Enzymes and Their Relationship to Weight Loss

[FreeSpirit]

If you consider that our body operates from energy derived by foods we take in, then the importance of enzymes to fully digest those foods and make the nutrients available can be seen as vital to our health.

One of the primary keys to weight loss may simply be the action of enzymes. Lipase for example is found abundantly in raw foods but few of us eat sufficient raw foods to get enough lipase to burn even a normal amount of fat, not to mention any excess. Lipase is a fat splitting enzyme that aids the body in digestion, fat distribution and the burning of fat for energy. Lipase activity breaks down and dissolves fat throughout the body.

If you cannot retrieve enough nutrients from the food you take in, your body receives a signal that it needs to store more fat against the threat of starvation and will hold on to even more fat in reaction. It will also send a signal that you need to take in more food. This can result in a vicious cycle of eating more and more, and still always feeling hungry. ( sound like what you expereince post depo??)

Enzymes for weight loss involve a three week integration period during which the appetite may swing back and forth dramatically, as the body deals with getting so much more from the foods you are eating and may also involve detoxification as the body lets go of rancid fats, putrified proteins and toxic by-products of incomplete digestion. Then, another three to six weeks are generally required before the renewed energy, naturally occurring weight loss and health benefits of enzymes are recognized.

Specific considerations must be viewed when choosing an enzyme supplement for weight loss in particular so I suggest discussing this with a practioner open mindedenough to listen.

For a more indepth overview of Enzymes suggested reading:
The Healing Power of Enzymes --Dr. Dicqie Fuller
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In its own way, pain paves the way for a graceful departure ( Ecclesiastes 12:1-14).

[HealingHarmony]

FreeSpirit,

Thank you for an incredibly helpful and reassuring post. It is so affirming that I am making the right changes in my diet for me.

I will explain what my experiences have been lately to encourage women to stick with their new healthy ways of eating even when it is physically uncomfortable at first....it does get better, and it IS worth it.

You see, I switched to a balanced whole-foods diet (Schwarzbein) after other women had experienced renewed energy and loss of fat "DEPOsits" on that plan.

My diet had previously been extremely low fat, & I was definitely nutrient depleted as the depo made it impossible for me to digest the very things I needed to rebuild bone, muscle, and burn fat. Not to mention fuel my brain and hormone production! I was hungry all the time, yet my constant injuries (and depleted hormone levels) were evidence of malnutrition.

When I suddenly started getting enzymes and nutrients from my food, plus adequate levels of natural fat and protein, my body freaked out. I was ultra, ultra hungry for the first month. I had the wild swings in my appetite that you mentioned. At first, I wanted to give up and go back to Clif bars and celery sticks--"what? this diet is supposed to burn fat, not make me eat like a cow!" But I stuck it out. After a month I am just now starting to have a stable appetite that makes sense for my size and activity level.

Regaining the energy is the next phase, like you said. As soon as my appetite normalized, my energy level plummeted. I reason that I must be starting to burn fat, and thus detox old stored medications, because I have had headaches and acne for a few days. I am feeling the need now for more rest and much gentler exercise (stretching and Pilates, not the stairmaster) and I am pushing the cranberry water.

I am definitely not going back to my old way of eating. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't good, either. Even though eating double the vegetables and reintroducing fat and protein has made me undergo a metabolic transformation, that has not been pretty nor immediate, it is worth it. I trust that I will see the depo fat slowly melt away over the next couple of months and feel a surge in my energy and vitality that I have never felt before.

As I have never been a patient person, finally getting adequate enzymes in my diet is having spiritual benefits as well. "Trust the process" is my new mantra.
Sara
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you will succeed in the measure of your faith