followed up with a change in our lifestyle if we are going to keep the weight off.
I am open to comments from anyone who took a tablet that permanently solved their weight problem; they never changed their diet or exercised. I am not aware of this working for anyone, but we are all unique, and learning about our uniqueness is what this forum is all about. If it works for one person, it may also work for others, provided how it works is logically explainable. In the next few posts, we will talk about diet, exercise and motivation, with practical examples of how and why.
To continue reading, go to the post on mental health and motivation.
